Usually, the only way to get one of the borrowers names off a loan is to pay it off. A loan is contract between a lender and a specific person or persons, and that can’t change while the loan is in repayment.

There are some message boards that deal with legal matters you could try posting on.

To answer your question in a nut shell, no. You will have to talk with the loan officer to see any options you have. In most cases, the primary buyer will have to remove themselves from the loan and then the loan refinanced in your name. The car will have to be in your name as well with the other person as secondary. You would have to meet the banks requirements to do this.

Paying on the loan and working on the car give you no legal rights to the loan. If you can show proof you were making the payments and upkeep, maybe the loan officer can take that into consideration when they redo the loan. They don’t have to but it could help in getting it refinanced if you are on the line between a yes or no.

I would contact the lender. When I bought my first car, my grandfather cosigned. After a few years, I contacted the lender and requested a “transfer of equity” form. I sent it back to them and saw his name was removed on my next bill.