Does nobody watch “Judge Judy” these days? The first thing you learn is never co-sign for anything, for anyone. The second thing is that if you give anybody a loan, they’ll try to call it a gift. 
Thanks to everyone for responding. I contacted Minnesota DMV about getting my name on the title. They indicated that it is a legal matter and I would have to contact an attorney. My hope was that it could not be sold without my permission. I am the Mom. My husband, his stepdad, wants to sell the bike to help recoup our losses. I was unsure whether we had a legal claim to it or not, hence my post. Yes, my credit is damaged, but not my husbands (according to credit reports). I still love my son very much, and no, I will never cosign again. Yes, we wish he would have told us that he and his fiance were having tough times before it come to this, but what is done is done. Since my post, my son sent an email indicating he is sorry, and I believe he was too embarrassed to let me know he was not paying. I would rather consider this a gift, than to jeopardize any remaining relationship my son. My husband is another story as he is the angry one, but I have to live with him and hear his side of the matter which is not as nice as mine Thanks again to all who replied to my post.
I keep waiting for this thread to go off on a tangent.
Your son owns the motorcycle, free and clear. You were each severally and individually responsible for the loan. Co-signing at all, for even the most trusted family member or friend, is a last-ditch disaster move that will likely lead to more disaster… moreso when the loan is not tied to ownership of whatever the loan object is.
“If you never want to see someone again, loan them $20.”
We co-signed on a loan for our son. The amount was well within what we could afford to lose. Fortunately he was a very responsible person and paid back the loan on time. One thing we did was to have the load statements mailed to our house so that we could keep track of payments.
I co-signed a student loan for my nephew, who later dropped out and then even later, stopped making payments. Our agreement when I first said I’d co-sign was, “If you can’t make a payment for whatever reason, please text me and give me a heads up so I can take care of it without both our credit reports being damaged. No questions will be asked.” He never gave me a heads up. When he lost his job, a couple months went by before I realized he was never going to make another payment. I started rearranging my budget to plan to make the damn payments. Finally, my mom swooped in and gave me the money to pay the thing off, which I did.
Does that mean I’m now entitled to my nephew’s education?
That idiot show aside, this is excellent advice. Either loan/give them the money or say no. NEVER co-sign. Ever.
That sounds like hyperbole - don’t make me get the cosh out.
Your son would have to sign the title over to you. It is his property, his name is on the title and you have no legal recourse to reposses and sell the bike. Illegal repossession = theft. I’m sorry that this happened to you and I hope your relationship with your son can be mended.
That would be so (a)cute!
“I co-signed a student loan for my nephew…Finally, my mom swooped in and gave me the money to pay the thing off, which I did”
See above posts about children never mmoving out of parents’ wallets.
Not all co-signed loans go unpaid or have any problems. never co-sign is bad advice, base your actions on circumstances.
however, i will say never cosign a loan you can’t afford. A couple of posts indicate that is just what people did, so that when the primary obligee couldn’t pay, neither could the secondary gauarantor. Why would a person guarnatee payments they couldn’t make?
So I repeat, base your actions on circumstances.
As for loans in general, years ago a friend advised me to never loan money if I needed to get it back. I took that advice and all the loans I make are worry free. If I get the money back it’s a bonus.
No, see what you’re wrong about is that the co-signer is placing their credit rating in the hands of the co-signee. They can ruin your credit out of nowhere, without you even knowing it’s happening. Even if you can afford to pay off the loan, you likely don’t want the hit to your credit rating.
Cosigners are entitled to receive monthly statements.
I actually fought her on this, but apparently not hard enough to pass muster on your judgment. I didn’t see how swooping in and bailing him (and me) out of the financial mess was teaching him any lessons about planning, communicating, and being responsible for your debts. I told her that I knew full well what I was signing up for when I agreed to cosign and that I was prepared to just make the payments in perpetuity because that’s what I signed up to do, in the event that my nephew flaked out. My sister’s and my mom’s point was, “Yeah, but why should he learn that lesson on your back? The only person who will suffer here is you – if you let him fail, he will trash your credit rating.” I decided they had a good point and perhaps he should learn his lessons about personal responsibility on his own dime. I haven’t taken a dime from my mom for my own bills since I was in my early 20s.
So yeah, okay, I’m an irresponsible lazy piece of shit who took the payoff money/easy way out. Your point is well taken.