Is it illegal to sell a vehical without the title, bill of sale or registration
i bought a vehicle off of a family friend for 350.00. now i knew that the car needed alot of work in order to run and i still bought it as it was a none operational car. now after i dropped 1000.00 dollars into the vehicle to have it operational. Now when i gave my so called friend the last of the 350.00 to close the deal. about two days later i inform my friend that i need a bill of sale and the title he decides to tell me at that point that he never had neither a registration or a title and that the car was still registered to someone else. When i asked for my money back he told me no and that the car was now my problem. Was this illegal of him to do
2 attorney answers
Generally, it is legal to sell a car without a title, but there might be some bigger issues in this case. If there is not title and the car is registered to someone besides the seller it might be stolen. You should consider scheduling a consultation with an attorney so that you avoid potential criminal charges against you.
If you are confident the car is not stolen then you need to get a bill of sale that says paid in full and that there is no title. Then you can go to the DMV and get a replacement title. If your "friend" will not give you a bill of sale an attorney might be able to help you get things squared away.
This is general advise and not meant to be legal advise. This advise does not create an attorney client relationship.
It sounds like you purchased a $350 non-operational car from someone without making sure there was good title--while I feel sorry for your situation, my guess is that you're not going to find a worthwhile legal remedy. Small claims court might provide you with a remedy for the return of your purchase price, but I wouldn't count on getting back good title to the car or the money you spent on repairs. Also, I wouldn't count on being able to collect a judgment from someone who deals in fraudulent sales of busted $350-cars. And as was already stated, there's a chance that the car was stolen, so you should probably talk to your own attorney with hopes that things don't end up worse for you. Buyer beware.
Licensed in Oregon. Advice provided is general legal information relevant to the facts provided. It is not intended as legal advice applicable to your specific situation. No attorney/client relationship is created unless and until we have met and entered into a written representation agreement.
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