Drove a new dually

[dward]

While on my 2 hr lunch break from jury duty I stopped by the Dodge dealer in Bakersfield to "look" at the new trucks. Of course when the salesman asks to go for a ride it would be rude to say no.

Drove a 4x4 CC DRW Laramie. Have to say it was a very nice truck. I loved that 6 sp transmission, very smooth shifting. However I expected a little more snap off the line. It felt much tamer than my 03 w/ Smarty level 3 did. Maybe because it was so smooth it was deceiving.

We only went about a mile around the block with no freeway but enough to tell I liked it.

List price was just over $54k and after telling salesman about TDR and pricing he mentioned I did my homework and said he could sell it for $200 over invoice plus rebates. He mentioned a $2500 Dodge rebate but I haven't checked so don't know what rebates are going on right now.

Does this seem about the norm on pricing and dealing or is he just giving me his pitch. Didn't actually sit down and discuss any numbers.

 

[Grizzly]

Call Dave Smith in Kellogg, ID. You can get the same truck below invoice. It's worth a one way Southwest flight.



george

 

[HBarlow]

The price you mentioned is pretty typical for informed buyers and smart dealers but well below what some pay. Some dealers will sell for $100 over invoice or even at invoice but $100 or $200 is small change when you're buying a $50k truck. Goodwill is sometimes more important than squeezing the last $100 out of them.

When you subtract the rebates your actual purchase price will be well below invoice price. That salesman and dealer are trying hard to sell you a truck not jerk you around. I wouldn't travel when your local dealer will treat you that well.

I've bought several at a dealer 300 miles from me at $100 over and everyone involved was happy.

The devil could be in the details. Make sure they pay fair trade value on your trade and don't beat you up with nuisance fees that some dealers add at the last minute.

 

[Jim W]

I agree with Harvey and his statement about added fees. The dealer will try to add additional warranty for a price, added paint protection and added interior seat protection. If you can get your own finance then I would do that also. Unless you can get Chrysler Financing for 0% for 72 months like they have advertised.

This is were the dealer will make their money. Most of these products cost next to nothing to the dealer but they have enormous mark ups attach to them.

Just my $0. 02

Jim

 

[EGroeneveld]

Agree with above posts, my truck arrived last week after ordering it Friday after Thanksgiving. I paid invoice plus 1% of invoice minus rebates. 400 miles in one week and LOVE the truck. The truck is real smooth, but put the pedal down and hold on!



Support your local dealer if they are being reasonable on pricing. I know several of the people at the dealership and involved with some nonprofit boards that the dealership supports and the owners support to. As a local business person I try to support local businesses because what goes around really does come around.



I financed through a credit union and got a great rate, the 0% rate is in exchange for a rebate, so you need to run the numbers.



Go for it!

 

[RustyJC]

We ordered our truck (see signature) on August 5, 2010 and took delivery on September 11, 2010. On a cash deal with no trade-in (we sold our 2002 dually ourselves), we paid dealer invoice less any applicable rebates at a dealer less than 3 miles from our house, and at least 2 dealers I checked in the Houston area were offering that pricing.



We haven't had a single problem with our truck so far (only about 2,300 miles) and couldn't be more satisfied with it. We purchased it because of a health issue that cropped up this summer stranding us at the Grand Canyon because I was unable to drive our 6-speed 2002 due to a severly pinched nerve that affected my hip and left leg leaving me unable to sit up or operate the clutch, and my wife wouldn't drive it back to the Houston area towing our RV. With our 2011, my wife has far more towing miles under her belt than I do (I'm giving her plenty of practice to build her confidence), and she feels totally comfortable with the truck.



As to the "softness off the line" mentioned earlier, I don't want to resurrect the discussion on torque management, but I'm convinced that the ECM is cutting torque in 1st gear (68RFE) as the truck pulls noticeably harder immediately after upshifting to 2nd and continues to pull hard through the higher gears. Although the 2011 is down on power compared to my mildly BOMBed 2002 (347 HP and 762 ft-lb at the rear wheels on a Dynojet 246), it has been perfectly adequate for towing our 16,000 lb 5th wheel.



Put us in the "happy camper" group insofar as our 2011 is concerned.



Rusty

 

[Metalaram]

I paid 1100. 00 below invoice then - rebates. If you pay 200. 00 over invoice you over spent 1300. 00



If Dave Smith can do a deal like that then others can also.



just sayin...

 

[RustyJC]

OK, I tried to work with Dave Smith when I was looking for this truck. I talked to an individual there and (at his request) e-mailed him the specs for the truck I was looking for. He was going to attempt to locate a 2010 or, if unable to do so, quote me a price to order a 2011. I never heard anything from him, so I eventually dealt locally.



Now, given that I could have saved $1,100 according to your statement, I still have the price of an airline ticket to get from Houston to Spokane, motels, food, fuel costs to get back to Houston and the use of limited vacation days to do so. Given these factors as well as ease of dealing with any service requirements, I'm satisfied with my decision to purchase from my local dealer. To each his/her own, though... .



Rusty

 

[craiggo]

I paid 1100. 00 below invoice then - rebates. If you pay 200. 00 over invoice you over spent 1300. 00



If Dave Smith can do a deal like that then others can also.



just sayin...

So did I! As a very first step, CALL COSTCO. Don't laugh...



I did this and the price they got me (for my ordered 2010 CC Laramie) was invoice pricing. I was able to haggle lower and got the rebates (plus their low interest financing).



Chances are Costco will set you up with their local dealer.



Their return policy doesn't work though.



Love my truck, 6000 care free miles with not a single hiccup.

 

[HBarlow]

I had a disappointing experience with Dave Smith Motors when I bought my '06. I was transporting trailers out of Pendleton, OR at the time and stopped by one day when passing through Kellog, ID and went in and talked with a salesman. I liked what I heard so when I was ready a few weeks later I called and began the process to order a new '06 as I wanted.

The "invoice" they faxed me back as confirmation was, I will say here in this public forum, suspicious. It was clearly altered. I have worked in dealerships in years past as a salesman and F&I manager and have seen many invoices. I have purchased three new Dodge Rams from a dealer I know and trust where I have been handed copies of the actual invoice printed directly from their computer as well as sat down with my salesman at their internal computer to actually build a truck with both wholesale and retail prices displayed. In short, I KNOW what a Dodge invoice looks like.

The Dave Smith "invoice" looked similar and used similar phrases and descriptions but, shall we say, appeared doctored to me. It was marked up from other invoices I had seen previously and from ones I have seen since. I utilize the old phrase, "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is not true. "

With misgivings I ordered a truck from them anyway because I was working close and figured it would be easier to receive it when it arrived.

A couple of weeks later I called to discuss whether I could substitute the OEM Jacobs exhaust brake ordered with an '06 Ram 48RE for a PacBrake that DSM sold and installed. A smartassed young kid told me rudely and abruptly that installation of a PacBrake would void my warranty. I told him that was not true and he more rudely told me I didn't know what I was talking about. The conversation descended from that point. Utlimately I called back and told the general manager to stick his truck in his *** and refund my credit card deposit because I was going to challenge it with my credit care issuer. The GM said he would gladly do that and didn't want my business. That was two of us that didn't want me to do business with DSM.

I called my salesman friend at Glen Polk Autoplex in Gainesville,TX from Pendleton, OR and ordered the new '06 I wanted for slightly less money with no credit card deposit, no check in the mail, not even a handshake because we were separated by some 1400 miles. Six or eight weeks later it arrived exactly as ordered.

I am not accusing anyone of anything fraudulent but my impression was that DSM plays a bit loose with the facts and details. I would not recommend or buy from them although I am fully aware that they sell a huge volume of trucks. Each to his own.

Common sense tells us that no retailer sells products at less than he paid for them. When a dealer sells at invoice minus rebates he will receive holdback money from the manufacturer which used to be about 3% of invoice. If invoice is $40k, holdback is approximately $1200. Huge volume dealers like DSM receive additional kick backs from Dodge based on units sold or receive other incentives such as discounts. They don't give them away.

 

[EGroeneveld]

I paid 1100. 00 below invoice then - rebates. If you pay 200. 00 over invoice you over spent 1300. 00



If Dave Smith can do a deal like that then others can also.



just sayin...

I'd loose more then that missing a day of work to go to ID and its the wrong time of year for me to travel like that.

 

[Metalaram]

Damn people, I never said anyone had to go or should go to DSM or that they were perfect. I simply stated

If Dave Smith can do a deal like that then others can also.

interpretation, You could get that price or close from another dealer.

Read what people actually say before jumping on them.

 

[rrl989]

Like the OP, I test drove the 2011. I too found it not as snappy as I expected, but everything else was impressive.