Buying A Truck....

Nope just waiting for the Dealer to open up in the A.M. Down here visiting family and picking up my truck.

 

Picking up a temp one way permit....Driving the truck home.... I wont have it on the road for a few weeks, I can go to my local IRP office and IFTA office and get my plates the same day. I should be on the road the following week. Also we have a local office to pay the feds... All set man...

 

Well I am still down in Nashville.... I went to pick up My truck "That I was told was ready with a full PM and Annual DOT inspection. I pulled in the lot... They had a chain hooked to the front of the truck pulling it off of a cement pad in front of their shop dragging it with the tandems just a hopping across the cement "No air to release brakes" Not a happy camper! I went over to find out what was going on .. They ran it out of fuel...They had just put 20 gallons of fuel in a 300 gallon fuel system and continued to try and start the truck until they ran the batteries dead.... I went for some breakfast figured I would give them some time to get it primed and running etc.

I get back from breakfast.... Still not running "Thinking to myself THIS IS NOT GOOD" They had 3 weeks to have the truck ready for delivery. And I was told last week it was all set and ready to go. any way ... I go over and talk to them... Mention that with it on such a steep side slope that maybe it was not picking up fuel "Only about 20 gallons in tanks" So they dragged it into the shop. Fought with it using a snort of ether to get it to fire. After about 2 hours they got it fired up , in which I noticed a very bad Exhaust leak under the hood and under the passenger side muffler. "NOT GOOD" It has a fresh DOT inspection .... So I'm thinking to myself What else did they just overlook and skimp on.

I check it out .... Inside and out... Take it for a test drive..... Shaking and hopping all over the road..." 8 New caps on drives " Figure OK one is out of round , never felt it in the steering wheel... It drove straight and braked straight without holding the wheel... It starts spitting and sputtering... Great it's out of fuel or about to run out... Made it back to the yard about 20 miles or so ... Get out look things over again.... Oh nice ..Major oil leak from the pan seal .... And lifted the hood.... Hmmm Nice...Where did that ping / knock come from ????? Not good... I drove down here for a truck that was supposed to be ready to go remember...

I get on the phone with the Truck dealer..."In CALIFORNIA" Let them know whats going on... They were not happy.... They Bent over backwards for me... One of the owners hopped on a plain to Nashville , I will see you in the morning he said.. I think to myself good deal... They need to see this for themselves that I am not just being picky about such mentioned problems that have occurred.

Next morning sure enough , I get a call ... Your right he says , the truck has a few issues that need addressed... He asked me if I was willing to take the truck to a Detroit Dealer and have them give it a once over... I said sure... I get back over to the Lott , He says OH by the way I know you just drove over 100 miles to get here but they cant get it in till tomorrow at the shop we have picked out .... I said NOPE NOT GOOD ENOUGH... It goes in a shop today or I head home to MICHIGAN... I found a Detroit Diesel Service center in Antioch TN .. I took it there and ran it through their service lane.... The first thing they noticed was a Cracked center piece in the Exhaust Manifold.... Caused by a bad charge air cooler.... The second was a major oil leak at the oil cooler... Oil running down the pan..... They put it on diagnostics , a few minor codes came up. Bad or low ECM Battery..... No big deal it's been sitting for a while they said...

So now they have it all tore down... Replacing the Exhaust manifold... And Noticed the waste gate in the turbo is shot...Caused from supper heating the Exhaust manifold from the Bad Charge Air Cooler.... They figure if that's shot that the Impellers in the turbo are also shot....Want us to replace the turbo too they ask?? Well yes I do thank you!

I am sure glad I did not sign on the dotted line for this truck yet... And I wont sign for it until all the repairs are made and I hear from the Detroit dealer that it has a clean bill of health...

Now the Truck dealer In California wants me to Overnight them the rest of my down payment before they will authorise the repairs that need to be made to the truck...

And The DDD has not even had a chance to putt the truck on the Dyno or check for Air in the fuel system yet... Which could run around another $2000.00 for a set of injectors if they are found to be bad.

The Truck Sales is trying to say That they are at the DDD's mercy now....
No they are just doing there job.... Saving me from footing the bill on all these repairs that need to be done for the truck to be ready for the road.

I must say the Detroit Diesel Service Center In Antioch, TN has impressed me.... They are looking out for my best interest and making sure I don't send any money back to the Truck Dealer ... Without hearing from them that the Truck is ready and has no major problems that the Truck Dealer wont pay for or authorise....

Needless to say I will not send any Money or a signed Contract Purchase order on this truck until I have heard from the Service Dept.

If they make things right great...
If they don't .... Then is it OK to list the Truck Dealer as a bad company to deal with??
I sure would hate to see this go the wrong way , And I think it's only fair to let everyone know that these guys will.........

A... Make things right or B....Waste your time and money....


What do you guys think..... They send someone out to check things out...Good..

But they want a contract on a truck that's in need of major work, and the repairs have not been paid for at the shop , and there still may be more that needs fixed after they get the exhaust manifold back on and get it on the Dyno...

 

10/4 on that......

I just got off the phone with them on this issue....

The truck dealer has authorised the repairs that the Detroit has found to this point.....

But the bill could keep adding up.......

The truck dealer has been very good to me so far.... I just have a very hard time sending a check and a Signed Contract for the truck at this point.... I am not stupid... But sometimes I trust people when they show good faith... And sometimes that can set you up to get burnt...

I think they have went out of their way to make me happy thus far....
But I have to stand my ground....

Get it fixed ! I will send you your documents and a check...
Until then I sit and wait..Keep in touch with Detroit and hope it all works out for everyone involved....