cars on property

[keenspeedy]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee
I bought 2 cars from a woman that lives behind where I work to scrap them out. They were on her property for several years before I bought them. After I bought and picked them all up I received a phone call from the niece of that woman saying that she didn't own the vehicles and had no right to sell them to me. One of the vehicles was already sold for scrap when she called and part of one of the others was already gone for scrap. They want me to return the vehicles and I'm sure they aren't going to want to pay me back for them or my fuel bill for hauling them out in the first place. The woman that sold them to me sold them to pay the land taxes on the property if that matters. The company that I work for has found only one name on the deed for this property and that is the woman that sold them to me and signed a receipt for them also since she didn't have titles for them. I have now heard from two of the other people stating that they own part of that same property and they had a right to store their vehicles there. What do I need to do with the vehicles, can I charge them for the haul bill both ways and make them pay me the money that I gave them for them? Thank You, WendellWhat is the name of your state?

 

[divgradcurl]

How much money are we talking about here? If it is not a lot, perhaps one possibility it to ignore their demands, and let them sue you in small claims court and see if they can prove up ownership. If they can, pay up, and then sue the woman who sold you the cars for the amount you are out.

 

[keenspeedy]

I bought 3 vehicles sorry I typed it wrong the first time but I'm assuming that doesn't matter... I paid $100 each. I don't want to find out the process off getting sued or suing someone I don't want either. I want to know if I am "in the law" with posession of those vehicles, whether the other people have titles or not and if I'm not who would have to give me my money back that I paind for them? Thank you, Wendell

 

[Zigner]

I bought 3 vehicles sorry I typed it wrong the first time but I'm assuming that doesn't matter... I paid $100 each. I don't want to find out the process off getting sued or suing someone I don't want either. I want to know if I am "in the law" with posession of those vehicles, whether the other people have titles or not and if I'm not who would have to give me my money back that I paind for them? Thank you, Wendell

You can't buy a vehicle from someone who doesn't own it. I should say, you CAN buy it, but you'll have some pretty big complications (as you found out).
Don't buy vehicles without the title.

EDIT: You will (may) be able to recover what you paid for the vehicles from the person who improperly sold them to you. You will NOT be able to recover your hauling costs (reasoning: Why would you tow something you don't have the title to?)

 

[keenspeedy]

The woman that owns the property is the one that sold them to me? Does she not have the right to sell them? I mean if someone parked their car in my yard and I sold it after they had left it there for a few years and I sold it can they come back after me? The mother of these people that are now claiming the vehicles had permission to live on that property as long as they were living, she passed away about a year and a half ago and the woman that has her name on the deed told the children to remove the vehicles several times and they never attempted it , so she sold them. I bought them for scrap otherwise I would never have bought them. Most of the vehicles in scrap yards do NOT have titles, not junk yards mind you but scrap yards where they make those neat little 4' squares out of them.

 

[Zigner]

The woman that owns the property is the one that sold them to me? Does she not have the right to sell them? I mean if someone parked their car in my yard and I sold it after they had left it there for a few years and I sold it can they come back after me? The mother of these people that are now claiming the vehicles had permission to live on that property as long as they were living, she passed away about a year and a half ago and the woman that has her name on the deed told the children to remove the vehicles several times and they never attempted it , so she sold them. I bought them for scrap otherwise I would never have bought them. Most of the vehicles in scrap yards do NOT have titles, not junk yards mind you but scrap yards where they make those neat little 4' squares out of them.

There are procedures in place for people to lay claim to abandoned vehicles. It does NOT sound like this lady followed them.

I've "scrapped" several cars - each one of them required that I sign over the title, or application for duplicate title. (Of course, I'm in a different state)

 

[keenspeedy]

Here there is no title required for scrapping a vehicle they only take the VIN down.
Thank's Wendell

 

[Zigner]

Here there is no title required for scrapping a vehicle they only take the VIN down.
Thank's Wendell

But that doesn't relieve the responsibility of one being legally able to scrap the vehicle (which you were not, nor was the lady you "bought" the cars from)

 

[keenspeedy]

So what would have happened if I had already scrapped all 3 of them before I found out that she didn't own them?

 

[HuAi]

give the neighbors the phone number to the scrap place and let them know that the scrap place is now in posession of the behicle. you passed the buck along.

 

[Zigner]

So what would have happened if I had already scrapped all 3 of them before I found out that she didn't own them?

You'd end up paying her the value of the vehicles. That may, or may not be, more than you got from the scrapyard.
For what it's worth - I feel that you would be a co-defendant in any lawsuit.