[Christien]

I work in sub-prime car financing, and this story is as old as the hills. Your first mistake was welfare - the first rule we play by is "you work you drive". No worky = no drivey. The girl had nothing into it - it was a rental car to her, so why take care of it?

I don't know her, so I don't feel bad passing judgment, sorry if I offend: welfare + bad credit = deadbeat with a bus pass. Period. These people can't afford cars, and usually don't deserve them. End of story.

As for your end of things, if it were my company, we'd sell the car at auction (or ebay, CL, whatever) for whatever we could and write off the rest. That's all there is to it. It's a loss. And a 12 year old car with a blown engine isn't worth the cost of the tow. I'd be surprised if someone on CL offered $1000 - if you could get that for it, take it and thank your lucky stars.

Sorry to sound so negative. I've had a few of these bite my in the ass, then we stopped financing unemployed people.