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.
