New Tow Vehicle Woes

[Bankc]

Never take your car to a dealership for repairs, unless it's under warranty.  I have several mechanic friends.  They all started off working at dealerships when they first graduated from tech school because it's usually the only place interested in hiring a kid with no experience (but lots of certificates to hang on the walls in the lobby).  Dealerships usually don't pay mechanics well and have high turnover.  After a few years of working at a dealership, they take that experience and go work somewhere that pays better, or open their own shop.  Plus dealerships have every incentive to make the repair as expensive as possible.  Their primary business is to sell new cars, not repair old ones.  And if your old car needs new parts, they're incentivized to sell you OEM parts, even in cases where OEM parts aren't as well made AND more expensive.  Whereas private auto mechanics have every incentive to make it as cheap as possible.  Most of their business is repeat customers and word of mouth.  So if they charge too much or don't do a good job, they won't stay in business.  Auto repair is how they keep the doors open.  So you often pay more for worse work at a dealership.  

 

So I'd take your truck in to get a second opinion.  The dealership may have been telling the truth.  Or they may be doing something shady, or maybe they just don't really know any better and they're telling you the truth as they see it.  But I wouldn't trust a word they say without a second opinion.  

[Junk Fisherman]

Well this thread confirmed that I am keeping my 2008 Tacoma longer than I expected.  Thankfully, I only have 103K miles on it.  

[A-Jay]

Timing almost always plays a role,

but I'd be hard pressed to come up with something more dramatic than this current deal.

Hope it gets better sooner rather than later.

A-Jay

 

[slonezp]

My SuperDuty is worth equal to or more as a trade in, with 52,000mi, than I paid for it. I'm tempted to trade it in for a SUV since I don't have the Lund anymore. When I upgrade boats in a year or two, I can upgrade trucks as well.

 

It's like playing the stock market and finding the best ROI

[DaubsNU1]

I agree with @Bankc, get a second, and even third and fourth opinion. 

 

Good buddy is the service manager at dealership, and since I know him, I trust him. That said, the brother-in-law of another good friend of mine runs his own shop...mainly deals in Honda's. Both do great work. 

 

Ask around, talk to friends and family...see who has a good reference...start there...see what options are available to get it fixed. 

 

Vehicle prices are STUPID right now.  

 

I saved for 2+ years, sold old truck and car, and got 2019 Chevy 2500HD...it booked for $62k, I got them down to $52k out the door...and also negotiated about $2k worth of accessories (bed mat, tonneau cover, tint, etc.). I was happy with the deal, and I'm sure they made money. 

 

That truck tows this like a dream...

 

 

And my boat...   : ) 

 

 

Dealership called and wants to buy my truck, with 26k miles on it...offering me $58k(!)

 

Hell no!

 

[throttleplate]

47 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

I agree with @Bankc, get a second, and even third and fourth opinion. 

 

Good buddy is the service manager at dealership, and since I know him, I trust him. That said, the brother-in-law of another good friend of mine runs his own shop...mainly deals in Honda's. Both do great work. 

 

Ask around, talk to friends and family...see who has a good reference...start there...see what options are available to get it fixed. 

 

Vehicle prices are STUPID right now.  

 

I saved for 2+ years, sold old truck and car, and got 2019 Chevy 2500HD...it booked for $62k, I got them down to $52k out the door...and also negotiated about $2k worth of accessories (bed mat, tonneau cover, tint, etc.). I was happy with the deal, and I'm sure they made money. 

 

That truck tows this like a dream...

 

 

And my boat...   : ) 

 

 

Dealership called and wants to buy my truck, with 26k miles on it...offering me $58k(!)

 

Hell no!

 

58k to get you to come in then they give you the real number.

[slonezp]

3 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

58k to get you to come in then they give you the real number.

The real number is close. I've been getting mailers and text messages for weeks, from the dealer I bought my Ford from telling me they'll give me $39k for my truck. I stopped in earlier this week and the used car manager says the computer says $35k but he thinks he can do better, to give him a few days to put feelers out. I paid $37k for it. If I can get $40k or close, there is no reason for me to keep it. I can get into a Ford Explorer with under 50k miles and wipe out my car note. The Explorer is enough to tow my pond hopper and with gas pushing $4.00 a gallon here, I'll save on my commuting costs.

[Sphynx]

There aren't many times I am glad I learned diesel theory, and other more idiotic motor repair skills in a structured environment, but it has sure saved me a pile on vehicles over the years, now whether that's a fair trade for all the late night calls, familial obligations and outright being taken advantage of on account of being a reasonably competent mechanic I'll let you decide, but my advice would definitely be to learn how they work, more importantly WHY they work, then find something made by an aftermarket happy manufacturer and keep that joker running off your own knowledge as long as they make the parts, it's working reasonably well with my 77 K5 Blazer

[Dogface]

16 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

I agree with @Bankc, get a second, and even third and fourth opinion. 

 

 

I agree. You need additional opinions. 

 

I would also research the symptoms on the internet. It may be easier to repair without tearing the engine down.  

[gim]

17 hours ago, slonezp said:

I've been getting mailers and text messages for weeks, from the dealer I bought my Ford from telling me they'll give me $39k for my truck.

I have been getting those too.  Email and paper letters from where we bought both an F-150 and a Ford Escape in the past 4 years.  They are also now offering $1000 cash on top of what their current trade in values are.  I aint budging on that though.  I like my truck and my wife likes her Escape.

[volzfan59]

46 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I have been getting those too.  Email and paper letters from where we bought both an F-150 and a Ford Escape in the past 4 years.  They are also now offering $1000 cash on top of what their current trade in values are.  I aint budging on that though.  I like my truck and my wife likes her Escape.

I'm with you. My truck and my wife's Challenger are paid for and in excellent condition. No way I'm buying a new vehicle, or an overpriced used vehicle any time soon. Good Lord willing. I hate debt.

[Deleted account]

On 7/23/2021 at 9:04 AM, gimruis said:

No one should be surprised by the cost of used or new vehicles at this point.  There has been a shortage of them for a while.  Its probably not going to improve anytime soon either.

Vehicle prices will not be coming down in any significant amount. I remember this happening at the turn of the decades between the 70's and 80s, back then $10k was the "shock". By the mid 80's prices had gone up even more. The inflation that is coming (already here actually) will exacerbate the effect. 

[Bird]

It's a crazy market at the present and not a buyer's market. 

I also bought a 2021 F250 last year for 1k under invoice and the same dealership is selling their VERY limited supply for over MSRP. 

 

I'd wait it out if possible. 

 

 

[papajoe222]

4 hours ago, Bird said:

It's a crazy market at the present and not a buyer's market. 

 

 

 

I found this out quickly. Many of the Chicago area dealers are adding a $5K mark up to their sticker prices and aren't dealing at all unless you consider some dealer incentives. The only good news for buyers it trade-in values are also up and you can get a lot more for your trade, so it kind of washes out the increases.

[Sphynx]

20 minutes ago, papajoe222 said:

I found this out quickly. Many of the Chicago area dealers are adding a $5K mark up to their sticker prices and aren't dealing at all unless you consider some dealer incentives. The only good news for buyers it trade-in values are also up and you can get a lot more for your trade, so it kind of washes out the increases.

If they got you believing all that stuff about trade in values, and they are anything like the dealership I used to work at years ago, they got the wool pulled all the way over your eyes, just remember, your smart enough to figure out what your payment should be all on your own, and that sounds like exactly the sort of dealership that tries to 4 square customers every chance they get.

[DogBone_384]

6 hours ago, volzfan59 said:

My truck and my wife's Challenger are paid for and in excellent condition.

Ditto. My ‘17 Tundra and wife’s ‘18 Wrangler JLU are paid for. I also tripped across a ‘99 CR-V with 97K on it for $500 last fall, which I drive most of the time.

 

We’re keeping all three until further notice.

[DaubsNU1]

5 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

Ditto. My ‘17 Tundra and wife’s ‘18 Wrangler JLU are paid for. I also tripped across a ‘99 CR-V with 97K on it for $500 last fall, which I drive most of the time.

 

We’re keeping all three until further notice.

 

Yea, wife's '17 Outback and my truck are paid for...

 

I have a 2005 Accord 4cyl/auto as my daily driver...knocks down 30MPG all day...round trip to work and back is about 70 miles a day. We found it from an old guy...with 48k...it's got just over 86k now. Should run for a while longer : ) 

 

 

[throttleplate]

3 hours ago, Sphynx said:

If they got you believing all that stuff about trade in values, and they are anything like the dealership I used to work at years ago, they got the wool pulled all the way over your eyes, just remember, your smart enough to figure out what your payment should be all on your own, and that sounds like exactly the sort of dealership that tries to 4 square customers every chance they get.

correct, sell your trade-in yourself, the dealers want you to think you are gettin value for your trade-in. Never tell a dealer you have a car you want to trade in untill the final numbers are on paper and you are satisfied then say hey i have a trade in.

[Big Hands]

My daughter is getting ready to go on an extended trip and took her car to the dealership to get the oil changed. Then, they come to her to say that she needs new control arms and compression rods (telling her the rubber is 'torn') in the front end, new serpentine belts, and that her camshaft sensors are leaking oil.

 

They want well north of $2K for the repairs, so she told them she would get back to them after investigating. I go ahead and buy the new control arms, and tell her we'll check out the belts and leaking camshaft sensors when we're changing out the control arms and compression rods.

 

We tear apart the front end, and lo and behold the control arms and compression rods are all in excellent condition. I take off the serpentine belts, and they're in excellent condition. I take my inspection camera and look down the back side of the engine at the camshaft sensors and there is no oil leaking.

 

Then, I remember the last time she took the car to them, they told her she had leaking camshaft sensors, but she never told them that we went to a different dealership and got the factory o-rings for the sensors and replaced them ourselves. 

 

I can only surmise that they were trying to perform a bunch of front end work, and replace the belts (that looked like new), and they probably looked at her service records and saw that according to their records that the sensor leaks had never been fixed and just automatically assumed they were still leaking.

 

When she bought the car over five years ago, an issue developed in a few days that we deduced was likely a clutch pedal adjustment. We took it to the dealership where she bought it, and the service writer told us that the head mechanic says she needs a new clutch for $3K (and the warranty doesn't cover clutches). We ask the head mechanic to try the adjusting the linkage on the hydraulic clutch. He got nasty with us and gave us the speech about how he had 30 years of experience and that he's 100% certain her clutch is worn out.

 

We take it to another dealership and ask them to try to adjust the the linkage on the hydraulic clutch. They agree, and 'voila', the car shifts just like it's supposed to. Almost five and a half years later and well you know the story. . . .

 

Almost every time I have had an interaction with a dealership service department, it has gone similarly. I have several more examples, but I am trying to reduce my tendency for verbosity ;~) 

 

Straight up crooks that will apparently lie just as easily as they breathe. Makes me want to do a compression test on their wedding tackle with a size 14 Doc Marten.

 

I will NEVER just simply trust that they have been honest with me, and will generally assume they are lying if they are speaking. That's why I do most of my repair work myself if possible.

 

TL/DR version: Get another opinion from someone other than a dealership. I don't trust them as far as I can throw them.

[Hammer 4]

I Never go to stealerships to have any type of work done on my Duramax. I have a great independent shop do all the work that I can't do.

[rboat]

As said before, ask around and find a reliable independent mechanic to check it out. Honda makes great engines. I would have the repairs done, especially if you can find a good mechanic.

[Krux5506]

The car market must have gotten a lot worse since last year when I bought my wife's new Subaru Ascent. That car was under $40k, AWD, supposed tow capacity of 5k. I also got 6 years interest free on it through Subaru and the dealership gave me way more than I expected for a Chevy Cruze trade in. It was a far better deal than buying low mileage used at that point.