🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Jul5.230242.11340@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU>, ash@sumex-aim.stanford.edu (David Ash) writes...
>A friend of mine bought a car privately about six months ago.  Unfortunately
>the car was financed, and so the previous owner needed to pay off the finance
>company out of the purchase price that my friend paid.  Even more 
>unfortunately, it appears the previous owner simply pocketed the entire
>purchase amount and never paid off the finance company.  The previous owner
>has provided numerous excuses for his failure to do so, of which my friend
>believes some and I believe none.
> 
>The bottom line, though, is that six months after paying for this car, my
>friend still has not received the title to the car.  In other words, the car
>still legally belongs to the previous owner, and probably by this point the
>loan is in a serious state (i.e. the finance company probably wants to repo
>the car, but I'm speculating at this point).  My friend also suspects the
>previous owner withheld a key from him, and so he has bought a club for the
>car for the sole purpose of preventing the previous owner from stealing it
>back.
> 
>Now two questions arise:
> 
>1.  What should my friend have done to prevent this sorry situation from
>    developing in the first place?
Holy shit.  You mean your friend paid for the car without getting the
title?  The answer to 1. is he should have gotten a title in exchange
for the money he paid.  This typically takes place all at once.
In other words, you never pay for a car without immediately getting the
title.

>2.  Am I right in feeling that potentially he could be in a lot of trouble?
>    And if so, what action(s) should he take given the current situation to
>    protect his interests?
> 
See a lawyer.  Your friend is in deep yogurt unless the other party
decides to cooperate.  Very unlikely, based upon what you've presented here.

	Randy Marks
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