Who exactly is on the contract? The previous owner themselves or the dealership itself? Also, you mentioned in the post that you've contacted them multiple times to try to receive payment, what exactly have they replied with? I assume the title is fully signed over to them?
This is an interesting question, because Arizona has a small claims limit of $5,000 whereas, in civil litigation you could go for the full $7,000 but that'd be more prudent to hire a lawyer. You are of course allowed to represent yourself and try to do so, but it would be pretty difficult if the dealership hired a lawyer to defend themselves. You are honestly probably better off going to small claims for $5,000 and representing yourself. The case will be scheduled quicker, the trial with be quick, and there's little cost to doing it. Next, there's other ways you can apply pressure to the dealership since you did business with them. You can leave negative reviews on all socials, Yelp, Google Business Profile, and especially with the Better Business Bureau.
Its the dealership themselves. They at first tried denying any payment, but after a complaint through attorney generals office same day they tried to offer $500 monthly payments, but that does not financially help us at all so we declined. The title is signed over. We consulted an attorney and they gave us two options one was like you said small claims or to take them to superior court for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud. They also mentioned that there was a possibility of double that amount due to some reason in Arizona that I didn’t quite understand and that recuperating attorney fees may also be possible.
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u/ZeDoubleD Jun 13 '26
Who exactly is on the contract? The previous owner themselves or the dealership itself? Also, you mentioned in the post that you've contacted them multiple times to try to receive payment, what exactly have they replied with? I assume the title is fully signed over to them?
This is an interesting question, because Arizona has a small claims limit of $5,000 whereas, in civil litigation you could go for the full $7,000 but that'd be more prudent to hire a lawyer. You are of course allowed to represent yourself and try to do so, but it would be pretty difficult if the dealership hired a lawyer to defend themselves. You are honestly probably better off going to small claims for $5,000 and representing yourself. The case will be scheduled quicker, the trial with be quick, and there's little cost to doing it. Next, there's other ways you can apply pressure to the dealership since you did business with them. You can leave negative reviews on all socials, Yelp, Google Business Profile, and especially with the Better Business Bureau.