Rick Mang

Review of Mike Brown Ford-Subaru

Overall experience "could" have been more positive...

Overall experience "could" have been more positive than 3 stars. We were were pleased with the value of the truck we purchased, even with add on's included. It took a while to get the spray on bed-liner done and heated seats installed due to the holidays, but that was to be expected. Sales staff seem to go out of their way to get this all done for us after some initial confusion with the parts department regarding scheduling. We are still waiting for the side plates that go into the pick up bed, but we have been kept informed of that.

My only "real" concern (and for me it's a big one) was that we were told that the vehicle came with a 48 gallon gas tank, even though it was not listed on the window sticker. Having filled up several times, it is apparent that our truck (160" wheel base / 6.5' bed)) has a 26.5 gallon tank, and not a 48 gallon tank. We wanted the larger gas tank because we often pull a travel trailer. I stressed that I wanted a 48 gallon tank.

Honestly, if I had known the vehicle was not equipped with a 48 gallon tank, or at least a 34 gallon tank, I would have kept looking. I'm not saying I wouldn't have purchased the vehicle, if it had been shared with me that vehicles with the wheel base of mine don't come with 48 gallon tanks. We would could have looked for one with a 34 gallon tank at least. I didn't want an 8' bed or to have to deal with diesel . . . but I would have visited other dealerships to see what was available, or until the specs were confirmed. Our 250 is a good truck, but it's always going to be "limited", especially now that we will have to more carefully plan our routes knowing we will fill up more often. I do not want to install an external tank for safety and asethetics reasons.

I'm not saying we were mislead. But the salesman we primarily dealt with said he ran the VIN and it showed a 48 gallon tank. Since it is a crew cab, it seemed to be assumed that it came with a 48 gallon tank. My local Ford dealer where I live ran the VIN and it listed the truck with either the 26.5 or 34 gallon tank because of it's wheel base length. Perhaps the sales managers can help the sales team be more aware of the specs of the vehicles they sell? Yes, it might have meant a lost, or postponed sale, but in the end, a customer getting what they asked for is important.