Take my car back or wait

I work at an auto parts distributing store and through one of our best commercial accounts i meet a guy that wanted to work on my 95 eagle talon. He is well experienced and knew what he was doing and was a good friend of my store manager, but i gave him the car and paid him almost 1000 dollars and he was going to fix it. I had nothing in writing when almost a year passed by and he was still getting around to working on the car. So, this tax season roles around and i told him i was being audited and got him to sign a paper saying that i gave him the money and what was being done so i have written proof and now i really need to know what to do, do i press charges now or can take the police with the title and get my car so i can fix it myself and drive it or does that hurt my chances in court.

Just tell him, hey man either fix the car or give me my money back, and give him a deadline, and that would have been something I would have had him add to the paper you had him sign. BTW what all was he supposed to do for a thousand dollars. That much money I wouldn't even give to a relative to start with without some kind of papers signed.