Bought a used motorcycle 8 months ago... have not received title

[RusteeGold]

What is the name of your state? California.

So my 23 year old son, against my advice, bought a motorcycle from a private party in December 2017. He put $3000 down, agreed to pay $2000 more and took the bike home. A month later the engine developed a hole in the cooling jacket... someone had wrecked it before he bought it and tried to fix it with JB Weld. Since my son went against my advice in buying the bike, I wanted him to talk with the seller. Tempers rose between the two and the seller said the deal was final - no refunds. By February my son had paid for the bike but unbeknownst to me, did not receive the title. In the meantime the engine was unfixable so I loaned him $2300 to get a working used engine installed (the bike is a 2006 CBR600R ).
Months have passed and my son still does not have the title. The seller always has an excuse... his baby is sick, he was travelling for work, he was in the hospital because he got mugged... We tried to go directly to the DMV 2 months ago to see if there was a way to get the title... turns out there is a bank lien against it. The seller promised my son would have the title today - august 22, 2018...but it didn't happen. So my son has a $7300 reminder of a series of bad decisions sitting in the garage that he cant ride. It''s been 6 months since the seller received all of his money.

I am going to get involved now. My thought is to give the guy one more week, and if he doesn't produce the ttle by then, take him to small claims court and sue him for the money spent on the bike... $5000 purchase price and $2300 for the engine. $7300 total. And he can have the bike back.

Any advice? Am I doing the right thing?

Thanks in advance,
Rustee Gold

 

[HighwayMan]

You can't sue him for anything, you are not a party to the transaction.

Your son is learning an expensive lesson - when you buy a motor vehicle you walk away with the title or there is no deal. You also have the vehicle inspected by a mechanic you trust prior to handing over anything.

Even if your son files suit and wins, do you really think he can collect any money from the seller?

 

[HRZ]

I just wonder if theft by false pretenses might apply

 

[xylene]

At this point professional legal help should be considered. Every DIY thing that has been tried has made the situation worse.

 

[RusteeGold]

HighwayMan,

Thanks for your comments - however I don't intend to file the law suit. My son will have to do that. I'm just looking for advice as to if I should encourage him to do it. I agree - he is learning an important lesson - but we don't give up on the ones we love and just throw them to the wolves - even if they got into the mess after ignoring our advice.

As far a being able to collect - I don't know the answer to that question. I've been to small claims court twice and won and collected both times - so I suppose it could happen.

Xylene - thanks for your advice. What kind of legal professional would be appropriate for this kind of thing?

 

[RusteeGold]

One more thing... maybe the threat of a lawsuit would jiggle the title loose - maybe the seller would be motivated to deliver the title. That would be acceptable as well.

 

[xylene]

Xylene - thanks for your advice. What kind of legal professional would be appropriate for this kind of thing?

No problem, I think you need to talk to a title lawyer. I'm not actually sure you are going to be able to do what you want in small claims AND I fear you might be out of luck on the new engine. It was an as-is sale whatever the title issue. So you might want action to get the lien released, rather than undo the sale. It's a big mess all around.

 

[xylene]

Worst - you might have to pay the lien, and sue for that.

 

[RusteeGold]

So the plot thickens... the seller is still talking to my son. Claims he paid the lien last week and now we have to wait for the DMV to issue a new title to the seller. Might take a couple weeks. However, my son got a text from the sellers daughter today... apparently the seller will spend the next 60 days in jail for a DUI. The story just gets weirder and weirder.

 

[HRZ]

Your son is a fool to believe the seller ...IF the lien was paid off the lien holder sends proof of same and title to the named owner ..either he got it or he didn't

 

[adjusterjack]

So the plot thickens... the seller is still talking to my son. Claims he paid the lien last week and now we have to wait for the DMV to issue a new title to the seller. Might take a couple weeks. However, my son got a text from the sellers daughter today... apparently the seller will spend the next 60 days in jail for a DUI. The story just gets weirder and weirder.

The seller is a scammer, drunk, liar, low life. Try whatever you like but I seriously doubt that your son will ever see the title or a nickel of his money.

Have your son try the bonded title route:

https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2015/code-veh/division-3/chapter-1/article-2/section-4157/

 

[HighwayMan]

The story just gets weirder and weirder.

Not really. Things like this are normal when you're dealing with a scammer.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

So the plot thickens... the seller is still talking to my son. Claims he paid the lien last week and now we have to wait for the DMV to issue a new title to the seller. Might take a couple weeks. However, my son got a text from the sellers daughter today... apparently the seller will spend the next 60 days in jail for a DUI. The story just gets weirder and weirder.

If he actually paid the lein and did the DMV paperwork for the title he should be able to easily provide receipts and such to prove it.