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Question re: rights as a co-signer
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Posted by kg44 (My Page) on Fri, Jan 5, 07 at 15:19
| My husband co-signed on a car loan for my stepson at the same credit union where we have our vehicles financed. We have also been carrying insurance on stepson's vehicle to the tune of $200/month (he's 19).
We have had a falling out with him and he has moved out of state with his mom. Of course, he's taken the car and we haven't been able to talk to him regarding his intentions about the car. We have decided to drop the insurance on his car, because we feel we are just throwing our money away. The credit union will take out a policy to protect their interests and, if he damages anyone else's vehicle, it will be on him, not us.
We realize if he doesn't pay the car loan we will be responsible, but we are willing to take that chance. Can a co-signer request that a vehicle be repossessed BEFORE the payments are past due? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| You need to talk with an attorney. You have no say in seeking a repossession, and, as co-signer on the loan you are an owner and could be sued if he has an accident. It's a tough spot to be in and you should know what your options are before you take any action on the insurance. |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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in addition to asking your attormey your exact rights
also talk to the credit union, will they tack the insurance onto the loan?
you also want to make sure that there isn't anything in the loan agreement where they can take the payment out of your account should he be late
you can have them alert you if the payment is late? believe me you don't want your credit to reflect the past due.
Also if you were to do a voluntary repossession you both can be held responsible for the balance due when the car is sold at auction. Your credit report will also show that there was a voluntary repossession.
Maybe his mom would be willing to co-sign a new loan to take the car over from your names |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| Mom needs to take care of this pronto. |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| Kg--Since I am an attorney I can tell you some bad news; a co-signer is fully responsible for any damage the car does whether you are driving or not. Please don't drop the insurance whatever you do. Since he's 19 he is in a high risk group of drivers and more likely to have an auto accident than you or I. You are also responsible for the car loan. If the car is repossessed it will be a negative on your credit. Other than that info: myfask & kudzu are right. |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| Did he have permission from the Credit Union to take the car out of state? Check with the CU if they have restrictions and/were notified of the new address. As to insurance, could you change companies to a lower rate and does the state he moved to recoginize the company he has. Other than that, just check to see if the payment has been made month by month |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| Do you mean to tell me that we would be responsible for an accident HE has even if we're not driving?!?!?!?!?!? That makes no sense at all to me. If that is the case, we may continue to carry liability on the vehicle. I have talked with the credit union about dropping the insurance. Yes, insurance will be tacked onto the loan, I already knew that. I have made it clear to them that we will want the car reposessed if it isn't paid for, and they don't seem to have a problem with that. We will pay if it we have to, but not voluntarily. As far as our credit, there's not really a lot of damage that is left to be done. |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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kg44-
Yes...in our litigious society you can be held financially responsible for any damage or injury/death he causes because of your co-signing. It may not make sense or seem right, but I can assure you that you are in that situation. At the time, I'm sure you thought you were simply providing favor, but you actually agreed to a lot more than you realized or than anyone explained to you. You enabled him to obtain this car by being a co-signer, hence you made it possible for him to do whatever he happens to do with the vehicle. You may also have more assets to come after if he has an accident or kills someone, and you can be sure that an opposing attorney will seek out anyone who has been legally involved with the purchase of the vehicle. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But I am trying to make sure you don't do anything that will further compromise your situation. |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| For the collision/comprehensive coverage, I would bet that the premium that the bank will add to the loan if they have to buy the coverage will be considerably higher than what you're paying now. Since you're a cosigner for the loan, you're potentially just increasing the cost to yourself. I'd leave the insurance as is until you've talked to a lawyer to try to sort out the best approach to get yourself out of this loan. |
RE: Question re: rights as a co-signer
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| Please check with an attorney in your state but if you co-signed the loan--aren't you a co-owner of the car? If you are, you have equal rights to ownership. If he doesn't keep up the payments --make arrangements with him to take it back, then you could sell it. |
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