? about dealer quote

[1tuffram]

UPDATE

Finally, I got a call back from Dave Smith. I was told that yes DC is starting to cut production. The salesman said he had talked to DC about this yesterday and I was told since Dave Smith orders so much volume the factory can still gurantee delivery on orders they place for a few more weeks. I got the impression DC is giving priority to the large dealers who move a lot of inventory and the little guys are feeling the effects of the production cut-back.



Salesman said as a sales promo for the rest of March they are not charging the customary $217 mark-up ($58 over invoice, $159 paint sealant/glaze prep), plus they are taking an additional $58 dollars off. I'm still not happy about the $420 "Market Adj" fee, but was told it's a charge the factory passes to all dealers. It covers the cost for advertising (billboards, TV commercials, etc). I mention some folks don't charge the "market adj" or "advertising fee" and I was told "they hide it in there somewhere. " Anyway I may be stuck dealing with Dave Smith because of all this production cut-back stuff and since Melton Sales said they aren't taking orders anymore. I doubt any of my local dealers sell enough volume to be able and get me a truck from the factory at this point.



Anyway, HUGE sigh of relief here, I thought I was screwed and would have to make sacrifices and taking what ever was on a lot. The main reason I am reluctant to buy off a lot is because I have seen how people and the lot monkey's drive vehicles when they know it is not their's. I always view miles on a lot vehicle as "Very hard" miles. Just me I guess, cause many folks buy off the lot

 

[Extreme1]

A couple things to consider:

1) As a former lot monkey myself, I can tell you that when the vehicle comes off the truck, no one knows if it is sold or not and they all are treated the same.



2) Not all lot monkeys will beat on a vehicle but I've seen less contiencious prep mechanics, wash boys and lot monkeys abuse vehicles.



3) A Cummins equiped truck isn't very abusable compared to a sport car or truck. (Ah, the stories I could tell... )



4) Unless you kept the truck until the motor expired (over 500,00 miles), you would never know a difference between an abused unit versus non- abused unit.



5) The abuse I'b be worried about could be cause by people who don't know any better (not waiting a few seconds after start up for oil pressure to come up, not letting out the clutch in neutral before getting underway to distribute lube in the trans, etc)



I wouldn't worry about unless it had a lot of miles on it for a new truck. Find what you want and buy it!



With respect to an earlier post about a dealer not having to warrantee service a vehicle they didn't sell, that is wrong. Some dealers might tell you that but try to get them to put it in writing and they will do the service. Part of the franchise agreement between the manufactures and the dealer states that they must provide service. If you find one that refuses, you have grounds for legal action.



At the very least you can get retribution by contacting DC and telling your side of the story. If you really want to play, keep going back and every time they give you the slightest difficulty, contact the zone rep.



A dealership that is managed poorly (service) and plays tricks like that usually has other things going on like faking warrantee claims and other amusing and illegal activities. The LAST thing they want is to hear a complaint getting to DC, DC WILL take action. I know of a Chevy dealership loosing its franchise and going out of business for the fake warrantee claim trick.

 

[RPetersen]

Just a quick thought... I would not want new paint waxed, let it set for 60-90 days first. Well, that's the way it used to be done.

 

[milehiscott]

Tuffram,

Don't pay the market adjustment. It's purely horse pucky. I went through all of this when I bought mine. I bought mine from a small town dealer just over the OK border. He sold it to me at dealer cost. He was even willing to tell me about the hold back. It is simply that the dealer gets 3% from the manufacturer when they sell the truck. Therefore, they made a 3% profit on my truck.

They were just glad to get the extra business.

I added up the whole deal. It cost me about $125 to make the trip (food, fuel to get back, bus ticket) verses the $8000-$10,000 I saved on ANY Denver dealer. :--)



PM me and I'll get the dealers name and number. (I'm at work right now and will have to get it from home). I'd also be willing to help you get it back to CO if you would like.



Also, when I ordered my truck I had the same cutting production problem. They called DC and got me the truck I wanted. When I picked it up, it had 6 miles on it.



Let me know if I can help.



Scott

 

[1tuffram]

COMPARISON OF 6 QUOTES, INTERESTING

OK guys, spent all afternoon calling dealers. I have quotes from Dave Smith (ID), Chaprell Dodge (OK), Chandler Auto Mall (OK), Mark Robert Motors (OK), Kotby Motors (WY), Johnson Auto Plaza (local guy). There is only a $946 between the low and high quotes. I had to make a chart to organize all my post-its and help keep all the numbers straight. I noticed the folks who claim they do NOT charge any mark-up fees, Market adj / advertising fees, etc had HIGHER invoice prices than those who openly admit they charge market adj or "mark-up" fees... . Hmmmmm and yes you guessed it, the difference in invoice prices came out to be right around what the Market adj / PPA fees are. Further I noticed the dealers with the lowest "grand total" price where also the furthest to travel. After estimating travel expense plus the number of hours driving time those out of state guys margin narrowed by half or more compared to the local dealer in Brighton (Johnson Auto Plaza) or the 150 mile trip to Kotby Motors in Laramie, Wyoming.



I'm thinking of going with Johnson Auto Plaza since I have heard positive comments from other Denver area members. Plus it's only a 30-40 min drive vs the 11-17 HOURS (each way) for all the others. Johnson Auto Plaza's quote actually falls right in the middle for price and is $200 under what edmonds.com lists as the true market value. So I guess their quote is fair and I won't spend hours driving to and from to take delivery. The sales person said I might be able to get an additional $500 dealer cash rebate taken off when I take deliver, but she could make no promises the dealer cash rebate would still be going 6-8 wks from now.



Anyone in Denver area have any comments on Johnson Auto Plaza in Brighton?? How is the service dept to deal with, I hope they are a "good" dealer and BOMB friendly.

 

[Pit Bull]

Have you looked into the Farm Bureau rebate? I think it is $500. 00 and it is on top of all the other rebates. Also it does not cost much to join the Farm Bureau. Will the 7 year 100K mile drive train warranty still be in affect when you take delivery? Or is that from the time you order the truck? Good luck.

 

[1tuffram]

Pit Bull

I'm looking in to the Farm Bureau rebate. I e-mailed the Farm Bureau and need to call a guy for more info. What do you have to do to be a member?? Not even sure exactly what the Farm Bureau is, went to thier website and I got the impression it's an organization for farmers & ranchers. I don't know the first thing about farming or ranching. Do you have to be a farmer/rancher to qualify?



If I place an order before the current rebates end I get them when I take delivery. If a better rebate comes out before I take delivery I can have the better rebate. Dealers are using the 7/100 warranty as good reason to place order before end of the month. I just go along with it, but the 7/100 is not a big selling point for me since I will be my own warranty station long before I can take advantage of the extended powertrain warranty

 

[Pit Bull]

I understand you don't have to be a "big farmer" to join the farm bureau. Just have a garden

 

[Fireman Dave]

Farm Bureau

All you have to do to get the Farm Bureau rebate is pay your $38. 50 to join the Farm Bureau. You have be a member for 30 days before you can get the rebate certificate. Your dealer can usually make those dates work out if the truck is already on order. When I joined, I was nervous too - about not being a farmer. I walked in and told the lady I wanted to join. As she reached for the forms - and without even looking at me, she asked, "So, are you buying a Dodge truck?" LOL They must get it all the time. But they get their $38. 50, you get your $500. off, Dodge sells another truck, and everyone wins.



I think you get whatever rebates are going when you take delivery, but I don't think you can get a worse rebate. In other words, if a better one comes along after you order, you should still get it on delivery. If a good rebate expires between order and delivery, you should be able to hold them to it.

 

[1tuffram]

Fireman Dave,



Thanks for the info on the Farm Bureau, was worried I was going to have to buy a John Deere cap with bib overall and pretend I was a farmer when I went in. Do you have to go to any meetings, a buddy of mine did this years back when he got his Dodge and had to attend a local chapter meeting or two.



As far as the rebates, I'm guaranteed the current rebates when I take delivery (even though they expire 4-1-02), Dealer said if a better rebate comes along before the truck arrives I can choose which rebate offer I want.



Went to the dealer today and test drove a 6 sp, I'm going to start a new thread on some questions I have. All I can say is the 24V 6sp is a different beast than my 12V 5sp. It will take some getting use to the tight shift pattern and remembering reverse is where I'm accustomed to overdrive being.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Originally posted by 1tuffram

Fireman Dave,



Thanks for the info on the Farm Bureau, was worried I was going to have to buy a John Deere cap with bib overall and pretend I was a farmer when I went in. Do you have to go to any meetings, a buddy of mine did this years back when he got his Dodge and had to attend a local chapter meeting or two.

LOL :-laf No bibs required. I never did a thing related to the Farm Bureau. I got their newsletters for a year, then my membership "lapsed". I did buy a cheeseburger at their booth at the fair.

 

[Posm]

Just wanted to put in a plug for Farm Bureau. They are a great conservative organization that represents the intrest of those that produce the food and fiber that so many of crave on a daily basis. They ae mainly a political organization that seeks to preserve and protect the interest of our farmers and ranchers on the local, state and ntional level(special interest).

They provide other services to there membership such as tires, batteries, twine and other farm supplies as well as one othe nations larger insurance providers. They do not make much on your $38. 00 by the time they input your name and produce and mail their magizine, but the do benifit from the numbers whenever they aproach politicians about legislation they are pushing.

In GA they are pushing to exempt one ton (trucks over 10K GVWR) from state DOT regulations. That might just hit home with more than a few TDR members who do not have a medical card, CDL, and DOT numbers on the side of their truck in the state of GA. They are only selectivly enforcing this law,but it is only one beaurat away from a lot of tickets. I saw one mans tickets that totaled over 2K with an empty trailer.

 

[Idaho CTD]

I talked to my stealer today and they said they can still order '02's for another 30 to 45 days. I live in Boise, ID and have bought 3 trucks from Sundance Dodge in just over three years. All have been at atleast 100. 00 under invoice. The most recent one I had them down to 600. 00 under invoice but they wanted 500 back due to the 0% financing. They said it was a deal where they had to buy the financing. I dont know if that was a load of BS or what but I fell for it. Just my . 02

 

[1tuffram]

When I spoke with a fleet manager from onw of the Oklahoma dealers (can't remember which one). He said in January DC sent out a bulletin stating that April 12th was the cut-off for fleet sales on 2002 trucks. Now the fleet manager said this was issued back in January and the April 12 deadline can or could change. I was told he has heard nothing else, so he was treating it as April 12 is the cut-off unless told otherwise by DC. I asked how reliable this was and was told fleet manager are the first to hear these type of things coming down from headquarters.