DickensCPA
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Brad
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2022
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 61
- Reaction score
- 61
- Location
- Lebanon, TN
- Vehicle(s)
- 2013 Avalanche / 2004 Jeep Rubicon
- Occupation
- CPA
- Thread starter
- #1
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.
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.
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