As a primary signer on a car loan?

[skylarS]

NH.

so my now ex-friend that my wife co signed on a loan for a car said if we dont send him the spare key he is going to stop making payments on the vehicle my question is can i legaly go and take the car back and bring him to court and have him forcefully removed from the loan? he has been late almost every month and 2 months late at one point. and if i go and take the car can he report it stolen and if i get pulled over can i as the primarys husband get in trouble for driving the car?

 

[LdiJ]

NH.

so my now ex-friend that my wife co signed on a loan for a car said if we dont send him the spare key he is going to stop making payments on the vehicle my question is can i legaly go and take the car back and bring him to court and have him forcefully removed from the loan? he has been late almost every month and 2 months late at one point. and if i go and take the car can he report it stolen and if i get pulled over can i as the primarys husband get in trouble for driving the car?

Its not who signed for the loan that matters, its who is on the title and registration for the vehicle. If your wife is on the title and registration, then SHE can go get the car, not you.

 

[AdjunctFL]

can i legaly go and take the car back and bring him to court

If your wife is a co-signer and not on the car title you can’t take the car back, because you don’t own it to start with.

and have him forcefully removed from the loan?

The loan is a contract between the lending institution, signer and co-signer. A judge can’t require the bank to remove either the co-signer or signer from the loan. The only way to get away from the liability is to either pay the loan off, or refinance the car. If your wife is not the owner, she can’t refinance it (and I doubt the friend would or could.)

can i as the primarys husband get in trouble for driving the car?

Yes, if you or your husband are not on the title (i.e., do not own the car.) Co-signing a loan does not make you an owner

What your post points out is the real danger of co-signing a loan. Anyone co-signing should assume up front that they may end up paying the entire loan. If you end up doing that you might be able to recover from the other signer, but realistically, you know they already can't afford to pay their debts. Any court action could be "throwing good money after bad."

 

[skylarS]

is their any way for me or her to find out if she is on the title?

and what if she is on the title but not registration?

EDIT:the bank still has the title to the vehicle.

 

[AdjunctFL]

is their any way for me or her to find out if she is on the title?

and what if she is on the title but not registration?

EDIT:the bank still has the title to the vehicle.

If your wife is a go-signer on the note collateralized by the car, then the bank may be willing to show her the title. However, if she merely co-signed there would have been no reason to be an actual owner of the car.

 

[skylarS]

so then she is the primary on the loan, the bank still has the title, can she refinace with out his permision to get his name removed from the loan?

 

[AdjunctFL]

so then she is the primary on the loan, the bank still has the title, can she refinace with out his permision to get his name removed from the loan?

You can't "refinance . . . to get his name removed" if he is the owner or co-owner of the car. If your wife is the owner of the car she can refinance it in her name. If she is the co-owner, she can refinance it but the other individual would still be a co-owner. If she is not an owner, she can't refinance it.

Why not post back once you have had a chance to see who owns the car, as all scenarios are conjecture until then. (It might be indicated on the note your wife signed.)

 

[skylarS]

You can't "refinance . . . to get his name removed" if he is the owner or co-owner of the car. If your wife is the owner of the car she can refinance it in her name. If she is the co-owner, she can refinance it but the other individual would still be a co-owner. If she is not an owner, she can't refinance it.

Why not post back once you have had a chance to see who owns the car, as all scenarios are conjecture until then. (It might be indicated on the note your wife signed.)

so come to find out we just called the bank and she is the primary on the loan and from what they said she(my wife) is the only one on the title to the vehicle.

 

[AdjunctFL]

so come to find out we just called the bank and she is the primary on the loan and from what they said she(my wife) is the only one on the title to the vehicle.

If that's correct (and I wouldn't assume that it is until you physically inspect the title) then it's your wife's car and she can do with it what she wants. Presumably the registration is also in your wife's name, and she should be able to get a copy from the local DMV.

Something else you might inquire about - if it's your wife's car, is she insuring it? If friend has an accident in it your wife could be on the hook - big time!

 

[LdiJ]

If that's correct (and I wouldn't assume that it is until you physically inspect the title) then it's your wife's car and she can do with it what she wants. Presumably the registration is also in your wife's name, and she should be able to get a copy from the local DMV.

Something else you might inquire about - if it's your wife's car, is she insuring it? If friend has an accident in it your wife could be on the hook - big time!

And if she owns it, and has not insured it, then she needs to get insurance ASAP.