Auto Advantage Finance, LLC v. Jess Dewayne Griffith

Let’s be real: this isn’t just about a truck. This is about a man, a 2014 Ford F-150, and a $31,767 game of hide-and-seek that’s now playing out in an Oklahoma courtroom. Yes, you read that right—Auto Advantage Finance, LLC is suing Jess Dewayne Griffith not just to get their money back, but because they believe he’s literally hiding their truck. Not lost. Not totaled. Hiding it. Like it’s a surprise birthday party and the F-150 is the guest of honor. Only, instead of cake and balloons, we’ve got perfected security interests and NADA valuations. Welcome to Crazy Civil Court, where the stakes are high, the trucks are old, and someone definitely didn’t read the fine print.

So who are these people? On one side, we’ve got Auto Advantage Finance, LLC—a name that sounds like a sketchy infomercial but is, in fact, a finance company that buys up car loans like trading cards. They didn’t sell the truck directly. No, that honor goes to Express Credit Auto, a dealership with a name that sounds like a payday loan with benefits. They sold the 2014 F-150 FX2—VIN: 1FTFW1CTXEKF35711, because of course we’re doing VINs now—to Jess Dewayne Griffith on November 14, 2023. Griffith, our defendant, presumably needed a truck. Maybe for work. Maybe for hauling stuff. Maybe because nothing says “I’m emotionally available” like a mid-life crisis pickup. Whatever the reason, he signed a contract. And like most car contracts, this one had a little clause that said, “Hey, if you don’t pay us, we get the truck back.” Standard stuff. But here’s where it gets spicy: Express Credit Auto didn’t keep the loan. They sold it—assigned it, in legal speak—to Auto Advantage Finance. So now, Griffith owes money to a company he never even met. Which, fine. That happens. Wall Street owns your mortgage, your student loans, and probably your soul—why not your Ford F-150?

But then… the payments stopped. The last one came in on December 15, 2023. One month after the deal closed. One. Month. That’s not a financial hardship. That’s a commitment issue. And when Auto Advantage tried to repossess the truck? Crickets. According to their affidavit, filed by one Christopher Tate (authorized representative and, presumably, the guy whose job it is to track down trucks), every attempt to recover the vehicle has failed. And here’s the kicker: they believe Griffith still has it. Not only that—he’s allegedly wrongfully detaining it. That’s the legal term for “you’re not supposed to have this, but you won’t give it back.” It’s like if you borrowed your cousin’s lawnmower and then claimed it was yours after he asked for it back. Only this isn’t a $200 lawnmower. This is a ten-year-old Ford with over 130,000 miles that, according to the NADA report, is worth about $12,450 at auction. Maybe $18,150 if you’re feeling generous and it’s got a clean interior and no weird smells.

So why are we in court? Because Auto Advantage isn’t just asking for money. They’re asking for the truck. Or, failing that, a court order to stop Griffith from selling it, hiding it, blowing it up, or turning it into a tiny home on TikTok. They want a judgment declaring that they have a “first, prior, perfected and superior security interest” in the vehicle—which sounds like a magic spell from a finance wizard, but really just means “we own this truck more than anyone else does.” They also want a money judgment for $31,767.95, which, let’s be clear, is way more than the truck is worth. That’s like buying a used toaster and then owing $300 on it after it breaks. How? Interest. Fees. The contractual rate of 14.98% per year, which is the kind of number that makes credit card companies blush. And yes, they want attorney fees too, because nothing says “I’ve been wronged” like billing by the hour.

Now, is $31,767 a lot for a 2014 F-150? Objectively, yes. Subjectively? Depends on who you ask. If you’re Auto Advantage, that’s just math. That’s the balance owed under the contract, plus interest, and they’re not here to negotiate. They’re here to collect. But from a practical standpoint, suing for more than double the vehicle’s current market value feels… aggressive. It’s like sending a SWAT team to recover a bicycle. But again—this isn’t about the truck’s value. It’s about the debt. The contract. The principle. And also, probably, the precedent. If they let one guy keep a financed truck without paying, what’s to stop the next guy from doing the same? Before you know it, Oklahoma is a lawless wasteland of unreturned F-150s and unpaid installments. Mad Max, but with credit scores.

So what do they want? The truck. The money. The right to never have to deal with Jess Dewayne Griffith again. And a restraining order—well, not that kind—but a court order preventing him from doing anything with the vehicle until this is settled. They’re not asking for punitive damages, which is interesting. No “teach him a lesson” money. Just the debt, the interest, the fees, and the return of their collateral. It’s almost… reasonable? For a repossession case. Almost.

Now, here’s our take: the most absurd part isn’t that someone defaulted on a car payment. That happens every day. It’s not even that the debt is nearly triple the car’s worth—that’s how high-interest auto financing works in America, and we’re all just living in it. No, the wildest part is the accusation: hiding the truck. There’s no proof Griffith sold it. No evidence he scrapped it. No DMV transfer records. Just… radio silence. And a company convinced he’s out there, somewhere, joyriding a ten-year-old Ford like it’s the getaway vehicle from a low-budget heist film. Is he storing it in a barn? Parked it behind a relative’s house? Living in it while avoiding calls from collections? We may never know. But the idea that a grown man is allegedly playing cat-and-mouse with a finance company over a used pickup is equal parts tragic and hilarious.

Are we rooting for the little guy? Usually, yes. But here? Hard to say. Griffith had one job: make the payments. He did it once. Then stopped. And now he’s allegedly dodging repossession like he’s in witness protection. On the other hand, Auto Advantage is asking for $31k for a truck that wouldn’t fetch half that at auction. So who’s the villain? The borrower who couldn’t keep up? Or the finance company that bought a risky loan and now wants full value plus interest?

Look, we’re entertainers, not lawyers. But if we had to pick a side? We’re rooting for the truck. May it find peace. May it be washed regularly. And may it never, ever have to hear the words “perfected security interest” again.