Car Title Problem

In May we bought a car from someone we knew and paid cash. We told her to just give us the title when she got it. By September, we wanted to sell the car but we still didn't have the title. We called her and she didn't respond to messages. When we did get in touch with her she told us that her credit union that she had her car loan through needed our proof of insurance. The credit union told me that there was no reason they would need our insurance and to tell her to call them. I left 9 more phone messages without a response before I told her that I would call a lawyer if she didn't call back. In January she called back and told me that the credit union would send her a form to fill out to release the title. She said that the credit union charged her for not having insurance on the car before we bought it which she did. In March I still didn't have the title and called her credit union. They told me she had just paid off the loan. The reason we wanted to sell the car was because it got bad gas mileage and we moved out to the mountains where we were going to have to drive a lot and we needed something that could be driven in the snow which this car couldn't. I would like to take her to small claims court for extra money we had to spend on gas, studded tires we had to buy to even get out of our driveway during the winter and pain and suffering due to stress over this. If what she says is true, and the credit union did charge her for insurance when she had it, I feel it should have been resolved months ago. Would we have a case against her?

Do you know which RULE (at the top of the screen) you failed to follow that will affect the ability to answer??

She sold you the car before she paid off her loan with the credit union. She couldn't give you the title because she did not legally own the car until she paid the loan. She could be in "deep doo-doo" with the law. Ask her to pay for your extra expenses or you just might have to tell the authorities.
If you had a buyer for the car and could not complete the deal due to lack of a clear title, you have damages you can recover from her.
Go ahead and talk to a lawyer. If nothing else, he can send her a threatening letter that may force some action.
Good luck.

We already knew that she still owed money to the credit union. That is why we didn't get the title at the time we paid for the car. The credit union couldn't discuss the loan with us so I can't be 100% sure what the whole situation with the loan was. But it seems like if what she says is correct, and they charged her for insurance before she sold the car to us, it should have been taken care of months ago and she is still liable for any extra expenses we had. Is this fair to assume?

You knew she owed money on the car loan when you paid for it .

You bought the car in the location you were living at the time you paid for it .

Didn't the owner pay off the loan with the money you paid for it ? , or was there a big difference ?

Seems like you put yourself in this mess knowing there was a Lien on it . That's why the title could not be transfered.

Finally the loan was paid off , you got your title . End of story.

You CAN NOT got into court without " CLEAN HANDS ". Meaning you entered into an agreement knowing someone or some Agency owned the Title and you made an agreement with the person paying the Loan,not the Lien holder.

End of story . Move on ..

Wow... take a look at the responses on this thread..... a lot of maybe and coulda and even a shoulda or two.
And all without ANY consideration for the FACT that this writer STILL can't follow the rules of this forum!!

Even to the extent that he/she actually had to DELETE the first question asked when they started their post.

Can ANYONE help this writer out and point him/her to what she did wrong...... THEN give him/her advice???

Come on..... this is not rocket science... don't you think the writer should have figured this out yet???

Just let me say that I don't know what rule I didn't follow. Please let me know and I'll fix it...

Also, yes I did know that she owed money on the car. We made sure we gave her enough money to pay off the loan so we could get the title though. We shouldn't have had to wait much more than a month for the title in my mind. But its been 11 months now and finally we are getting the title after leaving message after message and being led to believe that we would get the title several times. I'm not sure if this means that we don't have "clean hands". We in good faith gave her money for a car and when we wanted to sell that car, we couldn't because she didn't follow through with the title. Is she liable for any extra expenses due to not being able to sell it?

You can read the Forums rules , if you search hard enough you can find out how & what to include in your Post.

As for you giving that Person Money for the Car. That Person didn't have CLEAN TITLE to it, and YOU knew it , at the Time you made the agreement . That person knew it TOO .

You BOTH made an agreement without the Lien Holder .

So this person took you for a "ride" and it's your fault.

You see, you should have said, I want to look at the TITLE before I pay you any money. You would have seen it had a LIEN on it.

Therefore If you wanted that car you , The Lien Holder, and the Person that had the Loan, should have gotten together, so the transaction was smooth.

You chose not to ...

Okay, since we still don't KNOW what state laws apply..... the following is a GENERAL response.

When the credit union loaned her the money to purchase the car, they retain a 'security interest' (meaning they can repossess on breach) and they retain the 'negotiable title' (with lien rights).

Since you never got the NEGOTIABLE (original) title to the vehicle (the seller didn't have it), you have actually 'purchased' nothing but a promise of a title in the future. The 'seller' of the vehicle took your money and HOPEFULLY made the payments on the vehicle. If she didn't, guess what?? The lender can come get THEIR car at anytime that they want.

As for the insurance.... the lender agreement also requires that the borrower maintain insurance on the vehicle. If they don't, the lender gets what is called 'single interest insurance' (that protects THEIR interest only) and then adds that cost (expensive) to the amount of the debt.

At this point, your options (as I see them are)....
1) Make a WRITTEN DEMAND (certified RRR) on the seller to supply you with a signed negotiable title within a reasonable time (14 days?).
2) If she doesn't, then you need to consider taking legal action to recover REASONABLE funds and return the car.