DesignFlaw06
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2022
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 11
My '23 Ram 1500 Limited in Patriot Blue
Now a long winded explanation about the spite portion. I've needed a new truck since 2020, but COVID, layoff, yada yada resulted me putting more and more money into my Sierra than I should have. I had the Ram picked out early on, but truck prices just keep getting more and more ridiculous. I was having a harder and harder time pulling the trigger, swallowing that kind of money. I had the week off between Christmas and New Year's and the Sierra was starting to signal that it was going to need some more attention soon. So I decided that week to finally sort out what I was doing. I knew I wanted a '22+ (UConnect 5) Laramie with the advanced safety group, Level B Equipment group, in Patriot Blue. I wanted the wireless charger and trailer brake controller, but those weren't deal breakers since there were plenty of instructions that made me think I can install those myself.
I did my homework, found all of the ones I could find online that met my criteria. Buying new wasn't out of the equation, but I was keeping all of my options open. I had a list of 10 options in the country that I thought were decently priced and met the criteria I was after. I called on a few, got some prices, and had my spreadsheet mapped out. I decided to bring one of the window stickers over to the local dealer and give them a shot at building or trading for exactly what I wanted. I work for a company that gets an affiliate discount so I figured it was worth a shot. What I wasn't anticipating was the local dealer having a still new 23 Ram that checked all of the boxes, except one and that was the color. It was the Granite Crystal Metallic. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't in love with it. I drove it for the day while they crunched numbers. I only deal with out the door prices so I didn't want to haggle or mess around when I got back. They wanted $62,500 for the grey one. Ordering a '24 with what I wanted was $69,000. My wife didn't mind the grey one, but she said "You'll never get out of the blue one, wishing you had got the grey one." Fair point. My mind was made up. Order the '24 and I'm finally done. I wasn't in a rush for it so the delivery time didn't matter and it would give me time to sell the Sierra. Gave them my $500 deposit, went home, and threw up over how much money I just spent. That was Wednesday the 27th.
Thursday, the manager of the dealer called and said he actually couldn't order '24s anymore. They can only order '25s and the Patriot Blue isn't offered anymore. Maybe it was true, but I had no way to verify it. Then he starts pushing the grey one again saying how it is such a great deal. I told him again that my mind is made up and I don't want it. Go ahead and see if you can work out a dealer trade, but now you're on the clock because I'm back to my spreadsheet to go find something. He then said something to the effect of I don't need to bother other dealers with asking if they can order a '24 because they use the same software. And if I call dealers that have the truck I want, it's not a good idea because I'll be competing against him for the same truck. Whatever. Maybe what he said was true, but instead it just came off as shady trying to scare me into the grey one. Then he listed the prices he found, which were all trucks I knew about and he was quoting $10k above what I know they were listed for. Then he told me I could have the grey one wrapped to whatever color I wanted for about $6k-$8k and with all the money I'm saving on it. Yeah, like that makes sense to do that to a brand new truck when I have the option of just buying the one I want elsewhere. I told him I didn't need him if he wasn't willing to work something out with a truck that was already out there at a reasonable price we had agreed on.
I found a used '23 Limited that had 1800 miles on it in Louisville, KY. I called on it trying to figure out why the mileage was so low. Apparently the owner of the dealership ordered it for a friend. That friend drove it for a few months and then saw a Corvette and I said I want one of those instead. Everything is practically brand new still and still in warranty. I explained to "Big Mike" that the Limited was way above what I was looking for and while I know that some people might find value in things like a sun roof, heads up display, etc, I don't. He'll have to compete with Laramie level pricing if he wants to sell it today. I also noticed it didn't have a trailer brake controller which was a turnoff but not a deal breaker. He came back with $66,000 out the door, but then knocked another $500 when I told him I wanted the OEM brake controller. So $65,500 out the door. I had vouchers to use up from Southwest so a flight down was only $150. He took my flight confirmation as a deposit so I didn't get dinged with credit card fees on $500, and he had to pick me up from the airport. Flew out the next morning and it took about an hour to do the deal. It was an easy 6 1/2 hour drive and I was home by 8PM.
Saturday, I noticed that my deposit from the local dealer had not been refunded. The icing on the cake was driving up in my new truck and walking in. The manager was all excited, thinking I changed my mind about the grey one. I was more than happy to point out my new ride and how serious I was about buying one. I enjoyed the look of disappointment on his face. Then he told me that they hadn't refunded my deposit because they needed my credit card to do that. That's BS, but even if it wasn't, when were you going to tell me that? It just cemented my feeling that shady stuff was going on and that'll be the last time I set foot in that building.
TL;DR - Seemed like the local dealer was trying to pull one over on me and scare me into buying something on the lot. Bought a new truck elsewhere the next day and got to show the manager I didn't need him.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning more about my new vehicle. Thanks for having me.
Now a long winded explanation about the spite portion. I've needed a new truck since 2020, but COVID, layoff, yada yada resulted me putting more and more money into my Sierra than I should have. I had the Ram picked out early on, but truck prices just keep getting more and more ridiculous. I was having a harder and harder time pulling the trigger, swallowing that kind of money. I had the week off between Christmas and New Year's and the Sierra was starting to signal that it was going to need some more attention soon. So I decided that week to finally sort out what I was doing. I knew I wanted a '22+ (UConnect 5) Laramie with the advanced safety group, Level B Equipment group, in Patriot Blue. I wanted the wireless charger and trailer brake controller, but those weren't deal breakers since there were plenty of instructions that made me think I can install those myself.
I did my homework, found all of the ones I could find online that met my criteria. Buying new wasn't out of the equation, but I was keeping all of my options open. I had a list of 10 options in the country that I thought were decently priced and met the criteria I was after. I called on a few, got some prices, and had my spreadsheet mapped out. I decided to bring one of the window stickers over to the local dealer and give them a shot at building or trading for exactly what I wanted. I work for a company that gets an affiliate discount so I figured it was worth a shot. What I wasn't anticipating was the local dealer having a still new 23 Ram that checked all of the boxes, except one and that was the color. It was the Granite Crystal Metallic. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't in love with it. I drove it for the day while they crunched numbers. I only deal with out the door prices so I didn't want to haggle or mess around when I got back. They wanted $62,500 for the grey one. Ordering a '24 with what I wanted was $69,000. My wife didn't mind the grey one, but she said "You'll never get out of the blue one, wishing you had got the grey one." Fair point. My mind was made up. Order the '24 and I'm finally done. I wasn't in a rush for it so the delivery time didn't matter and it would give me time to sell the Sierra. Gave them my $500 deposit, went home, and threw up over how much money I just spent. That was Wednesday the 27th.
Thursday, the manager of the dealer called and said he actually couldn't order '24s anymore. They can only order '25s and the Patriot Blue isn't offered anymore. Maybe it was true, but I had no way to verify it. Then he starts pushing the grey one again saying how it is such a great deal. I told him again that my mind is made up and I don't want it. Go ahead and see if you can work out a dealer trade, but now you're on the clock because I'm back to my spreadsheet to go find something. He then said something to the effect of I don't need to bother other dealers with asking if they can order a '24 because they use the same software. And if I call dealers that have the truck I want, it's not a good idea because I'll be competing against him for the same truck. Whatever. Maybe what he said was true, but instead it just came off as shady trying to scare me into the grey one. Then he listed the prices he found, which were all trucks I knew about and he was quoting $10k above what I know they were listed for. Then he told me I could have the grey one wrapped to whatever color I wanted for about $6k-$8k and with all the money I'm saving on it. Yeah, like that makes sense to do that to a brand new truck when I have the option of just buying the one I want elsewhere. I told him I didn't need him if he wasn't willing to work something out with a truck that was already out there at a reasonable price we had agreed on.
I found a used '23 Limited that had 1800 miles on it in Louisville, KY. I called on it trying to figure out why the mileage was so low. Apparently the owner of the dealership ordered it for a friend. That friend drove it for a few months and then saw a Corvette and I said I want one of those instead. Everything is practically brand new still and still in warranty. I explained to "Big Mike" that the Limited was way above what I was looking for and while I know that some people might find value in things like a sun roof, heads up display, etc, I don't. He'll have to compete with Laramie level pricing if he wants to sell it today. I also noticed it didn't have a trailer brake controller which was a turnoff but not a deal breaker. He came back with $66,000 out the door, but then knocked another $500 when I told him I wanted the OEM brake controller. So $65,500 out the door. I had vouchers to use up from Southwest so a flight down was only $150. He took my flight confirmation as a deposit so I didn't get dinged with credit card fees on $500, and he had to pick me up from the airport. Flew out the next morning and it took about an hour to do the deal. It was an easy 6 1/2 hour drive and I was home by 8PM.
Saturday, I noticed that my deposit from the local dealer had not been refunded. The icing on the cake was driving up in my new truck and walking in. The manager was all excited, thinking I changed my mind about the grey one. I was more than happy to point out my new ride and how serious I was about buying one. I enjoyed the look of disappointment on his face. Then he told me that they hadn't refunded my deposit because they needed my credit card to do that. That's BS, but even if it wasn't, when were you going to tell me that? It just cemented my feeling that shady stuff was going on and that'll be the last time I set foot in that building.
TL;DR - Seemed like the local dealer was trying to pull one over on me and scare me into buying something on the lot. Bought a new truck elsewhere the next day and got to show the manager I didn't need him.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning more about my new vehicle. Thanks for having me.
