Need opinion

[cowboydoc]

Last night I bought a 97 Ford Dually 4x4 pickup to use on my ranch. I didn't really need the diesel and it was just a gasser that had a little high on the miles. Just needed something to replace the one I currently have for the ranch as it is about shot. Well to make a long story short I knew the previous owner and that he had taken care of it. I offered them $500 over what they paid him for it and they accepted. In our talks I had thought they told me it had the bigger V-8 in it. Well it needed brakes and so the mechanic stopped by to look at it at the office and asked why I bought the small V-8. I said no it was the big V-8. Well sure enough it was the small V-8. I immediately called the dealer and said I wanted to return it as it was the small V-8 and I needed the big V-8 to haul trailers and such and this pickup wouldn't work. He said that he wouldn't give me my money back and I was basically stuck with it. He said he would call and see if any other dealers wanted to buy it. He called back and said the best he could do was a $1000 less than what I paid him for it last night. I called the bank and the check hasn't gone through yet. My question to you guys is should I just return the truck and put a stop payment on the check or keep the truck and sell it myself? Thanks for any input. BTW all I did was drive it from his lot to my house to the office today.

 

[Von]

Richard, I don't know your state laws, but here in NY you have 3 days to return any car from a dealer if you don't like it. Provided you did not damage it. I would make him take it back and talk to the owner, not the salesman. Word of mouth will kill a dealership fast! If the word gets out how shady they are, people will stay away from them. Also I would stop payment now on the check, he'll take it back then for sure!

 

[looch]

Geez Doc, tough spot you're in. The dealer doesn't sound very reasonable - just saying sorry and not even willing to offer possible compromises. Why wouldn't he use this as an opportunity to guarantee himself a sale the next time a dually comes in with a big block. Or he could charge you a "rental" fee for the amount of time you had it. I don't think 500$ is a very big mark up on a dually - you'd think he'd be happy to get a chance to sell it for more.

Not sure about the law out there, but morally I don't see anything wrong with you stopping that payment and returning the vehicle - as long as you tell him that's what's going to happen.

Paul

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Richard:
I concur with Von except the part about stopping payment on the check. I'm afraid I have to recommend you talk to your lawyer about that one. Stopping payment sometimes carries penalties under negotiable instrument law for doing so except under particular circumstances. Your state law defines those circumstances.
You can also ask the lawyer about the consumer protection law of your state as particularly applied to cars. My understanding is that many states have some protection for a buyer who changes his mind.
Some states have websites with outlines of their consumer protection statutes.

 

[cowboydoc]

I'm not sure about the state law Von. Of course my attorney is gone to a seminar today. Problem is it's a small dealer and the guy I bought it from is the owner. He said he can't take it back because he was going to use the money from selling that pickup to me to buy a another office building. I tryed to tell him if I had known that it wasn't the big block I wouldn't have bought it last night anyway and he would still have the truck but he didn't want to hear that. I appreciate you guys advice. I just wanted to do the right thing.

 

[rmorgan]

Richard--

Sorry you've got to deal with this--no fun. If a client came to me with this one and (1) could for a fact say that he was told that the truck had one engine and then found out it had the other, and (2) the large engine was something the client relied on in deciding to buy the truck, then I'd advise that it was possible to rescind the contract (ie put everybody back where they started). Lawyer types would argue that there was "fraud in the inducement" to the sale contract. BUT in your post, you say that you "thought they told you" it had the bigger engine . . . if you're not sure, then it'd be tough to say that you got snookered, and you'd likely bear the responsibility for making a bad deal. Missing information is what the dealer said when you said they told you it was the big block; did they admit they had done, did they say they thought it was also, or what? (If both of you thought it was, then there is something called a "mutual mistake" which might apply). I guess the bottom line is you could stop payment, drop off the truck with a check to cover title reissuance (if title was delivered to you), mileage, and see what happens--but be ready for a tussle if the dealer takes it the wrong way.

 

[cowboydoc]

Rick,
Thanks for the advice. I asked about the motor and he said it was the bigger motor. He said he meant that it was a v-8 and not a v-6. I took it to mean that it was the 7.4l and not the 5.7l. It was one of those deals where he said if I wrote the check right there he would take the offer and wasn't alot of time to think about it or really study things. It was late and he was past closing and said he had to go if I wanted to do it we had to do it right then. I should have known better and just said give me a day to think about it but I didn't.

 

[cp1969]

There is no V6 in a dually. That can't be what he meant unless he is completely ignorant of the products he sells.

Before you take it back, you might want to hook it up to the heaviest thing you're going to pull and try it. You might be surprised and find out that it has plenty of power anyway.

If it doesn't, though, almost every state allows for a three day period for you to change your mind, and in this instance, you'd be fully justified in doing exactly that.

 

[cowboydoc]

Well yes he was pretty much ignorant about it. That's the same thing I told him on the phone today. He told that there was that option but I didn't argue with him. I did talk to a few mechanics and they all said no way. They said I'd tear up the motor and transmission because it would be hunting gears and shifting hard. What I wanted it for mostly was hauling hay. When I load up the flat bed with round bales we're up in the 20k range. That's way too much to pull for that motor. Plus I wanted to be able to pull this new trailer if I needed to and with four horses and gear we're over 16k on it. I would have tryed it but it doesn't have a gooseneck. That was another reason I had wanted it as this other guy just hauled around a little bumper pull stock trailer with it.

 

[MikePA]

What rear gear does it have in it? That might make it a little better for towing, but not much. My Chevy has the 5.7 liter V8 and it's barely enough power for pulling my 16' gooseneck, much less what you want to use it for. Plus the truck itself is heavier being a 1 ton dually, it has a lot more unladen weight to haul around than my half ton. You mentioned this is a Ford, so I assume it has the 351 V8 in it versus the 460 V8? Why would someone originally order a dually with anything but the large V8 or a diesel?

I agree with others that you have 3 business days to back out of a contract. I'd return it and ask for my money back. If he refuses. I'd get my lawyer involved. Although, if it's going to cost you more than $1,000 in legal fees, you might be better off taking his deal. Once the deal is done, I'd sure let this guy know that you will never be doing business with him and you will not be recommending any one else does. SInce your reputation in the area is no doubt the same as it is here on TBN, I imagine this will carry some weight.