owner and co-owner big problems

[larry]

My stepson was purchasing a car. His credit wasn't up to standards and his girlfriend had
to co-sign for him to get it. He made all the payments. They broke up they're relationship
and he continued to pay on the vehicle. He was out at the store when she came up and
got in the car and said she was taking it. The police were called but they said they could
do nothing as long as she was in the car. They argued for a while and she ended up taking
the car saying she would make all the payments and keep the car. He agreed to that and
things went fine for a time. Now he was in the process of buying a home. Everything went
fine and a settlement date was set. Then apparently they did one final check on his credit
report and found that he was 2 payments delinquent on the car payments. (She had found
out that he was in the process of buying a home and said not as long as she had anything
to do with it.) He went in and payed the 2 delinquent payments. He went to get the car
back and she has the car blocked in the back of her parents yard. She has bought a new
vehicle and is not using the car. What can we do. We are going to pay the car off but is
he going to have to write it off as a lesson learned or can we go to court and eventually
get the car back? PLEASE HELP

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This is a tough case -- it's murky. First of all, who has title to the car? When you say co-sign, is she a guarantor or is she a joint owner?

I don't think small claims has the power to return property to you if it is yours and that it would be limited to money damages. Yes, this is a tough lesson to learn but he must be doing well to be able to purchase a home and hopefully this will be a small mistake in the long run.

My stepson was purchasing a car. His credit wasn't up to standards and his girlfriend had
to co-sign for him to get it. He made all the payments. They broke up they're relationship
and he continued to pay on the vehicle. He was out at the store when she came up and
got in the car and said she was taking it. The police were called but they said they could
do nothing as long as she was in the car. They argued for a while and she ended up taking
the car saying she would make all the payments and keep the car. He agreed to that and
things went fine for a time. Now he was in the process of buying a home. Everything went
fine and a settlement date was set. Then apparently they did one final check on his credit
report and found that he was 2 payments delinquent on the car payments. (She had found
out that he was in the process of buying a home and said not as long as she had anything
to do with it.) He went in and payed the 2 delinquent payments. He went to get the car
back and she has the car blocked in the back of her parents yard. She has bought a new
vehicle and is not using the car. What can we do. We are going to pay the car off but is
he going to have to write it off as a lesson learned or can we go to court and eventually
get the car back? PLEASE HELP