Hi,
I urgently need an advice. I helped my BF to buy a car around 6 months ago. He had a low credit score and I had a very good credit score, so I was able to finance the car in my name. Legally, the car is mine obviously, but he's been paying for it ever since. I've never payed for it myself, since the car is his. It's a 2006 Nissan Xterra with only 2,500 miles on it. We owe $21,400 on the car as of today, but my boyfriend & I broke up, and I'm afraid that i may get screwed over by him in terms of him not paying the car payments. I'm a student at university without any income, so I can not make payments on the car as you can see. I've been trying to sell it the last few months, but it's not selling. The whole thing was a mistake.
Help me please. Im in a desparate situation right now and I don't know how to get out of this. Can I just take the car back to the dealership saying that I can no longer pay for it? I'm willing to accept the fact that my credit score will be affect
2007-06-22 21:28:06 · 5 answers · asked by Fem 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
Sorry but the best that you can hope for is that your ex pays the monthly payments on time. It's your credit that will get trashed otherwise since you signed the loan and in that document you not your ex agreed to make the payments. If you take it back to the dealer, they do not have to buy it back. They probably will but if they sense that you are in a bind they'll offer you peanuts for the car. A lot less than you owe the finance company I'd bet. The result will be that you have no car and still must pay the balance of the loan. A property repossession does not just ding your credit score, it will devastate it. I've seen people get credit after bankruptcy when someone with a repo on his record got turned down.
You're stuck at hoping that your ex does the moral and ethical thing. There is a lesson here though: never, ever go into debt for anybody else. Not even family. If they don't have good credit, it's because they've not paid what THEY owe in the past. So what would make you think that they'll pay what YOU owe.
Don't know if you're old enough to remember the old Shakey's Pizza Parlors or not but they used to have a sign by the cash register that said, "Shakey's has an agreement with the bank. We don't extend credit or take checks and the bank doesn't make pizza." Good luck.
2007-06-22 22:51:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You've answered your own question. Legally the car is YOURS! Take it back! Whatever he's paid on the note so far is just rent for it's use. Your ex has no legal claim to the vehicle and can't stop you from taking it back.
Do NOT let him keep the vehicle unless he's getting his own financing and buys it from you. If you let him keep driving it, YOU will have to keep it insured and YOU will be held accountable for any damages that he causes. Even if he's otherwise a "stand up" guy and makes all of the payments on time, your risk exposure is simply too great to do this. (And if he's a dirtbag, you'll be screwed again in short order.)
If you can't afford to make the payments yourself and can't find a buyer you may have to let it go to reposession. Don't take it back to the dealer, they're out of the loop on it. The finance company is the one you need to be dealing with. Contact them and explain your situation. They probably can't do anyting about your situation to lessen the burden but they can tell you where to take the car and surrender it for a "voluntary reposession". It's still a repo, but may not cost you quite as much though it will still show up on your credit record as such for 7 years.
The best possible outcome would be for your now ex to buy the vehicle from you and get their own financing. If he can't or won't do that, take it back from him and read the previous paragraph.
2007-06-23 05:15:54 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First don't return the car. That will mess your credit scrore up more than it is worth. Secondly, bostonianinmo is right, legally it is your car as well. Thirdly your in California a palimony state. Get the ex to waive the car for you to take on the debt and then get yourself on AutoTrader.com or Ebay motors and sell this puppy fast. I would be willing to bet that you could sell it online on either site very quickly for close to what is owed on the car and then work out a very small payment plan with the bank to close out the rest. They would much rather get 90-98% of the loan and then you pay them back in a small amount than having to sell it themselves. Lastly, lessoned learned no ring on the finger and no mixing credit as that is a killer...even when hitched.
2007-06-26 16:33:08 · answer #3 · answered by avgordguy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. No law in any state allows you to return a car to the dealer. CA is the only state that offers the return option. If there was any chance you were going to return it, you should have paid for the option.
2016-05-18 01:20:47 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's your bank, not the dealer, who has an interest in whether or not you repay your loan. If you return the car to the bank, your credit is destroyed, they sell the car at wholesale auction, you are billed for the loan balance after credit for the sale, and you have no car.
2007-06-23 01:25:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He screwed you in more ways than one.
The best you could hope for is that he continues paying. If he doesn't, it'll be repossessed, sold at auction for pennies on the dollar and the bank will come after you for the difference (if it sells at auction for $10k, they will come after you for $11,400 + repossession fees such as towing, storage, etc.).
If this happens, you could try suing him in court but no guarantee you'd win or even if you win he may not pay it.
Next time don't let a guy's penis rule your world. Learn to say NO.
2007-06-23 03:21:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋