This is my 100-day update on my original review, and I'm increasing their score to an unqualified 5…read morestars. I've now had thorough mechanical and laboratory fluid testing, and about 500 miles of use. This 6.0 Powerstroke is solid, with only one or two minor pan gasket leaks. It was an absolute bargain. My only critique at this point is that the vehicle was sold with a $5 aftermarket degas bottle cap, and Ideal should replace all such caps on all Powerstrokes with Motorcraft caps, for $8 -- this can make all the difference in the world on this design's reliability.
Now, the original review follows.
Bottom line: a good concept of how to run a business and a pleasant experience buying from them. I bought a Ford F-350 6.0 Diesel (on purpose). For a used car dealership, I rate this a 4.46, which rounds up to a 5. No free cappuccino, the flooring was not marble, and no mid-century modern furniture. Other than that, I had a fractionally better experience than the best I'd have hoped for. A week and three shops later, the vehicle has now checked out mechanically. I experienced zero pressure -- not even follow-up communication, other than answers to questions I sent. The salesmen, who work as a team, were forthcoming and explained the ins and outs of the Ford 6.0, allowing me to begin the thorough research I ended up doing. A month later and several test-driven and inspected trucks later (at several dealerships) I came back to this truck because it was the best low-price-to-condition vehicle advertised in the Sacramento market. They're linked in with CUDL (Credit Union Direct Lending) and got me a laughably-low rate from my go-to credit union within maybe a minute of entering my info. (CUDL rates have consistently gotten me rates at 1/3 of those of the big commercial bank lenders. Props to Lasher Volkswagen for introducing me in '15.) Add ons! These guys each waived me away from the extended warranty that a finance manager specializes on pitching. And there was no finance manager. There was no "I'll have to check with my sales manager" (the fake one) wait-times usually built into a negotiation process. No alarm to buy, no maintenance plans, no anything. This was honestly the simplest, quickest process I've ever done. Now, -0.25 points: maybe playing unaware of the (fully repaired) collision damage we both knew was on the Carfax. But +0.25 points on offering (without my asking yet) fresh batteries as part of the deal. It's my assessment these guys, as a matter of policy intend, anyway, to be completely above board in their practices. Frankly I recommend this dealer as a baseline to compare against while shopping around, and I'm guessing a decent number of buyers will return as I did. (N.b.: at the time of this writing, old, fully-maintained 1-tons are going for just under 30k nationwide. I bought this one at nearly half that. You've got to expect a lot of small repairs on a lower-priced old truck. I knew that. I saw what I was looking for. I bought a basically solid truck that needs a lot of small repairs and some upgrades. I'm very satisfied. If the positive tone sounds hokey, well, this is part of why I'm positive. I'm also an ex-evaluator for the Army, and like to give credit when credit is due.)
