Ok i bought a truck about a year ago (factory 1ton 76 chevy) drove it 25mi blew up pulled it back to the dealer and let it set for the weekend and called my lawer and he said stop the check so i did. The reason i did was becaus his name was not on the title and it was this guys personal truck for over a year. Now can you sell and auto if the title is not right?

 

Sure , you see it all the time . Vehicles listed as parts vehicles with no title available . But you can't register them . What were you doing driving an unregistered ( and uninsured ?) vehicle ? The sale wasn't legal if the person named on the title wasn't selling it .

 

Thats what i thought. But i got arested for stoping payment on the check. and now i go to court the 12. the thing that sucks the most is lawer costs im going to have 5 grand wraped up just to clear my name. Is there any way to get this $ back?

Also i was on my way to the license office but it was ventrens day and i had called my insurance so i was good there.

 

In Minnesota they won't even take a car at the junjyard if you don't have the title. Parts car or not, where do you get rid of the carcus?

 

Here it is hit and miss on the junkyards. Some will take it for scrap without the title, but they pay less than those where you do have to have the title.

 

If the person who sold you the truck is NOT the name on the title it was an illegal sale.

I've seen it done many times by people trying to avoid the taxes.. but it's still not legal.

That's why here in Missouri we are required to file a notice of sale with the state. Meaning you sell a car you have to fill out this stupid form so that the state knows about it.

Hopefully you get what's coming to you. I've had the same situation, except I didn't get lucky enough that they screwed the paperwork.. I ended up with a 25K Paper weight.

Edit - I would DEFINATELY file a countersuit for the expenses of this. Ex, - Lost wages, Attorney Fees, etc...

 

If the person that you bought it from was a car dealer, then you may have a bit more of a gray area. It's very common for the dealer to be driving a car lot car for a period of time before reselling it and as a dealership, they aren't required to title the car in the dealership name between owners. I won't try to speak to what's legal or not because it probably varies from state to state but the situation can vary greatly depending on whether the seller was a dealer or not and whether the car was sold with any warranty or not.

 

Park it out in the grove with the other old farm equipment or advertise it on CraigsList as No Title and let someone else deal with it.

 

But this is a dealer, so in most states, his having the truck in his lot inventory would allow him to run his dealer plates and insurance.

Typically I do not believe there is any dealer transfer of title, just re-assignment.

Each state could be different though.

 

Here in KY taxes are billed to the title holder . If you sell a vehicle and the new owner doesn't transfer title you will continue to be billed for taxes . If you own another vehicle you won't be able to register it until you pay taxes on the sold vehicle .
In MA if someone doesn't pay taxes no one will be able to get a title for the car . My son bought a '64 Thunderbird real cheap because the previous owner hadn't paid taxes and some red tape made it impossible to resolve the issue . I lived in GA and had my son write me a bill of sale for the vehicle . Titles weren't required for vehicles that old . I registered the car in GA then a year later gave my son a bill of sale along with tax receipts and he registered the car in MA .

 

Ok I'm confused.

You bought a 24 year old truck a year ago from a dealer that didn't own the title. You drove it 25 miles and it died.

So you bring the truck back to the dealer. And what did they say about it?

Then stop payment on the check and get arrested because of it.


This all doesn't even make sense. First off it was an illegal sale. 2nd, what would make you think an old truck would have some warranty?

3rd... how can they arrest you if the truck is in their possession?

Sounds to me like you are leaving out a bunch on info.

 

I'd go with the title wasn't legal defense and that the truck blew up within 25 miles of driving it. But the title not being legal part is what I'd focus on.

Second, I'd get your lawyer to talk to them about dropping the charges otherwise you'll report them for dealing with open titles to avoid taxes. They could have the IRS at their door along with the state.


Good luck...

 

Thanks Guys all that has been said is what my lawer has been telling me (its an illegal sale). Truck has been restored also has been Appraised for over 20,000.

 

So is that more than what it was worth before you bought it. I'd tell them to give it to you and you'll pay them what they asked for it.


By the way, you're horrible at typing out a story . I'm having a hard time following you.
No offence.

 

I was in the same situation as you when I was 16. I bought my Nissan Sentra for 7 grand and a mile before my house the engine went out. I canceled the check and I got in trouble for it. I went to court for it and i got back everything except for the amount it was worth with a blown engine. I had 2,000 in lawyers fees so I lost out. But i bought another engine with the extra money and fixed it. My total cost for getting the car running including all the fees i had was 10,000. Its pretty hard to get out of stuff like this

It did take close to 2 years to finish everything in courts though.