Dealership info--Proprietary?

[Sregorb]

Wow, obviously the devil is making snowballs right now because (surprisingly) the "finance committe" (read 'the mrs. ') asked why I don't go get a new truck? uh,er,duh,um, yes dear!

I'll check into that right away! Followed promptly by my leaving the room before minds could change and profuse thanking of powers above



ANYWAY, to get to the point. I went to the local shop and asked for my wish list in an 01 model and the same in an 02 model. The 01 had to be looked up in the 'surrounding states' because they didn't have crud for available trucks. They said they found one 400 miles away! And that they would have to have a driver retrieve it, IF the owning dealership will give it up. What's up with that! I wanted to buy just over invoice if possible but being realistic my local dealership will hem and haw about 'jumping thru hoops' to get my business and not wanting to 'lose' money by sending a person to pick it up. (not to mention 400 miles by a lot monkey (no offense)) before I even set eyes on it?

When asked where the dealership was I got the flat "that's proprietary and we don't give that info out". Salesman said, "they can't release that info to me". Sounds to me like they don't want me going elsewhere... . at the detriment of Dodge.

I've seen plenty of "how to buy at/under/just over invoice stuff" but have yet to get any of them to follow up and contact me with a package price. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG??? I want to buy a truck-true, but I'm looking out for number 1 and doing it slowly and with tons of info. Why wouldn't a dealership risk losing business completely rather than offer the best information possible to the consumer?

Whatever info or direction to pursue next would be helpful. If there are any fleet managers in here willing to work at distance within reasonable driving distance from Colorado (Texas not out of the question) please respond or PM. Thanks and sorry so winded, just frustrating.

ps. sig should read 01/02/03 undecided. 01 looks best right now if I can find the package/options I'm after.



Brian

 

[KatDiesel]

I know this isn't exactly what your looking for but figured I would let ya know bout it. Its in Omaha, NE. And I ordered my truck for $500 under invoice at the time (Jan 2000).



2001 MODEL YEAR

RAM 2500HD 4X4 QUAD CAB SLT



PRICE INFORMATION PRICE INFORMATION (cont'd)



MANUFACTURER'S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE OF THIS MODEL INCLUDING DEALER PREPARATION



Base Price: $26,265



2500 Quad Cab 4X4 155" WB

Exterior Color: Forest Green Pearl Coat

Interior Color: Agate

Interior: Seat - Premium Cloth 40/20/40 Bench

Engine: Engine- 5. 9L Cummins 24V Diesel

Transmission: Transmission - 4-Spd. Automatic,47RE

STANDARD EQUIPMENT(UNLESS REPLACED BY OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT)

FUNCTIONAL/SAFETY FEATURES

Air Bags - Front, Next Generation**

Air Bag On/Off Switch - Passenger

Seat Belts - Front, Integrated with Seat

Head Restraints - Integral to Front Seat

Steering - Variable Assist Power

Suspension - Rear, 60" Leaf Springs

Stabilizer Bar - Front

Transfer Case- Shift-on-the-Fly, 241

Battery - 600 Amp Maintenance Free

Alternator - 117 Amp

Fuel Tank - 35 Gallon Polyethylene

Frame - Carbon Steel 36,000 Psi Ladder Type

Windshield Wipers - Var Intermittent

INTERIOR FEATURES

Seat - Front, Extra-Wide with Extended 7. 5" Travel

Instrument Cluster w/Tach

Gauges - Fuel/Volts/Coolant Temp/Oil Pressure

Radio - AM/FM Cassette

Power Outlets - 12V & Cigar Lighter

Assist Handle - Passenger

EXTERIOR FEATURES

Doors - Rear Access, Dual

Sheet Metal - Exterior, 100% Galvanized Steel

Bumper - Rear, Bright w/Step Pads

Mirrors - 6 x 9 Black

Tires - LT245/75R16E BSW All Season

Wheels - 16 x 7. 5 Steel, 8 Lug

Spare Tire - Full Size/Winch Carrier

Cargo Box - Double Wall w/One-Piece Steel Floor

Cargo Loading - Bed Dividers and Cargo Tie-Downs

Lamp - Cargo

Tailgate- Removable, Caliper Latches







OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

Customer Preferred Package 2CG

$3,010



Badge - SLT, Pillar, Bright





SLT Decor Group







Air Conditioning



Windows - Power, Driver One-Touch



Locks - Power



Speed Control



Steering Column - Tilt





Light Group







Floor Covering - Carpet



Floor Mats - Front



Mirrors - Power Heated, Fold-Away



Tires - LT265/75R16E BSW All Season



Wheels - 16 x 8. 0 Forged Aluminum





Trailer Tow Group



$275





Camper Special Group



$95



Stabilizer Bar - Rear



Springs - Rear Auxiliary



Storage - Rear Underseat Compartment

$75



Transmission - 4-Spd. Automatic,47RE

$975



Engine- 5. 9L Cummins 24V Diesel

$4,625



Alternator - 136 Amp



Battery - 750 Amp Maintenance Free



Engine Cooling - Heavy Duty



Cooler - Auxiliary Transmission Oil



Skid Plate Shield - Transfer Case



Engine Block Heater



Keyless Entry - Remote

$190



Air Dam - Front

$25



Radio - AM/FM Compact Disc

$510



Speaker System - 6 Infinity



Tires - LT265/75R16E OWL On/Off Road

$275



Customer Preferred Discount

-$700





DESTINATION CHARGE $715

TOTAL BEFORE DISCOUNT $37,035

TOTAL PRICE:* $36,335

 

[Sregorb]

Kat- Close though Thanks for info. Here's a complete list of what I'm looking for if someone is 'in the know' at dealerships



2001/2002/2003 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 2500HD 4X4 SLT+, Short bed

Forest Green Pearl Coat Exterior/Camel Tan Leather interior



Cummins Diesel 5. 9L 24-Valve (incl HD Sound insulation pkg)



SLT and SLT+ Packages Include:

Light Group-(Full deluxe headliner, mini overhead console, glove box lamp, reading lamps)

Deluxe Convenience Group-(Tilt steering, Cruise control)

A/C

Front/Rear Anti-lock Disk Brakes

Bright bumpers front/rear

Center business console

Carpeting

Cup holders

Cargo Lamp

Power locks, windows, steering

Bright Grill

Leather wrapped steering wheel

Dual power, heated 6X9 Ext mirrors



HD Service Group-(136Amp alt, 750Amp battery,Aux Auto trans cooler, transfer case skid plate, HD engine cooling)



Snow Plow Prep-(Height adj springs, auto trans overheat lamp, HD transfer case



Camper Special Group-(Rear stabilizer bar, HD aux springs)



Trailer Tow Package-(Class 4 hitch receiver, HD flasher, 7-wire connector)



Leather Interior Group-(Leather 40/20/40, power driver seat and Travel Convenience Group).

Travel Convenience Group-(Overhead console with compass, temp, reading lamps, dual visor vanity mirrors, auto dim rear view mirrors)



Limited Slip Differentials Front/Back (3. 54 gearing)

Auto Trans-HD

Cab Clearance Lamps

Engine Block Heater

Keyless entry

8-way power driver seat+lumbar

Heated driver and passenger seats

AM/FM/CD, EQ, Infinity sound +6 spkr

Fog lights

All-Terrain Tires w/matching spare

Vehicle Security System

Rear-sliding window

8-bolt steel rims

Rear underseat storage

Rust Proofing

Glo-Plugs

Skid Plates

Floor mats (front and rear)



Desired Upgrades: (NOTE-may not be dealer options):

Push/Brush Guard + Winch

Espar Block Heater

Quad headlights

Dual Battery (750Amp)

Dual Alternator



Italic=SLT provided

Bold=Option to select

 

[Sregorb]

HELP!

If there are any Dodge-a-holics out there that might be able to give a DEFINITIVE invoice price for the above described vehicle please post/PM/email it to me! -- email address removed --

I've been to 3 different "invoice price sites" and after building the vehicle with all the options each one gives a different price or dumps to a "Sorry, no participating dealers in your area" message! ARGH!

I thought this was supposed to be fun... .



oh forgot one option:

Front air dam-black

and the security system is the 'plus' model incl starter kill.



Thanks in advance,

Brian

 

[nps]

I have always used www.edmunds.com to price out vehicles and have had them accurate across all makes and models - including my 01. 5 CTD that was factory ordered.



My dealer gave me a copy of the order sheet that included both invoice and sticker off his computer. The itemized prices matched - both invoice and sticker. In fact, if not for the Edmunds site I may have believed the salesman when he tried telling me I could only get LSD with 4:10 gears - that restriction only applies to the base V8 gas motor.



Neil

 

[cullyguy]

contact http://www.davesmithmotors.com



They will deliver to your door @ invoice.

They are the World's largest Volume Dodge Truck Dealer.

They are located in Kellog, ID



For my job, I travel E. WA, ID, MT, UT & WY. I see Dave Smith Motors plates all over.

The call will be free, what could you loose?

Good Luck

PS. edmunds.com is pretty accurate

 

[ftb87]

Welcome to TDR. You might want to try Burt Dodge in Castle Rock, they might have your truck. I had to wheel and deal and they sold to me below @250 below invoice ( I printed a copy of an invoice from Mark Roberts Motors in Bartisville Oklahoma.



Ask for Gene (his father use to own the dealership). He was very nice.



If you need any more advice call me 800-447-1857 or e-mail me.



Frank

 

[MCummings]

Originally posted by Sregorb



Limited Slip Differentials Front/Back (3. 54 gearing)



Glo-Plugs



Dual Battery (750Amp)



Dual Alternator

Sregorb, a Limited slip differential is not available in the front axle. In slippery conditions, a limited slip differential could be a large safety concern,, the better way to go is a locker,, either Locked or Un-Locked.



The glo-plugs... . If you are talking about Glow-Plugs like Ford and Chevy have, you won't find any! Good thing too,, 'cause you won't ever have to replace them!



Dual Batteries,, no prob. All Dodge/Cummins have dual batts, but I am not sure if they are 750amp, might be dual 600's



Dual Alternator,, Fords have these,, I have yet to see an option,, or a Dodge that had a setup for dual alternators. The Cummins comes with one purty big Alternator. I have ran my batteries down to where hey would barely turn the truck over,, I got a jump, and less than 20 minutes of driving with all lights, and my sound system on, both batts were full charged.





Just my $. 02 before you go to the dealer and tell them to be sure to order glow-plugs, etc.



MerrickNJr



P. S. The Cummins has an intake air heater (Instead of glow-plugs). This is in the intake manifold, right before the engine block,, it looks like a little radiator,, strips of metal wound back and forth, and are heated by ALOT of amps from the batteries before you start the motor,, and they cycle on and off, after you start the motor.

 

[HBarlow]

New Dodge Purchase

Brian,



I bought a new '01 3500 QC SLT HO/6 speed three months ago from Glenn Polk Autoplex located in Gainesville, TX on I-35 near the OK line north of Dallas and Fort Worth, TX. I live 300+ miles away in Lubbock. The salesman's name who assisted me is Jason Rushing. The sales manager and the owner, Glenn Polk were just as friendly and helpful. They are a 5 Star dealership and the designation means something to them. I paid invoice + $100 less $2500 in rebates ($500 Farm Bureau rebate because I joined just for the purchase and the standard $2000 Dodge rebate offered on all '01s. ) My loaded truck had a MSRP price of $36k and I paid $29,600 for it. No hassles, no tricks, no games, no BS, and no attempt to upsell me on anything. Just friendly, honest, sincere, small town people. I stopped in that dealership one morning while traveling to lay the groundwork for the deal but didn't commit for another couple of weeks. When I made up my mind I called Jason. He found several trucks in his computer to my liking and called me back with details to allow me to select the one I wanted. I chose one and he arranged a dealer trade to bring it in and installed the Jacobs "jake brake" at a discounted price. The trading dealer was only 50 miles distant so no driver or mileage charges were added. If it had been more distant, they would have reasonably added some charges. All this was done with no contract, no money, no handshake... . just a phone conversation. I recommend this store to anyone looking for a new Dodge. They also have a Ford store next door for anyone interesting in "one of those other brands. "



If you call, feel free to use my name. I have no connection to that dealership other than my recent purchase but I strongly recommend them. Good service should be rewarded.

 

[thepitts]

DAM Kat

I got almost the same truck as you but for keyless entry and only payed 29250. 00 for it.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

I went to http://www.edmunds.com and found that I paid $823. 00 less than the fair market value... ... . It was $96. 00 more that dealer invoice. You can goto www.autobytel.com to register for a local dealer. They will email you and let you know where they are. Those dealers are fleet only and sell for $750 above cost That is the best I have found. A friend of mine bought his truck in Idaho and saved about $4000. That is what he said at least.

 

[nps]

I went to http://www.edmunds.com and found that I paid $823. 00 less than the fair market value... ... . It was $96. 00 more that dealer invoice.

For new vehicles I wouldn't put much on the true market value. The invoice is a hard number that is used by the dealers to compute profit from what you pay and what incentives/holdbacks they get form the factory. In today's market they should be willing to play right around the invoice number.

 

[Lurch]

Regarding your initial question. No, they CAN give out the info, they just won't. My dealer found my truck in OK, actually two dealers found it, only one told me where. I just played two local dealers against each other for price and then bought from the one who didn't **** me off.



Lurch

 

[gitchesum]

Might take a look at this one.

http://www.meltonsales.com/cgi-bin/melton.cgi?run=listproductdetailed&key=320103#

 

[lschultz]

Try Benny Boyd Dodge http://www.bennyboyd.com/ he is in Texas. I have not bought anything from him but I have heard some good things about him.

 

[Timinator]

I let my financing/insurance company do the legwork to find the price and option combinations satisfactory to me and them. That was back in 'late 94/early 95 when the new Dodges were disappearing off the lots so fast.

 

[hammong]

I've had outstanding luck buying vehicles in Maryland, but you DO have to shop around to different dealers. Being a metropolitan area, there are a lot of Dodge dealers within driving distance - I know of at least 5 within an hours' drive of here.



I visited the first dealer, told them I was looking for a 2000 or 2001 QC LWB 4x4 4. 10 truck, color was mostly irrelevant as there were a "few" combinations I liked if the truck was equipped the way I wanted. The dealer told me, "Man these trucks are hard to get, nobody stocks them around here. I have one coming in this Thursday though, it's Blue and is equipped like you want. " When I asked how much, showed me the sticker and said, "Here you go. " When I inquired about a discount off the sticker, he basically told me to screw off, that they're going to get sticker for the truck cause they're in demand.



I left. I went to the "next" dealer, got a similar sob story about trucks being hard to get, production being held here and there, and there were only three trucks on their lot that were remotely interesting to me. All had something I didn't particular like, but could live with - we started talking price on one of them. Same story - sticker, no discounts.



I left. I then went to Keene Dodge of Jarrettsville, MD - on a Saturday evening about 5pm no less. There was ONE salesman there, ONE manager, and ONE finance guy left - all three working to close a deal on another customer. I looked at the lot - NO LESS than 12 diesels in the lot. I saw several that really piqued my interest, and I walked into the showroom to haggle. The salesman was like, "I'm pretty busy right this minute, here's the keys, go take it for a drive for about 20 minutes and come back. " Let me take that $35K truck out for a GOOD unsupervised drive with nothing more than a photocopy of my state driver's license as proof to who I was. I came back, and said, "That's the truck for me. I'm not sure I'm ready to close the deal today, I'd need to clean/prep my trade-in". Nonsense! The sales manager took my old keys, drove my Subaru Outback around the block, came back and said it was a fine trade-in, lets work the numbers.



I stayed.



They split the difference between "wholesale" and "retail" on my Subaru Outback with 56K miles and 3 years to the date. Unheard of in my neck of the woods! Rip-offs for trade-ins is standard fare around here.



They then gave me a price about $150 UNDER invoice on the truck. Wow! A good price on the truck, AND a good trade-in?



THEN, the unbelivable happened. AFTER THE numbers were agreed upon by me and the salesman, the manager's like, "I think there's a promotion on these trucks now because of the $2. 00/gallon diesel prices. Ahh, here it is - $1000 instant cash-back. " We then took the $1000 - and applied it directly to my down payment/trade-in.



Final figure? I think the truck stickered for $35,232 or so, and I ended up getting it for about $32,000 even. They gave me $14,800 for my 3-year old Subaru I had only paid $21,000 for, which SAT on their lot for THREE months with a $15,800 resale price on it.





Am I happy? YOU BET I WAS, AND STILL AM! I've had the truck about 18 months now, 25K miles later, and I'm still grinnin.





Moral of the story: Shop around. If you get poopy sales service at one dealer, tell em "I'm going to Joe Schmoe's Dodge" and leave. Keep doing that until you get YOUR best deal. It might take some driving around the state, but if you save $3000+ in the process, isn't it worth your time?



Greg

 

[dan_gilson]

I paid $100 over invoice for my '98.

The invoice matched the wholesale prices on

www.kbb.com to the penny.



It is really funny, when a dealer knows that I

have a kbb printout they either will not talk to

me anymore or they quickly agree to a price

pretty close to it.



Information is power. It is nice to almost level

the playing field when you have to negoiate.

Best of luck!