Find me a Snake Charmer
September 15th, 2009All I Want is to be Only Mildly Cheated
I am really irritated with the automotive industry. It took me weeks to pick out two acceptable pickups, and when I made a reasonable offer on one, the dealer didn’t even counter. I haven’t made an offer on the other one. I guess I could go ahead and do that.
A long time ago, I read one of those expose books written by former car salesmen. The author pointed out that dealers are not always rational. Most of them are used to treating the public like suckers, and sometimes they get very offended when you aren’t sufficiently humble or stupid. Sometimes they will refuse to sell at a price which will make them money, simply because they can’t stand the thought of not cheating you. Maybe that’s the situation I’m in.
I made an offer which is reasonable to begin with. It will let the dealer recoup the cost of an old undesirable vehicle, and I threw in $500 to defray his expenses. I’d go up a couple of hundred bucks, if necessary. All this guy had to do was make a sane counteroffer. Instead, he tried to convince me that I should spend four figures in interest in order to get a thousand-dollar discount. He gets the commission on the financing. He gets the thousand. I pay interest amounting to maybe two thousand. That’s not a counteroffer. That’s a sad delusion. Maybe they’re up there smoking opium and pretending we’re in a boom. But we’re not. Trucks are rotting on lots everywhere. You can’t sell an inefficient truck for $2000 more than you paid for it, unless you’re surrounded by complete idiots.
It’s no wonder dealers go out of business so often. It’s no wonder there is no such thing as customer loyalty. How can you be loyal to someone who spends every second feeling around for a soft place to stick the knife?
I’m going to call the guy I bought the Thunderbird from. Maybe he can get this truck moved down here for me. If I have to pay $200 to move it, it’s still better than giving up because the salesman is crazy.
I have looked at used F250s. Apparently, the 6-liter diesels they put in these things are complete garbage, so that rules out a whole class of trucks. I hate diesel anyway. Diesel smells, the valves make a racket, and I just know I’ll run out of gas…I mean “fuel”…looking for a diesel pump.
I know the 2009 F150 is a very nice truck. When it comes to full-ton trucks, I have no idea who makes the best.
Oh well. Back to shopping.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:42 PM
I’ll be honest. F150s are made local. My son worked there and I know others who do. Dad retired as a Ford engineer. Ford salary put me through private schools.
My brother has had both Ford and Chevy trucks. He sings the praises of the Silverado for maintenance. You may never climb under yours like I’ve been under mine the last few days, but I’m disgusted with what I have to do to fix a leaky oil pan on this truck ( http://apps.bonderenka.com/Blog ). Granted it’s a 94 with 180,000 so I can expect the leak (not really), but not the engineering of the assembly. And people with 90k on their odometers are encountering this. It’s poor quality control from the coating suppliers, but the owner is stuck with it.
The dealer would want $1100 to $1300 to fix this for somebody who can’t do it themselves.
I’m done. Thanks for letting me vent.
September 15th, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Did you ever check with Costco on their car buying program? I’ve used it twice.
September 15th, 2009 at 2:58 PM
You think car dealers are bad, try to buy a house trailer. The hubs and I are in the middle of trying to buy one(yes so we can be “trailer trash”) and it’s like playing in a pit of snakes!
Seriously these people all speak with forked tongues!
September 15th, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Hard to say what is the best truck. I have a 1/2 ton 2007 Dodge with the 5.7 L engine and it’s the best truck I have ever driven. I have a 7500 lb trailer and it pulls it just fine. However I only get 8 mpg. when I tow. I don’t drive it much (just hit 15K miles and I have had it two years) so gas mileage is not much of a concern. I doubt it will be for you either. I would stay away from diesel also. It was a $6000 option when I bought the truck and I could not see where the additional fuel mileage would ever pay that amount back.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:23 PM
I’ve got a 91 Ford that is still bashing right along, thankyouverymuch.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:40 PM
I know a guy who picks out his cars online and then calls to speak to (and only to) the sales manager with a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Hey says it avoids some of the runaround, but I couldn’t swear to that myself. Of course, there’s always Carmax. “Only mildly cheated” seems a good phrase for them.