Vehicle Title, and missing seller

[Duskin]

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

First, I didn't know where to post, and I figured this is the best place for it. If the thread needs to be moved, please feel free to.

So lets say the parties involved are myself, Mr. A and Mr. B.

Mr. A decided to sell his truck, but instead of putting it on his own property with a for sale sign, put it on his friend Mr. B's property. I'm driving by and decide to look at the truck. I knock on Mr. B's door, who informs me to call the number on the for sale sign. After calling the number, Mr. A comes to the property to talk to me.

He asks for full payment before giving me the title, and we come to an agreement that I would pay $600 on the truck at that moment, and come back to pay the difference ($700) in two weeks after I get paid. He hands me the keys to the truck because I insisted that I would not pay $600 down without a signed contract in hand or, at minimum, access to the vehicle to take it away.

We agree to meet later, and go about our lives. I happen to be in a financially tight spot so I go back to Mr. B's house and knock on his door. He calls his friend over and I explain how I cannot afford the truck at that moment. Mr. A tells me to take a little extra time and pay him at a later date, which we both agree is better.

At a later date, with money in hand, I go to Mr. B's house to finish the deal. Mr. B answers the door and informs me that Mr. A has moved out of the country, but has left the title with him to finish the deal. I tell Mr. B that I'm not comfortable with finishing the deal with him, and I asked if/when Mr. A will be back. He tells me that Mr. A may be back soon, but I shouldn't put my hopes on it. I leave my number with Mr. B and tell him to have Mr. A call me.

So here I am almost 2 months later without a call from either Mr. A or Mr. B. I have a feeling that Mr. A will not be back based on the tone Mr. B used when he explained the situation.

More info if it's relevant: I currently do not know Mr. A or Mr. B's names. I never bothered to get them because I figured it would go smoothly. I assume I can retrieve Mr. A's name by going to the DMV. I also don't have Mr. A's phone number, it is long lost to my phone's limited memory.

What do I do at this point? The truck is still on Mr. B's property, and I was thinking of taking it to store at another location, is that within my rights? Will I even be able to register it without a title? Or do I leave the truck and count it as a loss?

The only thing that is out of the question is giving the money to Mr. B to finish the transaction. I do not trust a third party to finish a contract, and I have a strong feeling he doesn't have power of attorney for Mr. A. I haven't even seen the title in either Mr. B's hand, so I have no idea what his intentions are at this point.

 

[Kiawah]

If you take the vehicle, you would be stealing it. And, you would not be able to either title or register it. If stopped driving an unregistered, uninsured car, you'd then have to deal with those consequences as well.

Why don't you investigate further whether he has the title, perhaps it's already signed by Mr B. If not, ask to see the POA which gives Mr A the authority to sign for Mr B.

Did you have this vehicle inspected by a mechanic, or are you just going to roll the dice on whether the car is mechanically sound or not, perhaps having to spend thousands of dollars to fix it up to make it road worthy?

You've got yourself into a financially bad situation here.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

It sounds to me like your best bet is to go complete the deal with the property owner. As long as he can provide a signed title, you're good to go. As of now, you have nothing but a set of keys. If the car disappears, you'll have nothing at all.

Go get your car. Also, be very careful filling out the title. The RMV will not accept an altered title. I purchased a car and the seller started writing the wrong name where the buyer's name goes. He wrote one letter, crossed it out, and wrote in the correct information. The Registry would not accept it without a signed, notarized statement from the seller. If you can't find the seller, you can't get that statement.