Truck Topics

A Truck Buying Adventure

Leo Bricker, who is also known as "LDB" on the EO Open Forums where he serves as a Moderator, recently went truck shopping.  Even though he was shopping with "cash in hand", he didn't receive the kind of top-shelf service one would expect for a cash customer.

Here's his story:

Leo begins, "Buying a new truck should be similar to buying a new car, but on a larger scale. Driving onto the lot at a car dealer gives one a feeling akin to being the only flower at a bee convention.  I didn't expect to be swarmed on at the truck dealer, but I naively thought the salespeople would be interested in selling a truck."
 
"Initially, I planned to purchase a day cab and have a custom sleeper installed. I gathered information from sleeper manufacturers ARI and ICT to figure out just what layout I'd want and how it would integrate with the chassis. It was very easy to do with the well-designed website with excellent engineering drawings of the sleepers as well as pricing on everything."
 
He continues, "My chassis choice was narrowed to a class 8 on Volvo, KW, or Western Star platform. Initially I pursued the Volvo. I was a short distance away from a dealer during a 10-hour off duty break, so I went in to talk to them."

"They saw my current truck so they knew I was in the business already. I told him my plans and that the money was already set up and I was hoping to order it yesterday and pick it up tomorrow.  Obviously, that was impossible, but the point was that I was serious and an immediate buyer."
 
"Things started out well and within a few days I had a preliminary spec sheet.  There were a few things to change, but nothing major. I emailed the specs to another dealer to get a comparison opinion and a quote. The second dealer responded quickly, said they'd love to get my business and that he would get back to me."

He continues, "I made a couple of follow-up phone calls to the first dealer and waited to hear from the second. Neither one called me after that and I quit pursuing them.  Maybe I expect too much but when I am looking at spending six figures with a dealer, I expect them to keep in touch with me."

Leo goes on to say, "After losing about 3 weeks, I decided to look into the KW.  I called a dealer who does a number of expediter trucks and told him what I wanted. He took some notes and made a few suggestions. We concluded we had the right idea to start with and he said that he would have a quote to me in 2 to 3 days."

"By the fifth day I was tired of waiting and I called him.  He apologized and explained that he had been swamped and would get a quote e-mailed no later than the next day. That one never arrived either. I didn't call back and never heard from him again."
 
Leo says that at this point he was beginning to think the only way to get a truck was to order a dozen or more for a fleet. It seemed to him that the salespeople felt the solo operator who was looking for one truck wasn't worth the time or effort.

"And," he says, "I was beginning to think the only way to get a truck was to purchase one of the cookie cutter models built and sold by a few of the dealers around the country."

"I pursued that avenue for a few weeks but no matter how much I said I was ready to buy, I could never get a production/delivery date or a price quote. I finally gave up on that one as well."
 
"I got home shortly after that for an extended stay. Soon after I arrived, I went to a Kenworth dealer- Performance Kenworth - which was close to my home in Houston. The receptionist asked how I could be helped. I briefly explained my desire to find someone willing to sell a truck and who would follow through to delivery. She said that she had just the person to help me and introduced me to salesman Fred Sargent."

"We spent the next few hours discussing exactly what my intentions and desires were. While most of my ideas were good, there were a few items I was unaware of.  He pointed them out to me and together we came up with specs for an excellent expediting truck."

Leo adds, "Fred introduced me to the sales manager, Danny Ortega.  After I left Fred and Danny, I went over the specs again and came up with a few more ideas to enhance the truck."
 
"Fred and Danny have remained in contact and have kept me updated with the status and progress of the build. They also put me in touch with the body builder. It will all be done and invoiced through them, so I will just have one stop to complete the transaction." 

This is what I expected all along from the other four dealers! Any of them could have had another sale if they had just kept in touch and provided the information I needed."

"I'm glad they didn't though because Performance Kenworth has truly performed for me.  Fred, Danny and this dealership are now my only recommendation to anyone interested in a quality vehicle with absolute top quality customer service."

Leo concludes, "I don't plan on doing this again for some time, but when I do, I know it will be as easy and enjoyable as I originally envisioned, at least if Fred and Danny are still with Performance."

Leo's new ride

So what truck did Leo come up with?
I wanted to move up to a Class 8 truck for a number of reasons, increased payload, durability, increased service life, etc. 

He decided on a 2006 KW W900 "B" with tandem rears along with an 86" integral studio sleeper with sofa and pull-down upper bunk.  Other sleeper amenities include TV, microwave, fridge and VCR/DVD.

He tells us that he has tentative plans to have an ICT conversion package installed later with sink, holding tanks and sink.

The truck will mount a 22' Morgan cargo box with oversize opening and roll-up door.  Leo has also mounted Holland power landing legs with in-cab controls as well as a Waltco 2500 lb.-capacity liftgate. Leo calculates that his payload capacity will be around 26,000 lbs.

Basic truck spec's:
Engine - Cummins ISX 450HP
Transmission - Dana Roadranger 18-speed
Rear end gearing - 3.25
Willis APU (Generator)

The truck was ordered in September and recently arrived at the dealership.  It is currently in the upfit process and Leo hopes to have the truck up and running within a few weeks. 

Look for future updates on Leo's new ride!