100% was bait and switch.
OP won't name the dealer or the salesperson because he knows it was his fault for not making a down payment. You shouldn't drive that far for a vehicle that you don't KNOW that it will be there when you get there. Shady AF on the salesman/dealer, but when they tell you...
OP is from Maine, not Utah. I'm sure he gets a ton of snow. With what he paid for the John Deere I would hope he would never have to use his Maverick to plow. So many better options than the Maverick incase the JD breaks. The Mav will drive through deeper snow than he should plow with it. I...
On RWD trucks it is way more important to have weight in the bed of the truck than to have snow tires. Mavericks are all either FWD or AWD so there is no need for it. Slippery mode isn't really needed either, it only limits how fast you can hit the throttle so you don't spin the tires so bad...
Will they help? Sure. Are they needed, probably not. I have lived in northern MI most of my life and never bothered with snow tires and have never had issues. Snow tires would be needed if you had a sports car that you wanted to drive year round or if your vehicle came with summer tires that...
The smart move would be to buy an old beater pickup and put your plow on that. No need to plate or insure it as long as you only use for plowing. No point in totaling a 40g vehicle doing something that your insurance won't cover when you f it up trying to plow with it. Just my 2 cents...
Traded in the 24 Silver Lariat Tremor for a 25 Green XLT. Wanted to break it in before towing the boat with it. Took it from Detroit to Traverse City to Mackinaw and back. 1100 miles after 1 week of owning. I'm ready for the lake this weekend!
I had a 23 Atlas Blue XLT FX4 4k tow, then upgraded to a 24 Silver Lariat Tremor. I just put in an order for a 25 Green XLT 4k tow. I personally prefer the cloth seats and missed having 4k tow. I will miss some of the lariat features, but I haven't found anything to be worth the price increase...
I would check local junk yards. I would think most people that replaced theirs with a cold air intake would want to keep the old stuff for when they go to sell.
I'm with Todd92, not sure why you had a misfire and didn't get it checked out while you were still under warranty. Hopefully you are just under 60k miles. Personally I wouldn't go for the 2.3, I would just find a used 2.0 out of a totaled vehicle. Mavericks get totaled very easily from minor...