I'm posting this here, because I just don't know where else to go for advice. But my issue requires a bit of a back story.

In 2008, I bought a car. At the time, I was 22, living with my parents, dating an ass hole, working in a gas station. I was barely making enough money, even then, to cover the $300 a month payment. The man I was dating was living about an hours drive away from me, and it was primarily to simplify visiting him that I bought the car. I didn't have ANY credit, so my mom had to co-sign in order for me to get the car. Her credit wasn't spectacular either, so I got it on an 8 year loan, with a REALLY high interest rate.

It's been almost exactly four years since I bought the car. A lot happens in four years. I moved in with the man I was dating. Turns out, he was filthy, and really hard on cars. I found out that he and his brother had torn apart countless cars their father had owned, and they both drove my car on a regular basis for two and a half years. I didn't have a choice in that matter. They also spent almost all the money I made, so I greatly struggled with the payments. I frequently paid late, or had to pay off multiple months at a time in order to keep the car from being repossessed. As the economy worsened, it became difficult to remain consistently employed. There were times I was out of work for months at a time, and somehow I always managed to make the car payments. Even though my ex, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend were all using my car, they all refused to help me with the payments. Meanwhile, my car was getting beat up, and filled with trash.

Finally, I broke up with my ex. I cleaned all the garbage out of my car, and had it detailed, did $700 worth of repairs, and was doing really good with the payments until I lost my job again. I was practically homeless for about a year after leaving my ex, moving from friends house to friends house. I continued to struggle with the payments, and frequently barely made it. I still got no help with payments, even from people who regularly borrowed my car. And thanks to my ex, my fairly young car was already starting to need more and more frequent repairs.

A little over a year ago, I met the man I am currently engaged to. He has been a dream come true. He is the ONLY person to ever treat my car with respect, and the ONLY person to ever help me make a payment. And he's made several, because I have been out of work since September. But now, he's out of work too.

As it currently stands, I am going on two months late with my payments. We've already been evicted from our apartment, and moved in with my parents. In may, we are planned on moving to his mom's house in Mississippi. My registration and inspection are due by the end of February. My car needs countless repairs, adding up to thousands of dollars. It is full of bad memories, of my ex. For years now, it has felt to me like nothing but a ball and chain. I have felt trapped in this loan with a car I hate, which isn't worth $300 a month. Personally, I just want to call the loan company and tell them to come pick up the car and be done with it. My parents have two cars, and my fiance has a motorcycle, and my brother has a bicycle, so I would be able to get around, and in Mississippi, his mom and her boyfriend have two cars. I would be free of my ball and chain, free of the draining payments, free of all the repairs. I don't know how much longer it will run anyway.

However, here's the problem, and the reason I'm making this post: My dad has one payment left on his car. He is currently also out of work, but he can afford that last payment. When he's done paying it, and finds a new job, he wants to buy a third car, and give his car to my youngest brother. My dad's credit is completely shot, so in order for him to qualify, he will need my mom to co-sign. However, her name is still on my car, and if I give up my car, it will hurt her credit, and then she may not be able to co-sign with my dad, and he may not be able to get a new car. What he is asking me to do is try to find a job while we're here and save my car.

Assuming I could even find a job in time, it would suck up at least my first two or three pay checks just to catch up on payments, then I will have to get my tags renewed, then there are all the repairs, not least of which is the broken air conditioner. I was really hoping that if I was able to find a job while we're here, I could put the money toward the wedding, and then the move to Mississippi. And even if I CAN save the car, in three months we will be moving to Mississippi, where the unemployment rate is even higher, and the likelihood of being able to find a job there in time to keep the car payments going is slim to none. All of that feels, to me, like an uphill battle that is hardly even worth it. But, I have to keep reminding myself, I am living under their roof, and loosing the car will affect them in a big way.

So, here I am, still feeling trapped, and rather hopeless, and really wishing I could find a way to convince my dad that it just isn't worth it. Because to me, it isn't. But I have to try, for them. I love my parents, but I hate this.