TL;DR: I just returned after buying my truck at a (very) out-of-town dealer and thought I'd document the experience for anyone interested. For those who have been curious about flying into Dave Smith Motors, Dennis Dillon, or any of the other dealers who cater to out-of-town purchases, I say go for it and enjoy your drive home!
The purchase:
I had been window (sticker) shopping for several months. Eventually, financial circumstances + my own conviction about what I want led me to get serious. Having already test-driven a truck locally, I went on the hunt. Specifically, I wanted a Limited with the Offroad Package, Ramboxes, and NO trailer tow mirrors. I can't understand how Ram could offer mirrors without even a powered folding mechanism on a nearly $70k truck. And having experienced a 360 surround view camera in a friend's Ford, I wanted that feature. Unfortunately, nearly every Limited on the lot here in California has trailer tow mirrors. And finding the Offroad Package + Ramboxes was even harder. I wasn't picky about whether it had a 3.92, 33-gal tank, eTorque, color, or other minor features I preferred. But searching all the zip codes in SoCal turned up empty. I didn't really want to order a truck and I didn't mind traveling, potentially far, for a truck. And I was intrigued by the adventure of flying in, picking up a truck and taking a road trip home in it. Plus I find negotiating remotely to be much more efficient. So I widened the search...
I did find 3 trucks that mostly met my spec. One near San Jose, one in Reno NV, and another in Albuquerque NM. Many other dealers had trucks, but they all were missing one of the primary 3 criteria. Still, I identified a couple more trucks that were a somewhat close spec, but attractive because they were advertised at a deep discount vs. other dealers. Long story short, I emailed 5 dealers in total... the 3 mentioned, plus 2 in Idaho that cater to long-distance purchases. All responded, but after that initial response a couple never followed up. One truck got sold. Eventually I narrowed to two trucks. The one I selected was at Melloy Dodge in Albuquerque, and I was able to negotiate that one to what I felt was a pretty good discount (see my post in the discount from MSRP thread). I could have gotten a better deal from at least one of the Idaho dealers, but this was my favorite truck of the 5. Crucially, ABQ is a 1hr, 45min direct flight from home, and the dealer is an easy Uber ride from the airport. After negotiating everything over email, I called to confirm. The salesman seemed to be a straight-shooter, and didn't seem at all pushy. He answered all my questions competently, and I was confident that I negotiated away any chance of gotchas upon my arrival (stuff like surprise window tint, Scotchguard, et al). So I paid a $500 deposit and booked a flight to ABQ the next night. The adventure began. I left SoCal Thursday at 10:30 PM and arrived in ABQ at 1:00 AM. Crashed at a hotel within walking distance of the airport. The next morning, Friday 4/26, I took a quick 20-min Uber ride to the dealer.
Unlike the Idaho dealers (Smith, Dillon, Peterson), Melloy didn't seem to cater to long-distance purchases. In fact, after I arrived it was apparent they were somewhat surprised I'd travel all the way from Southern California to purchase. But the process was very smooth. The truck was pulled up in front of the main entrance, already cleaned up and ready to go. Having negotiated everything up-front, including financing and add-ons (there were none), it was just a matter of showing up, test-driving, and settling up the bill. I found the dealership experience surprisingly comfortable. They weren't at all slimy/pushy/sharky. They did push the extended warranty (as expected) but that was easy to decline. The only hitch was that it took them a while to figure out how to charge for California sales tax. No big deal. After a couple hours at the dealer I was on my way back to SoCal.
800 miles home:
Straight through it's a 12 hour drive home from Albuquerque. But it's through some amazing scenery and I haven't spent much time in that part of the country. So I was excited to get started. I stopped at Petroglyphs National Monument just outside Albuquerque for a few photos and to take a short jog along the trails. Nice spot. Then 7 hours to Phoenix. I-40 follows old Route 66 for most of the way. The scenery looks like the inspiration for Disney's Cars movie (and of course it was). I-40 was surprisingly busy and the headwinds were VERY strong. I often saw trucks being blown to the side a little due to cross winds. I kept a 80-82mph pace using the adaptive cruise control most of the way. When I was controlling it manually I needed to keep my foot pretty deep into the throttle in order to maintain speed against the headwind. Based on my experience during less-windy conditions later in the drive, I figure the wind was around a 1.5 mpg penalty. Stopped in Gallup, NM to top off the tank with cheaper New Mexico fuel and to eat a late lunch. My next stop was at Petrified Forest National Park. Next turned off I-40 at Holbrook, AZ and took 2-lane highways through a pretty backdrop of pine forests and sweeping mountain views. The road then dropped into Phoenix. Stayed in Phoenix overnight, and completed the last 5 hours of the journey to SoCal on Saturday. No noteworthy stops on that section, but the desert scenery is truly spectacular.
Mileage was mediocre, but hey it's a truck. I filled the tank 3 times during the trip, mostly just to take advantage of cheaper fuel rather than truly running empty. MPG was 13.6, 16.1, and 13.6, respectively. The two lower fill-ups were after extended runs at 80+mph and with very strong headwinds. The higher one included a net downhill section into Phoenix and wind was less strong. On the last leg from Yuma, AZ I was averaging a bit over 15 MPG while coming across the California desert. Strong headwinds again, and I maintained 82 MPH. But climbing the last mountain range before home (and still with the strong winds) I could watch the instantaneous mileage at around 7MPG. Here I-8 climbs from slightly below sea level, to around 4500 feet with almost all of that climb over a distance of 10 miles or so. By the time I got to the crest I dropped from 15 to 13 MPG. Made up most of that on the way down the other side.
The truck:
To my eye, this truck is gorgeous. The styling is very well done. Ivory looks great with chrome bumpers... I like it better than with the body colored ones. And the Offroad Package's extra 1" ride height and more aggressive tires really complete the look. The indigo/frost interior is beautiful. All-in all this truck is well-executed. While searching I really wanted Patriot Blue. But after seeing this one in-person, I don't think I would have liked the blue more. The truck looks made to wear white.
Other impressions from my "extended test drive":
The purchase:
I had been window (sticker) shopping for several months. Eventually, financial circumstances + my own conviction about what I want led me to get serious. Having already test-driven a truck locally, I went on the hunt. Specifically, I wanted a Limited with the Offroad Package, Ramboxes, and NO trailer tow mirrors. I can't understand how Ram could offer mirrors without even a powered folding mechanism on a nearly $70k truck. And having experienced a 360 surround view camera in a friend's Ford, I wanted that feature. Unfortunately, nearly every Limited on the lot here in California has trailer tow mirrors. And finding the Offroad Package + Ramboxes was even harder. I wasn't picky about whether it had a 3.92, 33-gal tank, eTorque, color, or other minor features I preferred. But searching all the zip codes in SoCal turned up empty. I didn't really want to order a truck and I didn't mind traveling, potentially far, for a truck. And I was intrigued by the adventure of flying in, picking up a truck and taking a road trip home in it. Plus I find negotiating remotely to be much more efficient. So I widened the search...
I did find 3 trucks that mostly met my spec. One near San Jose, one in Reno NV, and another in Albuquerque NM. Many other dealers had trucks, but they all were missing one of the primary 3 criteria. Still, I identified a couple more trucks that were a somewhat close spec, but attractive because they were advertised at a deep discount vs. other dealers. Long story short, I emailed 5 dealers in total... the 3 mentioned, plus 2 in Idaho that cater to long-distance purchases. All responded, but after that initial response a couple never followed up. One truck got sold. Eventually I narrowed to two trucks. The one I selected was at Melloy Dodge in Albuquerque, and I was able to negotiate that one to what I felt was a pretty good discount (see my post in the discount from MSRP thread). I could have gotten a better deal from at least one of the Idaho dealers, but this was my favorite truck of the 5. Crucially, ABQ is a 1hr, 45min direct flight from home, and the dealer is an easy Uber ride from the airport. After negotiating everything over email, I called to confirm. The salesman seemed to be a straight-shooter, and didn't seem at all pushy. He answered all my questions competently, and I was confident that I negotiated away any chance of gotchas upon my arrival (stuff like surprise window tint, Scotchguard, et al). So I paid a $500 deposit and booked a flight to ABQ the next night. The adventure began. I left SoCal Thursday at 10:30 PM and arrived in ABQ at 1:00 AM. Crashed at a hotel within walking distance of the airport. The next morning, Friday 4/26, I took a quick 20-min Uber ride to the dealer.
Unlike the Idaho dealers (Smith, Dillon, Peterson), Melloy didn't seem to cater to long-distance purchases. In fact, after I arrived it was apparent they were somewhat surprised I'd travel all the way from Southern California to purchase. But the process was very smooth. The truck was pulled up in front of the main entrance, already cleaned up and ready to go. Having negotiated everything up-front, including financing and add-ons (there were none), it was just a matter of showing up, test-driving, and settling up the bill. I found the dealership experience surprisingly comfortable. They weren't at all slimy/pushy/sharky. They did push the extended warranty (as expected) but that was easy to decline. The only hitch was that it took them a while to figure out how to charge for California sales tax. No big deal. After a couple hours at the dealer I was on my way back to SoCal.
800 miles home:
Straight through it's a 12 hour drive home from Albuquerque. But it's through some amazing scenery and I haven't spent much time in that part of the country. So I was excited to get started. I stopped at Petroglyphs National Monument just outside Albuquerque for a few photos and to take a short jog along the trails. Nice spot. Then 7 hours to Phoenix. I-40 follows old Route 66 for most of the way. The scenery looks like the inspiration for Disney's Cars movie (and of course it was). I-40 was surprisingly busy and the headwinds were VERY strong. I often saw trucks being blown to the side a little due to cross winds. I kept a 80-82mph pace using the adaptive cruise control most of the way. When I was controlling it manually I needed to keep my foot pretty deep into the throttle in order to maintain speed against the headwind. Based on my experience during less-windy conditions later in the drive, I figure the wind was around a 1.5 mpg penalty. Stopped in Gallup, NM to top off the tank with cheaper New Mexico fuel and to eat a late lunch. My next stop was at Petrified Forest National Park. Next turned off I-40 at Holbrook, AZ and took 2-lane highways through a pretty backdrop of pine forests and sweeping mountain views. The road then dropped into Phoenix. Stayed in Phoenix overnight, and completed the last 5 hours of the journey to SoCal on Saturday. No noteworthy stops on that section, but the desert scenery is truly spectacular.
Mileage was mediocre, but hey it's a truck. I filled the tank 3 times during the trip, mostly just to take advantage of cheaper fuel rather than truly running empty. MPG was 13.6, 16.1, and 13.6, respectively. The two lower fill-ups were after extended runs at 80+mph and with very strong headwinds. The higher one included a net downhill section into Phoenix and wind was less strong. On the last leg from Yuma, AZ I was averaging a bit over 15 MPG while coming across the California desert. Strong headwinds again, and I maintained 82 MPH. But climbing the last mountain range before home (and still with the strong winds) I could watch the instantaneous mileage at around 7MPG. Here I-8 climbs from slightly below sea level, to around 4500 feet with almost all of that climb over a distance of 10 miles or so. By the time I got to the crest I dropped from 15 to 13 MPG. Made up most of that on the way down the other side.
The truck:
To my eye, this truck is gorgeous. The styling is very well done. Ivory looks great with chrome bumpers... I like it better than with the body colored ones. And the Offroad Package's extra 1" ride height and more aggressive tires really complete the look. The indigo/frost interior is beautiful. All-in all this truck is well-executed. While searching I really wanted Patriot Blue. But after seeing this one in-person, I don't think I would have liked the blue more. The truck looks made to wear white.
Other impressions from my "extended test drive":
1. I can take or leave the eTorque. It works well enough, though I don't think it's as imperceptible as reviewers say when it start/stops. Jury is still out as to whether it saves me any fuel. I certainly wasn't blown away by my mileage on this trip.
2. Initially I found the lane-keeping feature annoying. Not that I switch lanes without signaling, but with nobody else around... When I did change lanes without signaling I was annoyed by the the truck tugging back at the wheel. Also in the very high cross winds from time to time I'd drift to one side a little and sure enough, the system pushed back. Again, a little irritating at first, but I'm getting used to it and it doesn't bother me as much now.
3. The uConnect system is more responsive to SiriusXM station changes when the radio is in full-screen. Split-screen with NAV seems to bog it down a bit.
4. I tried the self-parking feature a couple times. It was a hair-raising experience but it did work quite well. I had a BMW with this feature for 2.5 years and never once got that to work.
5. The ride, though comfortable for a truck, seems a bit bouncier than I recall from my initial test drives. The driving dynamics are great. Handling on curvy mountain roads was solid. Not a sports car but felt nimble for a truck. I found myself wishing for the "sport" setting my Jeep Grand Cherokee's air suspension had.
6. I love the Ramboxes but it seems like they could have been deeper.
Overall this was a great experience. The purchase process went smoothly. The drive home was comfortable and enjoyable. It was a great way to get to know the truck. And this truck is impressive. It's a pleasure to drive for an extended period of time. If you've been considering an out-of-town purchase like this and can invest the time, do it!
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