Co-borrowers on auto loans suffer credit damage for debts on vehicles they cannot control
Co-signers on auto loans become legally trapped when the primary borrower moves, stops paying, or negotiates informal arrangements with the lender — leaving co-borrowers liable for a debt on a vehicle they cannot access, repossess, or sell. Lenders refuse to remove co-borrowers from the obligation or exercise repossession to resolve the account, while continuing to report the delinquency to credit bureaus. No legal mechanism exists to force resolution without the primary borrower's cooperation.
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