New Guy / Weird Dealer Experience

[DickensCPA]

Rented a place in Shelbyville for a year and a half. Then moved to Nevada. Missed my mountains and winters. Not a huge fan of the stifling oppressive humidity. ???

My family and I just got back from AZ about two weeks ago. We stayed in TX, NM and about a week in AZ and then we spent the night in OK on the way home.

AZ was like a mix between a screensaver and a post card. Absolutely beautiful. We hiked about every major park in NM and AZ plus Palo Duro in TX. I did get bit by a western diamond back at Lost Dutchman/Superstition Mtns but I'd go back in a heart beat.

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[dcmdon]

I drove 1100 miles from Gupton in TN to MA. You live in TN. Its a no brainer. Give Gupton a call.

 

[PyrPatriot]

New guy here and I hope my first post doesn't come off like I'm a whiner. I have a 2004 Jeep Rubicon and a truck. Love my Jeep but it's a 2 dr and no truck bed so I've always had to have two vehicles since we have two kids. Anyway the Gladiator came out and I loved everything about it. I'm HORRIBLE about getting hyped up on a new product and buying the first year offering and get burned every time so I figured the 2022s would be fairly worked out.

Do my research and a fairly local dealer has 27 in stock. This particular dealer had been bugging the crap out of me wanting to buy my truck. They happen to be a Jeep dealer and sent me a written offer. I figure this must be a workable thing. I find three Jeeps I like with what I want, trim, etc. They assure me all three are there. So I grab the wife and my written offer and drive almost an hour and a half. Two of the Jeeps were just what I wanted and one was close but had some really gaudy wheels I would've had to sell and replace.

We get there and every Gladiator on the list is either "sold this morning" or someone is test driving except one - the one with the gaudy wheels. We get in to test drive it. The window sticker is on their website, the window sticker is on the truck and it has an additional set of numbers on the windshield denoting the price and all three match. They originally texted me two Gladiators that matched what I wanted but they were 2021s and had been gone over a year.

On the test drive I tell him I'll take it but I would prefer just stock wheels, he says ok but they'll charge me labor - I understand and ok with that although they wouldn't give me credit for the difference in price so I said I'll keep them, sell them and buy a set of stock wheels. He tells me if I do that I'll void my warranty since all the upgrades were done in house. I tuned him out after that.

Pulling back into the dealership I tell him of the three I liked this one was my least favorite and the higher end of what I wanted to spend. Then he told me there will be an addendum for dealer upgrades. I asked why weren't they already on the window sticker or an additional window sticker like everyone else. He tells me it's illegal to do that. Ok, I've owned a firm since 1998 and legal crap is what I do. I have clients in 47 states and many are dealerships. It's not illegal to advertise a price unless you're going below MAP and that's not illegal just frowned upon.

They've added Lojac, ceramic paint coating and a brake light that flashes 4 times whether I want it or not and then the dealer upgrades. He says the addendum is $2-3000. I'm not liking this but want a Gladiator so I'm staying calm before blowing it. We go straight to finance and they don't look at or ask about my truck and offer me $2000 less than their written offer that was good until 2/10/22. Then he drops the addendum bombshell - an additional $17,000. The only add ons were the Lojac, brake light, ceramic coating, wheels and lift.

He tells me I didn't read the fine print online and I have combed the website along with three others in my office and there is nothing about these addendums or that the advertised price isn't as advertised. Is this common in today's world? I just bought my wife a new car about 4 mos ago and the sticker was the price.

I'd sue them for false advertising and charge them what I would bill a client for my time and enforce the advertised price. But that's just me.

 

[DickensCPA]

I drove 1100 miles from Gupton in TN to MA. You live in TN. Its a no brainer. Give Gupton a call.

Been dealing with Matt for the last 45 min or so. They're actually in Springfield and not Clarksville, a bit closer to me.

 

[dcmdon]

Been dealing with Matt for the last 45 min or so. They're actually in Springfield and not Clarksville, a bit closer to me.

Is Matt from Gupton?
Most of us have dealt with Daniel (an owner) and Renee who seems to finish the deals. I'm not surprised if they've pulled someone else in to deal with forum deals.

The pricing is great. But the total lack of stress is even better.

They give you the exact price. That is the exact price you pay when you get there to pick up your vehicle. No surprises. No "let me talk to my manager". Daniel will email you a deal sheet with the numbers. If you like what you see, you click on some kind of an e-commerce link and leave a $1000 deposit.

The only complaint I have on the whole deal is that the was some grease pencil writing on the wheels that should have been removed in the PDI. But if that's all I've got you should know I'm pretty happy.

 

[CMac]

New guy here and I hope my first post doesn't come off like I'm a whiner. I have a 2004 Jeep Rubicon and a truck. Love my Jeep but it's a 2 dr and no truck bed so I've always had to have two vehicles since we have two kids. Anyway the Gladiator came out and I loved everything about it. I'm HORRIBLE about getting hyped up on a new product and buying the first year offering and get burned every time so I figured the 2022s would be fairly worked out.

Do my research and a fairly local dealer has 27 in stock. This particular dealer had been bugging the crap out of me wanting to buy my truck. They happen to be a Jeep dealer and sent me a written offer. I figure this must be a workable thing. I find three Jeeps I like with what I want, trim, etc. They assure me all three are there. So I grab the wife and my written offer and drive almost an hour and a half. Two of the Jeeps were just what I wanted and one was close but had some really gaudy wheels I would've had to sell and replace.

We get there and every Gladiator on the list is either "sold this morning" or someone is test driving except one - the one with the gaudy wheels. We get in to test drive it. The window sticker is on their website, the window sticker is on the truck and it has an additional set of numbers on the windshield denoting the price and all three match. They originally texted me two Gladiators that matched what I wanted but they were 2021s and had been gone over a year.

On the test drive I tell him I'll take it but I would prefer just stock wheels, he says ok but they'll charge me labor - I understand and ok with that although they wouldn't give me credit for the difference in price so I said I'll keep them, sell them and buy a set of stock wheels. He tells me if I do that I'll void my warranty since all the upgrades were done in house. I tuned him out after that.

Pulling back into the dealership I tell him of the three I liked this one was my least favorite and the higher end of what I wanted to spend. Then he told me there will be an addendum for dealer upgrades. I asked why weren't they already on the window sticker or an additional window sticker like everyone else. He tells me it's illegal to do that. Ok, I've owned a firm since 1998 and legal crap is what I do. I have clients in 47 states and many are dealerships. It's not illegal to advertise a price unless you're going below MAP and that's not illegal just frowned upon.

They've added Lojac, ceramic paint coating and a brake light that flashes 4 times whether I want it or not and then the dealer upgrades. He says the addendum is $2-3000. I'm not liking this but want a Gladiator so I'm staying calm before blowing it. We go straight to finance and they don't look at or ask about my truck and offer me $2000 less than their written offer that was good until 2/10/22. Then he drops the addendum bombshell - an additional $17,000. The only add ons were the Lojac, brake light, ceramic coating, wheels and lift.

He tells me I didn't read the fine print online and I have combed the website along with three others in my office and there is nothing about these addendums or that the advertised price isn't as advertised. Is this common in today's world? I just bought my wife a new car about 4 mos ago and the sticker was the price.

I'm thinking I'd hitchhike or ride Greyhound before I'd do a minutes worth of business with those cagey, shyster fcuks.

Take a deep breath....wait a bit....another deal will be along shortly. You've been waiting this long....what's another few months for finding an honest dealership, just like GUPTON.

 

[dcmdon]

This is not the business environment to be impulsive in. You will get screwed royally.

I saved $7000 off what a local dealer wanted to charge me for the same truck.

I wasted just under a day flying down (they picked me up at the airport) and driving back. I don't know about you but I don't make $7000/day.

But I'm a bit of a wackjob. I don't mind driving 1100 miles straight through. So lets call it 2 days and $3500/day.

 

[Josh00333]

Dude buy from Grupton if your that close, screw buying off the lot order exactly what you want.

 

[F&D]

A week ago my wife and I rented a car and drove from Oklahoma to Gupton to pick up our Gladiator, stayed one night and had a really nice drive back on some beautiful back roads in Tennessee to do the recommended break in. We arrived first thing Monday morning and because of that it took an entire hour to complete our purchase, yes Monday morning and we were in and out by 9:30am! Everything was exactly as stated in the emails. The only thing that could have changed the price is if you buy an optional extended warranty.

 

[ScottBeach]

You should've moved here. I was born and raised here and after college I thought I had to "get away." I did and it was all I could do to get back.

60 miles to Gupton isn't bad at all considering I drive 41 miles one way to my office.

My son in law ordered from gupton. From Fl. Still saving $4k over any local dealer even with fl import tax.

 

[jay21mojave]

As I've been perusing thru this forum I have seen Gupton come up quite a few times now. It's only 60 miles from me which isn't bad at all. He shows 9 in stock and I found one I like but it says "In Transit." I guess I need to call and see if it's spoken for.

IN TRANSIT means that the Factory has the Gladiator built and is waiting for transport to the dealership.. Get with them ASAP and lock it up is my advise

 

[jdq22]

Instead of overpaying at a shady dealer for a truck without everything I wanted, I decided to practice some patience and place an order to get exactly what I wanted.

3 months later, the wait was worth every second in peace of mind, and in the mental reward knowing that what I am driving is exactly what I spec'd out. Not to mention, the window sticker says "Built for....(my name)". Moral of the story is, screw those guys. Life is too short to deal with inconsiderate salespeople

 

[RS3]

Not sure how Gupton is on "on the lot" vehicles but I would imagine you will pay more than if you order direct through them. At any rate I believe they will do you right after reading gobs of rave reviews about them. On the other hand you might get a great deal too. I did order mine with Walter at Gupton and just waiting on it to be built. Good luck!

 

[WILDHOBO]

As I've been perusing thru this forum I have seen Gupton come up quite a few times now. It's only 60 miles from me which isn't bad at all. He shows 9 in stock and I found one I like but it says "In Transit." I guess I need to call and see if it's spoken for.

Everyone else is right. Don’t do business with that dealer. I will say that I once bought a car from a dealer with a salesman behaving similarly. I told him I was out the door unless he was replaced by the sales manager. I ended up getting the advertised price, minus some, after circumventing the dishonest sales person. I did need to be prepared to walk out. I walked out on my first gladiator negotiation and went to a different dealer. Saved over 5k and got a rubicon instead of an overpriced Willy’s. These are out there. You might need to find the right dealer though.

 

[K-Dog]

New guy here and I hope my first post doesn't come off like I'm a whiner. I have a 2004 Jeep Rubicon and a truck. Love my Jeep but it's a 2 dr and no truck bed so I've always had to have two vehicles since we have two kids. Anyway the Gladiator came out and I loved everything about it. I'm HORRIBLE about getting hyped up on a new product and buying the first year offering and get burned every time so I figured the 2022s would be fairly worked out.

Do my research and a fairly local dealer has 27 in stock. This particular dealer had been bugging the crap out of me wanting to buy my truck. They happen to be a Jeep dealer and sent me a written offer. I figure this must be a workable thing. I find three Jeeps I like with what I want, trim, etc. They assure me all three are there. So I grab the wife and my written offer and drive almost an hour and a half. Two of the Jeeps were just what I wanted and one was close but had some really gaudy wheels I would've had to sell and replace.

We get there and every Gladiator on the list is either "sold this morning" or someone is test driving except one - the one with the gaudy wheels. We get in to test drive it. The window sticker is on their website, the window sticker is on the truck and it has an additional set of numbers on the windshield denoting the price and all three match. They originally texted me two Gladiators that matched what I wanted but they were 2021s and had been gone over a year.

On the test drive I tell him I'll take it but I would prefer just stock wheels, he says ok but they'll charge me labor - I understand and ok with that although they wouldn't give me credit for the difference in price so I said I'll keep them, sell them and buy a set of stock wheels. He tells me if I do that I'll void my warranty since all the upgrades were done in house. I tuned him out after that.

Pulling back into the dealership I tell him of the three I liked this one was my least favorite and the higher end of what I wanted to spend. Then he told me there will be an addendum for dealer upgrades. I asked why weren't they already on the window sticker or an additional window sticker like everyone else. He tells me it's illegal to do that. Ok, I've owned a firm since 1998 and legal crap is what I do. I have clients in 47 states and many are dealerships. It's not illegal to advertise a price unless you're going below MAP and that's not illegal just frowned upon.

They've added Lojac, ceramic paint coating and a brake light that flashes 4 times whether I want it or not and then the dealer upgrades. He says the addendum is $2-3000. I'm not liking this but want a Gladiator so I'm staying calm before blowing it. We go straight to finance and they don't look at or ask about my truck and offer me $2000 less than their written offer that was good until 2/10/22. Then he drops the addendum bombshell - an additional $17,000. The only add ons were the Lojac, brake light, ceramic coating, wheels and lift.

He tells me I didn't read the fine print online and I have combed the website along with three others in my office and there is nothing about these addendums or that the advertised price isn't as advertised. Is this common in today's world? I just bought my wife a new car about 4 mos ago and the sticker was the price.

Shady.We purchased two this year using two different dealers and did not have anything close to that experience.

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