herb

Shuck's, I'm game. Folks getting hot under the collar because we are posting bad expeirences at dealers at their "good expeirences at dealer" forum,going so far as to suggest starting our own forum if we wanted to speak about our "bad expeirences " at dealers. (don't expect to see anyone posting any good expeirences at dealers on this forum !!)
I had a dealer flush my cooling system and fill it up with pure antifreeze at the same time they installed my EGT gauge after the tubo so i was reading 900 degrees instead of 1200 degrees.
I blew an engine and had to fight Chrysler to get them to pay for it. A few months after they put in a new short block i blew a head gasket and the dealer refused to make it right. Had it done at Cummins and with photos Cummins provided me on a disk and a written statement from them stating the reason for the head gasket failure was due to improper installation I was able to recoop the cost by taking them to small claims court.

phox_mulder

Let's just mind our P's and Q's.
Leave names out, watch the language, basically follow the site rules.

If anyone needs a refresher,
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...p?page=privacy
halfway down the page.


phox

Herrin811

I'll bite


I was ready to trade my ExploDer, and was really wanting a true 4dr truck....At that time, the F-150 was it...I refused to drive Chevy's and the '02 hadnt come out yet...Cruised some Ferd dealers, and decided to stop in...After the sticker shock I started cruising the used lots...Found a decent truck, talked to the saleman, and drove it...When we arrived back at the dealership, I told him it was a nice truck but I wasnt 100% with it...I must have missed this guys hearing disability or something ...We sat down at his desk, and he asked me what kind of payment I was looking at....I didnt know then what I know now, so I told him...And so it started....

"If we can get you into that truck for $350/mon will you take it home??" No I wont...I told him I wasnt satisfied with it and would like to see something else around the same price...Then he started telling me how good this truck was, etc...Yeah yeah....

"I thought you said it was nice and you wanted to make a deal" No...I did say it was nice...I also said I wanted to see what my trade was worth, what else was on the lot, and what interest rates looked like...I flat out asked the guy what my trade was worth to him, several times, and he either avoided the question, or asked me if I would agree to $350/month

"Well what kind of accessories would you like to see on that truck??" What?? I dont remember agreeing to buy it....And I still dont know what my trade is worth This continues for several minutes, the guy repeatedly telling me about the good deal I was going to get...

After about 20 minutes of listening to this chucklehead try to screw me, he iced his cake....He slid a sheet of paper across the desk and asked me to sign....HANG ON...I'm not signing a friggin' thing....I asked what it was....He tells me "Oh this just says you're interested in purchasing a vehicle, and that you want to spend $350 a month, so our finance manager can run you're loan through" Yeah...Here's a great big SELF EDIT

I stood up, picked up my DL, and walked out, this guy on my heels all the way across the showroom...Oh man did we make a scene So out the door I go with this guy following me, only to find 2 more sales types slouched across my hood They got an earful

So I get in my truck, and moron #! steps in the way so I cant close my door...This guy musta been desperate to get his quota...He kept telling me "we can work this out!" Uh, NO!! We cant!!...He says, like he was asking for pity: "I work on commission!" Sux to be you all of a sudden

So I cant close my door, nor drive away, cause this nut in standing in the way...I'm telling him to get the BLANK out of the BLANKING way, while morons #2 and 3 are watching all of this...He's telling me to come back in So I drop it in R and start rolling, door open and him in it....He's walking along with me So I throw it in P, and get out...Now, I'm not the most intimidating person I've ever met, and I'm not sure what kind of look I had on my face....But this guy didnt want any part of what he was about to get...TOO LATE...I moved a little faster than he did, and he was "gently assisted to the ground in a place which afforded me room to safely manuver my vehicle from its parking space"

So I left there, having never found out what the price was on the truck I drove, and I never found out what my trade was worth...Couple weeks later the 3rd gen came out, so I bought one for $10K less than a comparable F-150, and drove it down to the old Ferd place to show off....

rammtuff

Good friend of mine is a big Ford guy. He worked across from the biggest dealer in his area. He went in there looking to buy a new truck. No trade. They asked for a 200 deposit to start the negotiations. He said no. They said sorry thats the way we work. He walked out, drove to the Chebby dealer and bought the same truck (albiet a chev) and next day drove over to the Ford dealer, honked the horn and the sales guys comes out. He says " I told you I was serious about buying a truck" The sales guy says sorry but that is our policy. Buddy says your policy sucks change it. I almost dropped when I saw him driving the Chev. He kept that truck for over 10 years. I heard this story every time we'd crack a beer together.

NHDiesel

Well I worked as a dealer tech for a short time, and will NEVER, EVER GO BACK. One of the reasons I left is because it made me sick to hear all the crap that is spewed to customers. here are a few stories that stick out in my mind.

old couple came in with an almost new car, with 11,000 miles on it. They complained of brake noise. I checked and found that 2 calipers were sticking (1 front, 1 rear) and the pads at those corners were worn out. I reported that to the service writer, assuming I would be replacing calipers, pads, and rotors under warranty. Nope. I was ordered to install new pads and rotors at all 4 corners, but NOT the calipers. The couple ended up with an $1100 bill on a NEW car! If I would have replaced the calipers, it would have been a warranty issue. But the pads and rotors aren't covered...they are a "wear item".

Had a brand new Pacifica come in off the truck with a warped brake rotor. Instead of ordering up a new factory replacement, they ordered out for a cheap Chineese replacement from the cheapest part's store in town. Not a pair...just 1. So someone bought a brand new $40,000+ vehicle with one mismatched crappy brake rotor.

Had a used Grand Cherokee come in with a small rip in the front driveshaft CV boot. You could only get a new boot by buying a new shaft (roughly $450). So they ordered me to seal up the old with black RTV. Their position was to patch it up to last 30 days (their used-car warranty period), and after that, who cares what happens.

Maybe I'll make another post about MY dealings with a dealer for warranty work.

Jim

Patrick Campbell

This is great. If only my fiance would understand that I really am better off fixing it myself, breaking it the first time around, ending up costing me 2x as much, but in the end knowing I did it right

Patrick Campbell

I wanted to have a local dealer do a search for me on a truck... they wanted $500 to do a dealer search.... I went on the internet and did it myself, bought my last truck at $5800 below invoice.

Geico266

Dealers to me are a means to an end, thats all. Give me the vehicle at 3% under invoice, stop lying to me, pay attention to what I just said and what I asked for, stop lying to me, get my truck here and preped, and leave me alone. Stop lying to me. We are not friends, we are not on the same side, don't call me buddy or try to shake my hand. The sales people are either three steps into or out of drug rehab or prison. The sales manager eats up new sales people and spits them out so the next time I come in there is a whole new bunch of worthless "know it alls".

Dealer "service" is even worse. Parts costing $400 at the dealer can be had at a Cummins shops for $160. The SAME part. A block heater cord costs $40 at the dealer and $17 at Cummins. THE SAME PART! I have NEVER had a good experience with a dealership service department. They overcharge for simple maintenance. $80 for an oil change and they don't even use diesel rated oil.

I had trouble with my seat belts not extending. I was told they had to be replaced. I paid $800 to have the front seat belts replaced. I come on DTR and find out all they had to do was reset the ECM. Cost = Free! I printed out the fix I found on DTR and took them to small claims court and WON!

I had trouble with my fuel guage registering full all the time. They replaced the fuel module for $600. Come to find out from the tech that the anti-syphon ball had fallen into the tank and jambed the float. Cost should have been $150 for labor is all. AGAIN I took them to small claims court and WON!

Dealerships are simply a license to steal hard earned money from people who are uninformed. DTR is a voice against the shinanigans of dealers.

NHDiesel

Well here is one (long term) experience I had as a customer. I bought a '95 S-10 pickup new. I did my usual pre-buy prep work, then went in to the dealer and said I'll pay $XXXXX for this truck with these options, please order it in if you don't have it. Of course they went through typical salesman "Sorry, that option isn't available" (B.S., try again); "we can't do that price" (they did after i started leaving the showroom), and they finally ordered the truck. That part went fine.

THEN. 3 weeks after buying it the battery was dead after parking it for a couple days. I jumped it and charged the battery, then it happened again after sitting a couple days. O.K., back to the dealer. They found nothing wrong. A couple months later it did it again, this time after sitting overnight. Back to the dealer. Nothing wrong. Next time it happened at work. Back to the dealer. This time they said it was the battery. I said B.S., there is a draw and the alternator also wasn't fully charging. They wouldn't check anything else until the battery was replaced, and it was a wear item. i said fine, I'll go buy one. They said it was in their shop, so I needed to buy THEIR battery ($120). I knew it was B.S., but I needed my truck. I paid the $120, they sent the truck home with me, and the next day the battery was dead. I figured I would have them tow it in, but when I called them they said I would have to pay for the tow, and they would reimburse me IF they found something wrong. Well I jumped the truck and brought it in. This time they said it was the stereo system (that stereo was just installed by me, and wasn't in the truck the last several visits to the dealer!). I told them it WASN'T the stereo, and they better get it right this time. They finally replaced the alternator, but never dealt with the draw. Well it was dead the next morning, again, but at least it charged quicker this time.

Well I finally got rid of the truck, and vowed to never buy anything new again. Then I bought my snowmobile and had even MORE problems...

I have to strongly agree with the part's prices. I just replaced a fuel line on our company's S-10 truck, and it was $98 for a 3-foot piece of fuel line. I only bought it (instead of using generic straight line) because I needed the fitting at the end.

Jim

Copenhagenjunkie

I have never purchased from a dealer, heck I have never purchased a new to me vehicle. What's wrong with going to a dealer?


gotta stir the pot legally!

Scotty

My dealer experiences have seen the majority to be fair...to me.

However, I think I should start a thread about bad experiences with accredited bodyshops and the government run insurance company I have dealt with for nearly a year.
SMASH

herb

Leave it to Scotty. I knew someone would try and Hijack this thread by saying he had good expeirences with a dealer !!

crobtex

I've had my share of dealer problems over the years, but a couple of weeks ago was the latest.
As those on here that know me, you know how annal I am about keeping my truck clean. Not just the exterior, but under the hood.
Since I drive my truck the 60 miles to my mom's house at least once a week, I have been having the dealer there change my oil for the past two years or so. They only charge $44.95 and had done a fair job until now. Evey time, they have dripped oil under the hood and let the old filter make somewhat of a mess when they removed it. This last time was a disaster! It looked like whoever done it missed the oil filler on the first try! There was oil all over the valve cover, the APPS cover, the alternator, the top of the radiator, the bumber, the head light, and everywhere in between. I could also see that they made a bigger then normal mess when they dropped the filter, but didn't know how big until later. I went back to the service writer and told him about the mess. He turned to a little guy standing there and told him to "take a rag out there and clean it up". I went back out with him, and after watch him "dab" at the oil for a few minutes, I took the rag and told him to go get the other guy. When the SR got there, I showed it all to him and he stammered around and finally agreed that they didn't do a very good job....just before he told me it looked like I had a valve cover leaking! Biting my tung, I told him I didn't have a flippin valve cover leaking!
Since my mom was waiting for me so we could leave town, I cleaned it the best I could and left. We drove 2 1/2 hours to my sisters house and the truck still left an 8" puddle of old oil on their driveway. I have since sprayed everything down with orange cleaner and rinsed it with a water hose.
I sent an email to there service manager last week, but have heard nothing! But, they will hear plenty when I go back in a few days. While crawling around under the truck today, I noticed fresh oil on the oil pan. I wiped it off, and sure enough, the plug is leaking! It's not leaking much, as I have checked the oil a few times and it's not low.....yet.

bluebull

Not enough server space.

PanteraGSTK

I read this thread and aparently some of you had bad experiences(understatement). Well, I'll share my dealership experience. My former roommate worked as a New Truck dealer (he worked at one of the biggest automall's in the US) so he sold all of the Big3. He told me before anybody else that ford and GM were really messing up their diesels by trying to compete w/cummins... Back on the subject now. He quit because he diddn't like the way they wanted him to do business. He is the type of salesman that will tell people not to buy a vehicle if it does not suit their needs. He had a huge customer base and he was only 20. The other reason he quit is because his sales manager stole sales from him. He did all the work and he would literally be kicked off the deal. His sales manager scared off two or more customers by doing this because they thought it was unfair for my buddy to do all the work. That is just background on him. My story starts at my car's tranny was on it's last leg (no3rd gear) so i had to buy something RIGHT THEN( about a year ago). We went to a big GM dealer they diddn't want my business. Went to a Dodge truck center. I wanted a CTD but needed to build my credit I was only 20 when I bought it. I looked around for about 5min before a salesman came out (predictable) the first thing he asked me was what I wanted. I told him my desired payment and he said he had one truck that would get me the payment I wanted(not the truck I wanted, however he was absolutely right about the payment according to my buddy) so I drove it and liked it enough (it has 6 cylinder but gas so I hated that fact, but could stand it for a year). The truck I looked at had an ad in the paper for $8,000 off MSRP. When we went in the guy sat us at his desk and said "Well, I already told you I could get you a payment so lets just BS for a minute and go back outside and look like we are negoating" I was shocked. The reason he did this (according to him) was that his manager would not let him sell me that truck for the payment I wanted. The sales manager took him out of the deal and I then proceded to deal with him. He tried to tell me about 10 different things from the AD being a missprint (my buddy jumped on him for saying that because everybody know if you advertiese a price thats what you have to sell it for). Then he tried to give me nothing for my trade (literally nothing). Hen they said they would give me $1000 for my car(busted tranny it was only worth like 900 anyway ) but when he penciled it the price of the truck magically went up $1000. ***? My buddy jumped onhim for that too. After about 4hours of this the sales guy finally let me go with EXACTLY what the salesman quoted me. then I got to talk to the finance guy. He tried to sell me a new warrenty and when i said no he wanted me to call my mother( I was far from financially independent then funny how things change in a year) thinking that he was going to sell some "stupid woman" something I diddn't need. My buddy has met my mother he had a HUGE smile on his face . I just waited for the finance guy to stop talking and he handed me back the phone and she told me " he tried to tell her that if my truck broke after the 36mo warrenty was up I'd be in trouble she told him that she would not let me buy a truck that was only going to last 3 years I love my mom. Well thats my story. I have confidence in the salesman because he was honest with me and did not want to waste my time he told me he only made $200 on each new truck anyway and it did not matter what price he sold it at. <--HIS EXACT WORDS. My buddy was a good salesman after we were finally through the sales manager became our best friend and offerd him a job and said if he showed up dressed the next day he could start then... Without him I wouldn't have know what to do. He ended up saving me $9,000.

By the way before my roommate bought his CTD he went to the same dealership to price. They told him they did not want his business and that the guy i bought mine from diddn't work there any more.

Late.