Purchase Agreement for a vehicle

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? LA

My neighbor sold his vehicle to our other neighbor. The purchase price was $2500, and in the purchase agreement the purchase was $500 so that my neighbor would not have to pay as much on the taxes for registration. $1200 is still owed to the seller as he was only given $500 up front, and 100 or 200 here or there. This happened 3 months ago, and now the seller is being dodged. The registration is still in the Seller's name, and he still has the title. He agreed to release the title when payment was received in full. the purchase agreement was handwritten on a legal tablet and was not notartized. The plates are expired as is the registration, so the buyer is not able to register the vehicle or plates, however he was able to obtain insurance and did not add the seller as a driver to protect him. Seller wants to take his vehicle back since the buyer is not paying up. He is scared that if the vehicle is involved in an auto accident, he will be held liable. Is there anything he can do legally to get his vehicle back? Can he take it back for non-payment? What will happen if the vehicle is involved in an accident, or becomes impounded? Thanks!

If the buyer can show that he paid the $500 agreed to, the car belongs to the buyer.

Yet another reason not to lie.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

Sir Walter Scott


I'm not sure which is worse; the guy attempting to commit tax fraud or the guy that is complicit with the action by creating a document with an incorrect sales price with the known intent to defraud the state.


I agree with steve. If the price recorded on the contract has been paid, the car is now owned by the buyer. If this went to court, all the buyer has to do is show the contract and proof of payment. The seller would have to prove the fraud. Unless the buyer is really stupid, he will simply deny the claim and demand he be given the title to the car.

nythng4mygrl said:

Seller wants to take his vehicle back since the buyer is not paying up. He is scared that if the vehicle is involved in an auto accident, he will be held liable. Is there anything he can do legally to get his vehicle back? Can he take it back for non-payment? What will happen if the vehicle is involved in an accident, or becomes impounded? Thanks!

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The best thing that the seller can do to protect themselves at this point from liability in an accident or if the vehicle gets impounded is to sign over the title and allow the buyer to get the vehicle registered under their own name.

Seller has no legal recourse to get the vehicle back because of the fraud they committed, as the buyer has paid the WRITTEN contract price of $500 in full.

As for trying to collect the additional money they claim they are owed, I would suggest that you google "Unclean Hands". You cannot enforce an illegal contract, and I highly doubt that the buyer is going to admit they owe anything further.

Update

Thank you everyone. The Seller texted several messages regarding the "fraud" committed. I would just like to state that it was a purchase agreement that Buyer agreed to pay that amount. There was never a receipt or any proof that the amount was paid. The seller, however, after exchanging several text messages with the buyer convinced the buyer to re-sign a contract for the amount o $2,500, acknowledging that only $1300 was received, and that the remaining $1,200 will be paid in full within 10 days of the date of signature, which was yesterday. The buyer did not want to sign, and seller threatened to take his license plates off of the vehicle if the buyer did not agree. A new agreement was drafted, and the original agreement was shredded. Both neighbors learned a valuable lesson, trust noone.