[Stayruht]

Have a question.. I really get kind of paranoid in some situations, so I wanted to clear it up.

First.. I bought a car through a credit union. They financed me for $8k. I got behind two months because of troubles with work [I had lost my job]. I was living off savings and trying to keep spending as small as possible until I got a new job. My car would not be driven as my insurance ended a couple weeks ago, and I'm paranoid about getting in an accident and not having insurance.

My roommate, being a mechanic, told me to start the car up regularly. Every few days or so. I didn't know anything about it, but I did it every week, sometimes more.

Anyhow, one day I went to start the car up and it caught fire after shutting it off. The fire department was called, fire extinguished, etc etc.

My question starts here: Can I be arrested for what happened? Not making payments during hardship, and having my car melt to the ground without having insurance? What worried me was how much my credit union stressed showing a proof of insurance [And I did show proof when I had it, and they were listed as lien holders, which is what they mostly wanted]. If they repossessed the car, which I am trying to avoid by getting help from friends to pay at least one payment soon, they wouldn't get anything out of it.

Would this just ruin my credit, or could they have me arrested? I read way too many things about insurance/finance horrors and I'm already a paranoid person.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.

[N0help4u]

First of all, they should have had a fire marshal inspect it to see what caused the fire if it was intentional or a mechanical problem or whatever.
You shouldn't be arrested for no insurance since it was not being driven at the time of the fire and they can't prove you were driving it without insurance. The most they maybe could do is give you a fine for no insurance but they can't prove you were driving it with no insurance.
See what the credit union wants for a settlement.

[Stayruht]

Yea. The fire department actually told me they weren't going to bother with a Fire Marshal as no foul play was suspected. They made a guess at electrical fire. That and the fact that the car was in the parking lot for my complex when it happened. I guess the best thing is to just call collections and be honest.

In Florida, where I am, there is a fine for having tags on a vehicle with no insurance, but I can surrender them to spare the fine. I really hate having to bounce from place to place.

[oneguyinohio]

About the most I would think might happen is that you will be held responsible to pay for the value of the car minus any amount that the company can sell it for. Not to mention any fees involved in the process of the repossession. Have you reported the incident to the bank? I would do that as well as provide any fire department reports related to it.

The bank will not be happy, but as long as there is no evidence of intentional damages, you'll be financially responsible... which if you don't pay, becomes a credit problem for a long while.