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 Dear
Terry,
I will start by explaining my current situation (and attempt to make a long story short).
About a year ago, I made the poor decision to help a co-worker by co-signing on a new Jeep. At the time, I had a superb credit rating and my own new car and payment to match.
A month ago, I received a call that the Jeep was in default and about to be repossessed. I had no knowledge that it was even a payment behind. Later, I discovered that five out of 10 payments were late on the vehicle and my credit had already suffered a major blow.
In an attempt to save myself, I went on a mission to find the Jeep (my co-worker had recently moved to another state) and was successful in getting the vehicle back to my home.
Now I have two autos with monthly payments totaling more than $900. Both cars are extremely upside down on their loans and I am searching for my best option. I certainly cannot afford another month like this.
Both vehicles are up for sale, but so far I've had no luck finding interested buyers. I have been told that voluntary repossession is my best option. Even if I believed I could recover from the hit, I would be unable to pay the difference between the balance owed and the sale price following the auction.
Your best advice would help greatly. And let this be a lesson for anyone who is asked to co-sign on a vehicle. If not for this bad decision, I would have no problem making my bills and would still have the credit rating I worked hard to earn.
-- Bre
 Dear
Bre,
As regular readers of this column know, there are many people who eventually regret ever co-signing on a car loan. This is especially true when the co-signer has no legal ties (such as marriage) to the person taking the loan.
If you can't get rid of one of the vehicles through a sale, voluntary repossession may be your only option. It will put a big black mark on your credit rating, but if you can keep current on the other loan, you may be able to weather the result. Before you do anything, contact the lender on the car you co-signed for to see if something can be worked out.
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