According to a prospective buyer, his attempt to purchase a 2025 Ranger Lariat from an Arizona dealership devolved into what he describes as a cascade of pricing games, misinformation, and outright contradictions, culminating in the dealership “firing” him as a customer because of his “tone.”
The allegations surfaced in a detailed Reddit post backed, the buyer says, by chat logs. According to the post, the process began smoothly enough when he received a written quote listing the truck at $50,300. Days later, the dealer announced “bigger discounts,” prompting him to request an updated offer. That new quote arrived with a surprise: the list price had jumped to $50,825. The discount appeared larger, but the dealership had quietly increased the base price by $525.
When he asked why the MSRP had changed, the sales manager responded, “The price I just sent is the same price you saw online… The net price is the only thing that matters,” a claim the buyer says contradicted the earlier written quote that the dealer then refused to honor.
An undervalued trade-in
Meanwhile, the buyer also alleges the dealership undervalued his trade-in — a 2020 Escape Titanium — by offering $10,000. He countered with regional comparables showing similar vehicles listed around $18,500, and days later, sold his privately for $18,200. In his view, the dealership missed the valuation by more than $8,000.
He also claims the sales manager incorrectly insisted he would owe Arizona sales tax despite living out of state, forcing him to provide the Arizona Department of Revenue’s own guidance showing that his home state’s lack of reciprocity exempts him.
The “phantom buyer”
But the tension finally escalated over what the buyer describes as a textbook “phantom buyer” tactic. After confirming he had a valid Private Cash Offer rebate, he attempted to place a deposit to hold the truck. The dealership declined, saying, “I can’t when we have someone here looking at it.” By Monday, he was told the vehicle had been sold. Weeks later, however, the exact truck remained listed as active inventory on the dealership’s website.
In a subsequent response to a Google Review, the dealership’s owner claimed the vehicle had been “dealer traded,” contradicting the earlier statement that a retail customer had purchased it. The buyer called the conflicting explanations “a lie” and pointed to the lingering listing as evidence that no sale had occurred.
General manager: We don’t like your “tone”
The final confrontation reportedly came after he pressed for clarity on the price discrepancy and the still-available truck. Instead of acknowledging the inconsistencies, the general manager allegedly phoned him and ended the transaction altogether. The reason, according to the post, was his “tone,” which the buyer describes as direct but professional. “Apparently,” he wrote, “a customer who tracks List Prices on a spreadsheet and cites tax code is ‘difficult.’”
He summarized the ordeal by saying the dealer raised the price after agreeing to a lower one, lowballed his trade by thousands, misunderstood basic tax rules, fabricated a “phantom buyer” story, and then banned him when he asked them to explain the math.
Other Reddit users echoed the frustration. One wrote, “If you got ‘fired’ as a customer, you won the negotiation. They tried to cheat you and you busted them so, good for you.” Another user highlighted how common the tactic feels, saying, “The ‘phantom buyer’ always gets me. I’ve had it happen twice… Like cmon, you don’t have to convince or threaten me with FOMO, I’ve already agreed to terms. But I guess some people back out even in financing, so I kinda get it. Scummy, but I get it.”
The allegations match patterns frequently cited by consumer-advocacy groups, which warn that price-switching, inflated fees, and manufactured urgency remain among the most common dealership tactics. Arizona’s attorney general has also cautioned consumers to watch for shifting prices and inconsistent explanations during vehicle negotiations, as both can signal deceptive practices. For now, the customer says he has moved on, but hopes his account serves as a warning to others navigating the increasingly complex and sometimes adversarial new-car market.
Published: Nov 28, 2025 03:29 pm