I’m looking for some unbiased opinions on a financial situation with my ex-fiancé. I’m considering small claims court over the money I contributed toward a vehicle, and I’m curious what other people would think if they were looking at this from the outside. My ex and I were engaged and planning a future together. During our relationship, he offered to financially support me 100% and regularly encouraged/asked me not to work. This wasn’t something I asked or demanded of him. It was something he offered because we were planning to get married and he wanted to be the provider. Eventually, I learned information that fundamentally changed how I viewed our relationship and my ability to trust him, and I ended the engagement. That’s where the car situation became a problem. The car I owned a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze. In August 2025, I sold it for $8,000. After paying off the remaining loan, I was left with $6,487.26 in positive equity. That money was then used toward obtaining a new 2025 Kia. The Kia was financed solely in my ex’s name, but our understanding was that the vehicle was being obtained for me and would eventually be refinanced/transferred into my name. I have this acknowledged in writing. My ex specifically said: “we used your car as a down payment” and referred to the Kia by saying: “in all intents and purposes, that is your car.” We also discussed eventually refinancing it into my name. At the time, I trusted this arrangement because we were engaged and planning to get married. After we broke up After I ended the engagement, I ultimately returned the Kia because it was legally financed in his name. That left me without my original car, without the Kia, and without the $6,487.26 in equity I had contributed from my car. I asked him to reimburse me for that $6,487.26. He refused. One of the things he has brought up is how much he financially supported me during our relationship. That’s where I disagree with him. I never asked him to support me 100%. He offered to do so and also encouraged me not to work. There was never an agreement that his financial support was a loan or that, if we broke up, what he spent supporting me would somehow be deducted from the equity I contributed from my vehicle. I’m also not asking him to reimburse me for gifts, bills, dinners, trips, or anything else he voluntarily paid for during our relationship. I’m only asking about one specific, traceable asset that belonged to me before this arrangement: the $6,487.26 in equity from my car. For complete fairness to his side, he eventually sold the Kia for approximately what was still owed on the loan. He did not sell it and pocket thousands of dollars in profit. But that’s also not really my argument. Before this arrangement, I had $6,487.26 in equity in my own vehicle. That money went toward the replacement vehicle. When our engagement ended, I returned that vehicle because it was legally his. He eventually sold it and essentially eliminated the remaining loan. I ended up with neither vehicle and none of my original equity. So, if you were deciding this dispute, would you think I’m entitled to get my $6,487.26 back? Or do you think I should absorb that loss because I agreed to put the money toward the Kia while we were engaged? And would you consider his voluntary financial support during our relationship relevant to whether he owes me the money from my car? I genuinely want to hear both sides because I’m trying to decide whether pursuing this in small claims court is reasonable.