lien on car, what rights do i have

[Debret1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Illinois Long story short: I cosigned for a friend on a car. Of course for 3 years she paid fine then her hours cut and she started making the payments late. I had already paid one payment for her to get caught up then she went behind again.The bank notified both of us that they were going to start getting paper work together to take this loan to court. I decided instead of having all this mess I would just use my credit card with lower interest rate and pay the loan off. Plus when I ran my credit report i was getting a hit everytime the payment was late. The loan had a remainder of 3500.00. When I paid the loan off I recieved the title and that was the only way I would do it. My name and her name both are on the title there is no "and" or "or" between our names. She moved to Mo. and sent me a paper for me to send title to Mo. so she can get plates on the vehicle and make it Mo. title. Legally I have to do this and when I did it I also sent a Notice of Lien for the title since she owes me the money now and also having Mo. send me the title back since I do not trust her to have it. What happens if she drops her ins. am I liable since my name is on the title if she has accident? ...If she doesn't pay me can I go get the car? I don't have keys would she have to give them to me? Do I have anything here since she breached the agreement through the bank and messed with my credit.. DON'T COSIGN FOR NOBODY!!!!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by Debret1

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Illinois Long story short: I cosigned for a friend on a car. Of course for 3 years she paid fine then her hours cut and she started making the payments late. I had already paid one payment for her to get caught up then she went behind again.The bank notified both of us that they were going to start getting paper work together to take this loan to court. I decided instead of having all this mess I would just use my credit card with lower interest rate and pay the loan off. Plus when I ran my credit report i was getting a hit everytime the payment was late. The loan had a remainder of 3500.00. When I paid the loan off I recieved the title and that was the only way I would do it. My name and her name both are on the title there is no "and" or "or" between our names. She moved to Mo. and sent me a paper for me to send title to Mo. so she can get plates on the vehicle and make it Mo. title. Legally I have to do this and when I did it I also sent a Notice of Lien for the title since she owes me the money now and also having Mo. send me the title back since I do not trust her to have it. What happens if she drops her ins. am I liable since my name is on the title if she has accident? ...If she doesn't pay me can I go get the car? I don't have keys would she have to give them to me? Do I have anything here since she breached the agreement through the bank and messed with my credit.. DON'T COSIGN FOR NOBODY!!!!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

If she gets in an accident without insurance, and you are still listed as an owner on the vehicle, yes you could be held liable.

If I were you, I would do two things: Sue her in small claims if Mo has such a venue (I'm not sure and I don't feel like googling). Collects of judgement if successful in obtaining it.

...and yes, don't ever cosign for anybody ~ we preach that all the time here

[Debret1]

So even if she doesn't pay I can't just go get ther car. . since my name is on title too I have to take her to court first? Thanks for your response....

[ecmst12]

You should either go get the car now, if you are legally allowed to do so (consult a pro on that) or just sign the title over to her completely and wash your hands of it. Sue her in small claims court for the money she owes you and obtain a judgement, you can then still put a lein on the title if you like and pursue other means of collection. And then you will no longer be liable for anything she does with the car.