I started my search for a Ford F250 Tremor sometime in June of 2022. But it was a shitty time to buy a new vehicle. Dealerships that had inventory took advantage of the tight market and charged outrageous markups on popular vehicles.
The Ford F250 Super Duty Tremor was no exception. I used Ford’s website to find inventory and then contacted the dealerships. It was crazy. The most expensive truck I found came with a $20,000 markup + a $5,999 dealer add-on. Since I had very specific requirements it turned into a frustrating search. There were just not many vehicles out there.
I was looking for a F250 Tremor with the 7.3 Ltr. V8 Godzilla engine and a minimum of the Lariat Ultimate package. If a vehicle had the factory winch and few other add-ons it would have been even better, but I wanted to be flexible enough to have at least some options. But no matter what I found, having to deal with greedy dealerships was frustrating. I refused to pay anything above MSRP.
In early July I decided to take a break from searching and let more inventory hit the market. Towards the end of July, I traveled to Houston to visit friends and used the opportunity to restart my search. I found a few matching vehicles in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio but dealing with Ford dealerships in Texas was even more awful than before. The worst was a dealership in San Antonio. Their truck came with a markup and then what they called the “Texas Protection Package” dealer add-on. When I asked what the Texas Protection Package included I almost fell off my chair. Window tint and a clear-coat represented the add-on.
But while in Houston I went back to scan Ford’s website for new vehicles again and I found another 2022 F250 Tremor at a small dealership just outside of Salt Lake City in Utah. I contacted the dealership and the first thing the sales rep mentioned on the phone, that they do not charge any markups or dealer add-ons. Without hesitation, I told them “You just sold the truck. How can I make a deposit?”
I just bought a truck
When I got off the phone I told my friend who was staring at me “I just bought a freaking pickup truck in Utah!”. I was stunned. This came so unexpectedly I could barely contain myself. But now I needed to work out the logistics.
Friday a week later my 17 year-old son and I rented a car from Hertz Car Rental and drove up to Salt Lake City. Little did we know that this car rental experience would turn into a shitshow. To say at least – I will never ever rent another vehicle from Hertz ever again.
We arrived in Salt Lake City late Friday evening (August 5th). We stayed at a hotel south of the metro area and would drive to Labrum Ford in Heber City the following morning to finalize the purchase. We would then drop off the rental in Park City and drive the F250 back to San Diego. We arrived at the dealership in Heber City at around 9.00 AM and were greeted by Jacksen, our sales person. We completed the remaining paperwork, I wrote my check to pay for the truck and off we went.
We drove to Park City, Utah to drop off the rental car at a local Hertz office that was located within a hotel. To my surprise the office was closed. When I talked to the hotel staff, the receptionist said to drop the keys in the key dropbox at the office and the Hertz staff would complete the rental on Monday morning.
My son and I started driving south towards Interstate 15. We grabbed some food before getting onto the highway. The road trip back home was uneventful. The truck did great on the highway and it was a fun drive. We arrived back home (Vista, CA) by about 9 PM.
Monday morning I woke up to an alert on my phone. My bank had flagged a charge on my credit card as potential fraudulent. The charge came from Hertz Car Rental. I had a bad feeling about this, but declined the charge and canceled the credit card. For the rest of the day I received automated phone calls from Hertz asking me to return the rental car or else. The messages were threatening in nature and I became really upset. There was no easy option to contact Hertz. I am still amazed (in a negative way) how difficult it was to get to talk to a live person at Hertz. I also tried to get a hold of the Hertz office in Park City, but nobody answered the phone and I was forced to leave messages. Late afternoon I received a phone from Hertz in Park City asking me what the fuss was about. I explained my situation and was promised that they would mark the vehicle as returned in the system. It still took several hours for that to be completed and then the threatening phone calls from Hertz finally stopped. I really wonder how Hertz can offer me to return the car to an office that is obviously closed on weekends and then start charging my credit card before that office would open for business on Monday?! As mentioned, I will never ever rent a vehicle from Hertz ever again. !@#$%