New Tow Vehicle Buying Experience

[Mike G]

The most blatant experience I've had was in the late 1980s. The sales people and I agreed on a price, then when I got into the finance office that guy had typed up the paperwork with an extended service contract already included! That was back when they still used typewriters. I got up and headed out, then he chased after me and said he'd be glad to re-type it. I was young and inexperienced then, so I still bought the van; today I'd walk out and keep walking.

[Rossue]

This scene in Fargo sums it up for me and last week I did get up and walk out after hearing too much B.S. The sales manager followed me out and then called me twice while on the road(both calls sent to VM). Trust your instincts. I did get a cherry model about $3-4K less on Facebook Marketplace. Autotrader is another good forum to find autos on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2LLB9CGfLs

[emers382]

Originally Posted by Mike G

The most blatant experience I've had was in the late 1980s. The sales people and I agreed on a price, then when I got into the finance office that guy had typed up the paperwork with an extended service contract already included! That was back when they still used typewriters. I got up and headed out, then he chased after me and said he'd be glad to re-type it. I was young and inexperienced then, so I still bought the van; today I'd walk out and keep walking.

I had a similar experience whilst buying a new Mazda 6 in 2009. We agreed on price agreement all written up then when checking the paperwork they had one percent more for the financing figure than their well advertised rate. They initially said I was wrong but on checking they realised their mistake, or was it a mistake? Do doubt many people would have missed that and just signed off.

Buying our 2022 F150 was very easy. Was factory order, didn't have to negotiate on price since was buying it on a plan just above dealer invoice because of where I was formerly employed. The salesman offered a few extras, no pressure, didn't even see a business manager. A couple of weeks before pickup the salesman came to our house to complete all the delivery paperwork since Beth was down with pneumonia and brought us a bottle of wine!

[Selkirk]

It's been a few years, but my last new vehicle purchase was absolutely painless. A colleague of mine referred me to his good friend, the Sales Manager at a local Toyota dealership. I corresponded directly with him and never stepped into the showroom or spoke with anyone on the sales floor. I gave him the precise model/option info I wanted. He gave me a bottom-line quote that no other dealer would touch. The whole transaction was finalized by exchanging less than 1/2 dozen emails.

I did get pitched all the typical add-ons by the finance office during the delivery process. I just politely declined everything, gave them a bank draft for the agreed amount, and was on my way.

I think the most humorous part of the buying experience was being asked repeatedly by everyone on the sales/delivery chain if I was aware that I was purchasing a truck with a manual transmission. They couldn't understand why I would ever want a vehicle so equipped.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by Selkirk

I think the most humorous part of the buying experience was being asked repeatedly by everyone on the sales/delivery chain if I was aware that I was purchasing a truck with a manual transmission. They couldn't understand why I would ever want a vehicle so equipped.

I truly respect your position but you couldn't give me a standard transmission unless it was a specialty machine of some kind. Of course my perspective is from my narrow use case of daily driver and towing. Heck, I test rode a motorcycle over the summer that had a hybrid auto and it was pretty dang sweet.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by SageRpod

I truly respect your position but you couldn't give me a standard transmission unless it was a specialty machine of some kind.

Heck, I test rode a motorcycle over the summer that had a hybrid auto and it was pretty dang sweet.

I partly agree with you. I've always had manual transmissions, even in recent years when they started to become less common in things like pickup trucks. I've towed all my adult life with manual transmissions. Until the F150 10 speed, , I'd never go back to a manual for towing.

However I still have a 5 speed car, a 6 speed car and a 5 speed motorcycle. A motorcycle with an auto.

Ron

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

A motorcycle with an auto.

Ron

Remember the early-80s 450cc or 750cc HondaMatic?

[John in Santa Cruz]

the 10 speed automatic in my 2019 Expedition is pretty sweet.

We just bought this in October, from a Ford dealer as a CPO car. We not only got the dealer down several $1000 from the asking, we got away without all those stupid extras, although we did pay for the extended CPO warranty that gives us like 10 years, 100K miles on nearly everything including drivetrain valid at any Ford dealer.

The dealer experience was about as painless as any I've had, they did try and sell us a maintenance contract but we wouldn't have anything to do with that. there was no surcharge for ceramic coating, yada yada. Sunnyvale Ford. They also followed though with a couple post-purchase fixes that my wife insisted on before signing.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by SageRpod

I truly respect your position but you couldn't give me a standard transmission unless it was a specialty machine of some kind. Of course my perspective is from my narrow use case of daily driver and towing. Heck, I test rode a motorcycle over the summer that had a hybrid auto and it was pretty dang sweet.

No doubt that the vast majority of the motoring public prefer automatics. I can appreciate their comparative simplicity from a driver's perspective. However, I've owned manual transmission vehicles of almost every conceivable type and have utilized them as daily drivers for nearly 30 years without any regrets. My muscle memory is well established at this point.

Ultimately, I think forces me to more actively engage in the process of driving....something that seems to challenge far too many motorists out there.

Granted, I don't possess extensive towing experience. However I didn't encounter any issues this past season towing my E19 2000+kms that caused me to question using a manual equipped TV. If I'm forced go with an automatic TV next time, it will be with a great deal of reluctance.

[John in Santa Cruz]

My 2008 Tacoma was a 6 speed stick shift, we towed a Casita all over the western states with it, and pulled our 'new' Escape from Dallas TX to the mid left coast with it too, before upgrading. I didn't mind the stick, but my wife was way way out of practice and the couple times she drove it drove me crazy with late shifting, lugging, overrevving, etc. The one place a stick shift really hurts is in extensive stop-n-crawl, after about 30 minutes of that, my clutch leg gets mighty sore.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by iamunique127

Remember the early-80s 450cc or 750cc HondaMatic?

Yep, those were some great bikes that were ahead of their time, just like the CX500 Turbo. Honda now offers their DCT transmission on most bikes and it is pure genius.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by Selkirk

If I'm forced go with an automatic TV next time, it will be with a great deal of reluctance.

I respect that. Different strokes for different folks. I for one enjoy the conveniences of the modern vehicle. Now if I could just get my Victron apps to show up on my info screen that would be awesome.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I'm quite happy while driving that my info screen with Google Auto is 50% google maps, 50% spotify and with a single tap, I can make either full screen.

When I'm driving, I'm really not invested in whats going on with my RV charging systems.

I do need to sort out my Orion TR 12/18 and get it working with my new vehicle, it was such a problem on the F250 that I disabled it.

[Cablebandit]

No issues here. I work the entire deal over email and walk in with a check. 15 minutes later I walk out with a new car.

Hope you got a smoking deal on the 2024. They are still sitting on tons of new 22 Rams that they can't sell.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I'm quite happy while driving that my info screen with Google Auto is 50% google maps, 50% spotify and with a single tap, I can make either full screen.

When I'm driving, I'm really not invested in whats going on with my RV charging systems.

I do need to sort out my Orion TR 12/18 and get it working with my new vehicle, it was such a problem on the F250 that I disabled it.

I'm usually interested in what's going on with the DC-DC unit because I am a geek and like that kind of stuff.

We use Apple Car Play, mainly for Google Maps as well as podcasts, and music. But honestly, we spend a lot of time listening to AM radio. I spent a lot of time in my dad's 67 F100 driving around west and central Texas listening to AM radio and I find the static hiss of it soothing in a weird way. Last week as we passed north of Lubbock, we listened to over an hour of how to prepare prime rib on a station dedicated to meat.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by SageRpod

I'm usually interested in what's going on with the DC-DC unit because I am a geek and like that kind of stuff.

the short version is, with my longbed f250, there was *so* much voltage drop in the vehicle harness and in the trailer harness that I was only seeing like 10 volts at the Orion in the back of the E21... Outputting 13.6 V @ 18 amps requires around 24 amps at 10V input, and 24A is a big load. On said 21 foot long F250, back probing the 7 blade RV connector showed me half the voltage loss was in the truck, the voltage at the truck's mains under the hood was a solid 14.2-14.4V, same as without the trailer. I didn't bother to further troubleshoot or try to rewire things as my 360W solar panel was having no problems outputting 25A+ into the battery, assuming it needed that much.

Since replacing that 2002 F250 diesel longbed with a 2019 Ford Expedition, I haven't messed with the Orion.

[dlakeman]

In Finance Manager's office I say NO, NO, NO, NO. Consumer Reports does not recommend extended vehicle warranties. Any "insurance policy" is a bet by the insurance company (warranty) that you won't file a claim, and they keep your money. Consumer Reports recommends setting aside whatever you feel is appropriate in a savings account to cover the cost of any major repairs. You have a RAM. I have a 2022 RAM 2500 with 25K on it. No issues, and I don't expect any. I said NO to the extended warranty.

[LSmith]

I bought a new Chevy Colorado in 2022. At that time, in our area, dealers in our area had virtually no inventory, and what inventory they had was highly optioned. They were also charging extra fees just because they could. We happened to be in a small city about 4 hours drive away from home, when we noticed a dealership with 3 or 4 Colorados on it. When we checked them out, most were the high priced versions, but one was optioned just the way I would have ordered it. We decided to buy it on the spot. The buying experience was pretty good for the time. There was no high pressure sales. The only thing they did is present the offer paperwork for us to sign. When we looked through it, there were a few dealer installed options included that we never asked for. We declined most of them, but left a couple of the lower priced ones that were a bit useful on. So they did get a few extra dollars out of us, but compared to other peoples experiences at the time, we felt we did well. It helps that we are very happy with the truck after our first full year with it. It has great power and gets very good milage compared to out previous tow vehicle.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the only extended warranty I'll get is a manufacturers CPO extension, which is essentially the same as a new car warranty. Modern cars are rolling computer networks with multiple databuses, and shops are woefully unprepared to actually diagnose root causes of complex problems, will throw parts at problems, and when those parts are $2000 engine computers and such, OUCH. The Ecoboost 3.5L engine and 10 speed transmission in my 'new' Ford are both known to have some issues, such as cam phasers, these are quite expensive if you have to fix them on your own dime.

[NoSOD]

There are lots of good videos on YouTube eg from former car sales people to help you prepare, CarEdge is one such, but there are others.