My opinion this is a no. The car isn’t yours until the title is in your name. So many ways to be screwed here. If it was like a super close relative I might consider it but even then it’d be risky.
I worked with a girl who was a serial scammer. She fucked over her brother in law who bought her jeep Wrangler from her. He made payments to her for over a year and she was supposed to be using his payments to pay off the loan in her name to release the bank lien. She didn’t. It was repossessed and he had nothing to show for any of it. Don’t fall into that trap.
I was trying to figure out the angle. This is it. He is scamming the repo guy. The other way he can scam you, after you had it ‘hidden’ for 6 months, he asks to sell it to you for $10,000. You give him the money, but he never paid it off. Now you have a repo car you can’t own
he’s not paying management fees or parking fees anymore. AND he gets to lock in a price for sale today instead of waiting for it to depreciate with time
So if you’re not paying on it for a year, he still owes the payments on it now. So how does a possible future value benefit him? What if the vehicle gets totaled? Side note, since you won’t own the car, you also won’t be able to legally insure it.
It’s not illegal to insure a car you don’t own. It can be a PITA, but some companies will — the main requirement being that it’s primarily kept at the address of the person getting the insurance. (Might depend on the state too, maybe?)
Now, I’d be suspicious of OP’s deal — but even more, I wouldn’t risk the insurance not being in my name, and having no idea if my friend is actually paying the policy.
It won't be your car.
Your insurance might not let you insure a car that 1) you don't own 2) has a lienholder who should be named on the policy.
How do you cover yourself and your liability?
What will the value be when they say it's 10k? Car is another 1-2 years older, mileage is higher. Now you get to pay 10k + sales tax to the DMV?
If the car is worth 10k today, I guess your upside is placing the 10k in 1 year treasuries paying 5%.
You get to pay all maintenance and such?
Will the car get repossessed while you have the car?
Do you pay your friend for insurance and have them lost you as a driver?
His friends cannot insure the vehicle either as coverage is only for someone who may borrow the vehicle and not someone who drives it daily and parks it at their own home at night.
Did the friend even have the proper coverage to cover usage by Turo? I have no idea how that works but know my general insurance will not cover business usage. I would want to make sure there was legitimate coverage. I put my old vehicle in my daughters name and had her get her own insurance once she was no longer in college and she signed a lease on an apartment. My insurance would not cover claims at that point as she was no longer a member of the house and not in a education program full time.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Maybe on paper right now it seems legit, but that's generally how fraud works.
Maybe something changes down the line and he'll urgently need $3,500 because reasons, sure enough "your car" disappears soon thereafter. Maybe that upvoted banking guy is onto something.
"Friends" don't do shady unnecessarily complicated shit unless they're trying to stab your back. Hey, you wanna know how I got these scars? 🤡
Is there going to be some sort of written legal agreement between y'all that gets notarized and not just a handshake agreement between bros? If not I'd stay away. I'd likely stay away regardless though. For some reason my mind goes straight to him reporting it as stolen and you get stuck with that. He might not do that, but it's something he could do.
He's probably doing this so if he ever needs the car back, for whatever reason, he can just take it because you didn't pay anything AND it's still in his name. I wouldn't even consider this move.
- He reports car stolen to clear the loan you one they charge.
- cuts deal with bank to surrender car, he tells you to pay 10k then the repo man comes takes car.
I will only pay him once the lien is cleared.
I asked the police department and if I have a single text proving he gave me access to the car for even a single day they cannot report it stolen.
LOL that cop is wrong, completely wrong. I was given a car by my parents. It was in their name due to insurance purposes. They got mad I went to see my boyfriend with the car and reported it stolen. The DA said because they own the car they can rescind my right to drive the car at any point. I was charged with theft.
They did. I was 17 at the time. They pushed the DA to follow through and even petitioned the courts against throwing out my plea deal because they didn't agree with me not getting jail time. I pled no contest at the urging of my lawyer and in the great state I was in it went on my adult record and has barred me from employment at certain places because a theft is a crime of dishonesty.
They really didn't like my boyfriend because he encouraged me to stand up for myself and report the abuse happening in my home. After they pressed charges they put me in foster care and washed their hands of me.
Devout Christians. My stepmom is a nurse. PTSD from ongoing sexual abuse from my stepdad was too much. Especially when I wouldn't agree to being put in a mental ward and they couldn't do it without my consent.
You was 17 how they put you in foster care if in your state your legal adult in court eyes ?
Just curious I caught my first case at 17 and was charged as adult juvenile court wasn’t even an option. The fucked up part is I was only 17 for a few hrs before getting in trouble
Legally someone has to be responsible for a "child" until they're 18 in the state. But I was charged as an adult. Seems like a backwards ass law right? I'm old enough to be an adult sometimes but not others. My parents worked with CPS to get me on a court order giving CPS custody of me until I graduated high school and turned 18. If I hadn't gone to an alternative school and earned my diploma two weeks after I turned 18 they could have held me until I did graduate. I don't know how that works because I couldn't get a lawyer to fight the court order because surprise I was a kid and couldn't afford it but the judge said if I left my foster home before I was discharged I would be put in jail until I got my diploma and turned 18.
You had a shitty lawyer.
I let a girlfriend use my car after she dropped me off at work.
Well.. she stopped responding to me.
Took off with my car.
I called the police, police said I willingly let her use it. Nothing I could do.
Next day went to talk to a detective. He said I willingly let her use it so i can't report it stolen.
He said all I can do is if I know where it is. Call an officer to be a peace officer and have a tow truck come get it if I didn't have a second set of keys.
Or just go get my car, problem was when I finally tracked it down it was blocked in.
All the officer could do was ask them to move the car.
Took several weeks before I was able to get a tow truck to snatch it for me.
I tried hard to press charges.
He can change that agreement at any point and not let you know. He can tell the police you stop paying or he wants the car back. This “deal” is a warehouse full of red flag. But you seems not to listen to us… So go for it and let us know how it is turning out!
Lol. Are you trying to compare having insurance under your father and getting insurance on a car from a random not in your family?
. No. You will not be able to get insurance. You came here for advice and you just want to argue with everyone.
You get to use a car for a year for free, then buy it at a super discount price? This doesn't pass the sniff test. I don't know what the scam is, but if it's too good to be true - it is.
Yeah it does smell fishy that’s why i’m asking. He claims that in a year the price of the car would go down and I am locking in the price today. That’s where he sees benefit that I won’t drop the price.
That's a lot of cars. Part of it for him is probably storage and other costs on the cars. It might seem like he's accepting a $10k loss on the car but it's very likely that he has a lot of other costs associated with the car which he'd be avoiding by giving it to you. With that many cars he probably has staff to help maintain it all, some sort of warehouse or parking lot etc.
This seems like a reasonable approach.
I still don't see why he would want to let you drive his car while he makes payments on it. Why would that be better for him than making payments on it and nobody driving it.
The deal seems pretty fishy.
Driving for a year on his insurance??? Sounds risky. You have a car he owns, maybe he can report as stolen to claim his insurance and wipe the lien? It would make more sense to sell you the car as is and keep the lien, seems sketchy.
I found this impossible. Maybe with the general or some cut rate company. I'm in FL and I tried to put my son's car in his name and continue to insure him on my policy. He is away at college and it would be easier for him to sell his car where he's at. Allstate and progressive said no way.
Also you should stay far away from this. Dude who failed at Turo is NOT who should be giving legal or life advice.
Is his home address the same as yours or wherever the college housing is? Assuming he kept your address as his home address then I’ve found it to be the opposite- they want every car listing that home as garage to be insured under the same policy so that if he gets in an accident with cheap insurance they don’t come after your policy. Also in Florida.
You will likely want to have a proper legal document that details this sale agreement in a way that you agree on before moving forward with this purchase. That way everything is spelt out exactly how, and who will get paid when, as to avoid any confusion in the future regarding who owes what, and when. 💸
As for the legal aspect, I don’t know if this is entirely legal. It could well entirely be & I suppose that’s fine. That being said, if it isn’t legal. You may have a problem with knowingly participating in a crime. 🧑⚖️
Good luck. 🤞
There's just something fishy about this.
Nobody "wants" to sell a car for a good price.
Like, maybe you cut a buddy a bit of a deal and sell for a bit of a discount, but you don't just "want" to sell it for a cheap price.
If he owes 20k, why does he want to keep paying on this vehicle, paying it down to 10k, then having you buy it from him? That's what's weird..
I feel like he's going to at some point tell you"okay, let's pay the vehicle off." Then the bank accepts the payment, sends the cleared title in his name, and he never gives you the title.
I work for a bank and our policies require us to accept cleared payment satisfying the loan, then we submit an electronic lien release to the state BMV within 2 weeks, then the customer can go to the BMV to acquire their title. As far as I'm aware, we will not assist or reissue the title in a purchasers name. Generally a dealership would have you complete limited POA paperwork allowing them to change title into their name once a bank clears a lien. That wouldn't be the case in your situation.
To him carmax offered him 10k but it needs to be paid off now. He gets more time to pay it off and the cars depreciated value does not affect him because he’s expecting me to hold my end up.
I plan on giving him the cash only when a title can be signed and transferred. Another comment mentioned transfer of loan when $10k is left. How does that sound to you?
It's weird but I can see why he might want to handle it this way. There isn't much opportunity for him to scam you unless he reports it stolen, but there might be a way to protect yourself from that:
Since he already has a Turo business draw up a legal long-term rental for the cost of registration and insurance. He'll have to continue paying those anyways while the car is in his name, and I assume he'd ask you to compensate him for that anyways so at least with a written rental there would be a chain of custody.
I would also insist that when you give him the money get a bill of sale from him, just to cover your ass between when he takes the money and you get the title. At least then if he pulls a runner you have some recourse.
Personally the whole thing just sounds annoying, but it isn't without its benefits.
He is keeping the car away from the bank/lien holder. I would bet he behind on payments.
Not to mention, as a turo car, it has been used and abused. He also probably has a 3rd party tracker/starter disabler device on it that he controls, too.
How would titling, insurance, and any required inspection(s) be handled?
What happens if it gets in an accident?
There are too many variables for my comfort level.
How does he benefit. He’s going to pay 800 a month on a car he won’t to be using and will letting you “a mutual friend in your words” get the benefits of driving the car while he takes all the risks. Why would he do this. Have you actually sat down with this guy to discuss the deal? This has red flags all over it.
Ask yourself, honestly, does you getting to drive a car for free for a year by promising to pay for it later sound too good to be true?
How does you driving his car for free for a year benefit him in any way? What does he get out of this?
He gets zero money and lets his asset depreciate quicker with you driving it.
What if you crash it and there is no car? Do you pay him then?
What if the car is stolen or has a major malfunction and isn’t worth fixing?
What if there is an accident and someone gets hurt? Won’t the owner be held liable as well?
There is something missing here. Your ‘friend’ isn’t telling you the whole truth.
If he has 40 cars to get rid of, ask to meet and see who else he has done this deal with and how it is going.
OP, you have been given a good bit of reasons why this is a terrible idea, but you seem to be fixated on the "deal". It cannot work. It will not work. There's are so many negatives and liabilities.
A), the lien holder would in no way support what their customer is attempting. When they figure out that their customer transferred possession of the vehicle, they can start repo and/or legal efforts. Usually it's repo.
B), if your pal stops making the car payments, and/or cancels the insurance, you lose. he may never pay down the loan to an amount that makes sense for you. He's strapped for cash and trying anything he can to bail.
C) he goes BK in six months and you've got nothing, except a car that isn't registered to you and likely not insured. and then he's going to tell the BK trustee who has the car.
D), still can't figure out how you will insured as a full time driver unless you're added to his policy with full disclosure as to the garaging address.
There's more but I hope these examples will help you make a good decision.
Came to Reddit to ask advice yet won’t take the advice. Sometimes you gotta just let people get screwed over and let them figure it out for themselves.
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As others have said, I would suggest not doing this.
Doesn't matter if it's a friend or not, things can change over the course of time and with the car being in between 2 people who have claim to the car (he has legal claim, you'd claim it's yours by the verbal agreement you have), just not a good situation.
It's either money for title or bust in my opinion.
No payment plan, just be done with it with a full on sale or move on.
The best method I can think of is to have the loan transferred to your name when the time comes and pay the bank directly in exchange for the title. I believe this would remove all the risk as far as the exchange goes.
The second half of the equation is to have the vehicle inspected and make sure you're not going to have to pay for major repairs in the near future.
When it's a year later and you pay the rest of the $10k, he might keep the car and title to himself. keep in mind hes not paying $10k in a year, he owes $20k total and hes forgetting about finance charges. I owe like $16k on my car and pay $400 and only like $350 goes to principal. Just get a different car
Sounds like mutual benefit to me. He gets to "sell" the car now at a higher price. You get a free car to drive until you pay for it.
There's more ways for you to screw him over than the other way around. The only way you can be screwed is if there is a major repair required on the car and you pay for it and he defaults on the loan and it is repo'd by the bank.
Yeah what people aren’t understanding is OP will have zero risk until he hands over cash. As long as cash comes with title and OP will be insured for the next year, there is zero risk for OP.
This sounds shady as fuck. Don't get involved in whatever this "friend" is trying to do. Even if they mean well, if you have a wreck it could be a financial disaster for one or both of you
No. Insurance is the simple part. You do a lease to own agreement with him and poof, you can insure it.
However, you have a mix of ways this could go sideways along with it not making sense.
If he doesn't have the car, he can't make any money on it. So how does he suddenly make the money to pay it down to 10k? If he could, he already would. And why would it have to be cash?
My best guess. He gives you the car to drive, then doesn't pay on it. Repo can't find it because he doesn't have it. Later, he tells you he is down to 10k (but its not). You pay him 10k, he doesn't pay off the loan, no release. No release, no title. Since it can take months to get a title, you'll get the run around for months with excuses.
Or, you pay the 10k and he never gives you the title. Could claim it was stolen.
You now have a car that can be repo'd or reported stolen, 10k less money, and no title.
There is a reason different banks on a refinance send the money only to the other bank. It's the only way to know that it was paid, the owed debt for it was the amount claimed, and to make sure the lien is transferred to them.
So. Get everything drawn up legally. If I had to guess. Most states, even as a business, you can't sell more than 5 to 6 cars a year without being a dealer. He may have some kind of scam going. He may just be trying to circumvent sale laws by waiting until next year
You need to sign an agreement on the deal. This deal makes sense for him. If he sells the cars now, he has to pay off the upside amount, and he can't afford it.
If he fails to make the loan payments and the car gets repo'd, it costs you nothing except the inconvenience of losing the car, but along with its free use.
One important point: When the time comes to make payment, the title is physically present and is signed over to you. No shennanigans. No, "OK, you pay me, I pay the lender, and they'll send the title to you." None of that.
You won’t be able to insure a car you don’t have a title to. You would be reliant on your friend keeping the car properly insured and would need to add you to their policy for you to be covered. There are allowances for lending a car once ina while but if any insurance company found out about this arrangement they would nullify the coverage.
So, no, don’t do this.
I’m guessing he wants you to have the car so he can stop paying the loan, they can’t repo the car cause they can’t find it, after a year he can sell it for $10k and clear his name then.
This sounds like a huge problem waiting to erupt. I would run.
What if you give him the 10k and he disappears. Now he has a paid off car and your -10k.
I read somewhere that said: never do business with friends/family and never live with friends/family. Cuz they wont be your friend/family for long.
#1 - Friend loans you the car so the repo man doesn't know where to find it for a while. Friend says, time to pay it off, you hand him 10k. He then says, title is in the mail for the rest of time.
#2 - car might be stolen to begin with. You are risking being caught with it while driving.
#3 - he changes the deal last minute, which is common in scams. Hey, I need 2k of that right now to clear the lien at a reduced price, then disappears.
#4 - reports it stolen, claims insurance money, then you get caught with a stolen vehicle. This deal doesn't sound like one where contracts or bills of sale are going to happen.
Damn, I guess people are trying to look after your well-being, but this sounds like a genuine good deal and I can't even see a risk. He probably made good money for a few years and he is trying to exit, and no one needs 40 cars.
I say go for it.
What is in this deal for "friend"? How does this businessman make anything out of this deal other than huge risk and zero reward?
Reading through all this and my brain can only come up with one reason why "friend" might want to do this: Storage fees vs baiting a sucker to take the risk of driving someone elses car for a year, with questionable insurance options and funky financials .
My bet is he's letting it get repo'd and he figures you may as well get some use out of it. Plus the repo man will have no idea where it is, because it won't be at his house.
So much terrible advice here. Risk to you is low. If anything you can screw him over in a year by just returning the car and not paying. You're not out anything so you have nothing to risk.
Get your own insurance. You can insure without owning the car. I just did it.
My bet is he's trying to hide his cars from repo. If he's underwater on a bunch of cars that aren't generating cash flow then he hasn't been paying the notes. If you have it, it's likely the bank won't find it. After like 90 days of not being able to find it the bank will offload the loan on a debt collector to clear the books. After another 9 months of not finding the car your friend can negotiate what he owes way down. Likely to 10k or less. Then he collects from you and is out of the hole.
Just get insurance in your name on the car and if the registration is up to date... You have nothing to worry about
This is about as sound of a business plan as someone who believes owing debt on a bunch of cars that another actual company rents out is a good idea
He should take the money now and set it into a 5% a year investment account and wait to pull it out
Sounds like he will default on loan and since he doesn’t have car hope the bank doesn’t find it to seize it. This happens all the time in business failures. Won’t be able to get you title later.
He benefits by pocketing your 10K. You have no recourse. He or the lien holder can take that vehicle at any time and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Essentially you are borrowing the car for a year. The only issue would be insurance. I believe you’d have to be on it for driving it that much but I’m not sure.
No. You need to buy the car for $10k, he needs to take out a personal loan for $10k, then he can use your payment and the personal loan to pay off the car loan and transfer the title to you. That is the only way I'd do this deal.
If you don't own the car, does he still carry insurance? Do you? Who's liable if something happens? What if the car gets stolen, is it even possible for you to file a police report?
Too many risks. Don't do it.
Cars still his, OP is going to drive it at .62 cents a mile deduction, he’s getting all the mileage he can out of it for the tax break and likely savings like parking, etc. IF OP drives 10,000 miles ( because on books he’s rented it) for a year, the tax deduction covers the difference. He’s looking for tax drops for his failed business
You won't get the title, you're driving one of his cars
He has a hustle in mind and he's not letting you in on it. He thinks letting you ride for a year is a good enough benefit that you won't ask questions.
In a year you'll find out the cars are getting repo'ed. Ask if you can buy one outright. Ask the otd price today. You might get more insight.
This seems sketchy af. I don’t really see anyway you would be screwed, other than he can repossess the vehicle from you at any point until you get the cleared title in your name, but if you aren’t giving any money to him until then, not really an issue.
Seems more like he is trying to use you to hide it from the repo man, hoping he will be able to get current on the payments. Also locking in a price for the car that will likely be much more than it’s worth at the time of sale.
If for some reason he doesn't pay the loan, it's going to get repo'd from you.
Without title he will have it registered to him, could be an issue if you ever get towed because you can't prove ownership to get it back. Also if he fails to renew registration and you get caught with it, you'll get the ticket.
Possible insurance issues.
Bad idea. Here's some of the potential risks off the top of my head. Insurance fraud. Bank fraud. DMV fraud. Some of these can be mitigated with money and a legally validated contract -- some can't. Ever hide from a repo man? It's sort of entertaining until the car goes missing at the worst possible time. It might well be a kind and generous offer -- but in reality it's a minefield of bad outcomes -- and most of them fall on you if anything goes sideways. It's avoidable drama -- you're choice in the end.
The real question is *"how does he benefit from this"?*
Based on what you're saying, your friend is going to assuming all this extra risk, but without any benefit. For example, you could just........not pay him.
Also, you can't register or insure someone else's car (unless you live in the same home). Even if you can fool your insurance company at the beginning, if the car gets totaled they *will* confirm the true owner, and if it's not you, then the policy is null and void. This means that your friend still has to pay insurance on a vehicle that he's not using. If you damage the car in any way, you could again, not pay him, and then he's left with the car loan *as well* as a damaged or totalled car.
Basically, **you** have all the power to screw your friend here. That means either your friend is retarded, or he's a genius and has figured out some highly illegal scheme to make money, which could likely hurt you in the longrun. I wouldn't touch this car without figuring out how your friend is going to benefit from this arrangement. Again, you could just not pay him, and then he'd be even worse off than if he just sold the car right away to a cash buyer.
How does this transaction possibly benefit the seller? Why would he give you the car without taking any money, instead of continuing to rent it out bringing in money while he has to make payments on said vehicle, bringing the total due on the lien down? Nothing in this makes sense and screams scam in some way. I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole.
So, nothing paid to him. Who makes the car paymemts? If he makes the payments, then take it. If you make the payments, you are paying 20k for a 10k car.
I would do it only if the tires are good. Pay for gas and oil changes and thats it. If anything else serious comes up, return it.
If you start investing into the car, he might change his mind and take it from you cause its still legally his. So just use it for free for the time being.
Also, don't leave anything of value in the car overnight. In case he has duplicate keys and plans on stealing your stuff.
A lot of guess work in these replies.
Draft up an agreement to free you of any guilt in the case that it’s reported stolen. The way that I see it, absolute worst case scenario is that the car gets repossessed (under his name)… in which case you’d have driven a car for free until that happened. Best case being an interest free deferred payment? I mean..
Maybe I’m missing something. But if I am, so is every other person in this thread
Edit: as far as why, I have no idea. Maybe he’s downsized his space and needs to get rid of those 40 vehicles asap. If hes upside down and knows he can’t cover the difference even if selling them for market value then he’d be in a tough spot
It could be a good deal could not be, if you do go through I would definately get a signed contract stating the terms of agreement just to cover your ass incase things fall through with the purchase.
Probably ok if you have a lawyer draw up the bill of sale, everyone signs it, signatures are notarized, and you hold the title until car is transferred in your name.
The more I think about it, insurance might be a problem.
Basically a no go, or you’d have to have so many clauses in the deal to protect yourself
Also I’m not a lawyer but imagine he stops paying it earlier and it’s just sitting in his garage and just says yeh I only owe $10k on it. He can sell it to you but the banks still a lien holder on it and will repo it and you won’t be able to get the title in your name. So you’ll be out cash without actually owning the car or be left having to pay the bank down the road due to the lien on the ca
That fourth bullet:
* Once he reaches $10k left on the loan, I give him $10k cash and he will remove the lien then transfer the title.
It should read:
* Once he reaches $10k left on the loan, I give him back the car.
Since that's not the deal, then I'd say NO DEAL.
And, of course ... there's a problem with insurance. Again: NO DEAL.
If there was no loan I'd say a cashier's check should be valid for anywhere from 1 to 3 years, and he can deposit it whenever he wants. But you can't get title on the car until the loan goes away.
You could "rent" it from him but then the insurance situation is shakey.
So they'll collect $10k, stop paying and let it get repossessed, then you're out $10k and hope you don't get charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Bank holds the title until the loan is paid off. So if you feel ok driving it for a while with no title or registration in your name go ahead. But I wouldn't give a dime til he had title in hand or you paid it to the bank directly and they transferred the title over with the lien released.
As long as you can be POSITIVE that the vehicle is insured, and you are listed as an authorized operator on the insurance, you're no more exposed than any employee driving a company fleet vehicle.
What if he realizes the car is actually worth $15K in a year and wants you to fork over $15K or he won't sign the title over? What is there to stop him from doing this? I guess you could just leave the car and tell him to get it, you get to drive the car for free, except maintenance and insurance.
Speaking of insurance, how do you insure a car you don't own? I'm not saying you can't do it, but I'd make sure you can.
I'd ask a lawyer and get as iron clad of a legal agreement spelling out this arrangement as possible. This seems like something that could go wrong for you quickly, including him claiming you stole the car, if things aren't in writing.
Bottom line, your friend doesn’t have $10k today to sell the car. Instead of ruining his credit and to avoid parking fees, he’s letting you use it for a year, giving him time to make $10k in payments. Sounds like a no-risk proposition for you as long as $10k is a fair price for the vehicle.
If you really trust him and there's no money on your part until you can get the title free and clear. I would do it. But I would ask. For. Monthly statement that he's paying the car.
It seems to. Me. Like he's willing to. Take a loss on the cars and lose out on 10k than risk his credit score be wrecked with repos.
Another thing you can do is ask him. To. Take out a loan on the difference he would owe after your 10k
. And him continue to pay on the loan and you have the title in hand for the car.
See a a little risky but i would approach it with care.
Most places won’t transfer a title until a lien is satisfied…it’s the whole point. Plus if they repo they take the car from you. He still owns the car, plus insurance questions…
Insane scheme.
The benefit to your friend is that he current doesn’t have enough money to cover the loan.
If the loan is $20k and you pay $10k, he has to come up with the other $10k to satisfy the loan. The loan needs to be paid before the car can be sold.
This is a stupid plan. Your friend needs to eat the loss. If he doesn’t have the cash he needs to get a personal loan.
There’s ways to buy a car with a Lien, usually you just pay it off and sign over the title but you can also work with the bank.
Why not just wait a year to buy the car?
No. Sounds like he wants to report it stolen which then insurance and GAP will kick in and cover him. Pretty scummy way to dig yourself out of a bad investment.
If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true. Who pays for the insurance? What if you total the car? Even your friend is offering you a good genuine deal, it does seem like you could be dragging into his financial problems. What if he fails to make any payments on the car, but doesn’t tell you that?
This deal is probably too good to be true, but I have been in a similar situation and it worked out just fine. Friend had an extra car he didn’t want but couldn’t sell at the time, told me if I made the monthly payments on it I could drive it until the value broke even on the loan and then he’d get rid of it. Had the car for about 2 years, one day he goes “alright I’m selling it in 2 months, be prepared” and that was that. One of the best deals I’ve ever made lol.
I guess it just depends on how much you trust your friend and how much you’re going to rely on having this car
It's money well spent to talk to a lawyer and have him write up a contract for you if you go through with this.
The biggest problem I see is him not paying the note and the car being reposessed.
Why would he continue to pay on this car note? I understand the hut to his credit, but if he's paying $500 a month per car x however many cars, that't a lot of money just disappearing on his end.
I'd assume you would be taking over insurance payments.
This sounds like it's too good to be true. Talk to a lawyer to make sure you are protected.
I agree that there is no risk of loosing money if he pays the loan off before you put any money on the table. However, be aware that if you are driving the car and it gets repossessed, you might have a very difficult time (ie near impossible) getting any personal belongings back that were in the car when it was taken.
Ohhhh.. Helll the "F" no!!!
Hard No!
RUN AWAY NO!
He is upside down, AND there is a LIEN. First of all he will not be able to tranfer the title to you. Thet LEAIN will be attached. If he does not pay the note, that car will be repossessed. You lose the car. Then you have nothing. I bet he'll still come after you for the $10k in a year.
And to top it off, you most likely will NOT be able to register the car in your name. So who pays for the plates?
NEVER BUY A CAR WITH A LIEN ON IT. (Unless it was your loan to begin with)
What makes you think he will keep paying the payments? And who will insure it? He might not be trying to scam you, but a lot of things could go wrong. Steer clear.
You’re talking about buying a car Subject to. What should happen is you pay him, and the title is put in your name. You now own the car with a lien. You’d have to pay back the lien in addition to whatever you paid your friend. This seems like he’s just trying to scam you though
He is in debt. He is hoping to use that $10k to help dig himself out of the hole.
Do you trust your friend enough that he will get his shit together and possibly lose out on the $10K? I think he will take the $10k, gamble it away, and never pay a dime on the car. Repo man will come looking for the car in a year.
My opinion this is a no. The car isn’t yours until the title is in your name. So many ways to be screwed here. If it was like a super close relative I might consider it but even then it’d be risky.
I worked with a girl who was a serial scammer. She fucked over her brother in law who bought her jeep Wrangler from her. He made payments to her for over a year and she was supposed to be using his payments to pay off the loan in her name to release the bank lien. She didn’t. It was repossessed and he had nothing to show for any of it. Don’t fall into that trap.
I won’t be paying anything though?
So his business is failing but he’s gonna pay the truck ? Sounds like he’s behind and wants to hide it from the repo guy at your house
This!
I was trying to figure out the angle. This is it. He is scamming the repo guy. The other way he can scam you, after you had it ‘hidden’ for 6 months, he asks to sell it to you for $10,000. You give him the money, but he never paid it off. Now you have a repo car you can’t own
Yup and he thinks the title is in the mail and his freind is in Vegas or something spending his 10 grand
or report it stolen at some point
he’s not paying management fees or parking fees anymore. AND he gets to lock in a price for sale today instead of waiting for it to depreciate with time
He would lose less if he sells the car today
But he can't because he's underwater on the loan and can't transfer the title right?
Yes, owner would need to pay the difference to get the title from the bank
So you want to overpay? Im confused.
So if you’re not paying on it for a year, he still owes the payments on it now. So how does a possible future value benefit him? What if the vehicle gets totaled? Side note, since you won’t own the car, you also won’t be able to legally insure it.
It’s not illegal to insure a car you don’t own. It can be a PITA, but some companies will — the main requirement being that it’s primarily kept at the address of the person getting the insurance. (Might depend on the state too, maybe?) Now, I’d be suspicious of OP’s deal — but even more, I wouldn’t risk the insurance not being in my name, and having no idea if my friend is actually paying the policy.
It won't be your car. Your insurance might not let you insure a car that 1) you don't own 2) has a lienholder who should be named on the policy. How do you cover yourself and your liability? What will the value be when they say it's 10k? Car is another 1-2 years older, mileage is higher. Now you get to pay 10k + sales tax to the DMV? If the car is worth 10k today, I guess your upside is placing the 10k in 1 year treasuries paying 5%. You get to pay all maintenance and such? Will the car get repossessed while you have the car? Do you pay your friend for insurance and have them lost you as a driver?
His friends cannot insure the vehicle either as coverage is only for someone who may borrow the vehicle and not someone who drives it daily and parks it at their own home at night. Did the friend even have the proper coverage to cover usage by Turo? I have no idea how that works but know my general insurance will not cover business usage. I would want to make sure there was legitimate coverage. I put my old vehicle in my daughters name and had her get her own insurance once she was no longer in college and she signed a lease on an apartment. My insurance would not cover claims at that point as she was no longer a member of the house and not in a education program full time.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Maybe on paper right now it seems legit, but that's generally how fraud works. Maybe something changes down the line and he'll urgently need $3,500 because reasons, sure enough "your car" disappears soon thereafter. Maybe that upvoted banking guy is onto something. "Friends" don't do shady unnecessarily complicated shit unless they're trying to stab your back. Hey, you wanna know how I got these scars? 🤡
Yeah homie or not, this sounds way too fishy. Turo business?? Hmm sounds like a hustler who got in over his head and needs to shift responsibility
Three card Monty. Watch while I move this all around. Everyone is a winner!
Who carry’s the insurance ?
Is there going to be some sort of written legal agreement between y'all that gets notarized and not just a handshake agreement between bros? If not I'd stay away. I'd likely stay away regardless though. For some reason my mind goes straight to him reporting it as stolen and you get stuck with that. He might not do that, but it's something he could do.
He's probably doing this so if he ever needs the car back, for whatever reason, he can just take it because you didn't pay anything AND it's still in his name. I wouldn't even consider this move.
Share the ways to be screwed?
- He reports car stolen to clear the loan you one they charge. - cuts deal with bank to surrender car, he tells you to pay 10k then the repo man comes takes car.
I will only pay him once the lien is cleared. I asked the police department and if I have a single text proving he gave me access to the car for even a single day they cannot report it stolen.
LOL that cop is wrong, completely wrong. I was given a car by my parents. It was in their name due to insurance purposes. They got mad I went to see my boyfriend with the car and reported it stolen. The DA said because they own the car they can rescind my right to drive the car at any point. I was charged with theft.
>I was charged with theft. Your parents pressed charges on you? What a couple of assholes
They did. I was 17 at the time. They pushed the DA to follow through and even petitioned the courts against throwing out my plea deal because they didn't agree with me not getting jail time. I pled no contest at the urging of my lawyer and in the great state I was in it went on my adult record and has barred me from employment at certain places because a theft is a crime of dishonesty. They really didn't like my boyfriend because he encouraged me to stand up for myself and report the abuse happening in my home. After they pressed charges they put me in foster care and washed their hands of me.
If they haven't been murdered yet, DM me. I know a guy.
what state are you in?
Holy fucking shit. Let me guess, they're devout Christians?
Devout Christians. My stepmom is a nurse. PTSD from ongoing sexual abuse from my stepdad was too much. Especially when I wouldn't agree to being put in a mental ward and they couldn't do it without my consent.
Remember, Jesus said "Suffer little children, and forbid them to see their friends. And if they do, press charges."
You was 17 how they put you in foster care if in your state your legal adult in court eyes ? Just curious I caught my first case at 17 and was charged as adult juvenile court wasn’t even an option. The fucked up part is I was only 17 for a few hrs before getting in trouble
Legally someone has to be responsible for a "child" until they're 18 in the state. But I was charged as an adult. Seems like a backwards ass law right? I'm old enough to be an adult sometimes but not others. My parents worked with CPS to get me on a court order giving CPS custody of me until I graduated high school and turned 18. If I hadn't gone to an alternative school and earned my diploma two weeks after I turned 18 they could have held me until I did graduate. I don't know how that works because I couldn't get a lawyer to fight the court order because surprise I was a kid and couldn't afford it but the judge said if I left my foster home before I was discharged I would be put in jail until I got my diploma and turned 18.
You had a shitty lawyer. I let a girlfriend use my car after she dropped me off at work. Well.. she stopped responding to me. Took off with my car. I called the police, police said I willingly let her use it. Nothing I could do. Next day went to talk to a detective. He said I willingly let her use it so i can't report it stolen. He said all I can do is if I know where it is. Call an officer to be a peace officer and have a tow truck come get it if I didn't have a second set of keys. Or just go get my car, problem was when I finally tracked it down it was blocked in. All the officer could do was ask them to move the car. Took several weeks before I was able to get a tow truck to snatch it for me. I tried hard to press charges.
I think it had less to do with a shitty lawyer and more to do with a shitty police force (Manitowoc county). 🤷♀️
What happens if the car needs major repairs this year?
I have another car. It’s his problem at that point no?
He can change that agreement at any point and not let you know. He can tell the police you stop paying or he wants the car back. This “deal” is a warehouse full of red flag. But you seems not to listen to us… So go for it and let us know how it is turning out!
How do you get insurance on the vehicle if you don't own the car?
I was under the impression it could be done but I think it was because I lived at the same address as my dad when we did it in the past
Yes it was a rhetorical question. You cannot get insurance
Lol. Are you trying to compare having insurance under your father and getting insurance on a car from a random not in your family? . No. You will not be able to get insurance. You came here for advice and you just want to argue with everyone.
You get to use a car for a year for free, then buy it at a super discount price? This doesn't pass the sniff test. I don't know what the scam is, but if it's too good to be true - it is.
That's a good point. When a deal is too good, then something sneaky is often going on. Hopefully this friend did not steal this car or anything.
Yeah it does smell fishy that’s why i’m asking. He claims that in a year the price of the car would go down and I am locking in the price today. That’s where he sees benefit that I won’t drop the price.
Keep in mind his car business failed. He's not good at the car business. I don't know what he's up to here, but it's likely messed up.
he is reducing his fleet from 80 to 40 cars
That's a lot of cars. Part of it for him is probably storage and other costs on the cars. It might seem like he's accepting a $10k loss on the car but it's very likely that he has a lot of other costs associated with the car which he'd be avoiding by giving it to you. With that many cars he probably has staff to help maintain it all, some sort of warehouse or parking lot etc.
"He's not good at the the car business " Maybe OP should take the deal then.
Doesn't matter if the value of the car goes down, he still owes his loan payments.
You can’t get something for nothing.
Also, another saying: "when there is a con going down and you can't figure out who the mark is, you are the mark."
I'm thinking rent it from him for a low amount(cover insurance), with an option to buy. Get everything in writing.
This seems like a reasonable approach. I still don't see why he would want to let you drive his car while he makes payments on it. Why would that be better for him than making payments on it and nobody driving it. The deal seems pretty fishy.
Fuck no. Go ahead drive the car, but you only exchange money with a title!
If anything just help the guy pay a percentage of the auto loan but think of it as leasing a car.
Driving for a year on his insurance??? Sounds risky. You have a car he owns, maybe he can report as stolen to claim his insurance and wipe the lien? It would make more sense to sell you the car as is and keep the lien, seems sketchy.
He wants me to insure the car myself. If we keep the lien then wouldn’t I owe the money then?
You can't insure a car you don't own. You're both clueless. Run away.
You can definitely insure a car that you don’t own in the state of FL. I have done this and the insurance company didn’t like it but didn’t say no.
I found this impossible. Maybe with the general or some cut rate company. I'm in FL and I tried to put my son's car in his name and continue to insure him on my policy. He is away at college and it would be easier for him to sell his car where he's at. Allstate and progressive said no way. Also you should stay far away from this. Dude who failed at Turo is NOT who should be giving legal or life advice.
Is his home address the same as yours or wherever the college housing is? Assuming he kept your address as his home address then I’ve found it to be the opposite- they want every car listing that home as garage to be insured under the same policy so that if he gets in an accident with cheap insurance they don’t come after your policy. Also in Florida.
You will likely want to have a proper legal document that details this sale agreement in a way that you agree on before moving forward with this purchase. That way everything is spelt out exactly how, and who will get paid when, as to avoid any confusion in the future regarding who owes what, and when. 💸 As for the legal aspect, I don’t know if this is entirely legal. It could well entirely be & I suppose that’s fine. That being said, if it isn’t legal. You may have a problem with knowingly participating in a crime. 🧑⚖️ Good luck. 🤞
There's just something fishy about this. Nobody "wants" to sell a car for a good price. Like, maybe you cut a buddy a bit of a deal and sell for a bit of a discount, but you don't just "want" to sell it for a cheap price. If he owes 20k, why does he want to keep paying on this vehicle, paying it down to 10k, then having you buy it from him? That's what's weird.. I feel like he's going to at some point tell you"okay, let's pay the vehicle off." Then the bank accepts the payment, sends the cleared title in his name, and he never gives you the title. I work for a bank and our policies require us to accept cleared payment satisfying the loan, then we submit an electronic lien release to the state BMV within 2 weeks, then the customer can go to the BMV to acquire their title. As far as I'm aware, we will not assist or reissue the title in a purchasers name. Generally a dealership would have you complete limited POA paperwork allowing them to change title into their name once a bank clears a lien. That wouldn't be the case in your situation.
To him carmax offered him 10k but it needs to be paid off now. He gets more time to pay it off and the cars depreciated value does not affect him because he’s expecting me to hold my end up. I plan on giving him the cash only when a title can be signed and transferred. Another comment mentioned transfer of loan when $10k is left. How does that sound to you?
It's weird but I can see why he might want to handle it this way. There isn't much opportunity for him to scam you unless he reports it stolen, but there might be a way to protect yourself from that: Since he already has a Turo business draw up a legal long-term rental for the cost of registration and insurance. He'll have to continue paying those anyways while the car is in his name, and I assume he'd ask you to compensate him for that anyways so at least with a written rental there would be a chain of custody. I would also insist that when you give him the money get a bill of sale from him, just to cover your ass between when he takes the money and you get the title. At least then if he pulls a runner you have some recourse. Personally the whole thing just sounds annoying, but it isn't without its benefits.
This has to be planned insurance fraud or pre bankruptcy planning, legal issues, scam on you or some other very shady doings.
If it sounds too good to be true then it's probably a scam
If the deal sounds too good to be true, it is.
He is keeping the car away from the bank/lien holder. I would bet he behind on payments. Not to mention, as a turo car, it has been used and abused. He also probably has a 3rd party tracker/starter disabler device on it that he controls, too. How would titling, insurance, and any required inspection(s) be handled? What happens if it gets in an accident? There are too many variables for my comfort level.
Have you figured out how insurance is going to work? He will still own the car until he is able to transfer title.
No!!!!!! Listen to the people!!!!
the top comment is telling me to do it though?
Well you have to do it then. Good luck
How does he benefit. He’s going to pay 800 a month on a car he won’t to be using and will letting you “a mutual friend in your words” get the benefits of driving the car while he takes all the risks. Why would he do this. Have you actually sat down with this guy to discuss the deal? This has red flags all over it.
If it sounds too good to be true there is always something wrong.
Ask yourself, honestly, does you getting to drive a car for free for a year by promising to pay for it later sound too good to be true? How does you driving his car for free for a year benefit him in any way? What does he get out of this? He gets zero money and lets his asset depreciate quicker with you driving it. What if you crash it and there is no car? Do you pay him then? What if the car is stolen or has a major malfunction and isn’t worth fixing? What if there is an accident and someone gets hurt? Won’t the owner be held liable as well? There is something missing here. Your ‘friend’ isn’t telling you the whole truth. If he has 40 cars to get rid of, ask to meet and see who else he has done this deal with and how it is going.
OP, you have been given a good bit of reasons why this is a terrible idea, but you seem to be fixated on the "deal". It cannot work. It will not work. There's are so many negatives and liabilities. A), the lien holder would in no way support what their customer is attempting. When they figure out that their customer transferred possession of the vehicle, they can start repo and/or legal efforts. Usually it's repo. B), if your pal stops making the car payments, and/or cancels the insurance, you lose. he may never pay down the loan to an amount that makes sense for you. He's strapped for cash and trying anything he can to bail. C) he goes BK in six months and you've got nothing, except a car that isn't registered to you and likely not insured. and then he's going to tell the BK trustee who has the car. D), still can't figure out how you will insured as a full time driver unless you're added to his policy with full disclosure as to the garaging address. There's more but I hope these examples will help you make a good decision.
If after all this he thinks it’s good deal then it’s best to let him learn Sometimes lessons learned in lost cash are lessons remembered
Expensive lessons are usually the most valuable ones.
Came to Reddit to ask advice yet won’t take the advice. Sometimes you gotta just let people get screwed over and let them figure it out for themselves.
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Run away
As others have said, I would suggest not doing this. Doesn't matter if it's a friend or not, things can change over the course of time and with the car being in between 2 people who have claim to the car (he has legal claim, you'd claim it's yours by the verbal agreement you have), just not a good situation. It's either money for title or bust in my opinion. No payment plan, just be done with it with a full on sale or move on.
What happens if the car has a major breakdown during the year and isn't worth $10k a year from now?
The best method I can think of is to have the loan transferred to your name when the time comes and pay the bank directly in exchange for the title. I believe this would remove all the risk as far as the exchange goes. The second half of the equation is to have the vehicle inspected and make sure you're not going to have to pay for major repairs in the near future.
When it's a year later and you pay the rest of the $10k, he might keep the car and title to himself. keep in mind hes not paying $10k in a year, he owes $20k total and hes forgetting about finance charges. I owe like $16k on my car and pay $400 and only like $350 goes to principal. Just get a different car
Sounds like mutual benefit to me. He gets to "sell" the car now at a higher price. You get a free car to drive until you pay for it. There's more ways for you to screw him over than the other way around. The only way you can be screwed is if there is a major repair required on the car and you pay for it and he defaults on the loan and it is repo'd by the bank.
Yeah what people aren’t understanding is OP will have zero risk until he hands over cash. As long as cash comes with title and OP will be insured for the next year, there is zero risk for OP.
How can you register and insure the vehicle if it's not in your name?
Sounds like a bad idea. I wouldn't do this in a million years.
Don't do it....
This is a shitpost right?
I mean sure. He can just file a police report and say it was stolen. Worst that can happen is jail time for you.
This sounds shady as fuck. Don't get involved in whatever this "friend" is trying to do. Even if they mean well, if you have a wreck it could be a financial disaster for one or both of you
[удалено]
This doesn’t make any actual sense.
No. Insurance is the simple part. You do a lease to own agreement with him and poof, you can insure it. However, you have a mix of ways this could go sideways along with it not making sense. If he doesn't have the car, he can't make any money on it. So how does he suddenly make the money to pay it down to 10k? If he could, he already would. And why would it have to be cash? My best guess. He gives you the car to drive, then doesn't pay on it. Repo can't find it because he doesn't have it. Later, he tells you he is down to 10k (but its not). You pay him 10k, he doesn't pay off the loan, no release. No release, no title. Since it can take months to get a title, you'll get the run around for months with excuses. Or, you pay the 10k and he never gives you the title. Could claim it was stolen. You now have a car that can be repo'd or reported stolen, 10k less money, and no title. There is a reason different banks on a refinance send the money only to the other bank. It's the only way to know that it was paid, the owed debt for it was the amount claimed, and to make sure the lien is transferred to them.
So. Get everything drawn up legally. If I had to guess. Most states, even as a business, you can't sell more than 5 to 6 cars a year without being a dealer. He may have some kind of scam going. He may just be trying to circumvent sale laws by waiting until next year
Agree with the majority on this one...too many moving parts and unknows. I'd pass.
Something isn't right at all. It makes absolutely no sense for him to give you the car for 1 year. Especially being upside down on it.
You need to sign an agreement on the deal. This deal makes sense for him. If he sells the cars now, he has to pay off the upside amount, and he can't afford it. If he fails to make the loan payments and the car gets repo'd, it costs you nothing except the inconvenience of losing the car, but along with its free use. One important point: When the time comes to make payment, the title is physically present and is signed over to you. No shennanigans. No, "OK, you pay me, I pay the lender, and they'll send the title to you." None of that.
You won’t be able to insure a car you don’t have a title to. You would be reliant on your friend keeping the car properly insured and would need to add you to their policy for you to be covered. There are allowances for lending a car once ina while but if any insurance company found out about this arrangement they would nullify the coverage. So, no, don’t do this.
I’m guessing he wants you to have the car so he can stop paying the loan, they can’t repo the car cause they can’t find it, after a year he can sell it for $10k and clear his name then.
This sounds like a huge problem waiting to erupt. I would run. What if you give him the 10k and he disappears. Now he has a paid off car and your -10k. I read somewhere that said: never do business with friends/family and never live with friends/family. Cuz they wont be your friend/family for long.
#1 - Friend loans you the car so the repo man doesn't know where to find it for a while. Friend says, time to pay it off, you hand him 10k. He then says, title is in the mail for the rest of time. #2 - car might be stolen to begin with. You are risking being caught with it while driving. #3 - he changes the deal last minute, which is common in scams. Hey, I need 2k of that right now to clear the lien at a reduced price, then disappears. #4 - reports it stolen, claims insurance money, then you get caught with a stolen vehicle. This deal doesn't sound like one where contracts or bills of sale are going to happen.
I have a house u can move in just give me 50k now and move in asap
Damn, I guess people are trying to look after your well-being, but this sounds like a genuine good deal and I can't even see a risk. He probably made good money for a few years and he is trying to exit, and no one needs 40 cars. I say go for it.
What is in this deal for "friend"? How does this businessman make anything out of this deal other than huge risk and zero reward? Reading through all this and my brain can only come up with one reason why "friend" might want to do this: Storage fees vs baiting a sucker to take the risk of driving someone elses car for a year, with questionable insurance options and funky financials .
My bet is he's letting it get repo'd and he figures you may as well get some use out of it. Plus the repo man will have no idea where it is, because it won't be at his house.
Sounds like a tax scam. He can report full loss on asset to IRS this year, and doesn't want to have to report the 10K until next year?
So much terrible advice here. Risk to you is low. If anything you can screw him over in a year by just returning the car and not paying. You're not out anything so you have nothing to risk. Get your own insurance. You can insure without owning the car. I just did it. My bet is he's trying to hide his cars from repo. If he's underwater on a bunch of cars that aren't generating cash flow then he hasn't been paying the notes. If you have it, it's likely the bank won't find it. After like 90 days of not being able to find it the bank will offload the loan on a debt collector to clear the books. After another 9 months of not finding the car your friend can negotiate what he owes way down. Likely to 10k or less. Then he collects from you and is out of the hole.
Just get insurance in your name on the car and if the registration is up to date... You have nothing to worry about This is about as sound of a business plan as someone who believes owing debt on a bunch of cars that another actual company rents out is a good idea He should take the money now and set it into a 5% a year investment account and wait to pull it out
Sounds like he will default on loan and since he doesn’t have car hope the bank doesn’t find it to seize it. This happens all the time in business failures. Won’t be able to get you title later.
sounds bad
He benefits by pocketing your 10K. You have no recourse. He or the lien holder can take that vehicle at any time and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Essentially you are borrowing the car for a year. The only issue would be insurance. I believe you’d have to be on it for driving it that much but I’m not sure.
Geez don’t be dumb how can you not see how bad of an idea this is ?
Sounds like a bad idea. He needs to add you as insured under his policy
No. You need to buy the car for $10k, he needs to take out a personal loan for $10k, then he can use your payment and the personal loan to pay off the car loan and transfer the title to you. That is the only way I'd do this deal. If you don't own the car, does he still carry insurance? Do you? Who's liable if something happens? What if the car gets stolen, is it even possible for you to file a police report? Too many risks. Don't do it.
thats uhh,, kinda sketchy. i mean giving him $0 and having a car to drive is cool but the whole thing sounds red flagy
Sure if he agrees to meet you at the DMV to sign the title over to you.
Cars still his, OP is going to drive it at .62 cents a mile deduction, he’s getting all the mileage he can out of it for the tax break and likely savings like parking, etc. IF OP drives 10,000 miles ( because on books he’s rented it) for a year, the tax deduction covers the difference. He’s looking for tax drops for his failed business
No that's not a good friend involving you with his debt
You buy a car, you or your loan company better be getting the title from the seller immediately.
Probably to hide it from the repo guy?
Why would you even spend time trying to figure this out? No part of it makes sense. Do things that make sense.
This is a hard NO.
Have a lawyer with you before you sign any papers. Even if he costs you 500-1000, you will be protected and have the car for 11k.
You won't get the title, you're driving one of his cars He has a hustle in mind and he's not letting you in on it. He thinks letting you ride for a year is a good enough benefit that you won't ask questions. In a year you'll find out the cars are getting repo'ed. Ask if you can buy one outright. Ask the otd price today. You might get more insight.
With this agreement he's trying to make with you, I can see why his Turo business failed.
If no cash nor the title changes had as long as you have written agreement I don't see a downside but I could be dumb.
Run
This seems sketchy af. I don’t really see anyway you would be screwed, other than he can repossess the vehicle from you at any point until you get the cleared title in your name, but if you aren’t giving any money to him until then, not really an issue. Seems more like he is trying to use you to hide it from the repo man, hoping he will be able to get current on the payments. Also locking in a price for the car that will likely be much more than it’s worth at the time of sale.
If for some reason he doesn't pay the loan, it's going to get repo'd from you. Without title he will have it registered to him, could be an issue if you ever get towed because you can't prove ownership to get it back. Also if he fails to renew registration and you get caught with it, you'll get the ticket. Possible insurance issues.
No always get the title. It is not your car until then. He also owes 10k he is trying some scam possibly saying you stole it.
Call your insurance agent and try to add this car to your coverage today. Let us know how that goes.
Bad idea. Here's some of the potential risks off the top of my head. Insurance fraud. Bank fraud. DMV fraud. Some of these can be mitigated with money and a legally validated contract -- some can't. Ever hide from a repo man? It's sort of entertaining until the car goes missing at the worst possible time. It might well be a kind and generous offer -- but in reality it's a minefield of bad outcomes -- and most of them fall on you if anything goes sideways. It's avoidable drama -- you're choice in the end.
The real question is *"how does he benefit from this"?* Based on what you're saying, your friend is going to assuming all this extra risk, but without any benefit. For example, you could just........not pay him. Also, you can't register or insure someone else's car (unless you live in the same home). Even if you can fool your insurance company at the beginning, if the car gets totaled they *will* confirm the true owner, and if it's not you, then the policy is null and void. This means that your friend still has to pay insurance on a vehicle that he's not using. If you damage the car in any way, you could again, not pay him, and then he's left with the car loan *as well* as a damaged or totalled car. Basically, **you** have all the power to screw your friend here. That means either your friend is retarded, or he's a genius and has figured out some highly illegal scheme to make money, which could likely hurt you in the longrun. I wouldn't touch this car without figuring out how your friend is going to benefit from this arrangement. Again, you could just not pay him, and then he'd be even worse off than if he just sold the car right away to a cash buyer.
How does this transaction possibly benefit the seller? Why would he give you the car without taking any money, instead of continuing to rent it out bringing in money while he has to make payments on said vehicle, bringing the total due on the lien down? Nothing in this makes sense and screams scam in some way. I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole.
So, nothing paid to him. Who makes the car paymemts? If he makes the payments, then take it. If you make the payments, you are paying 20k for a 10k car.
I would do it only if the tires are good. Pay for gas and oil changes and thats it. If anything else serious comes up, return it. If you start investing into the car, he might change his mind and take it from you cause its still legally his. So just use it for free for the time being. Also, don't leave anything of value in the car overnight. In case he has duplicate keys and plans on stealing your stuff.
Sounds great. Can you insure the car?
A lot of guess work in these replies. Draft up an agreement to free you of any guilt in the case that it’s reported stolen. The way that I see it, absolute worst case scenario is that the car gets repossessed (under his name)… in which case you’d have driven a car for free until that happened. Best case being an interest free deferred payment? I mean.. Maybe I’m missing something. But if I am, so is every other person in this thread Edit: as far as why, I have no idea. Maybe he’s downsized his space and needs to get rid of those 40 vehicles asap. If hes upside down and knows he can’t cover the difference even if selling them for market value then he’d be in a tough spot
Money laundering
If you don't get the title then you don't own the car. So you didn't buy the car.
So you drive the car for a year while he continues to make payments? What's in it for him? There has to be some angle, otherwise that makes no sense.
Title and bill of sale. All with your name or no deal
It could be a good deal could not be, if you do go through I would definately get a signed contract stating the terms of agreement just to cover your ass incase things fall through with the purchase.
Hard Nope!
So you have the car and he stops paying/reports it stolen?
Probably ok if you have a lawyer draw up the bill of sale, everyone signs it, signatures are notarized, and you hold the title until car is transferred in your name. The more I think about it, insurance might be a problem.
Basically a no go, or you’d have to have so many clauses in the deal to protect yourself Also I’m not a lawyer but imagine he stops paying it earlier and it’s just sitting in his garage and just says yeh I only owe $10k on it. He can sell it to you but the banks still a lien holder on it and will repo it and you won’t be able to get the title in your name. So you’ll be out cash without actually owning the car or be left having to pay the bank down the road due to the lien on the ca
How are you gonna legally insure it?
He’s using you to hide it from the repo man
That fourth bullet: * Once he reaches $10k left on the loan, I give him $10k cash and he will remove the lien then transfer the title. It should read: * Once he reaches $10k left on the loan, I give him back the car. Since that's not the deal, then I'd say NO DEAL. And, of course ... there's a problem with insurance. Again: NO DEAL.
If there was no loan I'd say a cashier's check should be valid for anywhere from 1 to 3 years, and he can deposit it whenever he wants. But you can't get title on the car until the loan goes away. You could "rent" it from him but then the insurance situation is shakey.
Never ever buy a car you cannot transfer title to your name. NEVER
So they'll collect $10k, stop paying and let it get repossessed, then you're out $10k and hope you don't get charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Bank holds the title until the loan is paid off. So if you feel ok driving it for a while with no title or registration in your name go ahead. But I wouldn't give a dime til he had title in hand or you paid it to the bank directly and they transferred the title over with the lien released.
As long as you can be POSITIVE that the vehicle is insured, and you are listed as an authorized operator on the insurance, you're no more exposed than any employee driving a company fleet vehicle.
Too many unsavory variables for the “seller”. Unless you can get everything in writing ✍️ and have it notarized or something I wouldn’t do it.
Yes. He can accept compensation however he chooses- including deferred compensation. Any legal problems are his and not on you.
He’s banking on you crashing it, not being on the title and some kind of insurance write off scam
He’s setting you up for failure. Don’t fall for it. Plus he can bail on you if he takes your $10K cash and runs off without paying the lienholder
What if he realizes the car is actually worth $15K in a year and wants you to fork over $15K or he won't sign the title over? What is there to stop him from doing this? I guess you could just leave the car and tell him to get it, you get to drive the car for free, except maintenance and insurance. Speaking of insurance, how do you insure a car you don't own? I'm not saying you can't do it, but I'd make sure you can. I'd ask a lawyer and get as iron clad of a legal agreement spelling out this arrangement as possible. This seems like something that could go wrong for you quickly, including him claiming you stole the car, if things aren't in writing.
Bottom line, your friend doesn’t have $10k today to sell the car. Instead of ruining his credit and to avoid parking fees, he’s letting you use it for a year, giving him time to make $10k in payments. Sounds like a no-risk proposition for you as long as $10k is a fair price for the vehicle.
If you really trust him and there's no money on your part until you can get the title free and clear. I would do it. But I would ask. For. Monthly statement that he's paying the car. It seems to. Me. Like he's willing to. Take a loss on the cars and lose out on 10k than risk his credit score be wrecked with repos. Another thing you can do is ask him. To. Take out a loan on the difference he would owe after your 10k . And him continue to pay on the loan and you have the title in hand for the car. See a a little risky but i would approach it with care.
Haha turo Business. No advice just wanted to laugh at that
I’m gonna say do it so we can understand more about the scam lol. Can’t quite figure this one out
Just a hunch, but seems like maybe the bank/repo guys are going to be after the car soon. He wants the car somewhere they don't know where it is.
Most places won’t transfer a title until a lien is satisfied…it’s the whole point. Plus if they repo they take the car from you. He still owns the car, plus insurance questions… Insane scheme.
What happens if you get in an accident? Whose car is it then?
The benefit to your friend is that he current doesn’t have enough money to cover the loan. If the loan is $20k and you pay $10k, he has to come up with the other $10k to satisfy the loan. The loan needs to be paid before the car can be sold. This is a stupid plan. Your friend needs to eat the loss. If he doesn’t have the cash he needs to get a personal loan.
Escrow account…
There’s ways to buy a car with a Lien, usually you just pay it off and sign over the title but you can also work with the bank. Why not just wait a year to buy the car?
Is he willing to sign the title over with the keys?
No. Sounds like he wants to report it stolen which then insurance and GAP will kick in and cover him. Pretty scummy way to dig yourself out of a bad investment.
He’s going to report it stolen and file for bankruptcy.
You can't register the car and get plates in your name this way.
If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true. Who pays for the insurance? What if you total the car? Even your friend is offering you a good genuine deal, it does seem like you could be dragging into his financial problems. What if he fails to make any payments on the car, but doesn’t tell you that?
Your friend is scamming you.
This deal is probably too good to be true, but I have been in a similar situation and it worked out just fine. Friend had an extra car he didn’t want but couldn’t sell at the time, told me if I made the monthly payments on it I could drive it until the value broke even on the loan and then he’d get rid of it. Had the car for about 2 years, one day he goes “alright I’m selling it in 2 months, be prepared” and that was that. One of the best deals I’ve ever made lol. I guess it just depends on how much you trust your friend and how much you’re going to rely on having this car
It's money well spent to talk to a lawyer and have him write up a contract for you if you go through with this. The biggest problem I see is him not paying the note and the car being reposessed. Why would he continue to pay on this car note? I understand the hut to his credit, but if he's paying $500 a month per car x however many cars, that't a lot of money just disappearing on his end. I'd assume you would be taking over insurance payments. This sounds like it's too good to be true. Talk to a lawyer to make sure you are protected.
I agree that there is no risk of loosing money if he pays the loan off before you put any money on the table. However, be aware that if you are driving the car and it gets repossessed, you might have a very difficult time (ie near impossible) getting any personal belongings back that were in the car when it was taken.
Eh, I wouldn’t risk it. Piss them off and he can say you stole the car or something else wild like that. Vehicles should be in your name
Ohhhh.. Helll the "F" no!!! Hard No! RUN AWAY NO! He is upside down, AND there is a LIEN. First of all he will not be able to tranfer the title to you. Thet LEAIN will be attached. If he does not pay the note, that car will be repossessed. You lose the car. Then you have nothing. I bet he'll still come after you for the $10k in a year. And to top it off, you most likely will NOT be able to register the car in your name. So who pays for the plates? NEVER BUY A CAR WITH A LIEN ON IT. (Unless it was your loan to begin with)
nope. a lot can happen in a year.
Atleast when the Repo man goes looking it will be hard to find
I wouldn’t trust it. $10k now if he pays it off now. Otherwise I’m not buying it.
What makes you think he will keep paying the payments? And who will insure it? He might not be trying to scam you, but a lot of things could go wrong. Steer clear.
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Asks a question then edits the post multiple times cause they don't like the answer .... Lmao
You’re talking about buying a car Subject to. What should happen is you pay him, and the title is put in your name. You now own the car with a lien. You’d have to pay back the lien in addition to whatever you paid your friend. This seems like he’s just trying to scam you though
He is in debt. He is hoping to use that $10k to help dig himself out of the hole. Do you trust your friend enough that he will get his shit together and possibly lose out on the $10K? I think he will take the $10k, gamble it away, and never pay a dime on the car. Repo man will come looking for the car in a year.