My parents own a car. Neither can drive any longer so it sits in my driveway. Occasionally, I use it to take them to a doctor appointment just so it turns over. They incur costs of insurance, registration, maintenance, etc. However, they do not want to sell it because they like the idea that if I am not available to take them to the doctor they can hire a driver and know the car is safe. I am fine with it in my driveway - not bothering us. While dad still has the ability to think pretty clearly, I am wondering if the title should be put in my name so I could sell it in case of their needing funds for their care. We are spending more than they take in monthly right now and it scares me. Dad is the clearer thinker and he is having more seizures with more frequency so I feel like time could be short. (ugh that is horrible to say) Is there a downside to just preparing the title for sale to me so I can sell the car in a hurry if we needed to?
My mother has a van that we do use to transport her (it has a lift seat) but she doesn't go out that much. My husband and I take it out for errands whenever it is convenient just to run it.
If you have POA, you can sell the car whenever it needs to be sold. If you don't have POA, have them sign the title but leave the purchaser blank. That way you can sell it or donate it later if you need to (be careful, some states require a notarized bill of sale to accompany a signed title).
I agree that you should not have them sell it to you unless a) you need a car and b) they sell it to you at fair market price. Print out a copy of the current Blue Book value when you make the transaction because it will change later.
However, this issue brings up an even more important one:
You absolutely need to get POAs from your parents while they are still competent to grant them. That will enable you to sell the car when it comes time as well as arrange for medical care, use their income to pay their bills, and 100s of other tasks you may not have thought of yet.
See an elder care attorney to do this. Cost probably less than $2000 to do an entire estate review, much less for just POAs. It will be worth it.
As well, keep track of what you are spending out of your own pocket for their care and upkeep. You might be able to get that back (possibly from the sale of the car).
But you'd be better off selling it while it runs! That might a good point to make with the folks--if it breaks, it's money going into the car, not money out.
Then I was the chosen one to drive that Queen Mary down the highway... oh how I hated that car... would get car sick just backing it out of the garage !!
And when it snowed, Dad [who was in his 90's] would be out there trying to shovel the driveway. I tried to help, but I was pushing 70 so eventually I had to say "no". Again, the shoveling was in case there was an emergency and he needed to drive Mom to the hospital. Ah, hello, you can call 911, the para-medics and firemen have shovels.
I finally did a happy dance when my Dad said it was ok to donate the car to charity :)
I agree with Guestshopadmin, do NOT put the car title in your name. If you have financial Power of Attorney, later on you can sell the car if your parents need money and they can no longer understand what they are signing.