bought a car. getting screwed. any advice?

[TheForgotten]

about 3 months back i bought a car for a bargain price (it wasn't running). because i knew the seller, they weren't in a hurry to get rid of it after i handed over cash, so they organized the repairs and i paid for them, while i saved more money to go pick it up.
now i'm ready to go get it, they've decided to give me my money back and sell the now running car to someone else for closer to its worth.

and here's the kicker. the seller is my ex, the mother of my kids. and i have a strong feeling that if i take her to court for the car, she'll turn it into a custody battle (kids are 2 and nearly 5).
i don't wanna lose my kids (obviously) and i really don't wanna fight with her anymore. she's also told me if i take her to court for the car, she'll have me charged with theft of an engine she gave me 1 1/2 years before she left me.

should i just accept the meagre refund ($1350 all up) or should i fight for what is mine and risk losing my kids??

[Reaper]

Take the money and go find something else. It isn't worth the hassle.

Reaper

[Nanos]

if you got all your money back including what was spent on parts then i would walk away.

you cant go to court and risk loosing your kids. no car is worth loosign kids for.

[STEALTHY™]

As above, take the money. Not worth the head****!

[Tom_1569]

We need more specs on the kids and the car before we can make an acurate decision.

In seriousness, money comes and money goes, dont worry about it. You may lose some money or an oppurtunity to buy something at a bargain, its all well and good but its certainly not worth losing anyone over.
Dont take this the wrong way but, Im actually quite suprised someone has to weigh up the two, and then be unsure and have to ask a forum, its your kids for christsake, do you not love them?

[davway]

even if you took it court, you wouldnt win.
you never had a written contract and you never took posession of the car.
basically you just put a deposit on a car and it was refunded - nothing you can go to court over.
an self respecting lawyer will tell you the same thing.

[TheForgotten]

asking on here was less about getting someone elses opinion and more about making sense of the jumble in my head. probably shouldn't have posted it, but seeing it in writing (even before all the replies) allowed me to regain my focus regarding the situation and the people involved

[fuzzy2308]

just let her be mate not worth the hassle if she is a **** head let her be.if she is like this your kids will probably want to move in with you later in life anyways so its not worth thge shit

[the collector]

take the cash and put a hold on your revenge for a while
cheers

[Cursed CX8]

Take the cash, but dont cut the woman loose, she is still the mother of your children and they are going to want to be a part of each others life's in some way.

Its a lesson in life, you win some you loose some. Personally you have one. You have your kids, you money and who knows, maybe you have helped out someone.

[Joe Peeps]

even if you took it court, you wouldnt win.
you never had a written contract and you never took posession of the car.
basically you just put a deposit on a car and it was refunded - nothing you can go to court over.
an self respecting lawyer will tell you the same thing.

i disagree with your thought process but agree that it is not worth pursuing legal action (you should rethink comments like "any self respecting lawyer will tell you the same thing" when you dont know what you are talking about). fyi

contracts do not have to be written & contrary to popular belief possession is not the be all and end all - if she still had the car he could definietly pursue a case for specific performance of the contract - BUT given she intends to make this ugly its not worth it and its your word against hers. however as soon as the car is sold to a bona fide purchaser you have no chance of getting the car.

she screwed you over man let it go karma will get her and people like her in the end.

peace

[Tasmaniak]

since when did that become a question? Take the car and lose the kids or vice versa? You really should be ashamed of yourself for ever posing that question.

[rowdy12]

I have had a similar situation 14 years ago I started to buy a car of the ex dragon and she went to the pokies put in $5 and won a New toyota and gave the other car to her friends so I lost but like cars and child support it does not last forever

[And_ROOS]

Sorry, you BOUGHT the car, she can't cry Indian giver, you didn't put a deposit on it you BOUGHT it, its YOUR property based on what you said, so in that case she wants to sell something of YOURS which isn't HERS.

And thats slightly illegal.

So sell her house on her and call it even

[Troy711]

Did you get a receipt or proof that you gave her money for it?

[StockoVRWagz]

My son comes first, no matter what. That's why my car has disintegrated into a piece of crap lol.

Take the cash, go buy something better and be all like "hahaha, keep ypu piece of crap" , you dont want to lose your kids, they only grow up once and you don't want to miss that.

[Tom_1569]

Could always use the money to buy the kids a motorbike, she will LOVE that lol.

[TheForgotten]

Sorry, you BOUGHT the car, she can't cry Indian giver, you didn't put a deposit on it you BOUGHT it, its YOUR property based on what you said, so in that case she wants to sell something of YOURS which isn't HERS.

And thats slightly illegal.

So sell her house on her and call it even

house is a rental.. nice idea though

since when did that become a question? Take the car and lose the kids or vice versa? You really should be ashamed of yourself for ever posing that question.

ok.... this one caused me to bite.

fisrtly, you're an idiot. do you think maybe i've kept some parts of the saga to myself?
*DETAILS DELETED*

learn EVERY detail before you tell someone to feel shame

Did you get a receipt or proof that you gave her money for it?

been fighting for that too.... which is why i think it's turned dodgy. aside from bank records showing money entering her account from a branch in brisbane, i have nothing other than word of mouth

but since posting this, i told her i was sending a truck to pick it up and she's said she needs to organize some stuff and she'll give me a date (this week sometime) to send it

[TheForgotten]

Could always use the money to buy the kids a motorbike, she will LOVE that lol.

bikes are a plan when i have my own house/better job etc. and the ex loves bikes so it's not gonna stir the pot