(louisiana) Friend Rented Car For 10 Months, Didn’t Change Oil And Destroyed Engine, Refusing To Take Responsibility

Location: Louisiana

In October/November of 2025, me and my friend made an agreement that I would rent my car (2015 Ford Fiesta) to him and he would make payments of it until it was paid off, and I would sign the title to him. There was no formal contract, but everything is through text, including him admitting he was taking possession of the car, and paying the monthly payment. The car had its oil changed maybe 2 weeks before he got it. He had it for almost a year and didn’t change the oil once. When he got it, it had almost 105,000 miles, it now has just over 116,000 miles. Almost a month ago he said that it broke down and while he was sitting there he said it was making weird noises from the motor, like tapping and grinding. Fast forward a few weeks, I get the car back at my house and a family friend who is also a certified mechanic is checking it out and listened to the noises it made and says it definitely seems like the lack of an oil change caused this problem. We don’t know if it jumped timing or blew a rod in the motor yet, but when we told my friend about it, he basically said “it’s not my problem” although I have texts from him saying that he has possession of the car and also texts saying that he did not change the oil, but said that he would multiple times. I have screenshots of messages and Zelle payments, and also receipts from the bank when we added his bank account so I didn’t have to be the middle man on payments. What are my next steps?