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What can I do if I purchased a car off craigslist from a seller who told me it had a clean title, but it got revoked?
Anonymous4 views2 answers
Back on March 7, 2015, I bought a used car off craigslist for $5,500 being told it has a clean title. I recently went to the DMV to transfer to title to my name, but they took my title away to send off to Austin for investigation. Turns out my title gets revoked because it was exported back in 2010, now I don't have a vehicle. I found my old phone with the number and conversation I had with those individuals. I see they still have vehicles for sale in craigslist, what legal actions can I do to get my hard earned money back. I feel these people are ripping off people and that is not right. Yesterday I tried calling the P.D, constable and other places for advice, but I didn't get any answers. Can you please help? Thank you!
Not that it really, really matters, but your complaint is at least nominally strengthened if the party you bought from regularly sells cars, for such might qualify you for "buyer in ordinary course of business" status. (That's an involved subject.)
While some might say that buying off Craigslist is the pinnacle of "Buyer Beware" venues (meaning you shouldn't complain if anything goes wrong via Craigslist-based sales), this particular situation is going to be different. Unless the universe is suddenly going to condone sale of stolen goods, the law is going to require that "any" seller of a particular good actually be authorized to sell it, meaning that the seller must actually have legal title to convey to a buyer.
Where the seller does not have the right to sell the item (because in your instance he/she/it seemingly doesn't own it), you could rightfully sue for breach of contract, fraud / fraudulent inducement, and potentially violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Like the "buyer in due course" element referenced at the beginning of this post, a DTPA claim is a bit involved, so I would suggest you consult an attorney with that regard - and that IS an action worth pursuing.
You obviously have a strong case. Let me know if I can help in any way. Good luck!
You can sue the seller for 1) breach of the implied warranty of tile and 2) violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. If you are successful, you can recover your purchase price, three times actual damages, and attorney's fees. If the seller is located in Texas you probably could interest a lawyer in taking your case on a contingency fee, or a retainer/contingency hybrid contract.
Below is a link to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
