HANG A SIGN ON THE WALL THAT STATES YOUR
POLICY
Start with an easy statement: Equipment not paid for and not picked
up after 30 days will be sold to recover the cost of repair and stor-
age. The timeline for defining what abandoned equipment is can vary
from state to state. Some dealers have defined abandonment as any-
thing still on the lot after 30 days. Before they hit the 30-day mark,
they’ve made a phone call at Day 14 and sent a certified letter at
Day 29. It’s important there is a specific timeline, so that everyone
is on the same page.
STORAGE FEE FOR EQUIPMENT LEFT OVER 14 DAYS
Some dealers charge a $10/day storage fee for equipment not picked
up. The intent with the storage fee isn’t to ever actually collect on
the fee, but to avoid ever having to deal with a piece of abandoned
equipment. If someone leaves a piece of equipment there for 16
days, then comes and picks it up and pays for the repair, it i