Does anyone co-own a vehicle?

I have a chance to halvsies with my best friend on a boat. Neither of us can afford one on our own, but together we could buy one. We've talked about it for a while (years) and it's come down to the fact that we've found one we both can afford together. We've discussed the where it's going to be parked, who gets it when they want (nothing set in stone), and all that jazz.

Any advice from someone who co-owns a vehicle with someone else? I'm concerned about like going in together on servicing and repairs.

I have in the past. It can work, but it can also strain a relationship. Discuss everything in advance. Repairs, schedule, storage, even cleaning. Put it on paper and stick to it.

My business partner and I owned a 57 Chevy together. It worked well. He was the wash and wax guy, I took care of the mechanics. Costs were split evenly. We kept it three years, until it sat more than it was used and passed it on to someone in Alabama.

No. Bad idea.

I co-own a MINI with my g/f... one of a long list of recent automotive regrets... the end result is me making not-insignificant payments on a car nobody drives (average about 5K /yr since 2007).

You are already ahead of me - actually discussing things before making the purchase...

Ian F wrote: a car nobody drives (average about 5K /yr since 2007).

nobody drives it? 5K/yr is what I put on my RX8, which I consider my driver. My other car (van) only gets 3K/yr (my grocery getter/bulky item shopper), and that includes a yearly 1000 mile road trip!

Two of my closest friends co-owned a sailboat for years. Fo them, the reality was that one was seperated (for a couple of years) but not legally divorced. Because of this "not yet divorce" owner #2 was in no position to start aquiring assets that would still have to be split with his "wife". Because of this, full ownership was in the name of #1 but #2 paid a budget into that ownership mostly paying for consumables like dockage fees, fuel, repairs.
That situation worked well for years until a downturn in personal economies combined with a need for repairs resulted in an agreed sale of the boat. I am not sure how they split any proceeds but they are still best of friends to this day.

I have another example where this worked less well. In this case, guy #2 took a new job in Las Vegas and wants out of his half. Out may not really be the right term because he has pipe dreams that include he thinks he should get out darn near what he had into it. In short, the personal relationship is being very taxed.

Personally, I pay quite a bit financially into the sailboat race campaign that I am part of. In this, I know I pay far less than the real owner and do not see my contributions as ownership stake but again rather the purchase of consumables.

I think that unless you form an LLC, the boat will need to be in the ownership and insurance of a single person.

The only thing worse than co-owning a car is owning a boat in any manner. Combining the two seems like the worst vehicle idea on earth.

And boats cost five times as much as you would think to maintain. So, you need eight more dudes to buy in with the two of you.

It seems like this issue is resolved, already, but since the original question involved a vehicle...and I'm itching to add my $0.02, here goes.

I've tried to interest my brother in going "halvsies" on cars over the years, but he couldn't see it. IF, I ever did do this tho, it would have to be a vehicle I could afford to buy the other person out of, or afford to sell to them or anyone else at a loss (any vehicle you buy with someone will never sell for what you think it should).

I have so wanted to buy another vintage sports car, and yet I don't want to commit all my "spare" cash for the purchase/upkeep.

We co-own my wife's Sienna with Toyota Motor Credit. Does that count?

Mazdax605....you don't REALLY co-own that Sienna, because if you did, wouldn't TMC help you out with the cost of insurance and maintenance?

Along those same lines, I never was sure, for the longest time, how to answer the question " do you own your own home or rent?" What really made it hard for me was that while I was paying the mortgage, I wasn't living in it, but renting it out....so technically, I was able to answer yes to own your own home? AND renting?

my parents co owned a boat with another couple and it didnt work out so well. my parents ended up buying the other couple out eventually, but my guess it they wouldnt have done it again if it was offered.

on the other hand my brother in law co owns a boat with another friend and they seem to work it out very well. probably because my brother in law is never able to use it due to my preschool age nephew!

Rufledt wrote: nobody drives it? 5K/yr is what I put on my RX8, which I consider my driver. My other car (van) only gets 3K/yr (my grocery getter/bulky item shopper), and that includes a yearly 1000 mile road trip!

Compared to my TDI (250K in 8 years) or her MINI (93K in 7.5 yrs), I consider that "not driven". Most of those miles were done in three stages: Two mutli-state MINI runs we did in 2007 and 2009 and a couple of months when I was lazy replacing the TB in the TDI and used it as a daily (100+ mile total commute). I was using it for auto-x until she handed down the "thou shalt not auto-x..." law so I bought my E30... which is now broken in my garage (so now I'm paying for TWO cars I don't drive...). It gets stuffed into the garage for the Winter and has acrued next to 0 miles since Oct. 2010. I just swapped it with my truck from her house to my house while her house renovation goes on (a longer, even more pathetic story).

Like I said - one of many bad car decisions I've made over the past few years...

In reply to integraguy:

I was just being a dick. Sorry about that. You would think they would help out though,right. I will just have to settle for the 0% financing on a used van. Sometime you just have to settle I guess.

Chris

It totally depends on the people involved. If you have to ask, its probably a bad idea.

I co-own a beater S10 blazer with my neighbor. He and I are both very laid back and we're basically the same person, he's just skinnier. We've never had any quibbles and we don't even have to discuss quid pro quo, we just do it. I came out yesterday morning and he was watering my lawn because I had given him a couple quarts of oil for his truck.

Its a nice bromance.

I tried with a challenge car, sucked.

I'm with Tom on this - it looks like in the longer run you'll end up with a choice between keeping your friend or the boat.

John Brown wrote: I tried with a challenge car, sucked.

I've always tossed around the idea of "co"-owning a race car (probably Chump) and having the team pay for consumables. So I would own the car but they bought tires and fuel for each race.

Has anyone done this? Does it work or not?

You need a pre-existing endgame for ownership of the boat, which should be a contract stating the boat will be sold by a neutral party and the take should be split evenly. The worst thing to have a disagreement on in the future is over selling the thing.

Although not mentioned in the OP, wives or SO's can have a significant impact on the partnership, gotta factor that in too.

My friend and I co-own my mustang. I provided the car, but he put enough parts into it that I gave him half ownership.

It seems to be working okay for the time being.

Have your agreement in writing. Install an hour meter on the boat. Split the fixed cost 50/50 (dock, insurance etc), split the fuel, maintenance etc by the percentage that each of you use the boat. It can work out well.

Tom Suddard wrote: No. Bad idea.

Correct-a-mundo, dude. Don't do it. You won't be friends by the time you are done with it. You will be setting yourself up for all sorts of fail.

Friends + Money/contract type stuff has a HUGE propensity to turn out for the worse.

The best way to avoid that is a well planned and executed contract/agreement, whatever you want to call it, that specifically lays out what each person is responsible for and when they will be expected to do it as well.

It's no good to split maintenance/repair bills if the other person is looking at what they can hock to the pawn shop to pay for the propeller they smacked against a rock at the lake.

I won't read all of the responses here, but I have co-owned a vehicle and it went rather well. We went in half ish on a drag/street car. I ended up selling my half to him with a handshake and that was that.