Need Answers Fast!!!

[JLHollowX13]

i need to know what kind of authority a co signer on a vehicle has. can they take the car from the primary owner (person paying the debt and the one that bought the car)? do they have any say into what happens to the vehicle in respect to where it goes, when, anything like that?

can a co signer legally do ANYTHING, other than pay the debt if the primary fails to?

thanks for any help everyone!

[Speedklix]

thats one of those things that I once knew

I guess more important than the loan/finance agreement, what is on the title?
your name? both? a lean to the other person?

The title is the right to ownership...

[Hocrest]

I'd imagine that this is something that varies from state to state??

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by JLHollowX13

i need to know what kind of authority a co signer on a vehicle has. can they take the car from the primary owner (person paying the debt and the one that bought the car)? do they have any say into what happens to the vehicle in respect to where it goes, when, anything like that?

can a co signer legally do ANYTHING, other than pay the debt if the primary fails to?

thanks for any help everyone!

I would be willing to BET that the only thing a co-signer has going is that IF you don't make the payments, they can take the car. (since they are obligated to Guarentee 'recourse' so the lender doesn't have to hunt you down and break your knees if you default on the loan)

IF you have made the payments for 6 months to a year and have had NO late payments, you have ESTABLISHED credit and may be able to re-finance the note without a co-signer. Check with the lender.
Once the contract is paid off, the co-signer is off the hook and has NO say!

Most co-signers will 'flex their muscles' and brow beat you as long as that condition exists. It is to your advantage to get it over with as soon as possible!
They don't want you to quit your job and move in with a girlfriend in another state, as long as THEY have their neck on the chopping block!

Does this HELP????

[NapaBavarian]

Originally Posted by JLHollowX13

i need to know what kind of authority a co signer on a vehicle has. can they take the car from the primary owner (person paying the debt and the one that bought the car)? do they have any say into what happens to the vehicle in respect to where it goes, when, anything like that?

can a co signer legally do ANYTHING, other than pay the debt if the primary fails to?

thanks for any help everyone!

Depends...

What is their reason for trying to take the car?

[JLHollowX13]

subi-crosser, we went to the bank to try and get the co signer off, but they will not take them off, payments have been made for 10 months, paid up until october as of now. no late payments, always on time or way ahead of the due date.

not sure what is on the title, as this isnt my deal. its a whole big mess that im just trying to help with. i think it says the primary person, the one that actually uses the car and pays for it, then i think it says something like c/o name of co signer. im guessing that means co-owner. if so, can you get that person's name taken off the title? do they have to agree to it? i know if they are a co-owner then they have say, but as i understand it, the only thing a co signer is for is saying that the person who has no credit, watever, is good for the money.

this wouldnt be a big deal, except the co signer is trying to keep the truck. they keep telling the owner that if they dont pay it off before college they are keeping it (college starts NEXT month, a balance of about 2600 is still owed from an original balance of about 4k). the loan was started january of this year, so it hasnt been very long. it is nearly impossible to pay off the debt of 2600 in one month working a minimum wage job, especially with the cost of gas, insurance, maintanance, etc. does a co signer have legal authority to keep the truck? if they are in fact the co owner can they do this? i dont think its right if they are the co owner, since they have not paid a cent towards it. the co signer cant even afford the truck payment, and it seems to me like the co signer is trying to make the actual owner pay for the truck, but they want to keep it. im just trying to figure out the legal aspects of this because neither i, nor the owner know and they want to have full ownership over the vehicle, whether they need to get the co signer off the title or they have it now and just dont know it.

[JLHollowX13]

one more thing i should mention, i read somewhere about the title stating and/or between the names on the title, what if there is neither of these? the original title is in possession of the bank, since there is a loan of course, but we have a copy. ive only seen it once, and briefly, but im almost positive it was set up like this (fake names of course):

jane doe
c/o john doe

as far as i can remember, there is no and/or. we will get the copy today and look it over also.

[RSVX]

Basically, check with the financial institution and ask who's name is on the title. If the co-signer's name is not on the title, get a lawyer.

You know what? Just get a lawyer, most will consult you for 30 minutes for free...

[lhopp77]

Is the co-signer the parent of the owner/driver? That makes a bit of a difference also.

Lee

[JLHollowX13]

yes, the co signer is the parent of the owner/driver. she had to be the co signer and also i think the co owner because the owner wasnt 18 at the time of purchase of the vehicle. but what difference does being the parent have to do with whose vehicle it is?

the parent is constantly talking about how she wants the truck, she has a brand new avalanche of her own that is payed for because she sued someone, she has no job, hasnt had one in years, she is a disabled vet, but she is just lazy, she could get a job. but thats why i said she couldnt afford the payments on the truck, she doesnt get enough money to afford that on top of everything else. i just think she is trying to make the owner pay for it, and then she is just going to keep it after all is said and done. or at least make the owner pay for most of it then she would just pay the rest off somehow and keep it. she could sell her avalanche to pay the remaining balance.

the only reason the parent is on the title is because the owner was not 18 at the time, but since that has changed can the parent be taken off the title?

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by JLHollowX13

subi-crosser, we went to the bank to try and get the co signer off, but they will not take them off, payments have been made for 10 months, paid up until october as of now. no late payments, always on time or way ahead of the due date.

not sure what is on the title, as this isnt my deal. its a whole big mess that im just trying to help with. i think it says the primary person, the one that actually uses the car and pays for it, then i think it says something like c/o name of co signer. im guessing that means co-owner. if so, can you get that person's name taken off the title? do they have to agree to it? i know if they are a co-owner then they have say, but as i understand it, the only thing a co signer is for is saying that the person who has no credit, watever, is good for the money.

this wouldnt be a big deal, except the co signer is trying to keep the truck. they keep telling the owner that if they dont pay it off before college they are keeping it (college starts NEXT month, a balance of about 2600 is still owed from an original balance of about 4k). the loan was started january of this year, so it hasnt been very long. it is nearly impossible to pay off the debt of 2600 in one month working a minimum wage job, especially with the cost of gas, insurance, maintanance, etc. does a co signer have legal authority to keep the truck? if they are in fact the co owner can they do this? i dont think its right if they are the co owner, since they have not paid a cent towards it. the co signer cant even afford the truck payment, and it seems to me like the co signer is trying to make the actual owner pay for the truck, but they want to keep it. im just trying to figure out the legal aspects of this because neither i, nor the owner know and they want to have full ownership over the vehicle, whether they need to get the co signer off the title or they have it now and just dont know it.

The co-owner hs no rights UNLESS the payments are late! Then the co-owner has the right to ANSWER THE PHONE AND EITHER MAKE THE PAYMENT OR CUSS OUT THE GUY THAT WAS SUPPOSED to make the payment. As long as the payments are forthcomming, there is no problem that the courts are concerned with.
Are there circumstances that you are not adding to the mix???

[JLHollowX13]

no other circumstances that i am aware of, and im pretty deep into the situation. the mother does want out of the whole thing because she doesnt think her daughter will keep paying on the loan when she moves off for college next month. but the daughter is 4 months ahead right now, and still paying on it. what the mother doesnt realize is that what she is doing is making her daughter not want to pay for a vehicle she cant even have. the mother is threatening to keep the truck unless it is paid for before college because she is afraid it wont get paid, but there have been no late payments or missed payments, so she has no reason to be afraid that it wont be paid. she is making a horrible situation out of something that shouldnt even matter. i think she knows she cant afford the payments also, and she is threatening to take the truck back to the bank (its sitting at the mothers house now). but this is an empty threat, for one, the bank will not take it back because of the payments being made and they dont want the truck, and another, it will ruin both thier credits if she defaults because her mom makes her. also, her mom doesnt have any authority to do that, whether she is a co owner or not, she cannot do anything unless she has the consent of her daughter.

i think she thought her daughter would have it paid off before college started, which is what the daughter wanted to do. but working at a minimum wage job, that is nearly impossible with the included cost of gas, insurance (full coverage of course) and the cost of normal maintanance like oil changes, new parts if need be, etc. during school, from january to may, the max amount of hours able to work would just be weekends, so 8 days out of the month. that would cover insurance and gas and the monthly payment on minimum wage and not a whole lot more, so that is only 4 to 5 payments, then when summer got here more hours where available to work. if she is lucky enough to even get all 40 hours per week at $7 an hour (thats being generous since taxes are taken out) she will be making around $1k a month, with about 3 months to work (less because she took a vacation to see her dad in another state for a couple weeks) then that comes to $3k that she could make in 3 months (again being generous). with the cost of insurance, about $170 a month, that knocks off some cash, then figure in the gas, and general maintanance of the car, that $3k could be down to $2500 or less. with a loan (including interest) in the $4k range, there would be no way to pay it off that quickly, unless she had the months between january and may to work full time. you also have to factor in the fact that she is paying out things for college already, like a housing deposit, books, etc. then you also have to know that her mom makes her buy groceries more than the mom does, and does NOT pay her back. that stuff adds up FAST.

you can do the math and see. but this is the story and all this lead up to her mom trying to take possession of the vehicle. also her mom is threatening to take her off of her insurance which, according to her insurance agent, would make her premium go up to $270 a month. its funny though because the agent left her a message saying "you better smile when you write your mom that check every month", but it doesnt have to do with her not wanting to pay, her mom twists the story and makes it seem like she is removing her daughter because she wont pay her insurance. the mom is trying to do everything she can to make her pay it off before college, which is nearly impossible, yet she makes her spend more money! i dont think the mom has any idea. luckily the daughter found 2 insurance companies that will insure full coverage for around her payment now, and one is cheaper. one is 170 something a month, the other is 120 something a month, both by herself.

does anyone else think this whole thing is a little screwed up?

[lhopp77]

You did not answer the question about where she lives. From what you are saying, it sounds like she is living at home--does she pay any home expenses? Parents insurance with underage children on them is significantly higher that without. IF the mom is the "co-owner" I can understand some of the concern. An teenager driving a co-owned car/truck is a serious liability. IF the daughter was to drive drunk in a co-owned car/truck--the mom is more likely to be sued than the daughter--probably has more assets. It sounds like to me that the mom wants the vehicle paid for so she can get her name off it and off her insurance--thereby greatly reducing HER personal liability.

I bought all my children's first cars (nice, but used ones), but they had to buy insurance in their names. The cars were titled in the children's names.

Sometimes young people don't realize the burden of liability that they can put on parents.

At first I was sympathetic with your friend, but now maybe I understand more of the problem.

Lee