Question about title

[tigger22472]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

If say a junkyard receives a car due to someone either sending it there or what not...are they required to do anything with the title or report anything about the car?

Last August I sold a 'friend' a car on payments. Well, I never received any payment from them. I did not want the car back as I had bought a new car but I did retrieve my plates from the car approximately 2 months later. Their 'story' was that first they had sent a payment(which I still have NEVER received) and then that the car had been in the shop and had all kinds of problems. In fact the story before I got the plates off the car was that it was in their drive way on blocks. A week later when I drove the 1.5 hours to their house the car was in the drive way... not on blocks. The plates that I had on that car would of expired this coming May. I received a notice from the BMV that the plates were due soon which tells me that the car as of now hasn't been registered out of my name... and yes... I did sign the title to this car.

What I want to find out is if it was taken to a junkyard if they are required to report it even if they did scrap it. There is the possibility that the car is still in use and the 'friend' and his family are using it under false registration. I have been told by the BMV that as long as I signed the title I'm no longer responsible for anything that happens to it but I'd like to know what happened to it.

[djohnson]

If the car was never registered in someone else's name, it is still your car. Signing the back of the title alone, does not release you from liability. It could have been torn up immediately and if you applied for a lost title it would come back in your name with no signature. Do you have any kind of signed agreement as to the payments or arrangement you made with this person? Was it just a verbal agreement?

[tigger22472]

Just a verbal agreement. I did check with the BMV and they told me that I'm not liable as I signed the title because I thought the same thing that without it being registered it's still under my name. Just going by what they said. If I wanted to drive the 1.5 hours back up there just to look and see if it's still there I could but I'm trying to avoid that. I do know they can't legally plate it as I have the plates that were registered to that car and that's when I talked to the BMV about it for I was concerned they were put false plates on it and drive it and if it was in an accident then I would be liable.

[djohnson]

I would call and ask someone else. The problem is you have no proof you signed it unless it's registered.