Which manufacturers allow a kid, at 17, to sign a car lease with their cosigning parents?
I googled and found a few credit unions for purchases, but wondering if anyone has experience with leases.
very nice - younger hackers here:)
I believe other way around might make more sense and success, it should reflect on both credit reports though, so everyone gets their credit build-up benefits.
old hacker here trying to help my kid establish credit.
Aside from the lease get the kid an “authorized signer” credit card that is on your account that you pay. You can monitor, cap and shut down the spending and your kid builds credit as if the card was theirs, learns responsible habits, etc. Just make sure a few months in that the card shows on the kid’s credit report as they don’t always show up for minors. Use the cards you have opened longest for the most bang for the buck as that will matter on their credit mix.
We did this for kids with longstanding cards we had and remarkably they had 750 scores in short order.
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None that I know of will allow this, though I could be wrong. At 17, you’re a minor and contracts are not legally valid for minors.
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If you have Amex, add your kid as additional user to your amex card. After 1 year, get him to apply his/her own credit card.
I know about adding kids to credit cards, who to use as starter cards, etc. But more interested in specifically a lease before 18.
Probably not, mostly for the reason Ashleigh mentioned above. Minors don’t have the mental capacity to contract. That means any contract they enter into as a minor is voidable. So theoretically, a minor could sign a lease at 17, drive it until 18, then take it back and say this contract is void. I don’t think any banks would want to take that risk.
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A cosigner alleviates that issue,
It does not. A voided contract is as if the contract never existed, so they wouldn’t be able to pursue any remedies against a co-signor
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the contract exists, agree to disagree
Well sounds like you have this all figured out then. Good luck.
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contractually yes. looking for a company that does leases to minors with an adult cosigner, it shouldnt be a novel idea since it exists for purchases.
why don’t you make a kid the co-signer, put yourself as the main applicant…
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Perhaps ask a bank that allows this for purchases if they will do it for a lease…?
What is the point here ? Is your kids life really going to be different if they have a car lease to their name at 18 vs they didn’t? This also forces you to buy a new car for your kid.
Do the credit card thing sure but this is 5 steps beyond for minimal margin yield
Having an auto finance trade line with help with future auto finance approvals.
It’s a sound tactic, it’s just unclear if it’s possible with a mainstream lessor.
Off the cuff, I’d bet my left ventricle that US Bank would be a hard no.
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My mom co-signed for a car with me right before I turned 19, so I understand the purpose, but I was also an adult and had a job for 3 years at that point, so different situation.
The main problem is that the minor can void the contract, even at the time of majority, and no bank would want to take that risk. There’s an old case that is still good law - Kiefer v. Fred Howe Motors, Inc. - that is the general standard on this.
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Yes but I’m not sure it’s that helpful like if you can afford the car you generally have the credit score/history to allow you to purchase it