Just drove a Hemi today

[TowPro]

My Brother's lease is near over so I went with him to the dealer to introduce him to my friend there (and to make sure he don't pay to much. )



Anyway we took out the truck he want to buy for a test ride.



1500 qc, shortbed, Auto 5 speed, Hemi, Posi with 3:92 gears 2wd.



The last thing the salesman told him as we were pulling out was "no Smokey burnouts!"



When we first left the dealers lot I noticed the sound, man that engine sounds nice. He pulled out onto the highway and hopped on it. we must have been going 55 in 4 seconds, that thing really flys, and what sounded good before really sounds great in upper RPM. We took it out for about 20 minutes. Coming back on the highway I reset the mileage computer. We were doing around 15mpg running 65 down the highway. If thats correct he will be happy. He has to run his 318 WOT all the time to get anywhere, getting 12mpg on high-test.



Did I say how nice that Hemi sounds?



We opened the hood, can't hardly see the motor its so small under that hood. Nothing like a Cummins to fill the hole!

 

[Eric Kahn]

I had a 95 dodge reg cab long bed with the 318, It had good power and I got about 15 in the city and 18 on the highway with the 3. 5 rears

never pulled a trailer with it and had to sell it when I got laid off

 

[TowPro]

not sure what gears are in his 2000 318, but it can't get out of its own way with a couple tools on it. His best friend towed a 5000er with his 318, but he used to have to route his direcdtions around a big hill out here. He used to be down in 2nd gear to get over it!



sure would hate to tow a trailer with his truck, But then we are spoiled after towing with a Cummins!

 

[JStieger]

hemi mileage

A friend of mine bought a 1/2 ton hemi 2 months ago. I asked his wife what kind of mileage the new truck was getting. She said she wasn't too impressed because everytime she gets in the truck after her husband drives it, the overhead computer says 10 mpg on a good day!



Truck sure does sound nice stock off the lot!

 

[RankRam]

Hey JStieger I see you are from Elko. Did you purchase your 03 from your local dealership? I have purchased three Dodges from there in the last seven years and have always gotten a good deal. Are they still dealing or did you go elsewhere?



I'm getting an itch for a new one.

 

[Gizmo 007]

Hey TowPro, if you don't mind me asking, about how much was he going to pay for that truck? I'm looking into a smaller "around town" truck for my fiance and I to drive, but I haven't found any 1/2 tons with the HEMI/auto around this area. I really want to drive one first, but only way is to order it

 

[JStieger]

Originally posted by RankRam

Did you purchase your 03 from your local dealership? I have purchased three Dodges from there in the last seven years and have always gotten a good deal. Are they still dealing or did you go elsewhere?

I had the itch too, but it has since been relieved by burning a hole in my wallet!



I didn't buy at the local dealership. I ended up buying in Bend, Oregon from a dealer that is occasionally on the '03 forum offering good deals and advice so I decided to hold him to his word! Since I wanted to visit the area anyway it was no big deal to go 500 miles away. He was also the Fleet Manager so he knew the facts about dealing in volume and was a straight shooter - no deposit, no selling extra things at the last minute, and kept his word.



The only thing I did at the local dealership was a good test drive! They really didn't want to deal even though I had cash in hand. They just said "go shop around and then come back and we'll talk". Yeah right - we all know the BS that comes with that statement! I think the salesman on the test drive got ticked off at me because I knew more than he did about the product he was selling as well as all the invoice and holdback details.



The local dealership is/was also well known for shoddy service, but I heard they recently changed their service manager. A coworker had a psuedo-lemon 24 valve CTD and they basically had to post guards at the gates to keep him away from the lot as he was bad for their business publicity! Now with the new service manager he and his across-the-board replacement CTD are welcomed with opened arms. That place has a lot of interesting "service" stories from my coworkers that own DC products from there that can just make you cringe! I've talked to a few people in town here and the only things that are holding them back from buying a new Dodge is dealing with the local dealership and having to go to the next major city 300 miles away to a decent dealership.



My friend that bought the 1/2 ton hemi got it at Dave Smith in Idaho. He's from Montana anyway so it wasn't out of his way really to go there during Christmas holidays. Incidentally he took it in for its first service at the local dealership and they spilled oil on the seats that still had the new car smell as well as leaving wet oil smears on the steering wheel. He wasn't impressed.



There's another guy from Elko on the TDR. He bought his '03 3500 4x4 in Twin Falls at the Hertz dealership - it only had something like 500 miles on it and he just happened to be in the right place at the right time I guess. This was after he got the runaround too at the local dealership.



I've also heard good things about Latham in Twin Falls. They occasionally advertise in the local paper with some pretty good deals.



I noticed you're from Carson City? I heard and read some good things about Carson City Dodge - is this all in the past now? I intend to do all my own preventative maintenance, but every few months I make a trip to Reno and was thinking about using them for some service calls.



Anyway, hope this helps you out.

 

[Fireman]

The Little Woman got a Hemi not long ago, 3:90 rear and she gets 13-14 actual. She hats it when I tell her my 3500 is getting 17:-laf



Fireman



BTW I've only gotten it away from her once, and due to traffic I can't tell you how fast it will go BUT... I can tell you that it''ll do 80 in second and do it damn quick!

 

[TowPro]

30K list, 26,500 cost, (they sold it to him for 200 over invoice.

- 2500 rebate,

- $500. 00 rebate off the internet. (the salesman even called him and told him where to find this rebate!)



$23500 plus tax tags, etc.



SLT 6' bed with that XSLT package or what ever its called that adds fog lights and a couple other things.

Hemi, 5 speed auto

Power cloth seats

Towing package

2wd, posi, 3. 92 gears

Upgrade tires, painted alunimim rims

Antilock brakes

Rear sliding window

2 tone clear coat paint.

Under seat storage



When you buy the Hemi they force you (at least on the 2wd) to get the SLT, Posi, 3. 92 gears and 4 wheel ABS.



Then my Brother went back and beat them up for free state inspections and oil changes for life before he said "sold".



One thing I noticed on KBB.com is if the truck is build after march something, the Towing package also adds an engine oil cooler, which his (built in Feb) don't have. At least we did not see it yet.

 

[RankRam]

JSteiger thank's for the reply and yes Carson Dodge is one of the best for service. I have heard some complaints from my gas rig buddy's but I couldn't be happier with these guys as far as warranty work goes, I'm very satisfied. I do my own service so I can't comment on that.



If your in town sometime let me know. I would like to see your truck.