Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
It happened to me this weekend.
The family and I drove 7 hours to Houston on Saturday to go buy this 2004 I had seen at a Dodge dealership's website. When we got to the dealership, the salesguy I had been dealing with wasn't there; we were told that he had left for the day. The other salesguy starts pulling out the paperwork and says, "Okay, Mr. Lynes, if you'll sign these we'll be all ready. " I started laughing and said, "You expect me to sign these without even looking at, or driving, the truck????" He looks right back at me and without even blinking says, "Oh, you wanted to drive it?" DUH!!!
Long story short, the truck was a total POS. I was told it was a non-smoker... total lie; the cigarette burn on the driver's armrest and the lighter were the giveaway. The leather steering wheel had been coated with some kind of filler and painted to cover the wear... poorly done at best. The front power motor on the driver's seat... . inop. The heated seats on high didn't come close to putting out the heat that the seats on my '01 on low put out. The muffler had been deleted, and the truck droned obnoxiously. There had been gauges at one time, but those had been taken out; the exhaust manifold had the fitting for the EGT probe, but it had been welded shut. The dash was massively cracked in three places; the dash on the '01 has yet to crack, knock on wood. The sill plate on the driver's side was worn through to the metal and had begun rusting. The clear coat on the tailgate, by the Dodge emblem, was peeling off. Finally, the rear door lock, on the driver's side, didn't work... the lock would lift and fall. And here I thought Saltillo trucks were supposed to be better built! My St. Louis truck has been through some stuff, and it has held up way better than this newer truck!
I told the guy that the truck was worth $18,000 at best, and that there was no way I was buying it for $21,000. He gives me the line, "Let me talk to my manager". Manager says to drop the price $500.
We went home in our '01.
Good news is that the wife and I talked, and she's agreed to let me drop $3500 into our truck to "spruce" it up. Gauges and sound-deadener kit for the engine compartment to begin with.
The sad thing is that the dealership, Helfman Dodge, is supposed to be a Five-Star Dealership. There was nothing Five-Star about it. I'm writing Dodge to let them know of my experience.
The family and I drove 7 hours to Houston on Saturday to go buy this 2004 I had seen at a Dodge dealership's website. When we got to the dealership, the salesguy I had been dealing with wasn't there; we were told that he had left for the day. The other salesguy starts pulling out the paperwork and says, "Okay, Mr. Lynes, if you'll sign these we'll be all ready. " I started laughing and said, "You expect me to sign these without even looking at, or driving, the truck????" He looks right back at me and without even blinking says, "Oh, you wanted to drive it?" DUH!!!
Long story short, the truck was a total POS. I was told it was a non-smoker... total lie; the cigarette burn on the driver's armrest and the lighter were the giveaway. The leather steering wheel had been coated with some kind of filler and painted to cover the wear... poorly done at best. The front power motor on the driver's seat... . inop. The heated seats on high didn't come close to putting out the heat that the seats on my '01 on low put out. The muffler had been deleted, and the truck droned obnoxiously. There had been gauges at one time, but those had been taken out; the exhaust manifold had the fitting for the EGT probe, but it had been welded shut. The dash was massively cracked in three places; the dash on the '01 has yet to crack, knock on wood. The sill plate on the driver's side was worn through to the metal and had begun rusting. The clear coat on the tailgate, by the Dodge emblem, was peeling off. Finally, the rear door lock, on the driver's side, didn't work... the lock would lift and fall. And here I thought Saltillo trucks were supposed to be better built! My St. Louis truck has been through some stuff, and it has held up way better than this newer truck!
I told the guy that the truck was worth $18,000 at best, and that there was no way I was buying it for $21,000. He gives me the line, "Let me talk to my manager". Manager says to drop the price $500.
We went home in our '01.
Good news is that the wife and I talked, and she's agreed to let me drop $3500 into our truck to "spruce" it up. Gauges and sound-deadener kit for the engine compartment to begin with.
The sad thing is that the dealership, Helfman Dodge, is supposed to be a Five-Star Dealership. There was nothing Five-Star about it. I'm writing Dodge to let them know of my experience.
