NSW Is the car legally mine & how can I get it back?

[fa77en]

I helped get a car for my then wife (about to divorce). The car & loan is registered to me, but she's always paid the loan, because it's her car. Unfortunately, she keeps defaulting on the payments which isn't good for my credit rating. I've told her many times to get my name off the car & refinance it, but she always make excuses.
Now I'm at the end of my tether, so I want to just get the car so I can sell it to pay off the loan...legally can I?

Secondly, can the police help me get the keys? Because I know she won't give them up to me peacefully.
Thirdly, if the second isn't viable, how else could I get them legally?

Cheers

 

[Lance]

Hi,
I would speak with a lawyer. You are seriously at risk of destroying your credit rating.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

Do what Lance suggested. There's a few moving parts to this one:

- You're responsible for the loan if it is in your name. That means you'll wear the enforcement, and the black mark on your credit record. If your lender is part of the positive credit reporting scheme, this will include possibly showing any late repayments.
- If your lender took security over the vehicle, you may be in breach of your loan terms if you have given up possession of it.
- While the car may be registered to you, she is likely to have some form of property rights in the vehicle - particularly if it's covered under the terms of any property settlement between the two of you.
- Police will probably not want to get involved once they know what the background is. If you fail to tell them the background, and they find out, they're unlikely to look very favourably at you.

A potential option for you, if the lender took security over the vehicle, is to speak to them about repossessing the car when the loan is in default. This will incur costs, but you may have to option of paying those costs and arrears and having the car released to you. You could also have them sell it, or introduce a buyer. All of this, however, will be subject to both the lender's agreement and whatever intervening orders and agreements you may have with your ex.