Factory order advice for a first-timer

[Dawgsfan11]

First post, so go easy on me. After doing a lot of research and lurking this thread, I've decided that I'm going to get a Ram. I currently have an old Avalon that's perfectly reliable, so I have time to make the right decision.

Looking at the 2020 inventory, there doesn't really appear to be any truck that meets all the criteria I'm looking for, so I'm starting to think that factory order is the way to go. I've got a couple questions that I can't seem to find concrete answers to, so figured I'd ask here.

1. It appears as though it's too late in the cycle to factory order a 2020. Is that right?
2. If so, anyone have an estimate on when I would be able to look into factory-ordering a 2021?
3. Based on reading, my plan once I'm able to factory order would be to email all the Ram dealerships within driving distance with the specs and ask for a pre-rebate OTD price and go with the low bidder. Is this reasonable?
4. Why doesn't everyone factory order? Am I missing some obvious downsides besides the wait time? it seems like getting a truck with the exact specs you want may even be more cost-efficient, since you're not paying for stuff you don't want and you aren't regretting buying a truck that doesn't have everything you wanted.

I've already learned a ton from this thread and I appreciate all the help! Hopefully I'll be posting a pic of my new purchase before the end of 2020!

 

[Willwork4truck]

Probably why most don’t order is the delay, as well as there’s often an “acceptable” truck on a lot that is right there and likely discounted.
Buying a vehicle new is sometimes more dependent on emotions than it is the head, and it’s a lot easier to get “new truck itis” when you are seeing it, sitting in it and driving one than ordering. That’s why in the recent past dealers would allow you to take it home overnight, knowing the odds were very high that you’d then buy it.

I’ve never ordered one, came pretty close this purchase but I found one that ticked most all of the boxes and that was “good enough”. (But then, I’m more of a “good enough” type person...)

 

[Mike67]

Wife wanted a specific setup and we couldnt find it on the lot, we were willing to wait, but we did lose out on the 0% interest.
So it is dependent on what you want and if a good deal for 80% of what you want shows up.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Wife wanted a specific setup and we couldnt find it on the lot, we were willing to wait, but we did lose out on the 0% interest.
So it is dependent on what you want and if a good deal for 80% of what you want shows up.

I’d have been a lot better off to order in April of 19’... then when it was delivered in June 19’, the huge discount would have been credited, and I’d have saved $6-8K... . But no, that’s not how I roll...

 

[Yogi217]

Hey all, found this thread and have a question about ordering.

I'm talking with a dealer and they are giving me a good price to order my 2020 big horn.

The thing is, they only give the sale price. Basically they say here is my price and then they will further reduce it by whatever incentives are happening at the time I get it.

This challenge I'm having is that I'm going to lease it and they won't run the numbers for me. I asked to do a hypothetical using today's numbers, and i know they change every month.

I've been asking on edmunds and found the incentives for my area, the MF and the RV for my lease terms, so in theory I can use a lease calculator on edmunds to figure it out.

Anyone have experience leasing an order? Does my theory work to make my estimates? Or could there be some wild variables (aside from MF, RV, and incentives)?

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Willwork4truck]

Wife wanted a specific setup and we couldnt find it on the lot, we were willing to wait, but we did lose out on the 0% interest.
So it is dependent on what you want and if a good deal for 80% of what you want shows up.

Mike, could you comment on the usefulness of the ORG since you’re running a Limited. Since you ordered it, must have been reasons to get it.
It might help some readers who are on the fence about ORG.

 

[smoke8r]

First post, so go easy on me. After doing a lot of research and lurking this thread, I've decided that I'm going to get a Ram. I currently have an old Avalon that's perfectly reliable, so I have time to make the right decision.

Looking at the 2020 inventory, there doesn't really appear to be any truck that meets all the criteria I'm looking for, so I'm starting to think that factory order is the way to go. I've got a couple questions that I can't seem to find concrete answers to, so figured I'd ask here.

1. It appears as though it's too late in the cycle to factory order a 2020. Is that right?
2. If so, anyone have an estimate on when I would be able to look into factory-ordering a 2021?
3. Based on reading, my plan once I'm able to factory order would be to email all the Ram dealerships within driving distance with the specs and ask for a pre-rebate OTD price and go with the low bidder. Is this reasonable?
4. Why doesn't everyone factory order? Am I missing some obvious downsides besides the wait time? it seems like getting a truck with the exact specs you want may even be more cost-efficient, since you're not paying for stuff you don't want and you aren't regretting buying a truck that doesn't have everything you wanted.

I've already learned a ton from this thread and I appreciate all the help! Hopefully I'll be posting a pic of my new purchase before the end of 2020!

I have done both. Custom ordered my 2017 in 2017 and bought its replacement off the lot in 2020. There are pros and cons for both. In 2017 there was nothing available with the specs I wanted, I suspect, like you. I ordered it once we settled on the financing. The downside is the agrivating wait. OMG. it was like I was 6 waiting on Santa.....
Jump forward 3 years and I built my truck online (https://www.ramtruck.ca/en/build-and-price/ramtruck/1500dt/2020/21399/CAD00RMT11EC1#) and emailed my dealer the build sheet. he priced it out and was able to get me an upgraded ram from a local lot that had most of the things I wanted. it took just under a week from initial sale conversation to driving put the door. there were some compromises and we had to re-examine our must and want have list.
If your going to have this truck a long time, maybe you dont want to compromise, if your only keeping it for a few years, maybe you can live with out some options knowing you will get it next time.... tough decisions.
Good luck.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I have done both. Custom ordered my 2017 in 2017 and bought its replacement off the lot in 2020. There are pros and cons for both. In 2017 there was nothing available with the specs I wanted, I suspect, like you. I ordered it once we settled on the financing. The downside is the agrivating wait. OMG. it was like I was 6 waiting on Santa.....
Jump forward 3 years and I built my truck online (https://www.ramtruck.ca/en/build-and-price/ramtruck/1500dt/2020/21399/CAD00RMT11EC1#) and emailed my dealer the build sheet. he priced it out and was able to get me an upgraded ram from a local lot that had most of the things I wanted. it took just under a week from initial sale conversation to driving put the door. there were some compromises and we had to re-examine our must and want have list.
If your going to have this truck a long time, maybe you dont want to compromise, if your only keeping it for a few years, maybe you can live with out some options knowing you will get it next time.... tough decisions.
Good luck.

Great reply to his questions, with your experience.
While I’ve never actually gone through with an order, for my 19’ I had contacted Lara RAM outside St. Louis and built one to order from them. It turned out that the cost was about the same but I didn't have to wait the 3 months, and I knew the OTD price as a certainty, as opposed to not being sure.

Now would I have been better off to order? Well kinda’, because I would have gotten the 33 gallon tank, which was my only real regret. Everything else was either a toss-up (gears and anti-slip vs e-locker) and since it was for her, she could have cared less about gearing and she wouldn’t have known how to use the e-lock, so anti-spin it was.

Getting the truck she wanted color-wise and I could live with mechanically that was only a 45 minutes drive away sure beat a flight to Missouri and a long drive back. Same thing with Koonz, they offered cheaper prices but I was looking at a 12 hour one-way drive and a plane ticket or 24 hrs of driving, plus fuel and meals. Just wasn’t worth it to me.

Sometimes a buyer can do much better price-wise off the lot, especially on a volume seller like a BigHorn. Look for an older (age on lot) truck with a “rental” package (meaning just the basic options, nothing fancy) and you can pick one up for 20-25% below msrp easily (at the right time of year, not so much now).
If you read some of the deals guys proved they got back in like Jan/Feb of 2020, there were some really cheap trucks sold.

 

[Dawgsfan11]

I have done both. Custom ordered my 2017 in 2017 and bought its replacement off the lot in 2020. There are pros and cons for both. In 2017 there was nothing available with the specs I wanted, I suspect, like you. I ordered it once we settled on the financing. The downside is the agrivating wait. OMG. it was like I was 6 waiting on Santa.....
Jump forward 3 years and I built my truck online (https://www.ramtruck.ca/en/build-and-price/ramtruck/1500dt/2020/21399/CAD00RMT11EC1#) and emailed my dealer the build sheet. he priced it out and was able to get me an upgraded ram from a local lot that had most of the things I wanted. it took just under a week from initial sale conversation to driving put the door. there were some compromises and we had to re-examine our must and want have list.
If your going to have this truck a long time, maybe you dont want to compromise, if your only keeping it for a few years, maybe you can live with out some options knowing you will get it next time.... tough decisions.
Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I’ve currently got a 2008 Avalon that I’ve had for 10+ years, and plan on keeping this truck until it dies, so I definitely don’t want to compromise on wants. Some of my requirements, like Rambox and multifunction tailgate, are few and far between. I’m in the process of sending my specs out to the 20 nearest dealers to get the best price. Wish me luck!

 

[Willwork4truck]

Thanks for the reply. I’ve currently got a 2008 Avalon that I’ve had for 10+ years, and plan on keeping this truck until it dies, so I definitely don’t want to compromise on wants. Some of my requirements, like Rambox and multifunction tailgate, are few and far between. I’m in the process of sending my specs out to the 20 nearest dealers to get the best price. Wish me luck!

Depending on where you are, try Koonz or Lara RAM as possible order sites too. Koonz is in Maryland/DC and Lara is near St Louis. If you are out west then Dennis Dillon in Idaho is a volume dealer.

 

[Dawgsfan11]

Depending on where you are, try Koonz or Lara RAM as possible order sites too. Koonz is in Maryland/DC and Lara is near St Louis. If you are out west then Dennis Dillon in Idaho is a volume dealer.

thanks! I’m not super close to either but might as well reach out to see what price they come back with.

 

[2slow95vert]

I ordered a truck about a month or so ago knowing it would be months before delivery. I'm very picky and couldnt find anything on the lot that I could live with (at least not anywhere with good pricing) I live in NY, but it's still worth it for me to order from Carl at Criswell Ram in Md. Check them out
I know I'm gambling with the incentives, but I've had my current car for 12 years and plan the same for the ram. And for what these things cost I want it exactly as I want.

 

[Venom700]

I ordered a truck about a month or so ago knowing it would be months before delivery. I'm very picky and couldnt find anything on the lot that I could live with (at least not anywhere with good pricing) I live in NY, but it's still worth it for me to order from Carl at Criswell Ram in Md. Check them out
I know I'm gambling with the incentives, but I've had my current car for 12 years and plan the same for the ram. And for what these things cost I want it exactly as I want.

What kind of pricing does Criswell have compare to Koons 8% below invoice?

 

[brian42]

My truck was totaled so I had 10 days to get a vehicle. Not enough time to order a new one. Plus I would not have been able to afford the one I got if the same rebates weren’t in effect during a later month.

The ORG has goodies for leaving the pavement. Skid plates, tow hooks, different shocks and coils (1” taller ride height), e-locker, and other stuff.

If you plan to piece a lot of that together the cost adds up and the package is a good price for all the extras you get. I do like the full-size spare. I’m not sure how other trucks are but I have the same size wheel (albeit steel) and tire as what’s on the ground. And it’s the same tire as the rest...not a “temporary use” one.

Many feel the e-locker is a deal breaker as you can’t get the anti-spin rear. For me the Auto 4wd works just fine for those circumstances.

My dad went the other route and ordered his Limited with pretty much every option. He got the ORG also.