Seller signed title in buyer spot, but...

[mkstein]

Jurisdiction

Minnesota

My son LOVES to trade cars. He's 21 and has had more cars is his short little span of driving than I've had in my entire life. What havoc does this create with my insurance agent? I won't even go there, but just last night he made his latest acquisition. He is a mechanic, so he usually does his homework when making his trades. I got a call this morning that the person who traded him his newest car not only signed the title over in the buyer's spot, but completely misrepresented the car, saying certain things were new/replaced, when they were not.
My son was pulled over by a cop last night who asked him if he had signed anything and my son had not, to which the cop replied, "Good, don't."
Today my son reached the seller and informed him of the mistake on the title and said he wanted to trade back, and the seller replied, "Nope."
I understand the whole "buyer beware," and that my son should have made sure he knew what he was buying, but does he have any recourse since the title got screwed up?
Thank you in advance.

 

[army judge]

My son LOVES to trade cars. He's 21 and has had more cars is his short little span of driving than I've had in my entire life. What havoc does this create with my insurance agent? I won't even go there, but just last night he made his latest acquisition. He is a mechanic, so he usually does his homework when making his trades. I got a call this morning that the person who traded him his newest car not only signed the title over in the buyer's spot, but completely misrepresented the car, saying certain things were new/replaced, when they were not.
My son was pulled over by a cop last night who asked him if he had signed anything and my son had not, to which the cop replied, "Good, don't."
Today my son reached the seller and informed him of the mistake on the title and said he wanted to trade back, and the seller replied, "Nope."
I understand the whole "buyer beware," and that my son should have made sure he knew what he was buying, but does he have any recourse since the title got screwed up?
Thank you in advance.

You don't have to allow a 21 year old adult to be insured under YOUR insurance policy.

If you instruct your insurance company to remove the 21 year old adult today, whatever he does won't affect you.

 

[mightymoose]

The car he traded is gone. He won't likely get it back.
The car he received is his. He will have to jump through some hoops to get the title straightened out.
The misrepresentations are things he should have discovered before agreeing to the trade. The deal is done.
The seller having signed in the wrong place is probably an insignificant detail. He will need to talk with the DMV to find out what might need to be done.
Trading back simply isn't an option if the other party is not willing. He should abandon that idea and move on.

 

[adjusterjack]

I understand the whole "buyer beware," and that my son should have made sure he knew what he was buying, but does he have any recourse since the title got screwed up?

No.

The title screw up has nothing to do with him acquiring the car AS IS under the principle of "Buyer beware or suffer a lesson from the school of hard knocks."

He should take the title to the DMV and go through whatever process they put him through to get the title in his name.

 

[mkstein]

The car he traded is gone. He won't likely get it back.
The car he received is his. He will have to jump through some hoops to get the title straightened out.
The misrepresentations are things he should have discovered before agreeing to the trade. The deal is done.
The seller having signed in the wrong place is probably an insignificant detail. He will need to talk with the DMV to find out what might need to be done.
Trading back simply isn't an option if the other party is not willing. He should abandon that idea and move on.

Thank you for the speedy reply.

 

[mkstein]

No.

The title screw up has nothing to do with him acquiring the car AS IS under the principle of "Buyer beware or suffer a lesson from the school of hard knocks."

He should take the title to the DMV and go through whatever process they put him through to get the title in his name.

Thanks.

 

[txls]

In Texas if someone signs in the wrong spot, we are allowed to draw an arrow to the right spot. It's no big deal. Your state may be different. Send him to the DMV. And it doesn't matter if he has signed anything or not. He has handed over payment(in the form of his trade).