cosigner onloan

cosigner

in dec of 1996 my then girlfriend and i purchased a vehicle. i was the cosigner on the loan.i put down the $6000 down payment and made 42 of the 60 payments of $479.we seperated in june of 1997, i kept the car and continued to make payment on the loan.in july of 2000 she wanted possesion of the car because she was leaving the state and since it was in her name.when she took the car we agreed she would continue to make the remaing 18 payments and repay to me a fair value of equity that i put into the car($6000+42*$479).I dont expect the whole $26118 that i put into the car since i had posession of the car up until the time she requested it back but just what i am entitled to.
also note i married in march of 1998.she never moved as was her excuse of wanting the vehicle back.she just recently married and he now has possesion of the vehicle. and they now have refused to repay me anything.
state of connecticut

[Edited by dl2539 on 05-12-2001 at 09:40 AM]

Since you maintained such good records (dates, number of payments, amounts, etc.), I am sure that you have a copy of the loan repayment agreement that she signed, right??

If you have a written agreement, showing the dates and amounts of repayment, you will probably have a fairly simple matter of getting a judgment against her. However, if you do NOT have any written agreement for repayment, you are dealing from a very weak hand.

Since the vehicle is in her name and you are a co-signer, you could claim that you HAD to make payments to protect your credit history. Then, those payments could very well be credited to you, and a ruling in your favor. However, she is obviously going to claim that any payments you made were 'gifts', they were voluntary, and since you BOTH benefited from the car during the time you had it... see the problem here??

I would suggest that you contact her, in writing (Certified RRR), and detail your position (include a payment chart showing your payments, have checks, etc.. enough to show that YOU have substantial proof on your side!). Add that, rather than go through the time and expense of legal action (you will if forced!), you would like to arrange some mutually acceptable repayment plan. Give her/them 7 days (?) after receipt to contact you. Hopefully, they will arrange some payment plan (GET IT IN WRITING!!!). If they don't, you are right back where you started and will have to consider taking legal action against them. Naturally, one thing to consider in all this... what are your chances of getting anything from them versus the cost and time of litigation.