2006-12-01 17:51:01 · 13 answers · asked by faithful 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
I am not in collections, but was in the auto business for 9-10 years. To my knowledge you will not be sent to jail for not paying off a car you co-signed on. The bank will however go after you and the primary on the loan for restitution. It could go to court, and there may be a judgement against the the primary and yourself. I would guess the judge has the power to decide who pays what. He'll probably see who has a better potential for paying any settlement he makes.
What you may be getting is a very aggressive collection account agent. I do believe that they will make the situation appear much worse than it is, and try to make it seem that they have more power than they actually do. How much was the outstanding balance for? When the car was repossessed, how much of the outstanding balance was not paid for by the proceeds they got from auctioning off the car? Depending on the final outstanding balance, you may want to either pay it off if you can and then sue the primary. If the difference is $1,500 or less and you don't have the money and are not concerned with your credit score or securing future credit for some time, let it go. Most collectin companies and banks will not put the effort in for such a little amount.
2006-12-02 02:08:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, you can NOT go to jail for failure to pay a debt. Anyone who says you can is CLUELESS! There are NO debtor's prisons in the US, and never have been!
There is an extremely remote chance that if you obviously have the means to pay a debt and are ordered by the court to do so and fail to follow the order of the court without good reason -- you'll be ordered back to court to "show cause" -- you could be jailed for contempt of court. That's an extremely unusual situation and is normally invoked ONLY for child support not on a car loan.
2006-12-02 10:04:21 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you will go to jail, but they will do everything they can to get their money from you or your cosignee. If you are in jail they can't get their money from you. If you give a darn about your credit score you will pay them. They will garnish your wages, tax returns,, etc till they get their money. Unless the car isn't worth the legal fees. I am pretty sure you will just be financially messed up until you pay or assume a new identity.
2006-12-02 02:00:42 · answer #3 · answered by BrianC 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well who did you cosign for? Cosiging would mean theres someone your cosiging for...so that person would be the one responsible for paying , but your credit can get messed up and if that person doesnt pay then you most likely will have to since you signed also.
2006-12-02 02:40:33 · answer #4 · answered by surfer2thextreme 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if you can go to jail, but you could become responsible for the debt if the person you signed for defaults on the loan.
2006-12-02 01:59:56 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
nobody is sitting in jail because they owe a bill..
writing bad checks, or getting credit cards fraudgently will get you behind bars..
but cosigning for someone who failed to pay.. and you are failing to pay.. only ruins your credit. and may get pay check garnished.
2006-12-02 01:53:03 · answer #6 · answered by emanon 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you wont go to jail however your credit will be damaged, the person who signed for the car is the one whos resposible. And belive me good credit is a good thing
2006-12-02 02:02:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not. A lot of other stuff would happen to you before you would go to jail. Going to jail would probably be the last resort.
2006-12-02 01:53:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
yes you can
My mom is going through it right now she got a van with her ex and he never payed it off so now they are comming after my mom to pay all this money and if she does not she has a huge fine and goes to jail
2006-12-02 01:52:58 · answer #9 · answered by typhaniee0027 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
im 99% sure you cant but they may come back on you to make the payment and if you dont it will hurt your credit
2006-12-02 01:55:54 · answer #10 · answered by mike o 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋