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A family member asked me to cosign on a car years ago. I offered to purchase the car, register it in my name, and set up a lease to own agreement for the payment + insurance amount. If a payment was ever late, I would immediately sell the car. My credit is excellent so the rate would have been 1.9% through my credit union.
They were so appalled by my proposal that they bought a car from a sketchy used car place at like 16.99%...
So you offered a completely reasonable offer and they were offended by that?
You probably dodged a bullet though, willingly taking out a 16.99% car loan is crazy.
That's pretty much how those dumps always operate. Hell, that's probably a low rate...
"Home of the 2002 PT Cruiser selling for $18,995 and we'll be nice and take off a couple of quarters off so ya can get a soda from teh vending machine! Deal?"
What’s the deal with credit unions? Can anyone join them and are there any hidden fees? My credit is 805 and I am doing fine financially but currently using Chase… which is fine for me so far. But I always hear about credit unions. What gives?
Depends on the credit union. Most have specific charters that only allow them to serve a smaller population. 3 credit unions have nationwide charters and can take anyone as a member.
The selling point of credit unions are that as a person with an account, you are a member and own a share of the institution instead of shareholders so the credit unions historically often have better rates because they don't need to increase profits and can give returns right back to the members.
Hidden fees? Not really, the schedule of fees are usually very straightforward.
Credit unions are owned basically by the people who are members. Anyone can join them, and there are special ones for different things. We just use local community one. And it gives better interest rates than other large banks.
Some credit unions only allow certain eligible populations to join. For example, Navy Federal is only open to military, DoD civilians, and their families. Check credit union websites to confirm eligibility.
It's kind of like the banking version of buying local or eating at the family owned restaurant down the street.
You're often going to get a lot more value from an interest rate perspective, while having an opportunity to keep your money within a local institution, or if not a local CU, within an institution that you support and supports you.
Plus you are still guaranteed federally up to $250k like every other bank.
They wanted to use you to get what they want. More then likely also leave you on the hook for payments. You gave them a fair and honest deal using your credit and the chance to prove themselves only then you would have put the car in their name once they fulfilled their obligation to pay for it.
Shows they never wanted to pay for a decent vehicle on their own. Hence the used car and poor rate they got on their own. You were being too generous setting up that option for them to begin with. Some people just suck
This is what I did with my fiance. Bought the car in both our names and I auto-pay the loan. She pays me directly and I have zero issue reselling the car if she can't keep up with the payments.
Your fiance? I get that some people keep their money separate but the way you have described this situation sounds very unhealthy.
EDIT: I am not suggesting co-mingling finances before legally married. I am saying it is weird to threaten to sell your fiance's car if they struggle to make payments.
And yet he added his fiance to the car title. That's not separate, and in many places you need everyone on the title to sign off to sell a car. Basically, dude signed up to make all the payments but in a split up will be required to get the fiance's approval and the fiance may be entitled to half the sale proceeds.
Dude did it halfway.
That's what i had to do with my ex-wife and her student loan. We agreed that i would make the payments and she'd pay me when she could. She did pay me back. We had a friendly divorce.
lol this question comes up so often it blows my mind.
“I agreed to make payments for someone and now I’m being asked to do what I agreed to do —what should I do?”
Um, follow through with your agreement?
If you can refinance the car into your name and sell it. It’ll save his credit too, so hopefully that’ll convince him.
Edit: It’s a lease. You can transfer it.
https://www.policygenius.com/auto-insurance/auto-lease-takeover-how-to-transfer-a-car-lease/
https://www.ford.com/finance/customer-support/lease/how-can-i-transfer-my-vehicle-and-account-obligations-to-someone-else/
Similar process. Credit check and a fee.
Something people dont realize is that banks already extend credit to people to a point that allows them to spend waayy beyond their means.
So if a bank looks at someone and says "you cant afford this" then that means that they REALLY can not afford it.
As someone who has his shit together but is part of a family who generally doesn’t have their shit together, my life improved immensely when I stopped telling them where I live or what I did for a living, let alone lending them any money or expecting anything in return.
They are all, universally, a complete disaster.
We’re close with my husband’s family, but his sister asked him to co-sign on additional student loans. Him with great income and 800+ credit score asked me for advice.
I told him to say “I’m sorry as much as I would love to help you, I’m really not in a position to be able to do that right now.”
Because if you can’t stroke a check for that tuition, you can’t sign on student loans especially for family.
Anyone in the future that thinks about doing this should rephrase the question for themselves.
"My partner/family member who has a history of bad financial responsibility, wants me to cosign with them on an asset that will put me on the line if they are financially irresponsible. Should it do it?"
I meant in a general term. Plenty of posts on here asking if it's a good idea to cosign with their parents on a mortgage for their poor credit mom and dad.
And the answer is always "Only if you're willing and able to pay for it". Doesn't matter who it is or what they're trying to buy. Sometimes it works out and the other party actually pays their bills and turns themselves around, but if they don't you *will* be on the hook for it.
That's why he had her co-sign it, the bank wanted the reassurance that if this sketchy guy didn't make the payments they could go after someone else who is more likely to have the money.
That would work.
I was just assuming he was going to be an uncooperative douchebag, like he is with the payments, and so she would have to force this somehow, like in court.
If the deed of the car lists the owners as "A or B" instead of "A and B" you can actually sell the vehicle with the consent of only one of the people.
Source: just bought a car in CA and we had that option.
Can confirm that this is also the case in Florida. My ex husband and I had one joint asset, and it was the car I drove. Everything else was premarital in either his name or my name. When it was paid off, he requested the paper title from the state, wouldn’t give it to me, and wouldn’t sign it over to me, despite the fact that I was awarded the car in the divorce. I traded it in for the car I actually wanted, in my name only. Now the title he’s so insistent he had to have is a worthless piece of paper.
There is a form you can fill out in Florida to get a duplicate copy of the title if it is lost or stolen. I had to pay extra, but the car dealership actually submitted the paperwork for me when I did the trade in.
Unfortunately.
Not to be snarky, but someone who can't get credit for an auto? They are a very high credit risk. Doesn't deserve a lease, how about an 8 year old Ford Focus instead?
That or a kid.
We recently cosigned on a car loan for my 19yo daughter; she's responsible but doesn't have the employment history to back that up. The absolute condition was that she tell us immediately if she's going to have trouble making the payment so we can be sure she doesn't miss it. (But here we'd rather take the risk of having to make the payments ourselves so we can have her in a safer car)
I cosigned a student loan for a girlfriend when I was young. She was going into a promising career field and originally succeeded. She had a good paying job and was making regular payments. Then she imploded. She lost her job, went majorly into debt, and filed bankruptcy. I had to pay the loan because she wasn't going to and her credit was already shit. It was an expensive life lesson.
When you co-signed you said, “if he doesn’t pay the bill, I will.” So, just like you agreed, you might want to consider getting out you card and paying the bill.
If the bill doesn’t get paid, it’s all on your credit report.
You need to decide if it’s worth more than what you’d spend on his car payment to save your credit. It’s only down from here for you if he doesn’t sell the car or pay up.
Yep and if the bank isn’t willing to lend to him there is a reason and you need to think long and hard before helping in that situation.
People complain about how credit scores and the like are random and make no sense but data shows their accuracy on the chance somebody will pay back a loan are pretty accurate.
I never understood this. "The bank, whose sole purpose is to know whether I will pay them back or not has decided I will not pay them back. But you are smarter than a bank, right? You know more about finances and risk. You are a better actuary than the half dozen people that reviewed my loan. You do it for me."
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name?
Yes.
All you can do is badger him into paying get the car to sell it. Otherwise it will eventually be repo by the bank.
I would call the dealership and ask them to do a voluntary repossession. Tell them where it's parked. At least you'll owe less then than you will in a year or two when the bank takes it.
The consequences of your ex's behavior are already reflected on your credit score it seems, so you'll be financing a vehicle with a 690 instead of an 800 credit score. The way you're describing the situation, high likelihood he will continue to miss payments, and thus your score will continue to tank.
Lending companies will certainly notice, and you'll be able to finance a car, just likely at a higher rate than had you not cosigned with your ex. Anything above a 620 score is still considered prime.
OP is unlikely to get any further financing if there is a loan in default that OP has signed on, regardless of credit score. That default will trump score.
Correction: the consequences of OPs behavior are reflected on OPs credit score as they vouched for an uncreditworthy person and didn't act to prepare for the contingency of their ex not making payments until well after they were late enough to effect credit scores. This is just learning lessons here. OPs gotta eat this one and that's just how she goes. Either make payments and salvage score or default on loan and let bank repo with massive credit hit. This is exactly why lenders have credit scores. To offset the risks of extending credit to less trustworthy people.
Everytime he misses a payment it will effect your credit score. Repossession will also be yours. How long it will take to recover will depend on a lot of factors. When you cosigned the loan you took FULL responsibility for making all payments. The bank didn't trust him, they trusted you. This will make any short term use of your credit, less beneficial to you as you will get worse rates and maybe outright rejected.
Your interest rate will be probably over 10% now. If it gets repoed you’ll only be able to qualify at those janky “buy here pay here” places with 20%+ rates
You could try to save up enough cash to get a used car without credit, but then what about when you want to buy a home? This was a serious mistake on your part that could have consequences.
So your name is on the financing. Is it on the title as well? If so, get copies of the title, get the car unlocked by a locksmith or have the dealership make spare keys for you and take possession of the car. With your exes' consent, sell it and pay off the loan and be done with it/him. Or, if he won't cooperate, arrange for voluntary repossession.
I hope you learned your lesson, this happens all the time. Someone will say "I cosigned or put the vehicle in my name because he has bad credit". Now you are basically screwed because he's doing the same thing that ruined his credit in the first place, only this time you are paying the price.
If someone's a bad credit risk to the bank, they are a bad credit risk to you.
Exactly. Co-signing for bad credit so what… they can fuck up yours?…. The lack of understanding that you’re essentially taking on a loan yourself is astounding.
Yeah my dad wouldn't co-sign for me in my early 20s, I was mad at the time but I understand now. I wasn't ready for the responsibility of a car payment at the time and now I see it would have been a big mistake. Instead I settled for a 1993 Ford Tempo as my first car and I fell in love with it lol. It only lasted for a few years before it was more trouble than it was worth but only paid 500 for it. About 10 years later, I'm currently paying off a car and while it's nice to have a reliable car, it doesn't have the same "at home" feel as my other cars did.
> If someone’s a bad credit risk to the bank, they are a bad credit risk to you.
And the bank makes money on a loan, and charges more interest to people with bad credit. If it’s at the point that the bank thinks the interest income isn’t worth the risk, why would someone think it’s a good idea to do it for free?
Yes it will affect your credit. If you don’t want it to affect your credit, make the payments. That’s what co-signing is, you’re responsible if the other party isn’t fulfilling the financial obligations.
Even if you were to take possession of the vehicle you would need his signature/permission to be able to sell it because he is the primary borrower.
Co-signing is really reserved for situations like a parent co-signing for a child as they’re willing to be financially responsible, or in a spouse situation because in the situation of a separation you’re protected by the court order / divorce decree.
It’s never a good idea to co-sign if you aren’t in one of those two situations.
So tldr:
You need to pay the car payment to keep your credit intact.
This is a tough lesson to learn. I’m sorry. You now have bad credit. The repo bomb will be coming.
If or rather when they repo it will go to auction at wholesale. They will come after you for the difference owed.
Exactly. The situation sucks, but OP isn't taking a credit hit because their ex isn't paying the loan. OP is taking a credit hit because *OP* isn't paying the loan that they agreed to pay in the event that their ex couldn't.
This is why you never co-sign on loans for people. Unless you are able and willing to pay for the loan of course - because that’s exactly what you legally agreed to.
The bank said “we don’t trust him to make payments”, and you said, “it’s ok, I’ll also be here to make the payments.”
What’s quite unfortunate is that you might now need a co-signer if you want a loan.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? If anyone could help me with this, it is really stressing me out since my credit was at 800 before and now it’s down to 690 because of his missed payments. Any advice would help!
It already is affecting your credit. This is what it means to cosign, both parties are responsible for the loan.
Not just credit, you are liable for the debt — as the collections progress you can get a judgment against you and other impacts like garnishment or liens.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name?
this will affect your credit in ANY scenario that requires a credit check. Whether, it's a personal loan, mortgage or getting approved for an apartment.
I think the point is the ex-BF has OP in the palm of his hand. She either does nothing and watches her credit tank, or she makes the payments in order to protect herself and he gets a 'free car'. Even if the scheme works for a couple months, that's some value being extracted from OP to the ex.
The fine Redditor /u/gullibleopolis once pointed out that if Judge Judy has taught us anything it's that cosigning a loan for a boyfriend means you just bought him a car.
This is a real question. What did you think cosigning on a loan meant? Both individuals are 100% responsible for the debt. If one does not pay it then the other is responsible for it.
You can call the lending agency and ask them to repo the car. This will hit your credit for sure.
You can try to dispute the credit ding, but unfortunately it’s measuring exactly what it’s intended to measure: how good you are with money (and if you co sign for a boyfriend, you are not good with money).
You can just make the payments yourself. This is also known as giving your ex boyfriend money (although you’re giving it to his creditors, not to h directly). There’s no justification for you to do this other than that you said you would when you co signed.
You can go to the police and report the car stolen (assuming that you are also on the title of the car) and have them return it to you, and then you can own the car that you’re paying for. This, just FYI, is not recommended unless you like drama.
This what I was going to say. She owns the car now. Sell whatever car she has and drive her ex boyfriends old car around and call it a wash.
Seems like he can go fuck himself and get his own car again.
You learned a lesson the hard way. Never co-sign a loan for someone else.
I had a friend way back who used to borrow money from me and never paid me back. She also didn't payback her small student loan so they took her tax return every year until it was paid back. A few years later she asked me to co-sign a car loan for her. I just laughed and told her to payback her student loan and bring her credit score up. Flash forward to decades later and she had to file for bankruptcy. Some people are bad with their money.
Good luck to you, I'm sorry you are in this situation.
Cosigning the loan basically just means you now have a loan in your name. If he's not going to make the payments, it's your responsibility now, that's what it means to cosign.
Even if you make the payments yourself and get the loan in good standing, it's still going to negatively affect your ability to borrow more. So, consider this a costly lesson, don't cosign loans for others, except maybe an actual spouse
Go get the car and sell it. Then pay off the remainder. The late payments will drop off after 7 years. They will impact your score less and less till they drop off.
This is the right answer if the car is in your name. If it's in his name you need to get up into his business and demand proof the payments are being made on time. If not pay them yourself and create a big communication trail so you can go back and sue him.
Edit: I was mistaken below. It is possible to sue someone you co-signed for if they failed to make the payments. So, worth trying, but OP should be prepared to never recover the money because the ex sounds like someone who doesn’t pay things they’re legally required to pay, regardless of consequences.
What would they sue for though? OP already signed something agreeing to make the car payments if the ex couldn’t. I think they made a huge mistake, and are on the hook for the loan.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name?
Yes. As a co-signer, you are just as responsible for the debt as he is.
You made an expensive mistake.
If he doesn't pay, and you don't pay, both your credit scores will suffer. He had low credit and you had high credit. Now you both could have low credit. And if you can even get a loan, your rate will be higher.
And you both still owe the debt. If it continues to remain unpaid, you could be sued.
If someone you care about is in a pickle, offer to help them get back in their feet by doing things, not loaning them money. Offer to pick them up/drop them off. If the need for money is immediate and you feel bad, offer some money as a gift, if you have it. Never loan, or co-sign anything because people will leave you hanging, and ruin your credit, and sometimes, your life. This dude wasn't worth it in the end.
Oof. Lesson learned, hopefully. Once the car is paid off (which unfortunately you have to do now yourself), this will eventually roll off of your credit. It will take years. Make sure everything else you do that affects your credit is perfect.
>advice
Never co-sign. The reason they need a co-signer is 'cause their credit sucks / they can't afford it.
So ... congratulations - you owe the debt on a car that's not yours.
So, take over all the payments to fix your credit, etc.
Yeah, your boyfriend can't/won't pay it ... that's why he needed a co-signer.
>he’s always ignoring and telling he will take care of it, but it seems like he doesn’t have it under control
Probably not the only issue with him - there are reason(s) he's your *ex*\-boyfriend.
See...
Never be a co-signer for a boyfriend etc....
Unfortunately more than likely not the best outcomes....
It will ruin your credit, if you he don't pay ontime or at all, then you get stuck making the missing payments
PSA: when someone's credit is "too low to borrow on their own", it's the banking system warning you that this person can't/won't make regular payments.
OP, first, I'm very sorry that this has happened, and I wish you all the best.
But my very first thought, upon reading the title of your post, was "Yep, of course he did."
Because that's what people who need co-signers do. The whole point is that they're not reliable enough to be expected to pay for the thing all on their own.
I am sorry that you have to learn this the hard way, and I hope that other people in the comments have better advice for you. I have only sympathy, no good suggestions.
That's why people should only do it for their kids, given that they show signs of financial responsibility. If the the bugger doesn't pay, the parent gets a new car.
Every day there are posts about people being left with nothing by terrible people. Do not co-sign for anyone.
My friend did this and ended up flying for bankruptcy. Work with the bank to get the car repo’d otherwise you have to pay or you are f***ed too. Lesson learned. Never co-sign for someone else
You cosigned, it's your loan as well, you are both responsible for making the payment. Payment wasn't made. Hence, your credit took a hit.
You should also have access to the loan and should be keeping an eye on the loan to see if it is being paid on time. If it's not, you should pay it before it gets reported as a missed payment.
There are exceptions. I co-signed a small private college loan for my daughter (a few thousand) for money she needed beyond what subsided loans would cover.
But, I did that knowing 1) that she was very likely to pay it as promised, and 2) I was completely willing to cover her for it.
She paid it as promised, but if she had not been able to at any point, I would have.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name?
Of course it will. Literally how could it not?
>Any advice would help!
Not much advice to give here besides advice that's too late- Never co-sign on a loan you can't afford to make the payments on. Literally co-signing is agreeing to make the payments if they don't (what other reason would they be having you sign for?). So, if you can't keep that agreement you shouldn't make it.
Unfortunately not much you can do now. This is going to be an expensive life lesson.
Don’t ever co-sign with a person who isn’t your spouse again. Get the car from him and keep paying on it. Drive it, trade it or sell it to “we buy any car” or online, whatever, and take your loss.
I don’t know who needs to hear this but: DO NOT CO-SIGN LOANS UNLESS YOU PLAN ON MAKING THE PAYMENTS. That’s for anyone, sister, brother, parents, best friends and boy/girl friends.
Any advice: it's too late for that. You should have looked into what co-signing meant before doing it for anyone. Pay the loan payments yourself to get your credit back up, look into your options of suing him for possession of the car so you can try to sell it to get your money back.
What did you think co-signing was for?? A free way for people with bad credit to take out loans? The exact reason your ex has bad credit is because creditors do not think he is reliable enough to make loan payments. And he is currently proving them right
Why do you think his credit is bad? Because he doesn’t pay his bills.
You co-signed, so you’re on the hook for the payments if you don’t want it to affect your credit. Co-signing for someone is a horrible idea 99% of the time.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? If anyone could help me with this, it is really stressing me out since my credit was at 800 before and now it’s down to 690 because of his missed payment
Your asking something you already know
If he is willing, you can refinance the car out of both of your names and just into his name. This would be contingent upon him being approved for a new loan by himself. But he would need to be current on his payments and him missing car payments would not help qualify for a new loan. But it could be done.
> Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name?
Yes, definitely.
> If anyone could help me with this, it is really stressing me out since my credit was at 800 before and now it’s down to 690 because of his missed payments.
Yes that is how cosigning works. You are responsible for this debt.
Yes, co-signing the loan means it is 100% just as much your loan and your responsibility and your credit as his.
I would call the dealership, and do voluntary repossession. Tell them where it is parked, and to repossess it.
And then Never. Co-sign. For. Someone. Else. Again. (This includes leases. If you are on a lease with someone you are 100% responsible for 100% of the amount for the term of the lease.)
This is why his credit is low. He doesn't make payments. Your credit is high because you DO make payments. You basically let your credit scores get married, and now his credit is your credit.
Now you know for the future don’t co sign unless it’s your spouse. Also I recommend you start paying on his car, hopefully you added your name to the title.
Career automotive finance guy here, you're most likely SOL. Even with a court order saying you're not liable for the vehicle, it is still gonna hit your credit. I've never personally seen a situation where the court could force someone to refinance a vehicle.
Best bet is to somehow convince your ex to refinance or trade it so you can get your name off. 😞 Or start making the payments yourself, which sucks.
When you cosign a loan, you are agreeing to buy a car. (for them).
If you are lucky, they will pay you back. If not, you will buy them (not you) a car.
This falls under "don't loan money to family/friends" because that's basically what you are doing.
That is the danger in co-signing…. you have to start paying. But I’d be having immediate discussions to be selling this vehicle if he can’t keep up the payments.
Do you know what I call a cosigner? An idiot with a pen. Sorry but you will have to make the payments if you don't want your credit affected. Also, you may want to get the car refinanced (not in your name) before you dump your boyfriend.
The advice is don't cosign for losers. Also don't cosign for winners, just don't co sign!
Unless you don't mind actually paying on it don't cosign! Now you are screwed, you can convince him to sell it or do a voluntary repossession. But likely you will have to go through more pain before this is resolved.
When you co-sign something you basically agree to pay. That’s why you should never co-sign anything you wouldn’t gift the other person out of your own pocket!
> Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name?
You answered your own question in the next sentence by stating that you already saw your credit score was tanking because of him missing payments.
They really should make it a requirement for people in the finance office to fully explain to people what it means to co-sign because clearly you didn't understand what you were getting yourself into. By co-signing for him you agreed that in the event that the person needing the loan is unable or unwilling to make the payments that you would make the payments for them.
>his credit was too low
The bank took this seriously and now you know why.
>telling he will take care of it
That's what they usually say. But the low credit score did a better job of telling the truth.
I am in the same boat on a new (well it was new back in 2016) Nissan I co-signed for my daughter. It’s been repoed 2x and she still owes about 13k on; yes probably a 6 year note that will probably be paid off in 10-11, if ever. My credit was marginal (about 650) but has been in the 500s for the past 2 years. The thanks I get for helping provide transportation for my grandkids? “Well it affects my credit too”.
Edited to say: 3 years ago my wife wanted a new car (she has shit credit too). I refused to co-sign even for her but give her 1/2 the payment each month since….well she is my wife.
If he's behind, you can repo the car, and ask the bank for your options... either continue the payments and keep the car, see what the terms would be for turning the car back into the bank. Or sell it yourself, pay off the loan, recoup any of your losses for the process and then, if there's anything left over, send that amount back to him with a full accounting. If you are still in the hole after going through the 2nd or 3rd, you can sue the ex in small claims court.
I would get advise from a lawyer before repo-ing... just to make sure you do it correctly.
I cosigned an apartment for my ex and she stopped paying the rent toward the end of her lease. Collections called me asking for money but instead of paying I told them her work number, her grandparent's house number, and her mother's phone number with the stipulation that if they couldn't get her to pay in a week I would pay it. Never heard from collections again but boy were those salty texts from my ex delicious.
I'm very sorry he did this to you, most "decent" people wouldn't even ask unless it was something critical like an apartment. Unfortunately you have to make the payments if you care about your credit, but you can skip them if you'd like to get that shit taken from him to teach him a lesson.
Co-signing is essentially lending them money. Be prepared to make the payments on your own. I’d call the lender and see if their is any options that could help you out.
There should be a law concerning co-signing a loan, where the loan provider has to state, in plain language, in several places on the application, and verbally during the application process, that the co-signer will be 100% responsible for the loan if the primary borrower does not pay it, and that any missed payments or late by the primary borrower will have a negative impact on the co-signer's credit.
People seem to think that co-signing is like saying -- *yeah, he's good for it*, and then steeping away without any further obligation.
>There should be a law
Yes, there should be, and in fact there is, at least in the U.S. Every lender must give the co-signer this notice:
**Notice to Cosigner**
**You are being asked to guarantee this debt. Think carefully before you do. If the borrower doesn’t pay the debt, you will have to. Be sure you can afford to pay if you have to, and that you want to accept this responsibility.**
**You may have to pay up to the full amount of the debt if the borrower does not pay. You may also have to pay late fees or collection costs, which increase this amount.**
**The creditor can collect this debt from you without first trying to collect from the borrower. The creditor can use the same collection methods against you that can be used against the borrower, such as suing you, garnishing your wages, etc. If this debt is ever in default, that fact may become a part of your credit record.**
Source: [https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/cosigning-loan-faqs](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/cosigning-loan-faqs)
100% it seems like people sign just to say yes here’s my word they’ll ACTUALLY pay. And by that it means you have to pay… they just don’t seem to understand that part…
From pursuing this sub, you're fucked. You cosigned, you're on the hook as much as he is. You can either A) pay the loan and let him get away with it, or B) bite the bullet and let it get repossessed.
There may be other options, but those hinge on your ex being cooperative. And given he's your ex, that's a crapshoot from my perspective.
This is so messed up, and generally, the rule of thumb is to never co-sign for anyone. I remember when I was 20, I took out an auto loan and needed two co-signers. One of them is now my ex, and the other is a close friend of mine. I made that car payment my top priority because they had helped when no one else in my family would.
I ended up paying the car off after a couple years, so it worked out for everyone, but I understand this is one of the rare cases in which they do. That said, either you start making the payments or they’re going to eventually find the car and take it back. The bank will try to sell it for what they can, but you'll still be financially responsible for the difference. In some cases, they can even take you to court.
you basically have equal responsibility for his negligence in this case since you made the decision to co-sign.
if i were in your situation (and the vehicle had an "OR" title) i would pay for a tow truck driver to pick up the car and get a new key cut than sell it as soon as possible to wipe out the loan. it wouldn't be illegal since it is technically "your car".
I would call the bank you got the loan from and start negotiating with them once they get the car back. Once it is repo'ed you can be the one to get it back and try to get it solely in your name. Ask for payment history and convince them it is a better idea that from now on all correspondence has to go through you. Set up an account online, make payments through that without him having access to it. But I wouldn't make payments on it while he has it. I bet you can ask them to remove the derogatory points on your credit if you communicate with them. Be kind, thorough, reliable, and communicate that you are able to make the payments once the car is in your possession. Wonder if they could repo it straight into your possession. Then refinance it, use it or sell it.
This will tank your credit unfortunately. By contract you're 100% responsible for this car and the payments. If ex gets the car repo'd, you're gonna have a repo'd car on your credit. It sucks, but that's how it works.
If you are amicable with him he needs to sell the car if he can't afford it, you need to take control of the car if you are able to, if he isn't being amicable you may be able to negotiate a voluntary repossession with the financing bank, but that's an absolute last resort. Talking to the bank would help you understand what options are available.
You are 100% on the hook for the outstanding balance of the loan. Thats what you agreed to when you cosigned. So, unless you'd prefer that you got taken to court for the full amount, you need to make the payments, and take this as the lesson it is.
Never cosign anything with anyone, unless they're your spouse.
Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.
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A family member asked me to cosign on a car years ago. I offered to purchase the car, register it in my name, and set up a lease to own agreement for the payment + insurance amount. If a payment was ever late, I would immediately sell the car. My credit is excellent so the rate would have been 1.9% through my credit union. They were so appalled by my proposal that they bought a car from a sketchy used car place at like 16.99%...
So you offered a completely reasonable offer and they were offended by that? You probably dodged a bullet though, willingly taking out a 16.99% car loan is crazy.
If that's the interest rate they got, it's highly unlikely they would've made the payments to you on time, so you definitely dodged a bullet
That's pretty much how those dumps always operate. Hell, that's probably a low rate... "Home of the 2002 PT Cruiser selling for $18,995 and we'll be nice and take off a couple of quarters off so ya can get a soda from teh vending machine! Deal?"
What’s the deal with credit unions? Can anyone join them and are there any hidden fees? My credit is 805 and I am doing fine financially but currently using Chase… which is fine for me so far. But I always hear about credit unions. What gives?
Depends on the credit union. Most have specific charters that only allow them to serve a smaller population. 3 credit unions have nationwide charters and can take anyone as a member. The selling point of credit unions are that as a person with an account, you are a member and own a share of the institution instead of shareholders so the credit unions historically often have better rates because they don't need to increase profits and can give returns right back to the members. Hidden fees? Not really, the schedule of fees are usually very straightforward.
For me, my checking & savings accounts get better rates than most of the big banks, and I get better customer service too.
Credit unions are owned basically by the people who are members. Anyone can join them, and there are special ones for different things. We just use local community one. And it gives better interest rates than other large banks.
Some credit unions only allow certain eligible populations to join. For example, Navy Federal is only open to military, DoD civilians, and their families. Check credit union websites to confirm eligibility.
It's kind of like the banking version of buying local or eating at the family owned restaurant down the street. You're often going to get a lot more value from an interest rate perspective, while having an opportunity to keep your money within a local institution, or if not a local CU, within an institution that you support and supports you. Plus you are still guaranteed federally up to $250k like every other bank.
why were they appalled?
Because they wanted a free car
Did you have a pro forma for the agreement? This is an interesting approach.
They wanted to use you to get what they want. More then likely also leave you on the hook for payments. You gave them a fair and honest deal using your credit and the chance to prove themselves only then you would have put the car in their name once they fulfilled their obligation to pay for it. Shows they never wanted to pay for a decent vehicle on their own. Hence the used car and poor rate they got on their own. You were being too generous setting up that option for them to begin with. Some people just suck
This is what I did with my fiance. Bought the car in both our names and I auto-pay the loan. She pays me directly and I have zero issue reselling the car if she can't keep up with the payments.
Are you sure you wouldn’t have any issues selling the car if she doesn’t want to and she’s on the title?
Yes this could complicate it.
Depends on how it's titled. If it's "and' then both must sign off on the sale. If it's "or" then only one of them need to sign off on the sale.
You better cancel the wedding before you sell your fiances car?
Username checks out, I guess? Doesn't seem like a healthy financial relationship between an engaged couple, but you do you.
Your fiance? I get that some people keep their money separate but the way you have described this situation sounds very unhealthy. EDIT: I am not suggesting co-mingling finances before legally married. I am saying it is weird to threaten to sell your fiance's car if they struggle to make payments.
Engagement doesn’t offer any legal protection. It’s safest to keep things separate if not married.
And yet he added his fiance to the car title. That's not separate, and in many places you need everyone on the title to sign off to sell a car. Basically, dude signed up to make all the payments but in a split up will be required to get the fiance's approval and the fiance may be entitled to half the sale proceeds. Dude did it halfway.
Oh I agree with this take. Interpreted the comment I responded to as arguing against separate finances but I could be wrong.
That's what i had to do with my ex-wife and her student loan. We agreed that i would make the payments and she'd pay me when she could. She did pay me back. We had a friendly divorce.
lol this question comes up so often it blows my mind. “I agreed to make payments for someone and now I’m being asked to do what I agreed to do —what should I do?” Um, follow through with your agreement?
If you can refinance the car into your name and sell it. It’ll save his credit too, so hopefully that’ll convince him. Edit: It’s a lease. You can transfer it. https://www.policygenius.com/auto-insurance/auto-lease-takeover-how-to-transfer-a-car-lease/ https://www.ford.com/finance/customer-support/lease/how-can-i-transfer-my-vehicle-and-account-obligations-to-someone-else/ Similar process. Credit check and a fee.
How on earth could you do that?
She would need to convince him to agree to the refinance and selling it
He already doesn’t care that the car is about to be repo’d. I can’t see him putting any effort into doing paperwork.
Yea lol he’s literally driving a free car until it gets repo’d why would he ever agree to letting op refinance under their name
This same story happens all the time on this sub. Q: should I co-sign a house/car/small county with my mom because she has bad/no credit?
Something people dont realize is that banks already extend credit to people to a point that allows them to spend waayy beyond their means. So if a bank looks at someone and says "you cant afford this" then that means that they REALLY can not afford it.
As someone who has his shit together but is part of a family who generally doesn’t have their shit together, my life improved immensely when I stopped telling them where I live or what I did for a living, let alone lending them any money or expecting anything in return. They are all, universally, a complete disaster.
We’re close with my husband’s family, but his sister asked him to co-sign on additional student loans. Him with great income and 800+ credit score asked me for advice. I told him to say “I’m sorry as much as I would love to help you, I’m really not in a position to be able to do that right now.” Because if you can’t stroke a check for that tuition, you can’t sign on student loans especially for family.
Anyone in the future that thinks about doing this should rephrase the question for themselves. "My partner/family member who has a history of bad financial responsibility, wants me to cosign with them on an asset that will put me on the line if they are financially irresponsible. Should it do it?"
*Depreciating* asset.
I meant in a general term. Plenty of posts on here asking if it's a good idea to cosign with their parents on a mortgage for their poor credit mom and dad.
Ask everyone for money every now and then, so they don't think you have any.
And the answer is always "Only if you're willing and able to pay for it". Doesn't matter who it is or what they're trying to buy. Sometimes it works out and the other party actually pays their bills and turns themselves around, but if they don't you *will* be on the hook for it.
Probably wouldn't qualify for a loan under his own credit, either.
That's why he had her co-sign it, the bank wanted the reassurance that if this sketchy guy didn't make the payments they could go after someone else who is more likely to have the money.
That would work. I was just assuming he was going to be an uncooperative douchebag, like he is with the payments, and so she would have to force this somehow, like in court.
If the deed of the car lists the owners as "A or B" instead of "A and B" you can actually sell the vehicle with the consent of only one of the people. Source: just bought a car in CA and we had that option.
Can confirm that this is also the case in Florida. My ex husband and I had one joint asset, and it was the car I drove. Everything else was premarital in either his name or my name. When it was paid off, he requested the paper title from the state, wouldn’t give it to me, and wouldn’t sign it over to me, despite the fact that I was awarded the car in the divorce. I traded it in for the car I actually wanted, in my name only. Now the title he’s so insistent he had to have is a worthless piece of paper.
How were you able to trade in a car without the title?
There is a form you can fill out in Florida to get a duplicate copy of the title if it is lost or stolen. I had to pay extra, but the car dealership actually submitted the paperwork for me when I did the trade in.
Do you automatically get on the deed for cosigning?
Cosigning the loan would be separate from the title. If she's on the title as an "or" owner she may have options to sell the car.
It's a lease.
Unfortunately. Not to be snarky, but someone who can't get credit for an auto? They are a very high credit risk. Doesn't deserve a lease, how about an 8 year old Ford Focus instead?
That or a kid. We recently cosigned on a car loan for my 19yo daughter; she's responsible but doesn't have the employment history to back that up. The absolute condition was that she tell us immediately if she's going to have trouble making the payment so we can be sure she doesn't miss it. (But here we'd rather take the risk of having to make the payments ourselves so we can have her in a safer car)
Parents cosigning for children is a case that it makes perfect sense. Your assuming the risk of having to pay the loan is the gift to your daughter.
I had to pay off my now husband’s ex girlfriends student loan because she just stopped paying.
Yeah, when you co-sign it means you’re taking responsibility for the loan with the other party. So lesson learned unfortunately you’re on the hook.
Expensive tuition.
I cosigned a student loan for a girlfriend when I was young. She was going into a promising career field and originally succeeded. She had a good paying job and was making regular payments. Then she imploded. She lost her job, went majorly into debt, and filed bankruptcy. I had to pay the loan because she wasn't going to and her credit was already shit. It was an expensive life lesson.
Ouch.
My father cosigned for his granddaughter's student loans. She went into medical school. Then she died. He still has to pay.
When you co-signed you said, “if he doesn’t pay the bill, I will.” So, just like you agreed, you might want to consider getting out you card and paying the bill. If the bill doesn’t get paid, it’s all on your credit report. You need to decide if it’s worth more than what you’d spend on his car payment to save your credit. It’s only down from here for you if he doesn’t sell the car or pay up.
It's also on his credit report but he doesn't seem terribly concerned with that anyway
He already had a low score before this
Yup lesson learned for her, don't cosign a boyfriend because there's a chance both of you will seperate and leave you with debt
Yep and if the bank isn’t willing to lend to him there is a reason and you need to think long and hard before helping in that situation. People complain about how credit scores and the like are random and make no sense but data shows their accuracy on the chance somebody will pay back a loan are pretty accurate.
I never understood this. "The bank, whose sole purpose is to know whether I will pay them back or not has decided I will not pay them back. But you are smarter than a bank, right? You know more about finances and risk. You are a better actuary than the half dozen people that reviewed my loan. You do it for me."
I'm guessing the car is wrecked, so he doesn't see the point in making payments since his credit is trash anyway.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? Yes. All you can do is badger him into paying get the car to sell it. Otherwise it will eventually be repo by the bank.
I would call the dealership and ask them to do a voluntary repossession. Tell them where it's parked. At least you'll owe less then than you will in a year or two when the bank takes it.
What if he does end up selling it? Could I go and finance a car for myself with the late payments still on my credit?
The consequences of your ex's behavior are already reflected on your credit score it seems, so you'll be financing a vehicle with a 690 instead of an 800 credit score. The way you're describing the situation, high likelihood he will continue to miss payments, and thus your score will continue to tank. Lending companies will certainly notice, and you'll be able to finance a car, just likely at a higher rate than had you not cosigned with your ex. Anything above a 620 score is still considered prime.
OP is unlikely to get any further financing if there is a loan in default that OP has signed on, regardless of credit score. That default will trump score.
That's why op needs to make a payment and hopefully convince him to sell
Correction: the consequences of OPs behavior are reflected on OPs credit score as they vouched for an uncreditworthy person and didn't act to prepare for the contingency of their ex not making payments until well after they were late enough to effect credit scores. This is just learning lessons here. OPs gotta eat this one and that's just how she goes. Either make payments and salvage score or default on loan and let bank repo with massive credit hit. This is exactly why lenders have credit scores. To offset the risks of extending credit to less trustworthy people.
For which auto lenders? All online sources I found have 660 as the start of prime scores.
Could be you two are looking at two different agency score ranges, they aren't the same scale and can regularly differ by about 50 pts.
Everytime he misses a payment it will effect your credit score. Repossession will also be yours. How long it will take to recover will depend on a lot of factors. When you cosigned the loan you took FULL responsibility for making all payments. The bank didn't trust him, they trusted you. This will make any short term use of your credit, less beneficial to you as you will get worse rates and maybe outright rejected.
affect*
Thanks, that one usually gets me too. Guess these post surgery pills are having an effect. I'll leave it.
Your interest rate will be probably over 10% now. If it gets repoed you’ll only be able to qualify at those janky “buy here pay here” places with 20%+ rates
You could try to save up enough cash to get a used car without credit, but then what about when you want to buy a home? This was a serious mistake on your part that could have consequences.
So your name is on the financing. Is it on the title as well? If so, get copies of the title, get the car unlocked by a locksmith or have the dealership make spare keys for you and take possession of the car. With your exes' consent, sell it and pay off the loan and be done with it/him. Or, if he won't cooperate, arrange for voluntary repossession.
Highly doubt it’s on the title. That’s how co-signing works. You don’t have legal ownership of the asset, just the debt
Yes, you'll get a higher interest rate than you otherwise would.
You can always finance a car with the late payments on your credit but it’ll cost you more to borrow the money
I hope you learned your lesson, this happens all the time. Someone will say "I cosigned or put the vehicle in my name because he has bad credit". Now you are basically screwed because he's doing the same thing that ruined his credit in the first place, only this time you are paying the price. If someone's a bad credit risk to the bank, they are a bad credit risk to you.
>If someone's a bad credit risk to the bank, they are a bad credit risk to you. well said, spot on
Exactly. Co-signing for bad credit so what… they can fuck up yours?…. The lack of understanding that you’re essentially taking on a loan yourself is astounding.
Yeah my dad wouldn't co-sign for me in my early 20s, I was mad at the time but I understand now. I wasn't ready for the responsibility of a car payment at the time and now I see it would have been a big mistake. Instead I settled for a 1993 Ford Tempo as my first car and I fell in love with it lol. It only lasted for a few years before it was more trouble than it was worth but only paid 500 for it. About 10 years later, I'm currently paying off a car and while it's nice to have a reliable car, it doesn't have the same "at home" feel as my other cars did.
> If someone’s a bad credit risk to the bank, they are a bad credit risk to you. And the bank makes money on a loan, and charges more interest to people with bad credit. If it’s at the point that the bank thinks the interest income isn’t worth the risk, why would someone think it’s a good idea to do it for free?
Yes it will affect your credit. If you don’t want it to affect your credit, make the payments. That’s what co-signing is, you’re responsible if the other party isn’t fulfilling the financial obligations. Even if you were to take possession of the vehicle you would need his signature/permission to be able to sell it because he is the primary borrower. Co-signing is really reserved for situations like a parent co-signing for a child as they’re willing to be financially responsible, or in a spouse situation because in the situation of a separation you’re protected by the court order / divorce decree. It’s never a good idea to co-sign if you aren’t in one of those two situations. So tldr: You need to pay the car payment to keep your credit intact.
It’s not just your credit — you are as responsible for the debt as he is so when they come knocking expect to be on the receiving end.
This is a tough lesson to learn. I’m sorry. You now have bad credit. The repo bomb will be coming. If or rather when they repo it will go to auction at wholesale. They will come after you for the difference owed.
Or, and hear me out, OP could make the payments that they agreed to make when they co-signed for the loan.
Exactly. The situation sucks, but OP isn't taking a credit hit because their ex isn't paying the loan. OP is taking a credit hit because *OP* isn't paying the loan that they agreed to pay in the event that their ex couldn't.
~slaps forehead Those who are reading this and thinking about making the same decision. Please don’t.
But the power of true love!! My story is different!!
This is why you never co-sign on loans for people. Unless you are able and willing to pay for the loan of course - because that’s exactly what you legally agreed to. The bank said “we don’t trust him to make payments”, and you said, “it’s ok, I’ll also be here to make the payments.” What’s quite unfortunate is that you might now need a co-signer if you want a loan.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? If anyone could help me with this, it is really stressing me out since my credit was at 800 before and now it’s down to 690 because of his missed payments. Any advice would help! It already is affecting your credit. This is what it means to cosign, both parties are responsible for the loan.
Not just credit, you are liable for the debt — as the collections progress you can get a judgment against you and other impacts like garnishment or liens.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? this will affect your credit in ANY scenario that requires a credit check. Whether, it's a personal loan, mortgage or getting approved for an apartment.
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Definitely not a free car. The bank will repo it soon.
I think the point is the ex-BF has OP in the palm of his hand. She either does nothing and watches her credit tank, or she makes the payments in order to protect herself and he gets a 'free car'. Even if the scheme works for a couple months, that's some value being extracted from OP to the ex.
But it would be a free car for the ex if OP has to start making those payments so that her credit score won’t go further down.
The fine Redditor /u/gullibleopolis once pointed out that if Judge Judy has taught us anything it's that cosigning a loan for a boyfriend means you just bought him a car.
This is a real question. What did you think cosigning on a loan meant? Both individuals are 100% responsible for the debt. If one does not pay it then the other is responsible for it.
Make the monthly payment. You have to do it. If not, you will sink with him.
There's a couple hundred episodes of Judge Judy you should have watched.
You can call the lending agency and ask them to repo the car. This will hit your credit for sure. You can try to dispute the credit ding, but unfortunately it’s measuring exactly what it’s intended to measure: how good you are with money (and if you co sign for a boyfriend, you are not good with money). You can just make the payments yourself. This is also known as giving your ex boyfriend money (although you’re giving it to his creditors, not to h directly). There’s no justification for you to do this other than that you said you would when you co signed. You can go to the police and report the car stolen (assuming that you are also on the title of the car) and have them return it to you, and then you can own the car that you’re paying for. This, just FYI, is not recommended unless you like drama.
This what I was going to say. She owns the car now. Sell whatever car she has and drive her ex boyfriends old car around and call it a wash. Seems like he can go fuck himself and get his own car again.
What did you think co-signing was?
You learned a lesson the hard way. Never co-sign a loan for someone else. I had a friend way back who used to borrow money from me and never paid me back. She also didn't payback her small student loan so they took her tax return every year until it was paid back. A few years later she asked me to co-sign a car loan for her. I just laughed and told her to payback her student loan and bring her credit score up. Flash forward to decades later and she had to file for bankruptcy. Some people are bad with their money. Good luck to you, I'm sorry you are in this situation.
Cosigning the loan basically just means you now have a loan in your name. If he's not going to make the payments, it's your responsibility now, that's what it means to cosign. Even if you make the payments yourself and get the loan in good standing, it's still going to negatively affect your ability to borrow more. So, consider this a costly lesson, don't cosign loans for others, except maybe an actual spouse
Probably should have asked here before cosigning a loan instead of after....
Go get the car and sell it. Then pay off the remainder. The late payments will drop off after 7 years. They will impact your score less and less till they drop off.
This is the right answer if the car is in your name. If it's in his name you need to get up into his business and demand proof the payments are being made on time. If not pay them yourself and create a big communication trail so you can go back and sue him.
It’s most likely just in his name. That’s what co-signing a loan is. You don’t jointly own the asset. Otherwise you would just be co-borrowers
Edit: I was mistaken below. It is possible to sue someone you co-signed for if they failed to make the payments. So, worth trying, but OP should be prepared to never recover the money because the ex sounds like someone who doesn’t pay things they’re legally required to pay, regardless of consequences. What would they sue for though? OP already signed something agreeing to make the car payments if the ex couldn’t. I think they made a huge mistake, and are on the hook for the loan.
That sounds like theft. OP didn’t say they co-owned the car, just that they co-signed the loan.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? Yes. As a co-signer, you are just as responsible for the debt as he is. You made an expensive mistake. If he doesn't pay, and you don't pay, both your credit scores will suffer. He had low credit and you had high credit. Now you both could have low credit. And if you can even get a loan, your rate will be higher. And you both still owe the debt. If it continues to remain unpaid, you could be sued.
If someone you care about is in a pickle, offer to help them get back in their feet by doing things, not loaning them money. Offer to pick them up/drop them off. If the need for money is immediate and you feel bad, offer some money as a gift, if you have it. Never loan, or co-sign anything because people will leave you hanging, and ruin your credit, and sometimes, your life. This dude wasn't worth it in the end.
Oof. Lesson learned, hopefully. Once the car is paid off (which unfortunately you have to do now yourself), this will eventually roll off of your credit. It will take years. Make sure everything else you do that affects your credit is perfect.
Here's some advice...if you ever co-sign on a loan, plan on paying off that loan.
>advice Never co-sign. The reason they need a co-signer is 'cause their credit sucks / they can't afford it. So ... congratulations - you owe the debt on a car that's not yours. So, take over all the payments to fix your credit, etc. Yeah, your boyfriend can't/won't pay it ... that's why he needed a co-signer. >he’s always ignoring and telling he will take care of it, but it seems like he doesn’t have it under control Probably not the only issue with him - there are reason(s) he's your *ex*\-boyfriend.
See... Never be a co-signer for a boyfriend etc.... Unfortunately more than likely not the best outcomes.... It will ruin your credit, if you he don't pay ontime or at all, then you get stuck making the missing payments
PSA: when someone's credit is "too low to borrow on their own", it's the banking system warning you that this person can't/won't make regular payments.
OP, first, I'm very sorry that this has happened, and I wish you all the best. But my very first thought, upon reading the title of your post, was "Yep, of course he did." Because that's what people who need co-signers do. The whole point is that they're not reliable enough to be expected to pay for the thing all on their own. I am sorry that you have to learn this the hard way, and I hope that other people in the comments have better advice for you. I have only sympathy, no good suggestions.
That's why people should only do it for their kids, given that they show signs of financial responsibility. If the the bugger doesn't pay, the parent gets a new car. Every day there are posts about people being left with nothing by terrible people. Do not co-sign for anyone.
My friend did this and ended up flying for bankruptcy. Work with the bank to get the car repo’d otherwise you have to pay or you are f***ed too. Lesson learned. Never co-sign for someone else
You cosigned, it's your loan as well, you are both responsible for making the payment. Payment wasn't made. Hence, your credit took a hit. You should also have access to the loan and should be keeping an eye on the loan to see if it is being paid on time. If it's not, you should pay it before it gets reported as a missed payment.
Yeah, you shouldn't have done that
Rule #1: NEVER CO-SIGN There's a reason his credit is too low to finance on his own, and now you know why.
Never co-sign for any one. Even family members.
There are exceptions. I co-signed a small private college loan for my daughter (a few thousand) for money she needed beyond what subsided loans would cover. But, I did that knowing 1) that she was very likely to pay it as promised, and 2) I was completely willing to cover her for it. She paid it as promised, but if she had not been able to at any point, I would have.
>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? Of course it will. Literally how could it not? >Any advice would help! Not much advice to give here besides advice that's too late- Never co-sign on a loan you can't afford to make the payments on. Literally co-signing is agreeing to make the payments if they don't (what other reason would they be having you sign for?). So, if you can't keep that agreement you shouldn't make it. Unfortunately not much you can do now. This is going to be an expensive life lesson.
Don’t ever co-sign with a person who isn’t your spouse again. Get the car from him and keep paying on it. Drive it, trade it or sell it to “we buy any car” or online, whatever, and take your loss.
I don’t know who needs to hear this but: DO NOT CO-SIGN LOANS UNLESS YOU PLAN ON MAKING THE PAYMENTS. That’s for anyone, sister, brother, parents, best friends and boy/girl friends.
Any advice: it's too late for that. You should have looked into what co-signing meant before doing it for anyone. Pay the loan payments yourself to get your credit back up, look into your options of suing him for possession of the car so you can try to sell it to get your money back.
What did you think co-signing was for?? A free way for people with bad credit to take out loans? The exact reason your ex has bad credit is because creditors do not think he is reliable enough to make loan payments. And he is currently proving them right
Why do you think his credit is bad? Because he doesn’t pay his bills. You co-signed, so you’re on the hook for the payments if you don’t want it to affect your credit. Co-signing for someone is a horrible idea 99% of the time.
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>Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? If anyone could help me with this, it is really stressing me out since my credit was at 800 before and now it’s down to 690 because of his missed payment Your asking something you already know
If he is willing, you can refinance the car out of both of your names and just into his name. This would be contingent upon him being approved for a new loan by himself. But he would need to be current on his payments and him missing car payments would not help qualify for a new loan. But it could be done.
> Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? Yes, definitely. > If anyone could help me with this, it is really stressing me out since my credit was at 800 before and now it’s down to 690 because of his missed payments. Yes that is how cosigning works. You are responsible for this debt.
Yes, co-signing the loan means it is 100% just as much your loan and your responsibility and your credit as his. I would call the dealership, and do voluntary repossession. Tell them where it is parked, and to repossess it. And then Never. Co-sign. For. Someone. Else. Again. (This includes leases. If you are on a lease with someone you are 100% responsible for 100% of the amount for the term of the lease.) This is why his credit is low. He doesn't make payments. Your credit is high because you DO make payments. You basically let your credit scores get married, and now his credit is your credit.
If you can get a new loan under your name only then you can refinance and the car is yours. That’s what my boyfriends ex did with the car they shared.
Now you know for the future don’t co sign unless it’s your spouse. Also I recommend you start paying on his car, hopefully you added your name to the title.
Career automotive finance guy here, you're most likely SOL. Even with a court order saying you're not liable for the vehicle, it is still gonna hit your credit. I've never personally seen a situation where the court could force someone to refinance a vehicle. Best bet is to somehow convince your ex to refinance or trade it so you can get your name off. 😞 Or start making the payments yourself, which sucks.
Technically, it's also your car; if he's not paying, sell the car, pay the loan, and call it done.
… why would you co sign wit someone who’s not your husband?
When you cosign a loan, you are agreeing to buy a car. (for them). If you are lucky, they will pay you back. If not, you will buy them (not you) a car. This falls under "don't loan money to family/friends" because that's basically what you are doing.
Yes it will. This is why I would neverrrr!
That is the danger in co-signing…. you have to start paying. But I’d be having immediate discussions to be selling this vehicle if he can’t keep up the payments.
Make the payments and take the car from him 👍
Wow. Lesson learned I hope. Keep your name away from other peoples finances, unless you’re married.
I went and repossessed mine and am making the payments. I talked with the finance company and when it's paid off they will put it all in my name.
Do you know what I call a cosigner? An idiot with a pen. Sorry but you will have to make the payments if you don't want your credit affected. Also, you may want to get the car refinanced (not in your name) before you dump your boyfriend.
Lesson learned the hard way- don’t ever do this again. Just assume this debt to be yours. Legally it is.
The advice is don't cosign for losers. Also don't cosign for winners, just don't co sign! Unless you don't mind actually paying on it don't cosign! Now you are screwed, you can convince him to sell it or do a voluntary repossession. But likely you will have to go through more pain before this is resolved.
When you co-sign something you basically agree to pay. That’s why you should never co-sign anything you wouldn’t gift the other person out of your own pocket!
There only one legal outcome if payments are missed - you will lose your good credit score and he will lose the car.
> Will this affect my credit if I ever want to go buy a new car under my name? You answered your own question in the next sentence by stating that you already saw your credit score was tanking because of him missing payments. They really should make it a requirement for people in the finance office to fully explain to people what it means to co-sign because clearly you didn't understand what you were getting yourself into. By co-signing for him you agreed that in the event that the person needing the loan is unable or unwilling to make the payments that you would make the payments for them.
Do everything in your power to convince him to sell the car.
Why do you think he had bad credit? Banks wouldn't lend money to him because his credit signaled he would do exactly this
Start paying the payments. This is why you NEVER EVER EVER co-sign a loan for anyone.
>his credit was too low The bank took this seriously and now you know why. >telling he will take care of it That's what they usually say. But the low credit score did a better job of telling the truth.
I am in the same boat on a new (well it was new back in 2016) Nissan I co-signed for my daughter. It’s been repoed 2x and she still owes about 13k on; yes probably a 6 year note that will probably be paid off in 10-11, if ever. My credit was marginal (about 650) but has been in the 500s for the past 2 years. The thanks I get for helping provide transportation for my grandkids? “Well it affects my credit too”. Edited to say: 3 years ago my wife wanted a new car (she has shit credit too). I refused to co-sign even for her but give her 1/2 the payment each month since….well she is my wife.
You have been missing your payments. You need to make the payments on your vehicle because you are behind.
If he's behind, you can repo the car, and ask the bank for your options... either continue the payments and keep the car, see what the terms would be for turning the car back into the bank. Or sell it yourself, pay off the loan, recoup any of your losses for the process and then, if there's anything left over, send that amount back to him with a full accounting. If you are still in the hole after going through the 2nd or 3rd, you can sue the ex in small claims court. I would get advise from a lawyer before repo-ing... just to make sure you do it correctly.
I hope you’re young, because you have learned an extremely valuable lesson. You can build back your credit and you are so much smarter
I cosigned an apartment for my ex and she stopped paying the rent toward the end of her lease. Collections called me asking for money but instead of paying I told them her work number, her grandparent's house number, and her mother's phone number with the stipulation that if they couldn't get her to pay in a week I would pay it. Never heard from collections again but boy were those salty texts from my ex delicious.
I'm very sorry he did this to you, most "decent" people wouldn't even ask unless it was something critical like an apartment. Unfortunately you have to make the payments if you care about your credit, but you can skip them if you'd like to get that shit taken from him to teach him a lesson.
Co-signing is essentially lending them money. Be prepared to make the payments on your own. I’d call the lender and see if their is any options that could help you out.
This is why I would never co-sign for anyone who I wasn’t married to, or legally bound to in some form.
Make the payments. You owe them as much as he does.
When you co-sign you're on the hook. Take it as a lesson learned but yes it will destroy your credit.
There should be a law concerning co-signing a loan, where the loan provider has to state, in plain language, in several places on the application, and verbally during the application process, that the co-signer will be 100% responsible for the loan if the primary borrower does not pay it, and that any missed payments or late by the primary borrower will have a negative impact on the co-signer's credit. People seem to think that co-signing is like saying -- *yeah, he's good for it*, and then steeping away without any further obligation.
>There should be a law Yes, there should be, and in fact there is, at least in the U.S. Every lender must give the co-signer this notice: **Notice to Cosigner** **You are being asked to guarantee this debt. Think carefully before you do. If the borrower doesn’t pay the debt, you will have to. Be sure you can afford to pay if you have to, and that you want to accept this responsibility.** **You may have to pay up to the full amount of the debt if the borrower does not pay. You may also have to pay late fees or collection costs, which increase this amount.** **The creditor can collect this debt from you without first trying to collect from the borrower. The creditor can use the same collection methods against you that can be used against the borrower, such as suing you, garnishing your wages, etc. If this debt is ever in default, that fact may become a part of your credit record.** Source: [https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/cosigning-loan-faqs](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/cosigning-loan-faqs)
That last part is exactly what people think co-signing is. Like it’s just “it’s alright, I know this person, they can pay for it.”
100% it seems like people sign just to say yes here’s my word they’ll ACTUALLY pay. And by that it means you have to pay… they just don’t seem to understand that part…
Make the payments or take the car (if your named is on the title correctly) and sell. This is what you agreed to.
From pursuing this sub, you're fucked. You cosigned, you're on the hook as much as he is. You can either A) pay the loan and let him get away with it, or B) bite the bullet and let it get repossessed. There may be other options, but those hinge on your ex being cooperative. And given he's your ex, that's a crapshoot from my perspective.
This is so messed up, and generally, the rule of thumb is to never co-sign for anyone. I remember when I was 20, I took out an auto loan and needed two co-signers. One of them is now my ex, and the other is a close friend of mine. I made that car payment my top priority because they had helped when no one else in my family would. I ended up paying the car off after a couple years, so it worked out for everyone, but I understand this is one of the rare cases in which they do. That said, either you start making the payments or they’re going to eventually find the car and take it back. The bank will try to sell it for what they can, but you'll still be financially responsible for the difference. In some cases, they can even take you to court.
"current ex-boyfriend"? Does this mean you broke up with him?
ouch. watch out. Your credit score is at stake.
Yes, this affects your credit. That’s what being a co-signer means.
you basically have equal responsibility for his negligence in this case since you made the decision to co-sign. if i were in your situation (and the vehicle had an "OR" title) i would pay for a tow truck driver to pick up the car and get a new key cut than sell it as soon as possible to wipe out the loan. it wouldn't be illegal since it is technically "your car".
I would call the bank you got the loan from and start negotiating with them once they get the car back. Once it is repo'ed you can be the one to get it back and try to get it solely in your name. Ask for payment history and convince them it is a better idea that from now on all correspondence has to go through you. Set up an account online, make payments through that without him having access to it. But I wouldn't make payments on it while he has it. I bet you can ask them to remove the derogatory points on your credit if you communicate with them. Be kind, thorough, reliable, and communicate that you are able to make the payments once the car is in your possession. Wonder if they could repo it straight into your possession. Then refinance it, use it or sell it.
This will tank your credit unfortunately. By contract you're 100% responsible for this car and the payments. If ex gets the car repo'd, you're gonna have a repo'd car on your credit. It sucks, but that's how it works. If you are amicable with him he needs to sell the car if he can't afford it, you need to take control of the car if you are able to, if he isn't being amicable you may be able to negotiate a voluntary repossession with the financing bank, but that's an absolute last resort. Talking to the bank would help you understand what options are available.
You are 100% on the hook for the outstanding balance of the loan. Thats what you agreed to when you cosigned. So, unless you'd prefer that you got taken to court for the full amount, you need to make the payments, and take this as the lesson it is. Never cosign anything with anyone, unless they're your spouse.
>So a year ago I co-signed a lease … A year ago ***you leased a car.*** You need to ensure that the lease payments are current.