Vehicle Damage - Not Insurance

[needlegal]

I had a vehicle for sale. A gentleman signed a contract to purchase the vehicle within a period of time. He paid a down payment and took the vehicle. In the time he took the vehicle and the time he was going to purchase the vehicle, he blew the engine and abandoned the vehicle, leaving me with the bill. The vehicle is worthless to me without an engine, but I need to pay the bill to get it out of the shop. The total bill will be about $7500.00. I told him I would retain ownership of the vehicle and continue to make the payment if he paid for the engine. I have not heard from him, but have been forced to come up with the money to get the vehicle out of the shop. What legal rights do I have? Can I file suit without legal representation?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[CraigFL]

First, you say he took the vehicle, but didn't purchase it but you had a signed contract. This implies you didn't give him a bill of sale but you loaned him your vehicle until he could pay for it. If that is true, anything that happened to the vehicle is your problem. You might be able to recover something from him if you could prove he was negligent....