Outstanding car bill, and I am primary but have not driven it for 2 years
Sounds like you need to contact your ex and sort it out. If you have co-signed the loan, changes are you are equally responsible even if on party chooses not to pay, then the bank will come after the other one. If you no longer wish to be part of the arrangement and your ex still wants the car, she will have to buy you out of the car and become fully responsible for the liability. What can you do?  Pay the loan or face the debt collectors. The finance company don't care who now keeps the car, or who drives it.  There's money outstanding on the loan, and your signature on the loan form. That's why co-signing a loan for someone else so often ends in tears.
I think raising it is ok but not to 15 dollars thats ridiculous. I am a minimum wage worker i work 30 hours a week currently plus high school so from my point of view i think we should raise it by maybe 1× or 1.25. I only pay two bills a 125 dollar car payment and 240 insurance pluse my expenses for gas. Those are my only expenses that i can not cut and even after just that i have very little left to save. But with a dollar or so more an hour ot would increase my saving potential by alot and give me a little more breathing room.  I am an untrained and inexperienced qorker i do not deserve 15 an hour but i feel like 8.25-8.50 is reasonable. "This is my opinion as a car nut. It depends on what you want out of a car. For your situation (paying cash, want to keep the car long-term but also save money) I recommend seriously considering a slightly used vehicle, maybe 2 or 3 years old, or a ""certified pre-owned vehicle"". Reasons: Much less expensive than a brand new car because the first two years have the biggest depreciation hit. Cars come with a 4-year warranty, so a 3 year old car will still be in warranty. Yes, a certified pre-owned car will have a bit of a premium compared to a private-party used car, but the peace of mind of knowing it's in good shape is worth the extra cost considering you want to keep it long term. Consumer Reports will have good advice on the best values in used cars." That totally sucks!  I use Avis for work once a year when I'm flown out to corporate and both times I've done so they've managed to fuck up in regards to my reservation.    The first time I received an email from them thanking me for using their service when I still had the car and saw a new $300 charge on my credit card.  When I called to inquire about the car I had rented 3 days earlier that was still in my possession they informed me that the vehicle had been checked into one of their depots 2300 miles away and they were citing a fee for returning the vehicle to another location.  When I asked the agent how many miles were recorded driven on the vehicle she responded with 108.  I then asked her how far she thought Chicago was from San Francisco and if it was possible to drive that distance in 3 days while only incurring 108 miles on the vehicle.  In the end, they refused to back down and I had to involve corporate to settle everything.  The second issue was much less eventful but happened a week ago when I checked out a car.  I received an email 2 hours later saying they're sorry my car hadn't been available and to call them for an explanation.  Puzzled as I had gotten the car I had asked for I called and was told that their system says I had checked out and in the very same car I had the previous day at 8:34pm (check in and check out were recorded as the same time, same day) and they charged me $50 for a single day's rental.  This time they recognized that it was an error and credited me back the money on my CC but I don't know why they have so many issues with their reservation system. "Welcome to Personal Finance and Money. This answer will depend a lot on what is most important to the buyer, for example, whether it is important to always be in a newer car, to save money, or strike a balance between the two. There are trade-offs and I don't think there is one right answer for all circumstances. Leasing Leasing does make financial sense for at least two types of people I'm aware of: The company I work for provides company cars to sales executives, which we lease. We lease because it wouldn't be appropriate for a salesperson to meet a client in a car that clearly appears used. Similarly, I know people who value being in a newer car all the time, and for them, leasing makes more financial sense then buying a new car every 2-3 years, and selling their old car which is now 2-3 years old and has depreciated significantly. They understand that they are paying more to always be able to be in a newer car. I used to work with a manager who, every time the new model of the car he owned came out, would see the car and buy it on the spot, even though he already owned last year's model, and he didn't need two cars. He just couldn't help himself; he felt he had to have the new model. It's no use sermonizing about how he ""should"" learn to save money by just being content with what he had. In reality, if he is going to buy the new model every year no matter what, he should lease rather than buy. From my experience, I would only recommend leasing if you would otherwise be buying a new car on a regular basis, and the lease would be less expensive. This is probably the most cost effective way to maintain the highest possible quality, but would cost much more than buying and holding a new car or buying a value used car. I don't see reliability as much of a factor here since the seller will have a very good idea of how much maintenance will cost, but you will pay a premium to be able to pay a fixed cost for maintenance instead of risking a worse-than-average experience. Buying New According to Edmunds and BIGResearch, only a relatively small number of people are ever in the market for a new car at a given point in time. While you do pay quite a bit more to own a brand new car instead of the same car that is 2-3 years old, there are several reasons I'm aware of why people buy new cars: Number 4 is probably the biggest reason, and many people are willing to pay for the certainty of knowing that the miles are correct, the parts are new, the car is in good working condition, etc. Additionally, some makes of cars have much higher resale values than others (such as Hondas), meaning that there isn't as large of a drop in price between a new car and a used car. Many people consider buying a new car the best way to ensure they get the best reliability since they know the initial condition of the car and can care for it meticulously from that point on. This can especially make sense when the buyer intends to keep the car for the like of the car as the buyer will then benefit from having no car payments once it is paid off. Buying Used Buying a used car is the most affordable option, but for a given quality of car the reliability can be a significant potential pitfall. It can be very difficult for a non-professional to tell whether they are getting a good value. Additionally, it is hard for an owner who wants to sell a used car in excellent condition to get the true value of the car, and much easier for an unscrupulous seller to to get the market price by selling to an unaware buyer (the ""lemons"" problem in economics). You could buy an inspected car with a limited warranty from a retail seller like CarMax or a dealership, but you often pay a significant premium that cancels out much of the biggest reason to buy used - saving money. However, there is an opportunity to save money when buying used if you're willing to compromise on the condition of the car (if you don't care whether a car has hail damage, for example), or if you are able to wait until you find a motivated/distressed seller who needs to sell quickly and is willing to sell at a discount. If cost is your primary priority, buying a used car is likely the best option, but I would recommend the following in all circumstances: If the seller isn't willing to offer both of these, I would walk away. When buying used, you will also need to consider maintenance, which will vary significantly based on the make and model of the car as well as the condition, which is another risk you need to be willing to take on if you choose to buy used." Must pay your bill at least 6 months consecutively for the benefit to take effect. Confirmed by customer service.  The rep did tell me that she didn't know much about the new program when I asked her other questions (like is it in a form of a reimbursement or does WF pay the vendor directly). I am hoping the cellphone protection takes effect immediately.   Can anyone confirm that 6 consecutive payments is a requirement? Your best bet is to refinance the car in your own name only. Hopefully a year of making the payments has improved your credit score enough. If not, you can approach a loan officer at a credit union and make your case (that you haven't missed any payments, etc.). A new title should be sent to the new lien holder, and  in that process, if your ex needs to sign any paperwork, it can be done while refinancing. "I'm impressed.  She must have a substantial income to agree to a $500/month car payment.  I imagine her income is about 20K per month for that to make sense.  What kind of work does she do?  To answer your question, typical lease do not work the way you describe.  Paying an extra $2000 will allow you to skip 4 payments (provided the payments were exactly $500) any time in the future.  It does not modify the terms of the lease which would include the payment amount.  Also one does not receive a fiance charge reduction benefit as with a loan.  Essentially you are providing a loan to the leasing company for free. To be explicit you cannot tell the mortgage company anything as she is applying for the loan, not you.  She can tell the mortgage company the new payment is $400, but she would be falsifying the application which is not advisable. Perhaps the mortgage company is doing her a favor.  They are indicating her life is out of control financially.  Either she is attempting to purchase way to much home or her consumer debt is out of control.  It could be a combination of both.   My first paragraph was written to be ""tongue in check"" in order to demonstrate absurdity.  Without a substantial income and an substantial net worth, a 500/month car payment is simply ridiculous.  While it is someone average, when you compare it to the average income (~54K/year) you understand why 78% of US households live paycheck-to-paycheck (are broke), and have no retirement savings. For your and her sake, please stop giving all your hard earned money to banks." Is your name on the title at all? You may have (slightly) more leverage in that case, but co-signing any loans is not a good idea, even for a friend or relative. As this article notes: Generally, co-signing refers to financing, not ownership. If the   primary accountholder fails to make payments on the loan or the retail   installment sales contract (a type of auto financing dealers sell),   the co-signer is responsible for those payments, or their credit will   suffer. Even if the co-signer makes the payments, they’re still not   the owner if their name isn’t on the title. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) notes: If you co-sign a loan, you are legally obligated to repay the loan in   full. Co-signing a loan does not mean serving as a character reference   for someone else.  When you co-sign, you promise to pay the loan yourself. It means that   you risk having to repay any missed payments immediately. If the   borrower defaults on the loan, the creditor can use the same   collection methods against you that can be used against the borrower   such as demanding that you repay the entire loan yourself, suing you,   and garnishing your wages or bank accounts after a judgment. Your   credit score(s) may be impacted by any late payments or defaults. Co-signing an auto loan does not mean you have any right to the   vehicle, it just means that you have agreed to become obligated to   repay the amount of the loan. So make sure you can afford to pay this   debt if the borrower cannot. Per this article and this loan.com article, options to remove your name from co-signing include: If you're name isn't on the title, you'll have to convince your ex-boyfriend and the bank to have you removed as the co-signer, but from your brief description above, it doesn't seem that your ex is going to be cooperative. Unfortunately, as the co-signer and guarantor of the loan, you're legally responsible for making the payments if he doesn't. Not making the payments could ruin your credit as well. One final option to consider is bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a drastic option, and you'll have to weigh whether the disruption to your credit and financial life will be worth it versus repaying the balance of that auto loan. Per this post: Another not so pretty option is bankruptcy. This is an extreme route,   and in some instances may not even guarantee a name-removal from the   loan. Your best bet is to contact a lawyer or other source of legal help to review your options on how to proceed with this issue.