I was getting my oil changed today and while I was sitting there waiting on that to be completed there were two women beside me discussing co-signing a loan for someone who evidently has bad credit and no job. I wanted to interrupt and say, "Are you kidding me? "Seriously!" but I kept my mouth shut.

Listening further one lady said, "Well, he needs a job but he can't go look for one because he has no transportation so I figured if I co-signed for him, he wouldn't have any more excuses" to which the other lady replied, "Well, what happens if you co-sign for him and he doesn't, or isn't able, to get a job especially in this economy?"

Then...my car was ready so I had to leave. I was kind of sad that I couldn't stay and hear the rest of their conversation but...oh well.

On the way home I thought to myself, there is no way on earth that I would co-sign for anyone who doesn't already have a job or have one lined up. I've worked to hard to get and maintain my good credit and I definitely wouldn't want to take a chance on having someone else ruin it and I also wouldn't want to be responsible for having to make their car payment if they missed, neglected or refused to make it.

In the above scenario it wouldn't matter to me who was asking, friend or relative, the answer would be the same, "NO."
My answer would certainly be different if the person who was asking had a good credit history, a long history of employment, a current job, and had proven him or herself to be responsible and trustworthy.

I just hope those two ladies think about everything that can happen, good and bad, about the decision to co-sign before they jump in with both feet.
Common Sense