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It's a long and sad story, but our 24 year old son has gotten himself into a big mess. He was in the army, stationed in North Carolina. Somehow he managed to get addicted to heroin and is now being discharged. He's made a complete mess of his life, including his finances. Last year he financed a car, and he is not making the payments. We have no idea how far behind he is, but as of Friday he will no longer have an income so he won't be able to make any future payments. We are trying to get him back to Florida where we live and then get him in rehab.
My main question is what to suggest he do as far as the car. He's being semi-cooperative with us now, so I'm hoping he will heed our advice. Should I suggest he return the car to the dealership up there and then take a bus here? What happens if he drives the car here? Can he return it to a local dealership? I would think that it's better to return it BEFORE they repossess it, but I could be wrong. We've never dealt with a situation like this before.
Either way, his credit is severely messed up at this point. The main priority obviously is helping him get clean and sober, but he can't simply ignore the financial bind he has created for himself.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
this is probably not the answer you're looking for, re what to do with the car.
find a nar-anon support group near you and go to some meetings, post-haste. as parents your heart is telling you to help, but addiction is unlike anything you've ever dealt with and you need tools and strategies for coping with what you are soon to be dealing with.
p.s. I've walked in your shoes. my 31-year old son is an addict. nar-anon saved MY life.
If you give him the option of private sale he will have money in his pockets. If you put him on a bus he get off. Have you considered returning the vehicle to the dealership he got it at and bring him home yourself?
If you give him the option of private sale he will have money in his pockets. If you put him on a bus he get off. Have you considered returning the vehicle to the dealership he got it at and bring him home yourself?
He also can't sell the car private party unless he can sell it for more than he owes on the loan because he wouldnt have the car title in hand. His parents would need to give him money to pay the difference on the loan to get the title.
The other alternative is calling the lender and setting up a voluntary reposession. In this circumstance the car will be sold at auction and the OP's son will need to pay the difference. You get less in this scenario but at least the OP won't need to give his/her son cash in hand.
If you're not in a position to pay the car off or at least cover the difference in a "short sale" (or just don't want to), in other words you can't or won't avoid repossession, it really doesn't matter how you handle it as long as you communicate to the lender where the car is. Either way the bank (not the dealership, unless it was a "buy here-pay here" place) is going to take the car, sell it, and come after him for the difference.
But if your son takes the car to Florida and doesn't let the lender know he has moved they might claim that he's trying to hide and pursue some legal action, so if he does drive it down make sure that information is communicated.
I'm sure the lender would prefer to have the car returned directly to their location rather than having to deal with repossessing it from Florida, but I doubt that it will make any difference as to how it will affect your son's credit and liability for the debt.
Heck, if you've already determined that the car is going to be given up, just call the lender and tell them what's going on (not the full details, just that your son won't be making any more payments) and ask them what they'd like you to do with the car.
Yeah - from a credit perspective, voluntary return of the vehicle will look the same as a repossession -- both are basically a failure of a credit contract.
Also, both ways, your son will be held responsible for the difference between what they sell the car for and what he owes on it.
Most important thing seems to be to get him safe to you. If that means having him drive down, you can call the dealer when he gets to Florida and tell them where the car is for easy pick up.
Hope you're son is able to get the help he needs. I hope you take care of your selves as well -- sounds like this will be a long road.
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