Early this year, I signed a vehicle for an acquaintance of mine. Notice, he’s an acquaintance, not a friend. Here is why.
For few months, he’s been paying the payments every month and just last month, he was just giving me runaround about how he couldn’t pay, so I paid his payment and asked for it back. And from this morning, he said “not to rush him” and blocked communication completely.
I know I could do this both way. Number one is to just call the bank to repossess the vehicle and just be done with it completely. I really don’t want to go into that direction because I am actually planning on buying a house in next year or two. Number two is to call the police and file the theft, considering he’s driving the vehicle that is not his because I signed the vehicle on his behalf and his mom signed with me thinking that he is a good friend, which proved he wasn’t.
If she’s on board, you can try to file for UUMV charge and have them picked up but depending on the department and the presiding DA, they may direct you to pursue it civilly.
#1 is the nuclear option with long lasting negative consequences for you and the mom. The bank won’t just take the car back without serious delinquency anyway. #2 is likely a dead end as it’s 99% to be determined a civil dispute between you and the acquaintance.
Do you know where the car is so you can go collect it yourself (assuming it’s registered in your name)? How expensive of a car are we talking?
Gonna have to break some eggs on this one. If it’s Dallas County, the law isn’t going to be especially helpful here as DPD/SO have more pressing matters and the DA will likely just dunk it anyway.
Take back the car as the RO and figure out how to sell it off while minimizing your loss. If you were planning on buying another car, use it for trade tax credit unless private party exceeds that margin.
Seems like a bit of a conundrum. Why would you engage in the illegal act of a straw purchase, let alone for someone who is just an acquaintance, and not even a friend? As a dealer, I assume you’ve seen the worst case outcomes from stuff like this. Wouldn’t your contacts in the industry, and more importantly in your jurisdiction, give you better guidance? Not trying to be facetious here but your situation seems pretty odd given your knowledge/experience.
I realize @derekoh1991 is looking for constructive help, I’m stuck on how being party to a straw deal doesn’t put his dealer’s license in jeopardy? Especially if the police are involved.
I think the ‘lawsuit’ option isn’t even on the table. According to this article on Shift.com:
"A straw purchase is a fraudulent process all around. An auto loan is a legal document, and because the straw purchaser attests to the accuracy of the false information they provide, they’re breaking the law. The straw purchaser accepts all financial and ownership responsibility for the purchased vehicle, despite another party intending to fulfill those obligations. " https://shift.com/articles/car-straw-purchase-101-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it
I think all one can do is attempt to repossess and sell the vehicle, while trying to limit financial and legal exposure. Learned something new.
