Can I really trust these guys ? Here's the story.This truck was five hours from my place in NC, I saw an ad for a 99 F-250.XLT Reg Cab, 7.3 6 spd manual, over the phone I asked the salesman if it had ever been a hauler, had it ever had a 5th wheel, did it have any trans or clutch problems,any blow-by or whining turbo and asked about tow pack etc. He said never a 5th wheel and the truck looks really good, he even took his own code reader and said no codes were present. I got to the dealership on Friday morning to buy it if everything checked out. The first thing the guy does when I get there is put the papers in front of me, I said I need to look it over, well the first thing I see is ..yup it had a 5th wheel in it at one time, screw holes are fresh, not even rusted. This is at a Ford dealership, now I say, hey I asked if this truck had been used as a hauler or had a 5th, his reply was "I don't remember you asking me that". So I start it up, no whine, I drove it around the lot, clutch seemed ok but I really couldn't tell that much.Crawled under, a little drip from the pan around the plug.I look at the differential and it has fresh blue gasket and date of 8/05 102,000 mi written on it. I asked him about it and he knew nothing about that either.Everything else about the truck was ok. Front end was not wore, rear sat a little bit low not too bad though.They said they would try to find out why the guy who traded it had the dif. cover off. The old owner traded this in on a F-350 dually.My fear was somebody checked the rear out, saw something (not sure what) and told the guy to trade it in. I need a truck for work and not a truck to work on. I walked away until they could get me some more info, truck is 2WD and they were asking $9500 (they dropped $500) to $9000 as a sign of good faith. Did I do the right thing ? What would You do ? I really need a new truck but maybe not this one.

 

well maybe get them to pull the cover off the diff again and let you inspect it for yourself. it could have been simple as a fluid change .

 

I trust those guys as far as I can throw them, and with my spindly arms, that ain't much.
If the truck is a good deal, have an independent mechanic check it out. Or have their mechanic open it up and show you how it looks. Personally, either way, I'd make sure you didn't give that salesman any commission. mention your problems to the manager weather you buy it or not.

Some salespeople are good, some are bad, but we have no way of knowing. So we are forced to treat them all like liars. It's a sad thing, but it's the only way to protect yourself.

 

Sailsonly,

Why not contact the original owner and ask him or do a Carfax report.. If they don't give you his name and number then I would run as far away from this deal as possible, because they are obviously trying to hide something..

You can also tell them to knock of $1500 or you won't buy.. This could cover at least 1 major problem that turns up.

 

If you asked him about the 5th wheel and he fed you a line I would run like hell and not look back.

If he is willing to let you drive 5 hours after he either couldn't tell or worse-lied to you, it does not bode well for any future problems that could arise.

There will always be sleazy salesmen around, you can not do anything about that. What you need to worry about more is the sleazy dealership and general manager that lets a dirtbag continue to work as long as he makes his numbers.

That truck can not be the only one out there that would fill your needs. Look forward not back.

 

yea I want all cars I ever traded in to have the dealer give my name and number to every person that looks at it. Come on now, how about my privacy. Leave your name and number and let the previous customer call you if they want to.

Have a mechanic you trust check out the truck. If it is a decent ford dealer (blue oval certified) they have to earn that. The will always be some sleaze out there looking to make a buck. ask how long someone has worked there, few months? or jumped around alot? may be one to look out for.

bottom line, dont buy anything you are not comfortable with...

 

Drive that sucker on the highway for 15 or more minutes. Most good places let you take it overnight.

 

Your initial question was: can I really trust these guys? You asked them if it ever had a fifth wheel, and they said, "no." You get there, and there are fresh holes from a fifth-wheel installation. It's pretty safe to say they LIED to you. Then they push papers in front of you, expecting you to buy it without driving it.

I think we've answered your question.

 

Ask the dealer about including an after market warranty at no charge. When my son purchased his first truck there was a howling sound from the rear axle. The Dealer included in a three year 36.000 mile warranty. It won't hurt to ask.

 

I wouldn't trust them. First lie is the last lie in my book... The fifth wheel issue is all I needed to hear.

 

Just 'cause it had a 5er attached to it, doesn't mean all the miles were towing miles. I'd be more concerned if it had a gooseneck ball in the bed.

 

sales people all lie unfortunately you cant shoot them

 

Yup. Of course, I've heard the same thing said about people from Rhode Island...

Let's leave useless generalizations out of our discussions, please.

 

Why would you be more concerned about the gooseneck over the 5th wheel?

Just wondering

 

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by antham
sales people all lie unfortunately you cant shoot them
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I agree 100% - generalizations like that are a lie themselves. If you're in the Columbia MD area, I can direct you to the Ford dealer where the saleman doesn't lie. In fact he's downright helpful. But then all of Miller Ford has been great ....... can't say enough about them.