Two things;
1) Having an old hand does not mean he knows what he is talking about. The sales guy I delt with had been selling Dodge trucks at the same dealership for 16 years. Sounded like he really knew them.
a) He assured me that ordering the diesel automatically ment I would get the HD transfer case.
b) I had heard about "new" towing mirrors; he said not abailable for 6 months. A couple weeks befor my truck got here (Feb. 2000) I learned other already had them. To reorder would delay my truck, soooo #@$%#@ , I accepted it.
2) Dealer install vs Factory
My son in law manages an auto/stereo/access. store. He has two vans on the road all the time doing installs of power doors and windows, air cond. cruise control, etc, as well as radio work for dealers-including Dodge trucks. The stuff they use is mostly same brand and identical to factory, but they can do it cheaper after the vehicle is delivered to the lot, than the dealer can order from the factory. Not trying to prove any point, just found it very interesting when I learned about it. This is more than half of his stores business.
Vaughn