Does a 17 Year Old Have Any Property Rights

[mpe1217]

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: texas.

so for my job at a construction site i purchased and installed a winch because cars kept getting stuck. yesterday my parents sold my car with the almost brand nnew winch on it. so am i not intitled to remimbursement or my property at the very least???

also i have a .....collection i guess of autoparts that i use on the families vehicles. i pay for these parts. my parents took one of them. a radiator and put it into the car in question. i didnt consent, shouldnt i be reimbursed for the price of the parts and winch?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Your complaints are inconsistent. If it's your car, and your parents used your part to fix your car, you should be thanking them for fixing your car. If it's not your car and you're adding a winch to your parents' car without their knowledge or consent, you should not be surprised if they sell their car without taking notice or account of the winch.

[mpe1217]

no they knew about the winch. i told them they said it was ok. and its not legally my car its under there name. i was using it. i had been fixing the car when i was using it, that was kind of the verbal agreement. they would let me use it if i fixed it when it broke. but after that agreement ended when they told me i could no longer use it....... then the radiator cracked, and they took one of mine that i had that would work with that car.

[Mr. Knowitall]

There's clearly a lot of stuff going on between you and your parents, complicating things.

You knew it wasn't your car, you knew you were forbidden from driving it due to... whatever it is that triggered that discipline, you knew it was being sold.... You had plenty of opportunity to discuss the winch with your parents and, it would seem, to remove it. When you turn 18, if you're still angry about it, you can sue mom and dad in small claims court and let a judge decide things - but you may want to pack up and move before that happens, lest you find the locks changed when you get home. Before then you'll need an adult to help you file a lawsuit as you're still a minor, and, yes, your parents can discipline you for suing them.

[mpe1217]

no i did not have plenty of time to remove it. they wouldnt let me touch the car, they parked it away from the house and sold it the day after they told me they were going to.and i was never forbidden from driving it. an altercation occured one night and they decided to sell it because of that. the next day they took it to a dealership had it quoted, the day after that they claim to have sold it. and as mentioned before no oppurtunity was given for me to remove it and they will not discuss, they claim since it was on/in the car it is now theirs. but i guess you did answer my question so thank you, but isnt there a mininum amount for small claims court? and they can't change the locks legally since im still 17 dont they have to provide shelter,food, and clothes as per the state laws? thats what the police say.....

[jk]

no i did not have plenty of time to remove it. they wouldnt let me touch the car, they parked it away from the house and sold it the day after they told me they were going to.

so, you did put a winch on their car, right?

I guess you shouldn't have done that. You never know when they might sell their car.

Of course the fact you damaged their vehicle by putting a winch on it means nothing to you, right? It's ok for you to damage their property but you have a problem with them selling their car, which just happened to have your winch on it.

They needed to leave the winch on it to cover up the holes you put in it when you mounted the winch. Sounds fair to me.

[mpe1217]

o man. ok the winch did not require holes i used preexsisting holes that are from the factory. how come this is relevant? the winch does no damage to their vehicle it just screw in. if i was given the oppurtunity to remove it no one would know it was on there........
and as for the argument that i never know when there going to sell their car....thats like when you were kid if your arent one now did you clean out your car every night of all your belongings just in case your parents decided the next day to sell your car???

[cbg]

But it wasn't your car. It was their car.

[cyjeff]

This is like replacing the pipes in a rented apartment. When you attached items to that car, those items became part of that car.

[jk]

...thats like when you were kid if your arent one now did you clean out your car every night of all your belongings just in case your parents decided the next day to sell your car???

yep, exactly the same. Your lack of removing the winch does not mean they are liable to you for the costs of the winch. It was your fault for putting it on there and your fault for not removing it. They owe you nothing.