Scammed by a friend

Bronx, NY
This man and I have been friends for over 11 years.
I was in the market to purchase a car,and my friend was in the market to get a car as well( not until i had the idea).
I was to purchase his car and in return pay the down payment for the other car.( I never received his car) So finally got in touch with him, he promised to repay me the money,or give me the car. We had a verbal agreement that he had ninety days to repay me $3,000.It has been over 3 months and I have not seen the money or the car. I made the check out to the owner of the BMW(which my ex-friend purchased and driving lovely in), I asked him for a refund, he also has avoided me and changed his numbers (my ex-friend has also changed his numbers.I haven't slept since this situation has happen, and he hasn't made any attempt to pay me back. I want to go to small claims court, is this situation worth it, and should I sue him or the owner of the BMW( the person I wrote to check to.) I know you are not suppose to trust anyone, but when does it come to the point when you can't trust your own friend. Then I have over heard from friends, that his friends are in a car scamming deal, should I reveal that to the courts if I proceed in this. I just can't let this guy get away from taking my hard earned money. What should I do?
Signed,
Broken Promises/

First, you have no claim against the seller, since he didn't make any promise to repay you for the loan.

And, yes you can sue the borrower in small claims court (assuming your claim is within dollar jurisdiction and not expired by SOL). It will very probably be your word against his; you claim a loan, he might either deny the money outright or claim it was a 'gift'.

If you are able to convince the court that the money was a loan and that he promised to repay you, you will probably win. If you are not able to convince the court, you will probably lose. In reality, very little to risk (cost and time of court) for a 50-50 chance at winning. I would seriously consider going after him.