The OP mentioned that the seller left the country. So how can he be sued?
He can be sued by filing a suit. Summons and complaint, alternate service of said summons and complaint, court date. The person won’t show up so the OP wins by default.
Collecting anything is another matter, but if the OP can locate any assets belonging to the defendant s/he can attach them to satisfy the judgment.
Small claims is just that, small. Theres a limit on how much money you can sue for. Hope you didn’t pay a lot of money for the car.
I got conned last year selling my old car. I gave the guy (a family man) the easy pmt plan. He was working where I was and needed a car. I signed the title over to him so he could get insurance. All I got was the initial $50 down. He since sold the car and left town! lol Theres nothing I can do now really but I did learn something. I could have signed the back of the title as a lien holder and then when I heard he got fired and was leaving town the cops could have helped me get the car back. Since I did not, I had no recourse. Except for small claims where in this guys place it would be stand in line and take away from his poor wife & children. I still see the car driving around. Its a 1988 SW, a good family car BUT its not his family driving it! :mad:
Well, the OP said, “…a fellow who said he had to sell it ASAP because he was leaving the country.” This could just be a line. The dude could still be in California selling another junk car to someone else.
Doesn’t the concept of disclosure apply to cars as it would to real property? I dunno; the question isn’t retorical and I’m asking it.
This has always bugged me. What if someone wants to sue me? Do I have to read 4 newspapers per day just in case someone decideds to sue me? Or hope that someone I know will do all of (a) read that paper; (b) read that section; (c) notice my name; (d) decided to tell me; and (e) remember to tell me?