A return to free advice!

Q:
My friend borrowed my truck, and while off roading really beat the hell out of it. Being irresponsible, broke, and on-the-outs anyway, he doesn't care and refuses to pay. Now I am stuck with a $4500 repair bill. What do I do, how do I make him pay?

A:
$4500 is serious. You will have to sue him, the devious part is you threaten to sue, reminding him that if gets a judgment against him, you can ask for more money including your legal fees, and if he can't or won't pay you can get liens against whatever he has of value to secure the debt. So, now he is looking at $6,000+ easy, plus the hit against his credit, better since it was a motor vehicle you can call his insurance company and file a claim so they will find out too. Hopefully then he will see the wisdom of settling out of court. However, this is not a bluff, the minimum is getting one of the sue someone kits from an office supply store, I doubt that will be enough since I have a feeling he isn't a "do the right thing" kind of guy, but once he is served or at least is told there is potential for a court date he will sweat. Remember don’t take a partial payment (unless that is all the money you want), the reason he is giving in is fear of the legal consequences, his fear will diminish over time, and the rest of the money will be harder to get. You are playing hard ball, so do it right and you get your money and to watch him twist in the wind. Good times!