Hallum Motors reviews and complaints

We purchased a 2001 John Deere 8410 MFWD Tractor from Hallum Motors on an eBay auction with no reserve, they started the bidding at $55, 000.00 (Mr. Hallum likes to make his ads state that they sell everything with NO RESERVE). Buyer beware and do your research in to what you are getting. This Tractor was listed as Clean, No Reserve, One Owner, Excellent Condition, Well Maintained. We won the bidding for a price of $71, 100.00, we did a bank to bank wire transfer of the money to Hallum Motors and then we went about setting up shipping which we paid for in the amount of $2, 200.00. When we received the tractor we were so disappointed that it was nothing like the pictures and there was no disclosure as to the damages on this tractor. We contacted Mr. Hallum asking that he take the tractor back and pay return shipping, Mr. Hallum refused and asked that we find out what it would cost to repair the tractor. We had our local John Deere Dealer give us a price estimate to get this tractor into field ready condition, parts were $2, 955.02 with labor being $1, 768.00 and a replacement rear tire that was cut 3/4 around in the amount of $1, 200.00. All of this information was sent to Mr. Hallum who stated that he has had alot of good feedback on all of his automotive sales through eBay and that when you buy used equipment it is just that (USED EQUIPMENT). We attempted to come to a settlement through mediation (Square Trade) and were unable to settle, we also filed a claim through eBay Insurance but were told that since the vehicle was not dangerous and life threatening that there was nothing they could do as far as insurance was concerned, but the agent did try to negotiate a settlement as well and to come to a mutual agreement whereby we would then remove our negative feedback given to Mr. Hallum on eBay. Many times Mr. Hallum stated that he would give us a settlement amount or look at the cost of repairs, but he then does not return calls or is just too busy to deal with your complaints. This man has been allowed to carry on his bad business practices for far to long, this needs to be stopped now. Our research through the John Deere dealers has found that this local one owner tractor was sold by the original purchaser in Mississippi to a John Deere dealer there who then leased the tractor to who knows how many farmers, and then Mr. Hallum purchased it for sale on eBay. There is no way that this tractor was worth anywhere close to what we paid for it and we may never be able to recoupe our costs but we would very much like to be sure that anyone and everyone knows how badly these people treat their customers and hope that others can be spared dealings with this very disreputable business.

Sincerely,

Grady and Julia Free
Grady Free Farms
Muleshoe, TX