Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
I'm posting this to warn everyone who's purchasing or lease-purchasing from an owner. What I've gone through could've been alot worse, but losing money is never fun.
Last September I made an agreement to buy my FL-106 from someone who posted an ad on EO. I agreed to pay $1750/month for two years, and get a clear title at the end.
Our contract was flimsy, at best. It didn't state he had to pay all of the $1750 to the finance company. He was financing it for 4 years, and paid around $950/month.
I originally asked if I could send his finance company the whole amount, and he said that's up to him. We went as far as putting both him AND his finance company on the check, but the bank cashed it with just his endorsement.
He had been in and out of work since I bought the truck, so I knew if he wasn't making my full payment he would never catch up at the end. The tip of the iceberg was when he called asking when I'd be making the payment, he needed the money. I started sweating!
Am I going to pay for this truck for two years and have nothing at the end? We decided to send him a letter asking that he get proof from his finance co that everything we paid went on the truck. He ignored it. To make a long story short, I told him his truck was coming back, I'm not paying him a dime more. He revoked his power of attorney at Panther, basically making the truck worthless as a money maker.
I've lost a $6000 down payment, around $7000 in repairs (including a new tranny), and several months of payments. In the end, I'm willing to take the loss because I've learned several things from this ordeal (among those, I'm never touching alumijunk again!) :7
I saw this coming, however, and have been looking for a better situation for a month or so. I've decided to try a different angle at expediting by going on with someone who's respected on this board. I have little doubt that this venture will turn out nearly as bad as my last one.
I would hafta say this whole ordeal also left a sour taste in my mouth about Panther. Overall, they're good... but this situation, I believe, could've been handled a little better... such as telling me the POA had been revoked. But that's for another post.
So, kiddies... what have we learned today??? If you're buying a truck that is being financed, put it in the contract that ALL payments go toward paying off the truck. Don't get into buying someone else's headache if you don't have money to fix it. Have a mechanic check out the truck before you sign anything. And most importantly, have a lawyer look over your contract BEFORE you sign it! It does little good to show him afterwards, and the $200 or so will be money well spent.
T-hawk
"Goodbye qualcomm, it's been nice. Won't see you in paradise." - Me... with a little help from Rush ;-)
Last September I made an agreement to buy my FL-106 from someone who posted an ad on EO. I agreed to pay $1750/month for two years, and get a clear title at the end.
Our contract was flimsy, at best. It didn't state he had to pay all of the $1750 to the finance company. He was financing it for 4 years, and paid around $950/month.
I originally asked if I could send his finance company the whole amount, and he said that's up to him. We went as far as putting both him AND his finance company on the check, but the bank cashed it with just his endorsement.
He had been in and out of work since I bought the truck, so I knew if he wasn't making my full payment he would never catch up at the end. The tip of the iceberg was when he called asking when I'd be making the payment, he needed the money. I started sweating!
Am I going to pay for this truck for two years and have nothing at the end? We decided to send him a letter asking that he get proof from his finance co that everything we paid went on the truck. He ignored it. To make a long story short, I told him his truck was coming back, I'm not paying him a dime more. He revoked his power of attorney at Panther, basically making the truck worthless as a money maker.
I've lost a $6000 down payment, around $7000 in repairs (including a new tranny), and several months of payments. In the end, I'm willing to take the loss because I've learned several things from this ordeal (among those, I'm never touching alumijunk again!) :7
I saw this coming, however, and have been looking for a better situation for a month or so. I've decided to try a different angle at expediting by going on with someone who's respected on this board. I have little doubt that this venture will turn out nearly as bad as my last one.
I would hafta say this whole ordeal also left a sour taste in my mouth about Panther. Overall, they're good... but this situation, I believe, could've been handled a little better... such as telling me the POA had been revoked. But that's for another post.
So, kiddies... what have we learned today??? If you're buying a truck that is being financed, put it in the contract that ALL payments go toward paying off the truck. Don't get into buying someone else's headache if you don't have money to fix it. Have a mechanic check out the truck before you sign anything. And most importantly, have a lawyer look over your contract BEFORE you sign it! It does little good to show him afterwards, and the $200 or so will be money well spent.
T-hawk
"Goodbye qualcomm, it's been nice. Won't see you in paradise." - Me... with a little help from Rush ;-)
You sound a lot like him and very right.