ComplaintsforG & J Truck Sales

• Initial Complaint

  12/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ***************************************************************************************** Buyer Beware! Our company purchased this truck on 11-10-22 the salesman stated it would make the trip 700 miles per Our request. We arrived to pick up the truck on 11-15-22 and upon physical inspection we found the truck wasn't DOT Complient. the truck had an exhaust leak @ the turbo, an air leak on the primary air tank from rusting through, headlights were inoperable, only 2 cab markers operable, left rear turn signal inoperable, passenger side wiper inoperable, air leveler broken & wired/taped together, broken passenger side spot mirror, passenger side door inoperable, fifth wheel air cylinder missing and locks held together with bailing wire, fifth wheel doesn't pivot, we were told this was a good local trade, this truck appears to have been unmaintained. we spent $3150 on brake linings, brake drums, Wheel seals & an engine PM service including air, fuel & oil filters. the engine won't start without first spraying either in the air filter. the exhaust leak can be smelt in the cab as the transmission shift cover wasn't bolted down and all bolts missing. We requested that the dealer purchase the truck back after inspection and the truck not being DOT Complient, the salesman stated that the dealer wouldn't purchase back for the full price we paid. they offered us $3000 less than we paid for the unit even after we spent $3150 on upgrades, they stated that the upgrades wouldn't increase the value of the unit for resale. we ultimately sold the unit back to the dealer @ a loss, we begrudgingly sold the unit back to the dealer @ a loss, the truck was in just to much of a state of disrepair to continue to throw good money @ bad. we made the mistake of wiring the payment in full before seeing the unit in person, we took the word of the salesman which turns out to have been very deceptive. we had to send a signed title back to the dealer before we could receive a refund payment.

  

  Business response

  02/07/2023

  First and foremost, the customer did not purchase the said truck from G&J Truck Sales, Inc. in Groom Texas. He purchased the truck from the dealership in Amarillo where he picked the unit up. So, his complaint has nothing to do with G&J Truck Sales, Inc. Next, he was sold a 1997-year truck that was owned by a local farmer. The farmer had used the truck in the last harvest of 2022, before the farmer traded the truck. So, the truck does and did run and drive. When asked about the condition of the truck, it was stated that it does run and drive but it is a 25-year-old truck so obviously it was not perfect and would need repairs before being perfect. That is expected when purchasing a truck of that age.

  A pre-purchase inspection is always recommended to all of any customer that is buying a piece of equipment, new or used.  While most customers do come inspect before purchasing, some customers do not. All trucks (at most used truck dealerships) are sold as/is how/is and where/is with all faults. With that said, the customer might use that technique for future purchases.

  When the customer arrived for the truck, he stated he did not know if the truck would make the trip but did not want to take the chance without doing some minor repairs, which he did at a local shop. At some point, the customer decided that he did not want to try and drive the truck home, after committing to the repairs. So, obviously, his repair bill has nothing to do with his complaint. 

  I would also like to add that when the customer decided against the truck, we gave him the option to trade for another piece of equipment or sell it to us outright. He chose to sell it to us outright. Obviously, it makes no sense to pay the same price for a piece of equipment as the price you plan to sell it for. We offered him a lesser value and he ultimately chose to take the offer. We did not twist his arm or force him to take the offer. I believe we actually offered to let him park it on the yard and let him try to sell the truck himself.  

  All used truck dealerships try to avoid complaints such as this, but this complaint is not the fault of the dealership. Pre-purchase inspections are always recommended. All trucks are sold as/is no warranty. Every customer that purchases used trucks know this and signs an invoice that states this. The customer chose not to try and drive the truck home after paying the repair bill. That was his choice, but had it been me, I believe I would have tried it before taking a loss. That is just my opinion. 

  Customer response

  02/12/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  When we first spoke with salesman **** ******* he stated that the truck would require "a small sniff of either" to start after sitting for an extended period of time, he also stated that the truck had "a small exhaust leak" being a heavy line mechanic for the last 36 years this was of concern, most engines needing either to assist in starting usually have worn rings and cylinders, the cost to overhaul the engine in this truck would be greater than the value of the truck.

  We lost interest at this point, the next day we received a phone call from the salesman stating that the truck he previously mentioned needing either and having an exhaust leak was a different truck that he had previously sold. this in fact turned out to be a false statement from the salesman.

  We arrived on November 16th to pick up the unit from the repair shop, upon pre trip inspection we realized that the truck did indeed need either to start and had an excessive exhaust leak in front of the drivers compartment due to the exhaust pipe rusting through. this in fact is not acceptable by federal law.

  We attempted to call the salesman upon this discovery as the truck wasn't DOT Complient and wouldn't make the trip to Arizona in its current condition. the phone call wasn't answered so a message was left for the salesman. we also attempted to reach the salesman via text message but received no response.

  We decided to make a list of parts in an attempt to make the truck Complient enough to make the trip to Arizona. Our driver (myself) worked on the truck for over 4 hours only to find a never ending list of problems, the worst being an electrical short in the wiring harness causing the fuse panel to overheat and melt the rear taillight fuse, this along with the exhaust leak was enough for us to make the decision not to relocate the truck to Arizona via driving the truck.

  We explored all options to relocate the truck to Arizona including sending another one of our units with a low boy, we had to look at the value of the 25 year old truck and whether our company would be able to get our initial investment back via Auction / Parts / Resale, we weren't able to come up with a scenario that our company wouldn't take a loss. the statement that we never attempted to relocate the truck to avoid a loss is False!

  We decided the best course of action for our business was to sell the truck back to **** truck sales, we were offered to trade out for another truck but the dealership didn't have a truck that fit our application. we did attempt to trade out the truck for a trailer that the dealership had at located at G&J truck sales, we were informed that they wanted an additional $1000 to do the trade even though the trailer was priced for a lesser amount than we paid for the truck, we respectfully declined.

  Our company dealt with **** truck sales in good faith and feel that the dealership didn't deal with us in good faith. in fact we were deceived by False statements from the salesman. we were never allowed to have a conversation directly with management, every conversation was translated by the salesman. this was very unfortunate as information can be lost in a third party translation.

  We would like to point out that this truck purchase was done with a Dealership that has a BBB A+ accredited rating and not on ********** / ** *********** or a Private individual.

  We are requesting that the Dealership refund the entire purchase price of $15,000 that they initially received for the purchase, we have received a check from G&J truck sales in the amount of $12,000 (see attached picture) we also included pictures of the condition of the brakes before repairs were completed.

  We elected to do the brake repairs as well as other repaired items in an attempt to make the truck compliant, we understand that the repairs were done of our own accord. we did leave the truck in better condition than when we picked it up, we know there is additional value in the repairs we had done. this should only help the dealership to sell the truck in the future.

  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ******

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