PLEASE HELP

[fastgirlkia24]

my 18 yr. old sister & her 19 yr old husband need a new car. they went to a saturn dealership here in california, were told they needed a co signer & were quoted a 9.5%apr. my 21 yr old sister's husband said he would co-sign. both my sis's husbands signed a contract on 3/24/02 stating the 9.5%apr. they drove the car home. Next day 3/25/02 my youngest sis "D" & her hubby were called to the dealership, told the 9.5%apr wouldn't go through, said they would have to raise the apr to 19.5% tore up the original contract after "M" signed a waiver to rewrite the contract. My mid sis hubby was not present @ this meeting. they were given a copy of the original conract(9.5%) but were told they had to give it back because the contract had to be rewritten.
i saw the new contract tonight, "j" never signed it. the date on the contract is 3/25/02. if my youngest sis needed a co-signer, can someone tell me why she has a contract unsigned by the primary applicant? they also said w/ the new contract they had a higher apr & they would have to come up w/ $750.00 out of pocket in 30 days. they took ther old car as a trade in for $500.00.
this just doesn't seem right. they are young, PLEASE HELP!

 

[ellencee]

fastgirlkia24

did anyone answer you, yet? if not, repost so that your question comes to the front, or be patient, and an attorney probably will post an answer.
In the meantime, I offer this not as legal advice, but as advice from my perspective as an adult and a parent of grown children and grown step-children.

First, simply don't come up with the addtional money, and the deal will fall through, and they get their car or their money back. End of that story.

Secondly, they don't have to have a new car; a good dependable car, under warrantly--not sold as is--will do just fine. Try CarMax--we are true believers in CarMax.

Thirdly, we don't cosign loans and don't advise anyone to cosign loans. We have, obtained the loan and vehicle in our names, and provided the vehicle to whichever child needed the car (the child certainly did not need the loan, or they wouldn't have needed our help).

We only gave what we could afford to pay and never recover. We never really 'loan' money to anyone. If we have it, we give it. If the receiver wants to repay us, they may do so, and then we will be able to help again if needed. And if they agree to pay us back, we tell them that if they do so, as they agree to do, they will obtain further respect for themselves, but we are not ever asking for the money. No child has ever failed to pay us back in full.

Perhaps your middle sister and her husband could purchase a good used car, for a reasonable amount, and make arrangements with the younger sister and her husband. Be advised that lending money often ends relationships and causes hard feelings that never go away. Cosigners often lose their credit standings without even knowing a default on payment has occurred.

I came back to edit and add this message--making payments to a friend or family member changes the relationship, and we found a little 'trick' that works like a charm. We open a savings account in our names only, and provide the child with the savings account number; the child makes deposits to the account according their ability (and with no obligation to do so), and we avoid that money exchange, person-to-person thing, that can cause a change in relationships.

Again--I hope an attorney posts an answer; and in the meantime, let the deal fall through.