Hey everyone, so I recently bought a car off Facebook Marketplace and got it towed because the seller gave me plates with over $350 in unpaid tickets. The tickets weren’t mine, but now I’m stuck with the car. Is there any way to get it back or not be held responsible for those fines? Any advice would be super helpful.
Ugh, that’s a tough situation. I think you might need to contact the seller first, but if they’re unresponsive, you could probably take it to small claims court.
Ainsley said:
Ugh, that’s a tough situation. I think you might need to contact the seller first, but if they’re unresponsive, you could probably take it to small claims court.
Yeah, I had a similar issue before. I ended up paying the fines myself to get the car back and then sued the seller to get reimbursed.
@Harlem
Wait, so you paid the fines upfront and then took them to court to get the money back? Did that work out?
@Harlem
Yep, it worked! Took a bit of time, but I got the money back in the end. Definitely worth it to save the car.
In NJ, the seller is responsible for tickets before the sale. You might have a case to get the car back or at least make them pay the fines.
Zya said:
In NJ, the seller is responsible for tickets before the sale. You might have a case to get the car back or at least make them pay the fines.
I tried reaching out to the seller, but they’re not responding. Any idea what I should do next?
Zya said:
In NJ, the seller is responsible for tickets before the sale. You might have a case to get the car back or at least make them pay the fines.
You can try filing a claim in small claims court. You might be able to get the car back that way.
Sounds like you’re in a pretty sticky situation. I’d recommend paying off the fines so you can keep the car and then sue the seller to get your money back.
Tatum said:
Sounds like you’re in a pretty sticky situation. I’d recommend paying off the fines so you can keep the car and then sue the seller to get your money back.
That’s what I’m thinking too… But will the car get auctioned off before I can get this sorted?
Tatum said:
Sounds like you’re in a pretty sticky situation. I’d recommend paying off the fines so you can keep the car and then sue the seller to get your money back.
Not for a private sale. But you should definitely move quickly before anything happens to the car.
If you’re in New Jersey, it’s a big deal since the seller can’t transfer plates to you. You might have a good chance of getting the car back.
Nori said:
If you’re in New Jersey, it’s a big deal since the seller can’t transfer plates to you. You might have a good chance of getting the car back.
So the seller should pay the tickets? I don’t want to be stuck with them.
Nori said:
If you’re in New Jersey, it’s a big deal since the seller can’t transfer plates to you. You might have a good chance of getting the car back.
Yep, that’s right. They should be held accountable for those tickets since they were issued before you owned the car.
You could send a demand letter to the seller, but if that doesn’t work, small claims court might be your best bet.
Hadi said:
You could send a demand letter to the seller, but if that doesn’t work, small claims court might be your best bet.
I tried contacting them, but no response… guess I’ll have to go the legal route.
Hadi said:
You could send a demand letter to the seller, but if that doesn’t work, small claims court might be your best bet.
Yeah, unfortunately. Hopefully, court will work out for you!