Does anyone know if it is possible for my parents to put the lease in their name, but put my name on it so I am able to drive it? I ask simply because my credit history is not as detailed and expansive as my parents’.
If you mean they co-sign for you, that is fine. If you mean they buy/lease it under their name with the sole purpose of letting you drive it, I believe that’s a straw purchase/lease and is illegal.
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Yikes, had no clue that was illegal…my parents did that for me in 2014 and none of the dealerships we shopped said anything about it…I had zero credit history so my parents just leased it in their name. That car got stolen once and my mom had to fax a notarized letter since I wasn’t on the title to retrieve it from the tow lot but never had any issues other than that! Does the age of the child have any bearing on it being illegal?
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The more you know am I right? Glad I asked ahead of time. @Jon If one of my parent cosigns with me, do you know how a dealership calculates my financial and credit history? Would they take like an aggregate/average or would did use the financial history of the parent?
FWIW, I just leased a car in April and my dad co-signed for the same reason - my credit history is extremely short. The dealership ran both our credit scores.
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Ah I see. Thanks so much, that’s helpful! Much appreciated.
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FWIW, I think a lot of parents lease cars for their young driver kids because it’s a more predictable expense than a used car.
The circumstances I’m thinking of are when said kid still shares a primary residence with their parents and is likely covered under their insurance policy. My guess is this scenario is not the straw lease/straw purchase scenario that the captives would be concerned with…
It’s a gray area. I leased a car for my dad after he filed Ch 13 due to medical bills at the time. I went into the dealer, not realizing it was a big deal (actually, didn’t know what a straw purchase was at the time), was upfront (they asked me why I was leasing a 3rd car, when I already leased 2), and they told me that was a straw, and not to mention it again. They gave some excuse to GMAC, at the time, to appease them.
They said if they knowingly leased a car as a straw, they could get into a heap of trouble, so they pretended they didn’t hear that, and played dumb. We weren’t living together at the time, however, they did mention that even if we were, and the situation were reversed, it would be murky. Whether or not they were 100% accurate is another story.
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Interesting data point. Thanks for sharing.
This was super common at my high school, which is why I guess my parents didn’t think twice about doing it for me even though I was in college at the time. My permanent residence was with them and I was (and still am) under their insurance policy. Maybe that’s why the captives didn’t care?
Especially since until they are 18, I don’t believe a person can legally own anything.
Is the situation different if the vehicle is financed and a 3rd party pays for it? E.g. parent buys vehicle for child and pays monthly payments on it instead of child.
I guess it wouldn’t be under 18, or the parent could always say it’s a gift. I’m no attorney though…just going by what I was told 20 years ago.