Mark Dodge Thread

[stembridge]

Another happy Mark Dodge customer here - 7.5 weeks from order to delivery. Aaron had said to expect 10-14 weeks. It would have gotten there even sooner if it hadn't sat for ten days waiting on an auto rack to become available.

2021 RAM Classic Tradesman 4x4 • Quad Cab • 6'4" box • 3.6l V6 • Olive Pearl Metallic + Tradesman Black Package • 3.55 anti-spin rear axle • 32 gal fuel tank • Trailer Tow Group • Protection Group • All-terrain Tires • Electronics Group • Popular Equipment Group

Ordered	6/24/2021
Build Sheet	7/08/2021
Window Sticker	7/17/2021
Shipped	7/31/2021
At Dealer	8/13/2021
Took Delivery	8/16/2021

I got a one-way rental car and made the 10-hour drive to pick up the truck in person directly from Aaron. Broke it in on the way home, with about half the trip on the Natchez Trace.

You can see from the pics in my sig I've done a good bit of modding.

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[alpha_brit]

1.) For an out of state order did they charge LA sales tax and then title and license fees for your home state?

They did not charge LA sales tax. It looks like they work with a third party here in NYS who does the DMV paperwork and processes the sales tax for them. I received my registration and license plate directly from the DMV with no hiccups at all. I was very worried about the process but it worked smoothly and efficiently. They really seem to know what they're doing and have the kinks worked out.

2.) They want a $1,000 non refundable deposit - did you have to do this?

Yup, was happy to do it.

3.) they offered to arrange shipping to MN for$1,200 - have others had a good experience having a 3rd party deliver the vehicle from Mark Dodge?

We drove to get it, but I'd expect $1 per mile or so. Everyone I've read about who had their vehicle shipped seems to have been pleased, but I wanted to pick mine up and had a friend in Baton Rouge so the road trip decision was easy.

4.) I emailed Aaron but the reasons came from Renae. Sounds like folks ordering Rams have been dealing with Aaron or Sandi - anyone work with Renae before?

Aaron passed us off to someone who worked up the quote, but was always available if we had a concern, question, or issue. As with question 1 above, the team there really seems to have their act together and I wouldn't be concerned about who works up the quote for you. In the end, I can't see it making a difference.

The bottom line is that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend MD to anyone in the market for a vehicle they sell. The remote location was, if anything, a bonus since the paperwork side of the deal is condensed and extremely efficient, being by Zoom chat and e-sign. I bought another vehicle the week after I picked up my Ram, from a relatively local dealership, and it wasn't anywhere near as seamless or efficient as my experience with MD.

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

Couple questions about those who ordered from MD as I am considering ordering a 2022 Pacifica from them.
1.) For an out of state order did they charge LA sales tax and then title and license fees for your home state?
2.) They want a $1,000 non refundable deposit - did you have to do this?
3.) they offered to arrange shipping to MN for$1,200 - have others had a good experience having a 3rd party deliver the vehicle from Mark Dodge?
4.) I emailed Aaron but the reasons came from Renae. Sounds like folks ordering Rams have been dealing with Aaron or Sandi - anyone work with Renae before?

Thanks!

1. No Georgia tax collected. I will have to settle up with State of Georgia when I get the tag.

2. Yes, gladly. Also assured that it IS refundable if the truck isn't delivered as ordered.

3. Personally I'm driving from Atlanta to inspect and drive the truck before delivery. Also want to meet Aaron.

4. I've only interacted with Aaron but I wouldn't hesitate to work with anyone on his team! Period!!

Best of Luck!

 

[nc_beagle]

Couple questions about those who ordered from MD as I am considering ordering a 2022 Pacifica from them.
1.) For an out of state order did they charge LA sales tax and then title and license fees for your home state?
2.) They want a $1,000 non refundable deposit - did you have to do this?
3.) they offered to arrange shipping to MN for$1,200 - have others had a good experience having a 3rd party deliver the vehicle from Mark Dodge?
4.) I emailed Aaron but the reasons came from Renae. Sounds like folks ordering Rams have been dealing with Aaron or Sandi - anyone work with Renae before?

Thanks!

1) In NC, I just paid that at the DMV
2) Yes and expected it.
3) That seems pretty good since my quote was about that much to NC (ended up driving our trade down to them.)
4) I imagine Aaron is getting too much business to handle alone so he passes some off to salespeople. On the site, he shows up as sales manager. I'm not sure if its normal to work with the Manager on a sale, but he handled 90%+ of my purchase, including the walkthrough.

We paid cash (certified check) and as I've mentioned before, probably only spent five minutes inside the dealership. The rest of the time was transferring everything from the trade to the truck and getting the walkthrough. Everyone there was great. But, if I lived in Minnesota, I'd have to plan a vacation around driving the truck back from Louisiana.

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

4) I imagine Aaron is getting too much business to handle alone so he passes some off to salespeople. On the site, he shows up as sales manager. I'm not sure if its normal to work with the Manager on a sale, but he handled 90%+ of my purchase, including the walkthrough.

I'm sure he is but he has always returned my emails and calls promptly. Good for him and his team. Can't wait to make the trip.

 

[SnowBlaZR2]

How often do y'all ping MD for updates for D -> D1?

 

[monkeypunch]

How often do y'all ping MD for updates for D -> D1?

First time ever yesterday to try to add an option. I feel bad for Sandi. So I don't harass

 

[SnowBlaZR2]

First time ever yesterday to try to add an option. I feel bad for Sandi. So I don't harass

Seems like Ram could do themselves and their dealers a huge solid by automating this process.

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

How often do y'all ping MD for updates for D -> D1?

I emailed every two weeks just to get any update. They told me to contact them whenever I need too and they don't mind.
But I still tried to be respectful, I know they are slammed and they don't have any more control of the production than we do. But they are the best source for the status of your order.

 

[alpha_brit]

4) I imagine Aaron is getting too much business to handle alone so he passes some off to salespeople. On the site, he shows up as sales manager. I'm not sure if its normal to work with the Manager on a sale, but he handled 90%+ of my purchase, including the walkthrough.

Aaron was the one I dealt with when I texted or emailed, but he did have someone else work up my quote. A different person did the walk-through of the vehicle when we picked it up, but we met Aaron and chatted a bit before heading out.

I also realized I should mention that the reason MD collected salestax and forwarded it to NYS was that I financed everything except the $1k deposit since it was at 0%. If I had opted to PIF instead of financing, I'm sure I would have just dealt with the taxes myself.

 

[millerbjm]

Update - I ended up having a local dealer get within $1,500 of the Mark Dodge price and they offered a $500 fully-refundable deposit and were very straight with me playing no games and not wasting my time so placed my 2022 Pacifica Hybrid order with them. It was tempting to fly down to Louisiana and drive back but given the uncertainty in when the vehicle would arrive, changes in flight costs and the fact I may end up leasing and it would immediately add 1,400 miles to the odometer it seemed to be better to buy local. Appreciate all the help from this thread and definitely found Renae from mark Dodge to be quick with info and very transparent and aggressive on price. Now the waiting game begins and I have 2 vehicles to obsess over and research everything about! I think the intricacies of level 2 charging and everything EV/hybrid will possibly distract me from spending money of the truck for awhile.

 

[chris288]

does MD offer similar pricing on in stock trucks as ordered trucks ?? They have a limited that is in transit id be interested in rather than waiting for my Rebel but its listed @ msrp

 

[bdpeter]

does MD offer similar pricing on in stock trucks as ordered trucks ?? They have a limited that is in transit id be interested in rather than waiting for my Rebel but its listed @ msrp

They did offer me a reduced price from MSRP on stock/in-transit truck, but it was about 1/2 way between invoice and MSRP. Still a good deal in my opinion considering every truck in/near NJ is going for MSRP with no negotiations.

If it's for the MD Limited VIN ending in "6500", it's already sold though.

 

[KWKSLVR]

It depends on what they have incoming. If you're picking one of the Limiteds that is 4x4 Night Edition they are going to cut more off (there were like 5-7 incoming if I remember right and all virtually identical other than exterior color). If you're going for the one Longhorn they have (at least as of a couple of days ago) it's near MSRP. Aaron told me that there just isn't a lot of play on their lot vehicles if they only have 1 of something. It costs them more to have vehicles on the lot so their best price is always a factory order.

 

[KWKSLVR]

I was chatting with Sandi the other day and she mentioned that they currently have 18 sold Limited orders configured as Crew Cab 5.7's. Only 3 are nearing finished production and 1 just started.
I'm curious at who all here has that configuration, what options you have, last 6 of vin and where yours is in the build process. I wonder if we will see ours move through close to the same time when they finally do get built.

 

[4th RAM]

Couple questions about those who ordered from MD as I am considering ordering a 2022 Pacifica from them.
1.) For an out of state order did they charge LA sales tax and then title and license fees for your home state?
2.) They want a $1,000 non refundable deposit - did you have to do this?
3.) they offered to arrange shipping to MN for$1,200 - have others had a good experience having a 3rd party deliver the vehicle from Mark Dodge?
4.) I emailed Aaron but the reasons came from Renae. Sounds like folks ordering Rams have been dealing with Aaron or Sandi - anyone work with Renae before?

Thanks!

MD is absolutely handling my Maryland taxes, and we don't pay LA taxes at all if we are out of state.
I asked Sandi that one.

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

I asked as well. If I finance MD will collect and handle Georgia taxes. If I pay cash MD will not charge any tax/title and I will have to pay directly to Georgia to get Tag/title.

 

[Cruzer1]

I was chatting with Sandi the other day and she mentioned that they currently have 18 sold Limited orders configured as Crew Cab 5.7's. Only 3 are nearing finished production and 1 just started.
I'm curious at who all here has that configuration, what options you have, last 6 of vin and where yours is in the build process. I wonder if we will see ours move through close to the same time when they finally do get built.

I have an Limited that is patiently waiting from MD, I ordered 6/25. Sounds like with all of the Ram bells and whistles it may take a while.

 

[firedfly]

@KWKSLVR I think you posted recently asking about the drive from Mark Dodge to Birmingham. I figured I would give input based on my recent drive back to Atlanta.

I-10 Heading from Lake Charles, LA to Baton Rouge, LA:
- There's a section of I-10 (I think it was just West of Lafayette) where concrete barriers lined both sides of the road (two lanes). These barriers looked like they were only a few inches away from the driving lanes at times. This lasted for a mile or two. I'm not used to driving a large vehicle, so it was a bit stressful in the new truck.
- There is night time bridge work between Lafayette and Baton Rouge on the bridges through the swamp. We were driving westbound towards Lake Charles at about 9pm. The eastbound direction was closed due to the construction with traffic backed up for a few miles. We drove through this section of road in the late morning and it was open. I think the construction is only at night.

I-10 in Baton Rouge, LA:
- Had traffic that slowed things down. I think we went through there around lunch time on a Friday.
- If you are driving towards Lake Charles, you can see Port Allen after the river on the left side of the road. This is the end of your truck's railway journey and where it waits for the carrier to haul it to MD. There were a lot of trucks in the parking lot when we drove through. When I was driving on the return journey, I couldn't see the parking lot. A passenger might be able to get a view of it, though. This is also the area where we ran into most of the traffic in Baton Rouge.

I-12 Heading from Baton Rouge, LA to Slidell, LA:
- Near Mandeville/Covington, there is construction that is likely to cause delays.

I-59 from Slidell, LA to Meridian, MS:
- A bit of volume when you first get on the interstate. Then it is clear sailing with minimal volume the rest of the way.

I-20 from Meridian, MS to Atlanta, GA:
- Volume was a bit heavier than I-59, but I don't remember any delays or construction. We drove this section on a Saturday morning.


TLDR: You'll likely run into delays in Louisiana. The rest of the trip should be fine!

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

@KWKSLVR I think you posted recently asking about the drive from Mark Dodge to Birmingham. I figured I would give input based on my recent drive back to Atlanta.

I-10 Heading from Lake Charles, LA to Baton Rouge, LA:
- There's a section of I-10 (I think it was just West of Lafayette) where concrete barriers lined both sides of the road (two lanes). These barriers looked like they were only a few inches away from the driving lanes at times. This lasted for a mile or two. I'm not used to driving a large vehicle, so it was a bit stressful in the new truck.
- There is night time bridge work between Lafayette and Baton Rouge on the bridges through the swamp. We were driving westbound towards Lake Charles at about 9pm. The eastbound direction was closed due to the construction with traffic backed up for a few miles. We drove through this section of road in the late morning and it was open. I think the construction is only at night.

I-10 in Baton Rouge, LA:
- Had traffic that slowed things down. I think we went through there around lunch time on a Friday.
- If you are driving towards Lake Charles, you can see Port Allen after the river on the left side of the road. This is the end of your truck's railway journey and where it waits for the carrier to haul it to MD. There were a lot of trucks in the parking lot when we drove through. When I was driving on the return journey, I couldn't see the parking lot. A passenger might be able to get a view of it, though. This is also the area where we ran into most of the traffic in Baton Rouge.

I-12 Heading from Baton Rouge, LA to Slidell, LA:
- Near Mandeville/Covington, there is construction that is likely to cause delays.

I-59 from Slidell, LA to Meridian, MS:
- A bit of volume when you first get on the interstate. Then it is clear sailing with minimal volume the rest of the way.

I-20 from Meridian, MS to Atlanta, GA:
- Volume was a bit heavier than I-59, but I don't remember any delays or construction. We drove this section on a Saturday morning.


TLDR: You'll likely run into delays in Louisiana. The rest of the trip should be fine!

Great write up! Thanks. By the time I make the trip all that construction will be done and different sections will be torn up! LOL