I know dealerships are generally shady, but I cannot believe how dishonest and overpriced they can be. I have looked at 3 trucks in the last 2 weeks. I'm looking for something newer with a 3rd row for my wife and kids.

1st truck - 2003 discovery. This truck isn't on my list, but it's by the office so I stopped in. After telling me how clean the truck is, and how great we walk out and give it a look. The first thing I noticed were the back tires did not match and the fuel door was open. It would not close due to a broken latch. All 4 fender flares were almost white and the truck had about 15 small dents in it. As I said, I was primarily kicking tires anyway, but after looking at my 04 he said "well you know from owning one these are $60,000 trucks and I have this one marked all the way down to $9700". I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

2nd truck - 2006 Range rover sport. This was at a local Cadillac dealership that has a great reputation in town. It doesn't have a 3rd row, but I looked at it anyway b/c SWMBO likes them. it looked okay from a distance and had 80k on the clock. The truck had been buffed so hard that the paint was missing at the edge of the back fender and the land rover symbol was almost completely silver. The range rover letters on the bonnet were raw as well. Again, I know it is a 7 year old truck but I was told over the phone that it was a one owner local truck in immaculate condition. Asking price 30k!

3rd truck - 2006 LR3 HSE7- my ultimate choice. Truck was immaculate and well cared for. It was bought new by the owner of the dealership. Ultimately the miles were higher than I was looking for at 120k, but his asking price was $23,000. When I asked if he was neg because of other trucks in the area with lower miles being much cheaper, he just told me that if I drove an SE I would think it was garbage and realize his truck was a steal.

All in all, the last guy was honest (just delusional or loves his truck too much) but the other ones are just selling a dream that isn't there. I am just curious if people actually buy these stories or just pay that much for these trucks used? Sorry for the long rant, I am extremely frustrated with the whole shopping experience. The only car I have ever bought used from a dealership was my current VW. They were honest on the phone about the one small ding in the back fender, willing to negotiate more than I expected and I got a fair price on a nice documented one owner car. Do they think people looking at land Rovers are dumb? I found one more truck that I want to look at. If this dealer is the same, it will be private party only from here on out.

On another note, anyone have any experience with Bear Valley in Roswell, GA?

 

I don't have personal experience with them, but I have heard/read mixed reviews. But that doesn't mean anything, because reviews are found on the internet and aren't very reliable. Neither are recommendations from 3rd party sellers.

When I was shopping for my truck, I looked at one in Roswell from a private seller and when I asked her about some things that I would've liked to see replaced before I offered her what she was asking, she called Bear Valley to get prices. They were so expensive that she wasn't willing to purchase the parts and reflect that over to my offer. I didn't buy the truck. So in essence, I can't really say about their service, just what their prices are... which aren't much different than the dealership costs.

You'd be better off finding your parts on AB, RovahFarm, or from Paul Grant (highly recommended! ) and IF you can do the work yourself...

 

As far as maintenance, that's all done here. I don't trust anyone else with my truck (sounds silly I know due to my lack of experience). They have 2 trucks in going to look at next week. Well see..