Co-signing on a vehicle loan

Dear Gil,
I have a leased vehicle and the lease will end in 2007.  A family member has approached me about co-signing for them to get a vehicle.  I haven’t agreed to do it and am asking for your advice to help me in sharing my reasons why I shouldn’t.  

Thank you for your help.

J.A. in Buffalo

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Dear J.A.,

I think you are wise in seeking advice to this question.  Let me ask you this, why can't this family member qualify for the lease on his/her own?  Maybe there's a perfectly good reason why the company doesn't want to extent credit to this family member.  I would sincerely suggest that you make this decision based on common sense rather than making it an emotional pressure move.  Decisions like this may wind up doing more harm than good, and in the long run, you may not have ever really 'helped' this family member.  My gut reaction is to tell you not to do it, but you must ultimately make that decision. 

I wish you all the best.

Gil