Oldgator73 said:
If this is correct why can't you go to a dealership and ask if they have a truck, outfitted with your options with X payload that can tow X. If you can sit down at the dealer and order such a truck shouldn't they have a database with the parameters I mentioned above? Or do they? If look on a Ford or Chevy or Dodge dealers web site, I have to rely on the companies (Ford.com, etc) to get some idea of what a particular truck will tow and that trucks payload. So you do have to visit the dealership and check all the yellowvstickers on all the trucks you are interested in to find the one that fits your needs.
It's correct, but here's the rub. A lot of dealers are just to lazy to go through that amount of work for a sale. The average truck salesman is just that....a salesman. He knows colors, options on packages, rebates that may be in effect, and all the "normal" stuff. The dealerships that cater to folks that need a truck to work with....towing trailers for construction, business, RVs, etc. will have "fleet salesmen". These are the guys that know how to use the available information to get you exactly what you need for your towing capabilities. The fleet salesman or fleet manager make their living by knowing just what to order and how to spec it out for the exact need of the customer. And the good ones make a very good living doing just that. They know that when they place an order for a truck that has to be exactly what Mr. Customer, business owner, construction superintendent, or even the RV owner that has specific needs, they HAVE to be correct and that is the difference between a car/truck salesman and a fleet guy....either salesman or manager. So, it can be done, you just have to go to the right person to get it correct. The car/truck sales guy is going to talk "purdy stuff" to you....the fleet guy is going to talk payload, towing capacities, GVCWRs, and all the stuff that a specific truck can do for you. Many of us aren't even aware that within the dealership, there are guy (or gals) that are dedicated to that kind of buyer.....we just talk to the first salesman that approaches us on the lot and work with them....and we assume that they know what they are doing, because they are "truck salesmen"!
I sold new Ford cars and truck for a living for a while and I was a car/truck salesman. I was instructed that if I had a potential buyer come in, and it was my turn on the floor to work with that customer, and he needed a truck like what I've been referring to, I was to take him to our fleet manager and introduce them so that the fleet manager could get him fixed up with exactly what he wanted. I certainly didn't know all of the ins and outs of the heavy truck side of sales, so why risk screwing something up and making an uphappy customer out of it....take him to the fleet manager.....the guy that knows what he's doing with that type of truck request. Of course if that happened, and I had to turn over a customer to the fleet guy, it didn't cause me to "lose my turn" on the sales floor, I went back to the front of the line and tried to work with the next customer that came in. It was a win/win for me and the dealership.
