Back to the original question. I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of family attorneys and brought this up. To summarize, a cosigner basically has almost none of the benefits of the lessee, and assumes almost all of the same risks. The vehicle is in the name of the lessee, and cannot be assigned to the cosigner without the lessee and lessor agreeing to it.. If the lease involves both a leasing company and a finance company this could be difficult to arrange. The cosigner has no right to drive or take possession of the vehicle unless he formally and legally takes over the lease. If the lessee misses a payment, the lessor notifies the credit bureaus of both the lessee and the cosigner. Both of their credit ratings are dinged. If the lessee misses payment(s) the cosigner is legally responsible for making these payments. If the lessee does not insure the vehicle, and there is an accident, the cosigner has the same liabilities as the lessee. In fact, the cosigner, usually having the deeper pockets of the two individuals, is likely at greater financial risk than the lessee. If the lessee fails to maintain the car according to the lease stipulations, the cosigner becomes responsible at the end of the lease for any charges not paid by the lessee. The cosigner can also be liable for charges for excess mileage charges accrued but not paid by the lessee.

If I reported this correctly, an expensive but low risk approach for the cosigner would be to make the remaining lease payments, and arrange and pay for liability insurance until the lease expires and the vehicle can be returned. Hopefully, it will be in acceptable condition and the mileage will be below the maximum allowed. If the lessee has already given the vehicle to you to hold, park it in a safe place, pay, insure, and wait. I did not ask specifically, but my reading is that you (cosigner) cannot drive the vehicle. You have no way to register it in your name and get a license plate for it.

Bottom line - you need real legal advice and representation. Don't depend on any of us on the internet. You are potentially in real jeopardy and need a real, trained, and experienced attorney. Imagine what could happen to you if the leased, uninsured car is involved in a serious accident with injuries.

 

Yes, I second this. Talk to a lawyer, I know it's a pain and expensive.

There are zero upsides to co-signing, it's not your car. You just get screwed if the borrower stops paying. Borrower doesn't really have to worry about anything--I assume they have not great credit if needing a cosign in the first place. Cosigner takes all the risk, really.

I cosigned my spouse's car but that's normal.

I would never cosign for a friend, or even a family member other than maybe my mother although they all would never need it.

Best of luck in getting your situation resolved.

 

Might be best then to stick it in enclosed storage and just pay the lease.

 

look for someone to take over the lease I know there are companies out there not sure if your still liable that way but it won't hurt to look into it

 

Ooof. If my daughter did that (reversed the payments) she'd be taking public transportation until she could afford to buy her own car.

 

Well so far I am keeping it in my driveway, waiting for inspector to come in.

 

And yes they will slam you with outrageous insurance as a previous poster said if you don't have it

There was an issue with my insurance (their mistake) a few years back when I was still paying on my car...the lender had no proof of insurance.

I got a letter in the mail saying they were going to add insurance and it was outrageously expensive, like triple what my insurance bill was.

 

This is the problem here in NYC and I'm sure everywhere. Anybody with $5 in their pocket is leasing a luxury car they most likely shouldn't be.

 

Finally got rid of the car, cost me $4,300 out of pocket. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

Don't lose sleep over it.....and chalk it up as a learning experience. 4K may sound like a lot of money at first, but, compared with the rest of your life, is not an extraordinary high amount to lose to gain valuable lessons that will stay with you from now on. And look...it's pretty safe to say that we all (or almost all) have made mistakes of our own in the vehicle-buying business. I probably lost more than you did from buying poorly-made lemons from Chevy and Chrysler/Plymouth (and learning from the experience) before shifting to Japanese-built vehicles in the mid-1980s. Money can be replaced or built back up, especially over time, if you are careful on your future decisions and don't repeat past errors. Good Luck (we're all with you)....and be glad this incident is behind you once and for all.

 

Sucks, lesson learned, and onward...

 

Totally sucks, but at least it’s over!

 

Was your friend appreciative? Or are you no longer friends?

 

If the lease was up in May or June, wouldn't it have just been cheaper to make the remaining payments and drive it until then?

 

I informed him that I returned the car, but no we don't talk anymore.