I did that for our daughter 17 years ago. She had zero credit and couldn't get the loan without a co-signer. We co-signed but made the loan in her name. Taking out the loan also saved us $500 on the price of the new car.
We were told we had to keep the loan for 3 months minimum but that we could pay the balance down to any level, even to $10 the first month. IIRC, the loan amount was about $10K after she put $5K down. Hate to pay interest, so after a month upon receiving a bill, I paid all but $10. The lender considered that paid in full and sent us the title.
Our daughter's credit rating immediately spiked to 800+.