New Tow Vehicle Purchase

[pyoung47]

I just (kicking and screaming) updated my tow vehicle from a 05 Dodge to a 16 Ford. My impressions of car/truck salesmen has not changed from my experience eleven years ago, when I was forced to educate the salesmen.

My initial visit to a dealership in St. Joseph, Missouri was largely out of curiosity, since I had little interest in going with a Ford. I found to my surprise, that 350's with 17 inch tires sat somewhat lower, and they would allow my fifth wheel to work much easier. Dodges and Chevys were both much too high. At that point I had only glanced at the brochures for the Ford. I was very interested in getting an engine/exhaust brake with the new truck, and I was pretty sure that the Ford had this feature. When I asked the salesman, he said no, they did not include that feature. ****.

Well, after reading the brochures thoroughly and consulting a couple of the forums, I found that the Ford did include one as a standard feature, and they were much improved. Maybe that's an important feature to know about.

The second dealer that I visited, in the St. Louis area, had a truck matching my specifications, and I visited there a couple of weeks later. Do the Superduty trucks have the exhaust brake? Yes, they do, he answered. But then I tested him further -- how about limited slip differential? (Ford 250's have an electronic locker) Well, I explained what a differential was. I also gave him an explanation about the manual locking front differential -- (which I didn't want).

I finally purchased a truck at the third dealer. After the purchase, the salesman gave me a ten minute run through of the truck features -- one button that he couldn't figure out. I explained to him about the automatic feature which notified you about needed oil changes.

Here's my bottom line: You buy a truck that costs A LOT OF MONEY. 1) The salesmen are grossly uninformed, 2) The trucks are very complicated and you are left with only a manual to guide you, 3) There are some important things you must do -- DEF -- Regeneration etc.,

No one really gives you any good information. Would it be too much to ask for the dealerships to either make these people read the manuals for the products that they are selling or give them some training. There are some questions that I have about the product, but I know that I usually know more about it than the sales people.

Rant off.

[ksss]

BB_TX wrote:
I have found that fleet sales typically knows more about trucks than the regular new vehicle salesmen.

My experience as well. I have not bought a new pickup from anyone except a commercial salesman since 2001.

If the dealership has someone that could be considered a sales professional, meaning he knows his vehicles it is this guy.

[FishOnOne]

Looks like a jewel...

[pyoung47]

Ram was traded. Great truck. No issues in 100,000 miles.

[Jebster]

I recently purchased a '16 Ram 3500. Have bought 2 previous trucks, same dealer, same salesman, who has been at this dealership about 20 years. He told me most people who buy trucks, know more about them than he does.

[Durb]

What is the disposition on the 05 Ram? That's a nice looking truck too.

[Grit_dog]

Ya, super nice rig! Congrats!
We'd all like to think someone who sells cars would know a lot about the vehicles, but in reality it's like a lot of people and their jobs. I'm a car guy and think I'd be a he!! Of a car salesman because I enjoy that stuff. Seems to most car salesmen it's just another job.

Hey fwiw, the super duty has auto locking hubs and the manual lockers just keep the hubs locked in, in 2wd or will lock it up if the auto system goes tits up. Check it out, put er in 4wd with the hubs unlocked. Front wheels will pull.

[blofgren]

Nice looking truck; I hope it serves you well for many miles and years to come.

I agree that one is pretty much on their own for education while shopping for vehicles. I actually prefer to look at them on my own and then contact a sales person IF I'm interested in going further down the line for a test drive. I will give the salesman I bought my truck from credit, however. He was somewhat knowledgeable about the truck and then put a dealer plate on it, gave me the keys and said "see you when you get back; take it for a good run!" Well, it worked because it ended up in my driveway! 🙂

[spoon059]

fla-gypsy wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
I have found that fleet sales typically knows more about trucks than the regular new vehicle salesmen.

x2 but since it's my money I make sure I know more than them also

I agree with these guys. When I bought my Tundra, I had researched it for over a year. I knew every feature, every sales code, every available combination. Most salesman on the floor didn't know much about them. I got flat out WRONG information from most of them, as the OP got.

When I finally figured out EXACTLY what I wanted, I contacted the fleet manager/online sales guy and told them the exact sales codes that I wanted. I found that they generally knew their product a little better, but I still didn't rely on them for anything except pricing.

At the dealer from which I purchased, the fleet sales/online sales guys don't receive a commission. They get straight salary and a bonus for hitting sales targets. I found that I got the best price, no haggling, no nonsense from them.

Several dealers quoted me prices on the exact same truck (same VIN) that were thousands of dollars apart in price.

[shepstone]

Nice Truck!

[azdryheat]

I've found most salespeople are lazy be it cars, trucks, RV's, etc. In that regard I do my homework and don't rely on them for anything. The only time I want to be around a salesperson is when I've decided to buy and need to start the negotiation process.

[Doss]

I am sure they sell at least 5 Ford Focuses for every Super Duty, so that is probably where there attention goes.

[wowens79]

I had a friend that was a car salesman in college, and he was a real techy/info junky. He went through all the online training that the sales people had to do immediately, then the other sales people would pay him to take the online tests for him.

I can understand a salesman not knowing about a used car if they don't sell that brand, but they should know their product. I'm sure there are good ones, but most useless.

[Doss]

That is funny. My Silverado had exhaust brake. I was test driving the Ford F 350 and asked if it had an exhaust brake.
He said no.
I was bummed but ended up purchasing.
It was a nice surprise to find it when I got home and dug through it.

[pyoung47]

16 F350 XLT Diesel