HO in Maine?

[OHale]

Forbidden Power?

Hi Folks,



Believe it or not, our rural state of Maine has decided to join CA and MA with an emission standard that currently forbids the HO (go figure). I really like my Dodge dealer in Newcastle but they can't get the HO I want.



On to particulars: does anyone know if I can go to NH, buy and HO, and bring it back here?



Any advice or opinion would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks in advance!

 

[OHale]

Can anyone recommend a good Dodge Truck dealership in eastern NH?

 

[agoldbach]

I have two Dodge dealers in the Seacoast Region of NH. The first is Port City Dodge on Greenleaf Ave in Portsmouth. I bought a 99 1500 from them and the sales people seemed willing to deal and fairly knowledgeable. The service dept were very incompetent though, so if you were going to get your truck serviced elsewhere, you may want to give them a call. I haven't checked to see how willing they are to deal on the diesels though. The other dealer is Foss Motors Inc. in Exeter. They have a much larger selection that Port City. I only stopped by once and the guy I talked to seemed like he needed some serious study time to learn about the products he was selling. A third is Tri City Dodge in Somersworth.



www.portcitydodge.com

603-436-1243



Foss Motors, Inc.

603-772-3702



Tri City Dodge

603-742-9262



These are all in the area which I have dealt with. Good luck and please post any experiences you have with each. I will buying a new 04 and I curious how they treat you. Hope this helps.



Adam

 

[OHale]

Hello Agoldbach!



Thank you very much for the recommendations! I touched base with Foss Motors today and asked to speak with whoever was their truck expert. We exchanged some info and that's about it. I called them because the dodge.com inventory showed they had the most diesel rams. That was before I read your post.



I will contact Port City and Tri City tomorrow and introduce myself. Foss motors told me that he had 'the actual fact, no rumor' that the HO will be offered with the 48RE (as others have posted) and that he will have them there spring of next year. He then proceeded to mildly twist my arm that I would be happier with a 2500 with the SO engine and 47RE, which he had quite a few of. Great truck but not what I want.



Thanks for the heads-up about the Port City shop. I will shop all three dealers by phone for the best price, and fax them what I want. I will get it worked on at our local shop in Newcaste Maine.



Speaking of which I stopped by the Newcastle, ME dealer where I get my trucks serviced. They are a fine shop. I had a straight up chat with the sales manager and asked if they couldn't get an HO for me and I bought one in NH, would they still be as glad to see me as they are now... . ? The basic answer was 'yes' and I will still wait until next spring to see if ME lifts the HO ban and I can get one from them.



I've got it down to an HO Lariat with the auto, 3. 73 locking rear end, heated my rear end, quad cab long box 3500 SRW. Can't decide on a color yet.



Thanks again for your help Agoldbach. Serious truck fever at this point. Only question left in my mind is whether to get an '03 on order late next spring or hold on and order a pre-EGR '04. What a wonderful dilemma!

 

[agoldbach]

Ohale,

Foss tried to do the same thing to me, trying to get me to buy a SO with the 47RE. They seemed good to deal with overall, however I haven't talked numbers with them yet and I want to see if they will play ball. I am pretty sure you meant to say you wanted to order a HO Laramie, not Lariat (Ford), and a limited slip rear differential, not a locking diff. I am going to buy almost the same truck you are, except I want a short bed. I have narrowed it down to Graphite or Patriot Blue for the color. Please let me know what experiences you have with these dealers, as it may prevent me from having the same future problems (if any). I hope you are able to get what you want with little hassle. If I can help you with anything else, let me know.



Adam

 

[krabman]

I would add the power tow mirrors to the list. Even if you have no plans on towing chances are you will at some point. I read a thread on here about guys doing a dual registration and then dropping the out of state portion after a year to get a HO in California. This requires a trusted friend or relative in the nearby HO state.

 

[OHale]

Hi Agoldbach,



Freudian slip about the Lariat, or maybe I mean Freudian locker?



Did indeed intend LSD and Laramie! Also, I'm not entirely fixed on the long bed. The SB 3500 is a very compact, very maneuverable truck. I could go that way as well.



The fellow I spoke to at Foss was Mark, and I take his remark (another pun?) that he could sell me the SO at the super-low price of $42K as mere pre-haggle bluster. There has been so much good info in this site as to what people are actually paying and how to build an invoice price I should be well-armed to haggle. I haven't started any money talk yet with anyone, just priming the pump at this point.



Do you prefer the tan or graphite interior with a graphite body?



I'm probably not going to get serious until next February. I do want to test drive a 48RE before I order so there won't be any surprises. Mark at Foss thought middle of January he might see one. I thought I would report here if there was anything especially good or bad about the 48RE.



Krabman, thank you for the info. I don't have a NH contact (yet, I may know some folks that work at Seabrook NH) for dual registration. I will pose that question to BMV. I am licensed to do business in NH and spend a lot of time there. I did call Maine BMV and they never heard of the HO restriction. I am sure that is something that will 'bounce' on HO VIN # when I try to register it. I am going to keep digging on that info. Worst case is I will register it under my NH business address and rack up the miles to 'used' status. I still don't have a hard definition as to what 'used' means but from what I've read here it is probably like the CA regulations.



I agree on the power tow mirrors, I forgot to mention those. I was really impressed with those on the 3500 I drove and they are only $80 more. Thanks for the reminder. The Dodge site doesn't state that they are heated but, like you said, they are.



BTW I checked out GM and Ford. The Chevy D-Max is very cushy and performs well, but the sheet metal is light, and I've read on dieselpage.com that it is easy to dent the bed. One guy put a foot on a rear tire and climbed in over the side, only to find he had made two dents with his hands! The dealer did fix it..... I could twist the bed rails with my hands on the one I test drove.



The 7. 3 L PSD was OK, but after waiting for the glow plug light to go out the engine cranked for about 12 seconds to the point that I released it. The salesman stood there with his best poker face. I tried again and after almost giving up again (~ 9 secs) it stumbled to life. If this is Ford's idea of a good diesel I'm not too confident in the new 6. 0.



Happy T-Day Gentlemen!

 

[Dean Upson]

There is a graphite sport at the dealer near me with the slate interior and it is one sweet looking truck. I had the camel colored leather last time and have the slate heated leather this time and I like the slate.



Dean

 

[Batman]

Taxes... ... ... ... . check with your state and the state you are purchasing the vehicle from to make sure you don't pay double-taxes when you register the truck. I think you need to be and purchase in a recipricle state.



RI tried to tack on an extra 7% on top of the 8% I paid in Arizona.



Good luck with your purchase

 

[agoldbach]

Personal Choice, But I would go with the Graphite Interior in either the Patriot Blue or Graphite Exterior. They do look sweeet!

 

[OHale]

Thanks Dean! Graphite and slate sounds like the way to go!



My wife and drove a local SO demo with the leather heated seats. It was about 25 degrees outside and they were VERY nice to sit on while the engine heated up.



Thanks also Batman! I will make sure I have that tax issue scoped out. With NH having no sales tax and ME having one there is probably some way ME punishes you for buying across the border.



Happy T-Day!

 

[Dean Upson]

Tough making all these decisions, if you think you might need it sometime (like the towing mirrors) get it when you order the truck. My first pick-up was a 1953 Chevy (used) and I doubt that there were any extras on it other than a radio, it even had the floor starter. We've come a long way.



Dean

 

[OHale]

Hi Dean, the mirrors are definitely on my list.



With all the electronics these trucks have why not just have the computer make the decision for me!



Yes, I drove a school bus when I was in high school and the starter was on the floor... . at least I didn't have to hand crank it.

 

[David Muench]

Originally posted by Dean Upson

There is a graphite sport at the dealer near me with the slate interior and it is one sweet looking truck.

Sounds like my truck. It's moving through Arkansas as I type. .

 

[Dean Upson]

Man, that thing must be flying, I saw it in Union, CT just a few hours ago covered with snow!



Dean

 

[krabman]

I went with the slate as well. The graphite color is the first thing that non deisel people comment on liking. I liked the blue also but that would have clashed with my bass boat. Cant be having that.

 

[OHale]

All this talk is getting me VERY excited! I had been working on my take-it -or-leave it face for the horse trading. If I walk into a dealership like I am right now I'll pay sticker-plus.



Happy Turkey Day all!