Question for Owner Operators
- Thread starter Lawrence
- Start date
Wingnut
Seasoned Expediter
STADIUM TRUCKS in Binghamton, NY. I've never met more honest & helpful people than the ones who work here. Jeremy/salesman has always gone out of his way for all his customers & even does frequent follow-up calls and visits. They treat everyone who walks thru their door with honesty & respect. Jay & his crew in the parts dept are knowledgable & give you the best price they can. They've even gone out of their way to deliver some much needed part to me and never charged me for delivery. Nate & his crew in the service dept are knowledgable & do a great job at getting your vehicle fixed as quickly as possible.....especially when it's an expedite vehicle. I just can't say enough good about this dealership. They have other branches: Syracuse,NY...Scranton,PA
I give them a ten thumbs up!
I give them a ten thumbs up!
Middle Georgia Freightliner because they've got a good product with a good history. I want a dealer with a mature product and theirs is just such a thing. The folks there that I know are great people to work with and very honest. Heath does a lot for all of us as well as far as supporting expediters and expediting.
Heath makes himself available as an excellent resource on equipment maintenance, selection and repairs for one thing. Any O/O or potential O/O can talk to him and get sound advice and information. They've "been there" for many years as supporters at the Expo and other events where yes, they are promoting their own business but also presenting seminars and information that is strictly information and not their own promotion. I say that to hopefully head off those who will come along to say they aren't doing anything but selling. That just isn't the case. Heath's seminars are not "selling seminars" at all. Other than introducing himself as Heath Woods with MGFL there is no mention and certainly no selling of the dealership or their products.
We bought our truck from Middle Georgia Freightliner and we will go back there for our next truck. Over the past five years we have had to call the dealership for help. We had our air conditioner condenser go out and we were being told no one had any in stock. After talking to the shop at Middle Georgia Freightliner we found out the number had been been changed and they had 3 of the condensers we needed. We have been told more then once if a dealer does not have the part we need call and then will overnight the part to us even if they have to pull it off of another truck. We have had friends who bought trucks at other dealerships and once the truck was off the lot the dealership was done with the sale and the people.
Heath and Wes work very hard to keep your business after the sale and that is what is important to us. It is not often you spend over 100,000 on a truck you have never seen till you go to pick the truck up and I want a dealer we can trust to take care of us and we found that dealer.
Heath spends a lot of time promoting Expediting and making sure you have the right truck for the company you are going to lease with. His people know the particulars of each of the expedite companies out here and they know what you need for orientation so one less worry on your mind.
I agree the money has to be right to buy the truck and we found that Middle Georgia is very competitive on prices.
Maybe this all does sound like a Middle Georgia Commercial but so be it they have done us right and I do not mind saying it.
Heath and Wes work very hard to keep your business after the sale and that is what is important to us. It is not often you spend over 100,000 on a truck you have never seen till you go to pick the truck up and I want a dealer we can trust to take care of us and we found that dealer.
Heath spends a lot of time promoting Expediting and making sure you have the right truck for the company you are going to lease with. His people know the particulars of each of the expedite companies out here and they know what you need for orientation so one less worry on your mind.
I agree the money has to be right to buy the truck and we found that Middle Georgia is very competitive on prices.
Maybe this all does sound like a Middle Georgia Commercial but so be it they have done us right and I do not mind saying it.
I'm not going to pay a HUGE premium but I'm not going to buy based on price alone. Shopping everywhere two or three times for that last little bit of price is costly, potentially in many ways. It's the same concept as the diesel price/cost issue for IFTA vehicles.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
The real interesting thing is the best advice I ever got about this business (truck related) came from Alumibunk.
I never got more honest advice from any other company, dealer or what ever you want to call it and they didn't tell me I have to buy from them but gave sage advice on what to look for, why and how to finance all of it.
If anyone is promoting this business, then it is in their interest to make a sale and nothing else, it is not in the interest of the customer - personal opinion about anything.
I never got more honest advice from any other company, dealer or what ever you want to call it and they didn't tell me I have to buy from them but gave sage advice on what to look for, why and how to finance all of it.
If anyone is promoting this business, then it is in their interest to make a sale and nothing else, it is not in the interest of the customer - personal opinion about anything.
Slo-Ride
Veteran Expediter
Of couse it is costly and time consuming to shop these dealers,but if you give me a price for X amount and the guy down the street say X amount less 300,you bet I am going back to call you and try to beat you up for X amount less just to see if you want to make the sale..
(By the way, Im not at all against the MGFI dealership.Ive never dealt with em.
Sounds like some of ya are preety happy with em and Ill try to beat em up for a few bucks also when the time comes to do this again.)
It's nice to see the answers and why. A real plus (that so far at least) no one has used this to run a dealer down.
moose
Veteran Expediter
I took a note of the Dealers that took the time , and money to attend this year Expo.
(i lost that note since tho'w...)
it was obvious to me that they did no do so to sell trucks , but to be a part of the industry , especially this year .
i was very pleased to see Cherney's trucks there , it is a very small dealer out of Cleveland ,but they know very well how to spe'c an Expedite Hino .
(i lost that note since tho'w...)
it was obvious to me that they did no do so to sell trucks , but to be a part of the industry , especially this year .
i was very pleased to see Cherney's trucks there , it is a very small dealer out of Cleveland ,but they know very well how to spe'c an Expedite Hino .
If I was to buy a Freightliner, Middle Georgia would be at the top of my list. As mentioned, cost plays into it, but is not the driving factor overall. Service after the fact is. Our pick for that as far as dealers that sell trucks would be Kenworth of Jacksonville.
Why?
We never have to go back to another dealer and have the same repair done again. Can't say that on a lot of places.
We don't have to get in line because they have no mechanics and say "we will work you in over the next few days". They will have someone stay until its done.
They sell the truck, I expect them to have the parts. Not charge me for something they should be carrying. If they have to overnight something, there is never a charge.
Can actually find parts in the same town without having to "overnight it" because they are too lazy to look elsewhere.
Many jobs are flat rated. No game playing with hours and trying to convince me that changing a light bulb takes all day.
They don't charge me a "environmental fee unless they ACTUALLY dump or discard something.
They reimburse core charges on the spot. Not wait days for a answer because they had to many wrong submittals to a manufacturer.
They don't charge me for "shop supplies" What is that"
I have no interest in paying for the tools a mechanic should have in the first place.
I could go on, but it comes down to service before the truck price, and being mindful that many repairs will never be from the location in which you purchased the vehicle.
Why?
We never have to go back to another dealer and have the same repair done again. Can't say that on a lot of places.
We don't have to get in line because they have no mechanics and say "we will work you in over the next few days". They will have someone stay until its done.
They sell the truck, I expect them to have the parts. Not charge me for something they should be carrying. If they have to overnight something, there is never a charge.
Can actually find parts in the same town without having to "overnight it" because they are too lazy to look elsewhere.
Many jobs are flat rated. No game playing with hours and trying to convince me that changing a light bulb takes all day.
They don't charge me a "environmental fee unless they ACTUALLY dump or discard something.
They reimburse core charges on the spot. Not wait days for a answer because they had to many wrong submittals to a manufacturer.
They don't charge me for "shop supplies" What is that"
I have no interest in paying for the tools a mechanic should have in the first place.
I could go on, but it comes down to service before the truck price, and being mindful that many repairs will never be from the location in which you purchased the vehicle.
dhalltoyo
Veteran Expediter
For a chassis I would go with Voss Chevrolet and for the cargo box I would go with Unicell in Buffalo, NY.
On my 2006 Duramax, Voss replaced my EGR unit outside the warranty as a customer courtesy claim. They also have an "actual" commercial service center with the proper lifts to safely and expediantly work on your truck.
On my 2008, they made sure I had a vehicle to drive while the van was waiting on parts.
Jennifer at Unicell has helped me with two units and she has walked the extra mile to help me get what I needed. She has even worked with engineering to make some necessary changes.
The Aerocell cargo box can be configured to accommodate the needs of the owner/operator. Things like: 2" of foam insulation in the walls and roof, extending the length beyond the stock configurations, cut-out bulkhead to allow for easy access into the cargo area, several choices of floor coverings, etc.
An Aerocell cargo box is aerodynamic and lighter in weight which allows for greater fuel economy.
On my 2006 Duramax, Voss replaced my EGR unit outside the warranty as a customer courtesy claim. They also have an "actual" commercial service center with the proper lifts to safely and expediantly work on your truck.
On my 2008, they made sure I had a vehicle to drive while the van was waiting on parts.
Jennifer at Unicell has helped me with two units and she has walked the extra mile to help me get what I needed. She has even worked with engineering to make some necessary changes.
The Aerocell cargo box can be configured to accommodate the needs of the owner/operator. Things like: 2" of foam insulation in the walls and roof, extending the length beyond the stock configurations, cut-out bulkhead to allow for easy access into the cargo area, several choices of floor coverings, etc.
An Aerocell cargo box is aerodynamic and lighter in weight which allows for greater fuel economy.
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I've gotten all my vans from Classic GMC in Painseville Ohio, plusr cars and Pick up trucks for over 25 years, service is great, they know if I show up I'm in a hurry, and they move me to the front of the line.they have even taken parts off of new vans on the lot to get me on the road again.
Middle Georgia, Macon, GA. Bought an '07 used M2 because it was cheaper then a new one and had all the good stuff in the AA sleeper we wanted including the 750,000 mi. motor. Held it for 3 weeks while we gained financing. When we picked it up, it was slow to start so in went three new batteries. Came back 6 mo.s later for alignment, expecting to pay for it, "no charge". Straightened out a cargo door, no charge. A couple months later we went by AA sleeper for inverter repair. They found it was not the inverter AA installed when new so AA sd "let me call Heath at Middle GA" for us and Heath covered the $600 cost for a new 3000 watt (I was prepared to pay for it myself not wanting to ask for more freebees).
I did shop around (I was a GM dealer prior to this lifestyle) and felt the price was plenty fair, and the equipment was just what we were looking for. I believe I will definetely strongly consider Middle GA for our next truck.
Retidepxe
Panther St Trk Team
I did shop around (I was a GM dealer prior to this lifestyle) and felt the price was plenty fair, and the equipment was just what we were looking for. I believe I will definetely strongly consider Middle GA for our next truck.
Retidepxe
Panther St Trk Team
Seeing how you lost your list . I will help you out ,as I attented Expo 2009.I spend time talking with some of the Dealers.The standouts were Middle Ga Freightliner His name was Chris.Took his time explaing there trucks , sleepers , financing Etc. #2 Standout was Freightliner of Knoxville Tn. Ron was salesman Very similar to 1st dealer. Then there was Fyda freightliner of Columbus Ohio. Never did speak to salesman as he was busy. last one I came upon was Churney of Cleveland ohio.This was my personel experence, Therefore I am not knocking anyone, just stating who was most informative.