Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

Diana,

If you were not an authorized driver then you had no business driving the rental vehicle. Unfortunately, you caused the accident since, by your own admission, you fell asleep at the wheel. Regardless of whether there was or was not insurance, the rule virtually everywhere in America is that if you caused the damage, you pay for it

I don't know why you think the driver was at fault here. But if she was, your remedy is to sue her or wait until Enterprise sues you and then you can pull in Aline and can arguee why she should be responsible for the damage you caused.

If you don't pay, you don't pay. How long are you planning on staying in the US? What are your long range plans? Will you return to your own country at some point?

That will dictate what you do. If you are leaving the US and never coming back, then maybe do nothing and wait and see if you are sued. If you are going to stay in the US, that is different. If the accident and damage occurred in Nevada, that is where a lawsuit is mostly likely to occur.. You will have to talk to a Nevada auto accident attorney - the law out there could be different. If you are sued in NC or if a lawsuit is brought elsewhere any judgment can be transferred to any US state where you live and/or own property. While NC has no wage garnishment and generous exemptions, not all states are like this. Most have wage garnishment.

Is there a way to decrease the value? Yes and no. The car repairs are what they are. Unless you can get evidence from another autobody repair place that the cost to repair was wildly too high, then no. That said, all debts an be settled if the creditor is willing to settle. The problem is you have no money to settle. If you could get your hands on say $3500, you can tell the car lender this is all you have and they can have $3500 today or they can wait. Money has a time value to it. $3500 all in a lump sum today is going to be worth more than $7000 in 6 years. So they may say yes. Or they may want something more than $3500 but less than $7000. That will be up to them and you to agree upon.

This is not a credit/debt issue. Its an auto accident case and if no one was hurt, then its a $7000 property damage case. Again, if the car was damaged in Nevada and rented in Nevada then this case is going to be governed by Nevada law and you need to talk to Nevada attorney who handles these types of cases.