Friend wants me to register motorcycle under my name due to outstanding tickets

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prosoccer99

Member
A close friend who has significant outstanding tickets, which prohibits him being able to register a motorcycle without paying these fines, wants to register a motorcycle under me. He would give me money to buy the bike, it would be mine on paper, but it would be his to ride. Ethical issues aside, if he gets his own insurance, is everything legal? If he were not to get insurance, and to get a speeding ticket, would it go to me, or him?

Cheers
 
several issue here
one is that you will be party to false statements

the biggest risk is liability
and I'm not talking about just insurance
the registered owner of a vehicle can be sued in the event of a serious accident

it is not possible for your friend to get insurance for himself on a vehicle he doesn't own
so he will be riding uninsured
and tickets will go to him
for the driving with no insurance or whatever else he's caught doing wrong

in the event of a serious accident you will both be sued
and there will be nobody to pay out a liability claim

so the answer is no to every question

moral?
legal?
smart?
 
He can't get his own insurance on a bike he doesn't own. It's your bike. It'll be your insurance. If he screws up and something happens, it's on you - both the liability and the insurance hit.

Since your friend has clearly shown himself to be less than responsible to date, that's probably a very unwise risk.

Run away....run far, far away.
 
"J_F said:
so he will be riding uninsured
and tickets will go to him
for the driving with no insurance or whatever else he's caught doing wrong
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Technically, he won't be riding ininsured....as you CAN "loan" your bike to a riding friend and they are perfectly legal to be riding it, but they're doing so under YOUR insurance. If they do anything that would involve said insurance it's the owner of the bike who eats it...be it an accident, or be it a lawsuit.

And then the insurance company would find out that this was just a big sham (IE, the registered owner is effectively not actually the person in full time possession of the bike) and cancel the policy.

Which then in turn totally screws the person trying to be helpful since the'll have a cancellation on their insurance history which is like Kryptonite to other insurers.
 
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J_F said:
the biggest risk is liability
and I'm not talking about just insurance
the registered owner of a vehicle can will be sued in the event of a serious accident
Click to expand...

FIFY

'What kind of friend would even ask you to enter into such a scheme OP..?
 
Hack said:
'What kind of friend would even ask you to enter into such a scheme OP..?
Click to expand...

One who thinks it's legit, or one who doesn't think it puts the "friend" at serious risk of liability or screwing up his own insurance record for potentially years.

Or one who quietly knows, but doesn't care...because he really really really wants to ride a motorcycle this year.
 
Last edited:
And lives in the basement at Mom and Dad's waiting for an executive position.
 
Maybe ask your "friend" to use that money that he would hand over to purchase a bike for him to pay off those fines.

It will help him in the long run. Regardless if he wants to ride a motorcycle or not.

Remember,
You only have ONE license, with different classes. (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and M)

So if he has outstanding tickets, it doesn't only prohibit him from registering a motorcycle but also any motor vehicle,l or even renew his license.

Be the better friend and while you are explaining the reason why you respectfully decline his invitation to this scheme, give him the advise of paying off those tickets/fines.
 
I'm super curious how your friend explained this to you. He must have been pretty convincing to make it sound like a good idea.

If it is even close to what I imagined, then its only a matter of time before this same friend lets you in on this great investment opportunity he has for you...
 
Don’t do it. Insurers don’t get tricked that easily. If buddy crashes the bike and the insurer figures out the scam ( they will), they payout then come after you. First they cancel you insurance for insurance fraud, then they come after you to recounted the payout.

ifyour insurance is cancelled for fraud, expect to pay $10k+ a year per vehicle for insurance for the next 10 years. If you haveto payout the claim, that would bankrupt most of us.

just say no.
 
I think his "friend" might actually be him
 
He destroyed his driving record so now he wants to assault yours :sneaky: and you get to nailed with all the unpaid parking fines, sweet deal for them.
 
Fact: If buddy gets a speeding ticket it he pays it.
Fact: If buddy does damage the insurer hopefully pays the claim and it goes against the policy owner which will be the registered owner. The registered owner will pay substantially higher premiums for years and it could be worse.
Fact: Insurers are not stupid.
Fact: If you do a forum search you will find regular variations of this question. The answers are the same. Don't do it.
Fact: Insurers have investigators and are familiar with this scam. A common variant is a male loser chats up a lonely female and does the same, putting everything in her name. He drives the vehicle, causes a crash and when the accounts have to be settled he dumps her.
Fact: Your friend doesn't pay his tickets.
Fact: If the crap hits the fan you will be seen as a willing accomplice and receive no mercy from the courts or insurers.
Fact: The legal costs to fight any of the above will bankrupt a person of modest means.
Opinion: Since he doesn't pay his tickets he probably won't pay up if this scam backfires and the bills come to you.
Opinion: Your supposed friend is a user / loser. He / she uses people and you are next in line. You will be discarded when you are no longer needed or too expensive.
Question: If he can afford to buy a bike why can't he afford to pay his fines?

Comment: One of the hardest things to do in life is to correct a friend. If you are a true friend you will do it. If he is a true friend he will understand.
 
Or as bigpoppa just mentioned, op is the friend and he's got a sucker lined up. Poor guy to have you as a friend.
 
prosoccer99 said:
A close friend who has significant outstanding tickets, which prohibits him being able to register a motorcycle without paying these fines, wants to register a motorcycle under me. He would give me money to buy the bike, it would be mine on paper, but it would be his to ride. Ethical issues aside, if he gets his own insurance, is everything legal? If he were not to get insurance, and to get a speeding ticket, would it go to me, or him?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Dude, my uncle gave me the wisest advice ever. Never lend money to anybody that the bank won't; there's a reason for it, he is a bad pay. The same goes for your friend, if he can't keep his act clean he won't be able to keep your name clean. When this guy kills someone or runs away from the cops guess who they are going to arrest in his house in the middle of the night?
 
I can assure you this is not me and indeed is a friend. I've ridden for 5 years without any traffic offenses, or qualms with my insurance company. The story he gave me was that he found a good deal on a used moto bike and would just let it sit in his garage until he paid off his tickets. I have a hard time believing this because he previously rode in his home country beforehand, and is the type that would take it out on any nice summer day for a ride. I inquired about how much the tickets were ,and suggested he just pay them off. He told me the amount, and I was absolutely flabbergasted as to how it could be that high. Think over >5k. So, the tickets are his responsibility and so is getting his motorcycle. As you all have said, he will have to pay them off to ever register a vehicle under his name. Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
prosoccer99 said:
I can assure you this is not me and indeed is a friend. I've ridden for 5 years without any traffic offenses, or qualms with my insurance company. The story he gave me was that he found a good deal on a used moto bike and would just let it sit in his garage until he paid off his tickets. I have a hard time believing this because he previously rode in his home country beforehand, and is the type that would take it out on any nice summer day for a ride. I inquired about how much the tickets were ,and suggested he just pay them off. He told me the amount, and I was absolutely flabbergasted as to how it could be that high. Think over >5k. So, the tickets are his responsibility and so is getting his motorcycle. As you all have said, he will have to pay them off to ever register a vehicle under his name. Thanks for the advice everyone.
Click to expand...

Ouch! Can he get a drivers license with that big a list?
 
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