New Guy / Weird Dealer Experience

[Dryfly24]

I believe that is MOSTLY a myth. To my knowledge, most insurers will cover it, but it may come with some hefty copays/deductibles. I recall something to do with people in certain jobs having problems because their insurance wants to consider it a work related injury.

One of the problems with killing rattlesnakes is we typically kill the noisy ones because they are the ones we find. They don't want to waste their venom on a human, so they warn us. The ones who are shitty at warning tend to be the ones that survive near humans and reproduce to create more rattlesnakes that are shitty at warning, leading to more humans being bitten rather than just freaked the fuck out at the sound of the rattle.

When I first moved to this area from the great frozen wastes, the prior owner of the house we ended up buying was an absolute landscape freak. There were so many plants in the back yard you could barely walk through the property. And this in a dry desert environments. I did not like that at all for a multitude of reasons - one among the many being that it gave the creepy crawly critters many places to hide in ambush and reproduce.

One bush in particular was in the way of some bird feeders I needed to replenish often. Every time I did, I would have to stick my leg inside of it in order to reach over for the feeders behind it. Soon after moving in, I hired a landscaper to come in and clean house on a good percentage of the plants in the yard. One of the first being the aforementioned bush.

That afternoon I got a call from the landscaper, that while cutting the bush back in preparation for removal he had found this little guy curled up underneath. Don’t know how long it had been there but like I said. I would stick my leg in there every time I messed with those feeders.

My understanding is that the small ones are more dangerous because the larger ones can regulate how much venom they release and generally won’t release much in a defensive bite Whereas the small ones will give you every thing they got.

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[DickensCPA]

Yep. The trade gives you a lot of bargaining leverage in this market. Let me guess, Autonation Jeep West on Colfax?

I do the tax return for about 27 new car dealerships. One is my very best friend in the world since kids but his is a Ford dealership and I'm just not a Ford guy. Only one of the 27 is a Jeep dealer.

I say that to say I see the ins and outs of how these places work but I also have an in where I can bow up and not get screwed because I could screw them back.

Here is what I've noticed in this post COVID climate:
1) Dealers want to charge you a premium for a used vehicle because it's COVID and vehicles are hard to come by and supply is short and demand is high.
2) Dealers do NOT want to reciprocate when giving you a trade in value. They want to buy YOUR vehicle for pre-COVID prices.
3) EVERYONE wants to use COVID as an excuse to get THEM out of something but don't want to hear it's COVID on both sides.

I'm dealing with Gupton as we speak and here's where I'm having my disconnect:
I built a Jeep with exactly what I wanted and Gupton has one just like it on the lot. I'm told I'm not getting penalized in any way for this if I choose to get that one instead of waiting on a build. They match perfectly down to the color.

I'm toying with leasing in case I don't like not having a full size truck but not sold on it so probably buy it. Jeep website says $709/mo for 60 months or lease 36 mos for $370/month and I chose the 15k miles per year deal. I'm actually doing 39 mos but website doesn't have that option. 39 over 36 months actually saves about $50/month.

Using the exact same trade in value and down pmt info Gupton's sheet has me paying $875/mo if I buy and $649/mo if I lease it 39 months. What am I missing? According to the sheet there are no add ons I wasn't aware of.

 

[Sazabi19]

I do the tax return for about 27 new car dealerships. One is my very best friend in the world since kids but his is a Ford dealership and I'm just not a Ford guy. Only one of the 27 is a Jeep dealer.

I say that to say I see the ins and outs of how these places work but I also have an in where I can bow up and not get screwed because I could screw them back.

Here is what I've noticed in this post COVID climate:
1) Dealers want to charge you a premium for a used vehicle because it's COVID and vehicles are hard to come by and supply is short and demand is high.
2) Dealers do NOT want to reciprocate when giving you a trade in value. They want to buy YOUR vehicle for pre-COVID prices.
3) EVERYONE wants to use COVID as an excuse to get THEM out of something but don't want to hear it's COVID on both sides.

I'm dealing with Gupton as we speak and here's where I'm having my disconnect:
I built a Jeep with exactly what I wanted and Gupton has one just like it on the lot. I'm told I'm not getting penalized in any way for this if I choose to get that one instead of waiting on a build. They match perfectly down to the color.

I'm toying with leasing in case I don't like not having a full size truck but not sold on it so probably buy it. Jeep website says $709/mo for 60 months or lease 36 mos for $370/month and I chose the 15k miles per year deal. I'm actually doing 39 mos but website doesn't have that option. 39 over 36 months actually saves about $50/month.

Using the exact same trade in value and down pmt info Gupton's sheet has me paying $875/mo if I buy and $649/mo if I lease it 39 months. What am I missing? According to the sheet there are no add ons I wasn't aware of.

Taxes and other fees for 1. A recent dealer also told me that the price very specifically says it's an "example" and that's only IF they can get you the current rate, he said at the moment they couldn't get that rate. *shrugs*. The site lease numbers will ALWAYS be lower than what you will pay because it can't factor everything in, regardless of manufacturer. Sometimes, it's way lower.

Also, about your talking about 36 vs 39mo, that's only true sometimes. If you look at other vehicles on the site some are better at 36mo, some have better price at 48 (where others will be higher, I think the Wrangler may be like this?). Just because you chose 39mo doesn't mean it will be cheaper than 36, that's up to their magic formula. They don't like giving you more miles on the lease either, so they will make you pay quite a bit more for those extra 3k from 12k.

 

[DickensCPA]

Gupton told me 39 mos was the sweet spot. Even the sheet they gave me had a $50 drop per month going from 36–>39 months.

If Jeep can’t build a calculator for their own site for their own vehicles with their own magic formulas built in then I hope they spend more time on the electronics of their vehicles. If it was a couple bucks off that’s one thing, but $300?!

I guess my frustration is this kiddie shell game. Since we’ve been in COVID I’ve bought three vehicles - two new and one used. The process was look at it on dealers web page and check price. Look at sticker on window for price, ok they match. Try to talk salesman down off his price and up on my trade.

If I was unsuccessful I had a decision to make, walk away or pay their advertised price. I’ve never went to finance to stroke a check and wondered, how much is this thing.

Ive NEVER bought a vehicle and traded in a vehicle with equity and put sizable cash down and financed MORE than advertised price plus TTL.

There are a couple Ford dealers around here ripping people for over MSRP on Broncos but it’s at least on the window.

You guys have been awesome and I appreciate it but apparently I’m too dumb to buy a Jeep. I gave my son my Rubicon, I’ll just keep my truck and borrow his Jeep if I do anything the truck can’t handle.

 

[nlicalsi91]

Don’t trade in your TJ for a gladiator. I traded in my 2015 jku sahara and regret it. I purchased the gladiator Willy’s 11/23/21 with 11 miles on it. I’m now at 5,900 miles. The transmission shifts horribly and the rear axle seal is leaking on the passenger side. I don’t have the time to bring it in with work right now. I’m about to trade it back in for another JK or something else entirely.
My experience doesn’t mean you will have the same but your TJ is a classic and I regret my trade in every day. If the gladiator wasn’t acting up or giving me issues I know I’d have a different opinion. Just don’t do anything impulsive.

 

[DickensCPA]

Don’t trade in your TJ for a gladiator. I traded in my 2015 jku sahara and regret it. I purchased the gladiator Willy’s 11/23/21 with 11 miles on it. I’m now at 5,900 miles. The transmission shifts horribly and the rear axle seal is leaking on the passenger side. I don’t have the time to bring it in with work right now. I’m about to trade it back in for another JK or something else entirely.
My experience doesn’t mean you will have the same but your TJ is a classic and I regret my trade in every day. If the gladiator wasn’t acting up or giving me issues I know I’d have a different opinion. Just don’t do anything impulsive.

I’m not trading the Rubi, my son is taking it over. I’ll keep 4WD full-size truck. It’s an Avalanche with a lift and set up for hunting, kayak bass tournaments, camping and pulling my bass boat.

That’s why even though I have a Rubi I had to have a second vehicle (not to mention a wife and two kids). I could pull my ATV on a trailer and hunt but no where to put a dead deer. Pulling my kayak trailer with the Rubi is no factor. Now it REALLY struggles with my bass boat. Hills are rough and you have to think ahead when it’s time to stop and if it gets squirrelly the boat controls the Jeep not the other way around.

That’s why when the Gladiator came out I thought my problems were solved. I assumed the Gladiator had the power to handle my boat.

 

[shawnebell]

Yeah, I worked at a few dealers. None of them did that (certainly not on the Jeeps I sold!).

There are plenty of dealers out there, and most actually want to sell vehicles. You ran into one that did not. And that's cool; make sure you leave a Google and Yelp review about them and their shady business practices.

If there addendum wasn't on the Jeep, then they can't charge you for it. If you don't want the "extras" on the Jeep then tell them you'll buy it for Invoice +$200 and they have to take all that stuff off or it's no deal. They won't, but you did give them an offer.

Also, it doesn't hurt to report them to JeepCares.

In the end, go to another dealership; it's not like there's only one Gladiator out there - and there are PLENTY that are just like the one you saw (and you can order one, too). But - to be sure you make your mark - DO put up reviews. You're not hitting them where it hurts by buying elsewhere, but you are if you're vocal about their business practices.

 

[Snap]

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.

Im

 

[Snap]

Im not surprised at all. These Jeeper dealerships can be some serious scam artists. I just had a bad experience with one in Southern Maryland.

 

[DirkG]

Gupton told me 39 mos was the sweet spot. Even the sheet they gave me had a $50 drop per month going from 36–>39 months.

If Jeep can’t build a calculator for their own site for their own vehicles with their own magic formulas built in then I hope they spend more time on the electronics of their vehicles. If it was a couple bucks off that’s one thing, but $300?!

Brad, being a CPA I'm assuming you're very good with numbers. While I haven't read all the posts here, I've read enough to see you're competent and seem to be asking the right questions.

I have my MBA, was an Economics major, and a tight-ass with money. Ha. I've leased every vehicle my wife and I have owned (later buy if like the vehicle) for over 25 years. You didn't mention down-payment (that I can see) in your monthly totals, but as you know, they often hide the "total drive-off" when quoting lease payments. My guess is the website and dealer's "drive-offs" were different (hence the $300 or so monthly difference). Especially considering dealers are hiding all sorts of "fees" during this strange COVID era.

That being said, the high money factors, hidden dealer mark-ups, and nebulous residual values (based on the ridiculous current prices) have lease payments all over the map. I honestly wouldn't touch a lease right now (on any vehicle).

It sounds like you've moved on from the Gladiator, but if you stay the course and decide to get one, I think the best move is to order one from Gupton (for purchase) and then sell your Avalanche either privately or to a place like Carvana. Avalanches go for a ton of money - at least here in SoCal.

Good luck ?

 

[Gatorjeep2021]

Bought mine about 8 mths ago HA2021 they had on lot (3) picked the snazzleberry i had drivin a few models in town at diff dealers and a ford bronco test drive did most ppwk online drove to ft lauderdale ( only one with a HA ) from orlando, gave them DP check and drove home..inside the dealer for bout 15 min )

 

[DickensCPA]

I'm not one of those newbs that comes in, gripes and disappears. LOL! Tax season has kicked my tail this year.

I couldn't let the Gladiator go, I had to scratch that itch. I think we're in the final stages and close to a deal.

 

[DickensCPA]

I know this is going to sound awful - and it does go against my grain but sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do.

I don't know whether the original dealer saw this post, had a change of heart or saw that I was standing my ground or what but after a period of time they called me. I told them EXACTLY what I was willing to do and told them to add in a LineX bed liner to the price and we came to an agreement. They sent me the paperwork yesterday and apparently accidentally left the bed liner out of the price. I caught it and brought it to their attention and to my surprise he got back to me and said they were doing it anyway and not adjusting my price.

A big part of me doesn't want to give them my business but I'm not gonna cut off my nose to spite my face. I guess the prudent thing to have done would've been order one and wait but they have exactly what I want and it's right there. I'm not really known for my patience unfortunately.

 

[shokker70]

I know this is going to sound awful - and it does go against my grain but sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do.

I don't know whether the original dealer saw this post, had a change of heart or saw that I was standing my ground or what but after a period of time they called me. I told them EXACTLY what I was willing to do and told them to add in a LineX bed liner to the price and we came to an agreement. They sent me the paperwork yesterday and apparently accidentally left the bed liner out of the price. I caught it and brought it to their attention and to my surprise he got back to me and said they were doing it anyway and not adjusting my price.

A big part of me doesn't want to give them my business but I'm not gonna cut off my nose to spite my face. I guess the prudent thing to have done would've been order one and wait but they have exactly what I want and it's right there. I'm not really known for my patience unfortunately.

Don't sweat it. I've had dealers piss me off before. Leave and then come back because they made it right. As long as you're happy, roll with it.

 

[DickensCPA]

Don't sweat it. I've had dealers piss me off before. Leave and then come back because they made it right. As long as you're happy, roll with it.

BTW, the color of your Gladiator in your avatar pic is AWESOME. I shoot archery tournaments (Nock On) and fish bass tournaments (Googan) and that green is my color. I love that color.

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