Hilly
04-07-2008, 12:55 AM
Want to get some outside opinions.
Last June we decided to sell one of our 4 wheelers to a local kid. He had been wanting it for awhile. Hi step dad and him came over and looked at it again and said they would buy it for $2800. With $1500 down we agreed they would make $100 payments until the other $1300 was satisfied. There was a loan against the 4 wheeler so all monies were put towards the loan.
His mom came and gave us the $1500 down but when asked if she wanted a receipt she said no. About a month later we were at their house and the 4 wheeler came up and she said she needed to make the payment and would probably the next day or so. Another month passes and I go to her work on my way home and ask if she is going ot make the payment and she says yes.
Some more time goes by ( 2 months ) and we find out that the 4 wheeler was in a fire while at the ATV place. I contacted the ATV place and ask what is going on and they ask if we are the legal owners and we are and they say that it was invloved but barely damamged. I went and looked at the 4 wheeler and agreed that besides needing some cleaning up it was ok. I talked to the manager of the shop and they said that there were two options. (1) the insurance company would give us $2200 and we keep the 4 wheeler. (2) the insurance company would give us $3000 and total the 4 wheeler.
I thought that it would be the best idea to take the $2200, fix EVERYTHING the 4 wheeler needed and let the kid have it back. Which was gonna be about half the money and apply the rest to the loan. I went to the mom's work and asked her what she thought and said that we would have to ask her son. So I asked him and he said he didnt want the 4 wheeler back, he thought it was too damaged and wanted his money back to buy a car.
Another month passes and the mother goes to my wifes work and asks for a receipt for the $1500, my wife had already made a receipt so she signed it and handed it to her. A hour later she returns and has written some things on it and gives my wife a copy. My wife is busy and doesn't look at it very closely. The mother had written on the copy that they wouldn't be making any payments until after January.
It takes about a month and a half for the insurance company to do its job and give the money to the bank so they can have the title. But there was still an outstanding balance over what the insurance company paid so we had to pay the difference.
Our bank accounts have a Credit Line attached to them. If we overdraw any account or just need some money fast we can use the credit line. It's like an open signature loan. We told the bank that the ATV shop guy would be coming out to give them money for the title and any money still owed to take it from the credit line. Which they did.
A week ago the kid calls and asks how everythng turned out and wanted his $1500 back. I said I didn't have all the details and would call him back. I then found out how much we had to come up with to satisfy the loan. $850 I called the kid back and told him the details and said we didn't know what we were goin to do as we didn't plan on spending $850. I said let my wife and I talk about it. We did and came up with wha we thought was fair that we would give them half the down payment back in lieu of us having to make the payments and settle the loan. The kid called and we talked and he wanted his whole $1500 and I said that I didn' think it would be fair under the circumstances. He said he would talk to his mother. He called later and left a message saying that they wanted their $1500 or would take us to small claims. I returned the call and said if they wanted to do that to go ahead.
This is how I see things ...
1. They didn't honor the verbal agreement by not making ANY of the $100 payments.
2. When they found out that the insurance company was involved that is when the asked for a receipt. ( about 6mos after the deal )
3. They took the receipt home, which my wife had already filled out and signed and proceeded to write some other stipulations on it which effectively voided it because they wrote on it after my wife signed it and didn't have her initial the changes.
4. Being that we had to make the payments when they were supposed too, which totalled about $900, and with having to pay the $850 to settle the loan that giving them $750 back was fair.
We're not trying to screw anyone over. Both parties are getting equally screwed. I don't feel it's right for them to get all their money back and us eat the whole deal.
I know this is long but I'd like some opinions.
Last June we decided to sell one of our 4 wheelers to a local kid. He had been wanting it for awhile. Hi step dad and him came over and looked at it again and said they would buy it for $2800. With $1500 down we agreed they would make $100 payments until the other $1300 was satisfied. There was a loan against the 4 wheeler so all monies were put towards the loan.
His mom came and gave us the $1500 down but when asked if she wanted a receipt she said no. About a month later we were at their house and the 4 wheeler came up and she said she needed to make the payment and would probably the next day or so. Another month passes and I go to her work on my way home and ask if she is going ot make the payment and she says yes.
Some more time goes by ( 2 months ) and we find out that the 4 wheeler was in a fire while at the ATV place. I contacted the ATV place and ask what is going on and they ask if we are the legal owners and we are and they say that it was invloved but barely damamged. I went and looked at the 4 wheeler and agreed that besides needing some cleaning up it was ok. I talked to the manager of the shop and they said that there were two options. (1) the insurance company would give us $2200 and we keep the 4 wheeler. (2) the insurance company would give us $3000 and total the 4 wheeler.
I thought that it would be the best idea to take the $2200, fix EVERYTHING the 4 wheeler needed and let the kid have it back. Which was gonna be about half the money and apply the rest to the loan. I went to the mom's work and asked her what she thought and said that we would have to ask her son. So I asked him and he said he didnt want the 4 wheeler back, he thought it was too damaged and wanted his money back to buy a car.
Another month passes and the mother goes to my wifes work and asks for a receipt for the $1500, my wife had already made a receipt so she signed it and handed it to her. A hour later she returns and has written some things on it and gives my wife a copy. My wife is busy and doesn't look at it very closely. The mother had written on the copy that they wouldn't be making any payments until after January.
It takes about a month and a half for the insurance company to do its job and give the money to the bank so they can have the title. But there was still an outstanding balance over what the insurance company paid so we had to pay the difference.
Our bank accounts have a Credit Line attached to them. If we overdraw any account or just need some money fast we can use the credit line. It's like an open signature loan. We told the bank that the ATV shop guy would be coming out to give them money for the title and any money still owed to take it from the credit line. Which they did.
A week ago the kid calls and asks how everythng turned out and wanted his $1500 back. I said I didn't have all the details and would call him back. I then found out how much we had to come up with to satisfy the loan. $850 I called the kid back and told him the details and said we didn't know what we were goin to do as we didn't plan on spending $850. I said let my wife and I talk about it. We did and came up with wha we thought was fair that we would give them half the down payment back in lieu of us having to make the payments and settle the loan. The kid called and we talked and he wanted his whole $1500 and I said that I didn' think it would be fair under the circumstances. He said he would talk to his mother. He called later and left a message saying that they wanted their $1500 or would take us to small claims. I returned the call and said if they wanted to do that to go ahead.
This is how I see things ...
1. They didn't honor the verbal agreement by not making ANY of the $100 payments.
2. When they found out that the insurance company was involved that is when the asked for a receipt. ( about 6mos after the deal )
3. They took the receipt home, which my wife had already filled out and signed and proceeded to write some other stipulations on it which effectively voided it because they wrote on it after my wife signed it and didn't have her initial the changes.
4. Being that we had to make the payments when they were supposed too, which totalled about $900, and with having to pay the $850 to settle the loan that giving them $750 back was fair.
We're not trying to screw anyone over. Both parties are getting equally screwed. I don't feel it's right for them to get all their money back and us eat the whole deal.
I know this is long but I'd like some opinions.