Oh man, do I hate used car salesmen.

[RedSox4Life]

I swear I'm through with them. Private sales or dealers from here on out.

I've been looking for 02-04 ish F250 lately without too much luck. While looking on autotrader.com one night I found a nice one, a loaded '03 with the configuration I was looking for. So i drove up to look at it (about a 45 minute one way drive) onlt to decide it was too many miles for the price, and the salesman says "Oh that price is firm, we don't negotiate prices here."

Ok well no big deal i guess. That night I go home and get looking around on the website of the place I had visited that day. Lo and behold I find another real nice truck I like on the website. Good price, low miles, right configuration, exactley what I want. Lucky me. So I send the guy an email asking the requisite questions, Is it still in stock? etc.
Then I wait a couple days.
No reply.
Soooooo I call them. And I get the requisite line "oh yeah, thats a real nice truck, come check it out."
So I take a second trip up there, and check the truck out. It was perfect except it idled a little rough. I told the guy if you fix the idling the problem, I'll take the truck.
He says "Yeah no problem I'll have it looked at today."
So anyway he calls me that night and says it's fixed, but just to make sure he wants to wait til the morning to check it out one more time when the engine is cold.
And he calls me in the morning (this morning) and says the truck runs perfect and is ready to go. So I tell him I'll be there this afternoon.

THIS AFTERNOON COMES, and i arrive, cash in hand, after my third trip to this godawful place. I walk inside the office and find the salesman I've been dealing with. He points at another guy whos walking away from us and says,

"He just bought that truck"


He might as well have told me he just murdered my dog.

It literally took every ounce of restraint I had not to lay this guy out. I was so angry. Basically 4.5 hrs total driving time (getting 10mpg by the way), and 3 half days shot.
I have so many mixed feelings about this. On the one hand i think if I had only gotten there 15 minutes earlier or if i had only left a deposit the other day.
Then there's a part of me that is happy because I won't be giving this d'bag my money now.

I don't know, maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but it really did piss me off.
Sooo anyway, lesson learned, no more of these sleazy independant d'bags for me.

[nosparkplugs]

It was not ment to be, one thing about used truck purchasing is you must be patient, and you will find what your shopping for. I was looking for a 2nd generation 24 valve Cummins diesel with under 20,000 miles, no gooseneck hitch. It took me 2 years of looking, many times I would give up, and went with a brand new Cummins, but I could not "pull" the trigger per say on the financing amount , dealers want way to much $$$ for new trucks IMO so I always walked.

Be patient keep looking, but don't let this rule your life; because the minute you forget about this "bame" you find what your looking for. We are not in control.

I purchase used trucks, and new equipment always

[JimmyStew]

You know what your biggest mistake was??? Using that restraint! You should have laid him out (verbally of course) right in front of all of his colleagues (not that they would care) and his potential customers. In the end, I'm sure it wouldn't change anything, now or in the future, but I figure, if someone screws you over, there's no reason you can't get a little satisfaction out of it.

[topsites]

Forget that, if a customer plays me around and around but someone else
comes along and puts cash in my hands without the hassle I am sold, too.

I do know where you're coming from, look I just found 64 copper core spark plugs
for 24 dollars but there's a chance someone will snap them up before me...
Why, because I wanted to make SURE it was the right kind and no funny
business, and so by the time I got to place the order it's going to be Monday
before it gets processed.

But that's the chance we take, finding a good deal involves such risk,
it's either that or we take the chance of getting ripped off, so what it boils down
to is do I want to take the chance of getting ripped off or do I want to take the
chance someone else might get it before I do?
Now either way that's the chance we take.

One thing I did learn...
In case of that truck, I would've been down there within 20 minutes of that a.m. call thou :p

[dura to the max]

You know what your biggest mistake was??? Using that restraint! You should have laid him out (verbally of course) right in front of all of his colleagues (not that they would care) and his potential customers. In the end, I'm sure it wouldn't change anything, now or in the future, but I figure, if someone screws you over, there's no reason you can't get a little satisfaction out of it.

he wasnt screwed over though. how many times do you go to give an estimate to never hear from the prospect again? the salesman was in the same boat. he's just trying to make a living. would you trust someone that you had never met that said he was coming to give you say 15k? i wouldnt, i would give my title to the 1st guy that had the money for me as would any of yall. unless you put down earnest money or make a conract the truck is free game. you would have had no right to chew the salesman. all you would have done is made yourself look stupid.

by the way, i had the same thing happen to me 2 years ago, i told the guy i was gonna be there on X day and it sold slighty before i got there...as said before it was not meant to be...

[Tyler7692]

Ever heard "First Come, First Serve?"

[mike lane lawn care]

unfortunately there was nothing you could do about the situation. as said before, the truck was indeed free game, not right, but it's what happened. and it's unfortunate that you didn't get anything out of your driving investment. but this is also one reason i only deal with new car dealers, they tend to have a bit more class.

[Lawnworks]

unfortunately there was nothing you could do about the situation. as said before, the truck was indeed free game, not right, but it's what happened. and it's unfortunate that you didn't get anything out of your driving investment. but this is also one reason i only deal with new car dealers, they tend to have a bit more class.

Probably pay for it to!!

[Jerry Lee]

thats funny i was also looking online at an 06 cummins and there was only two external pictures of the truck, and those two loked fine, and the truck was only 6 miles from my house. so i drove up there to see what this thing was all about. well i get there and the left front fender is covered in bondo. so that solved the mystery of y there were only two pictures taken from a distance looking at the left rear of the truck. well i found the salesman and asked him what that stuff was on the fender, and mind u it was the whole fender covered with this stuff. he says he doesnt know what it is but the truck is still worth the 18k on the price tag with 80,000 miles.

[nosparkplugs]

thats funny i was also looking online at an 06 cummins and there was only two external pictures of the truck, and those two loked fine, and the truck was only 6 miles from my house. so i drove up there to see what this thing was all about. well i get there and the left front fender is covered in bondo. so that solved the mystery of y there were only two pictures taken from a distance looking at the left rear of the truck. well i found the salesman and asked him what that stuff was on the fender, and mind u it was the whole fender covered with this stuff. he says he doesnt know what it is but the truck is still worth the 18k on the price tag with 80,000 miles.

The Cummins 5.9L ISB is a 300,000 mile engine with little PM during the life of it, and these engine's are getting harder to find in Dodge trucks with lower miles. The Bondo does not add to the value of the truck, but it can be an easy fix. 80,000 miles is getting to be the norm on these used trucks now. I suspect the miles will increase as folks hold onto these trucks longer now

With GM in the worst shape of the Big three I would not touch a GM product used or new

[Gravel Rat]

If you wanted the truck you should have left a down payment. The same thing happened with a guy I work with except it was a brandnew truck it was what he wanted. Took too long to get some financing it was sold to another person couple days later.

I will never buy anything sight unseen or put a down payment on anything sight unseen with a credit card.

I have learned never look at trucks that only have pictures of one side frontal pictures. Going to Ritchie Bros auctions for the last decade also helps. Something may look good in a picture go look at it in person and its holy crap this thing is a POS.

Live and learn next time you won't be going to a grubby used car lot :laugh:

[RedSox4Life]

As far as not leaving a deposit, I'm still kicking myself over that. When I first looked at the truck, I WOULD have if it weren't for the rough idle. I had visions of it being some catastrophic problem, then deciding I didn't want the truck, and of course the dealer refusing to return my deposit.

I took the risk and lost. Keep in mind i looked at the truck yesterday, and showed up with the money today, so by no means did I drag my feet on this deal.

Topsites, -I- would've liked to be there within 20 minutes, sure, but for one its 45 minutes away, and two, more importantley, trying to get ahold of any of my alleged friends 8am saturday morning is unfortunatly not even close to a possibility.:cry:

[newtostone]

Same thing happened to me, Was a great truck I was going with cash to buy and called the dealer before I left my house. This truck was 2 hours away, well when I got there the truck was pulled out front for me, and I just thought they had gotten it ready. I walk in to speak with the person I had been working with on the phone, he knew I was there to buy and not play. We walk out to make sure everything was good to go, and as we are walking out he says I just sold this a few minutes ago but if you want we can pull another nice truck just like this for you. I about died considering the fact he knew I was driving 2 hours to come buy this truck. I ended up with another nice truck. Looking for the right used truck can take some time so always stat looking 3 months before you'll need it.

[newz7151]

You should have ran and caught the other guy and told him the situation and congratulated him on his purchase. Then you should have asked him if they fixed the idiling problem like the salesman said they were going to. Bet they didn't and the new buyer didn't even notice it.

[Sunscaper]

I wouldn't sweat it. There are plenty of trucks for sale. Try looking in FL there are alot for sale here for good prices. My friend just bought an 03' f-250 4 door 4x4 diesel, lariat for $9500k!!

[Sunscaper]

Loose the "k" at the end of the price...sorry!

[stroker51]

I've had a trailer bought out from underneath me like that, but never a truck. I try to deal with a local used lot as much as i can. I've bought at least 3 trucks from him and sent many friends there. He takes care of me and doesn't let me have just any junker off his lot, he tells me if he thinks it'll hold up for what I need it to do. Too bad about the truck, but as was said, something else will come along. The first Powerstroke I offered on, a 97 250 back in 05 or so, didnt' work out, and I'm glad it didn't, I drove another one a week or so later at the dealer mentioned above before we really knew each other, and discovered how much of a gutless pig the first one had been. I got 220K relatively problem free miles on that truck now, so I guess it all works out.

[brucec32]

I swear I'm through with them. Private sales or dealers from here on out.

I've been looking for 02-04 ish F250 lately without too much luck. While looking on autotrader.com one night I found a nice one, a loaded '03 with the configuration I was looking for. So i drove up to look at it (about a 45 minute one way drive) onlt to decide it was too many miles for the price, and the salesman says "Oh that price is firm, we don't negotiate prices here."

Ok well no big deal i guess. That night I go home and get looking around on the website of the place I had visited that day. Lo and behold I find another real nice truck I like on the website. Good price, low miles, right configuration, exactley what I want. Lucky me. So I send the guy an email asking the requisite questions, Is it still in stock? etc.
Then I wait a couple days.
No reply.
Soooooo I call them. And I get the requisite line "oh yeah, thats a real nice truck, come check it out."
So I take a second trip up there, and check the truck out. It was perfect except it idled a little rough. I told the guy if you fix the idling the problem, I'll take the truck.
He says "Yeah no problem I'll have it looked at today."
So anyway he calls me that night and says it's fixed, but just to make sure he wants to wait til the morning to check it out one more time when the engine is cold.
And he calls me in the morning (this morning) and says the truck runs perfect and is ready to go. So I tell him I'll be there this afternoon.

THIS AFTERNOON COMES, and i arrive, cash in hand, after my third trip to this godawful place. I walk inside the office and find the salesman I've been dealing with. He points at another guy whos walking away from us and says,

"He just bought that truck"


He might as well have told me he just murdered my dog.

It literally took every ounce of restraint I had not to lay this guy out. I was so angry. Basically 4.5 hrs total driving time (getting 10mpg by the way), and 3 half days shot.
I have so many mixed feelings about this. On the one hand i think if I had only gotten there 15 minutes earlier or if i had only left a deposit the other day.
Then there's a part of me that is happy because I won't be giving this d'bag my money now.

I don't know, maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but it really did piss me off.
Sooo anyway, lesson learned, no more of these sleazy independant d'bags for me.

They're not going to shoo away other prospects while you are waiting on it to get fixed. They may have several irons in the fire so that if you flake out they still have a sale. That's just how that business is, and most others. Nobody saves something for you to buy or tells other prospects "this one is probably already sold. I wouldn't get mad about it.

[justanotherlawnguy]

car salesman are a-holes period!!!!

I am surprised he even addressed your concerns on the truck without putting a deposit on it. He still should have called you to see if you were coming.

Like the other guy said money talks, and yelling at a car salesman would have been a waste of time anyway.....

there are plenty of 250's out there anyway, go find another one....

[verant]

My family's car salesman is very easy to work with because we have bought several vehicles from him. We get better service because of this and favors are done if need be. But otherwise, yeah most car saleman are pretty cut throat.

[Looking Good Lawn Service]

I would not worry about it, I feel your frustration, I looked for a long time before I bought my new powerstroke, and it takes time to find the right one, If you really want a really good hands on approach to Ford Powerstroke diesels in particular I EMPHASIZE THAT YOU GO TO "WWW.POWERSTROKEHELP.COM" he is very good at what he does and is a tremendous wealth of knowledge, especially when it comes to buying a used powerstroke diesel. And remember Ford made millions of these trucks, so if that one is not the one, there is another one. And use his techiniques and you will not get a lemon truck! Also, dont pass up on a truck arguing about 500 bucks, if it is a really good condition then it "is" worth a lil more, and it is worth to spend slightly more to get a "good" truck than just look for price and possibly get what you paid for. Good Luck, and if you have any questions you can pm me, I would be happy to answer any questions, I love to shop for trucks!

[buyisuzu]

I have been selling trucks since 1989 and I have always hated selling used trucks... they always go away happy but come back mad sooner or later.

My advice my friend... the next time you give them a $200 deposit and say I will take the truck if the idle is fixed to MY SATISFACTION. You have an out to get your money back if it doesn't work right. But if the they fix it YOU CONTROL that truck. They can't sell it to anyone else as long as you have a written agreement listing that truck and showing that good faith $200 deposit. And if they are dumb enough not to put a delivery date on the agreement you could let the truck set there for a week or two and they still can't sell it... without being sued.

I have had people tell me "they want to think about" on a used truck and then I love the look on their face when they say I'll take it and tell them it is sold. There is only ONE truck just like it...buy it if it's right. Thanks to the internet I have bought personal cars in MI, TX, NY.

I'm sorry for your headache but don't hesitate next time, because the next guy walking in could have looked at it last week and now wants it.