Start of 2022 Production.

[Jimmy07]

Now that's total BS. I get removing the affiliate rewards and such (I don't agree with it from a consumer standpoint, but I understand the logic), but removing monthly and quarterly bonuses/rewards for salespeople while simultaneously making it harder for them to sell vehicles? That's a$$hattery of a d0uchebag level.

It actually makes perfect sense. Dealers aren’t having a hard time at all selling vehicles, and they are getting above MSRP for the vehicles. Stellantis is withholding bonus/rewards because they don’t currently need to give dealers incentives to sell. They have their own extra money they are making on the sales to distribute among their sales people.

 

[bigdodge]

It's a waste of time and doesn't even make sense. They aren't going to build random trucks in all parts of the country it financially would kill them and/or up our prices.

but they are already building random trucks in all parts of the country!

 

[Pi Esq.]

This. Ya'll really should look into modern automotive manufacturing and how things run. Its not some random do whatever thing, its carefully planned out to keep similar trims/options going down the line to streamline the process.

Assuming what you say is true (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), why were dealers telling customers that special order trucks are made first before dealer stock orders? Hell, even Stellantis/Ram Chat (which we all know to be the bearers of nothing but the truth) have made the same representation.

See, the issue isn't with the realities of modern automotive manufacturing, it's with the messaging from those that should be reliable sources. Had I been told by my dealer that my truck would not be given special preference in manufacturing, I probably wouldn't have ordered it because I could just as easily bide my time and buy a dealer stock truck and save myself the hassle of waiting for a special order.

 

[deanno33]

I am probably more patient than most. But, getting frustrated to see local dealers advertising many in-coming 2022 trucks with VINs in the 132000 to 164000 range. While today marks 12 weeks for my order (121826) still sitting in the same D status. Obviously they can't build in exact sequence but come on....dealer orders in the 164XXX range getting built before some people who ordered 2021's (converted to 2022s)? At some point it's actually just BS.

 

[Moparian]

Assuming what you say is true (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), why were dealers telling customers that special order trucks are made first before dealer stock orders? Hell, even Stellantis/Ram Chat (which we all know to be the bearers of nothing but the truth) have made the same representation.

See, the issue isn't with the realities of modern automotive manufacturing, it's with the messaging from those that should be reliable sources. Had I been told by my dealer that my truck would not be given special preference in manufacturing, I probably wouldn't have ordered it because I could just as easily bide my time and buy a dealer stock truck and save myself the hassle of waiting for a special order.

Dealers by and large are going to tell you what you want to hear....plain and simple. Sure there are plenty out there that will shoot it straight but those are more the exception than the norm. Unfortunately Stellantis doesnt have all that much recourse with the US dealer laws protecting all but the most shady dealers. If you want your special order vehicle faster most of the time you have to get it from one of the huge volume dealers since they get priority for everything.
Back to the manufacturing piece.... If they took every sold order and made it priority then whatever they had planned to run on any particular day would get bottlenecked while they make a one off truck. For example(hypothetical).... Today they are scheduled to run 4x2 Bighorn/Lonestars and 4x2 Laramies say with L2/LB group on the Bighorns and L1/LA group on the Laramie and no other major options but by the logic that sold orders get priority over everything then your order of a 4x4 Limited 6'4 bed with night edition, ram boxes, MFT etc means they would have to stop production to get all of the parts required, stage those parts in the proper areas all for one truck which is probably at least an hour of downtime if not more. The reality is that sold orders get priority in line when they run that particular subset of trucks so they dont have to stop production for every custom order.

VIN numbers are assigned based upon when the order was approved for build but is in no way the order in which the trucks are built going back to how manufacturing lines are run. Again high volume dealers are going to get their allocations and sold orders before the small mom and pop dealers most of the time. The exception may be dealers that are physically close to the plant but those also typically tend to be higher volume due to all of the plant workers and corporate workers.

 

[Moparian]

I am probably more patient than most. But, getting frustrated to see local dealers advertising many in-coming 2022 trucks with VINs in the 132000 to 164000 range. While today marks 12 weeks for my order (121826) still sitting in the same D status. Obviously they can't build in exact sequence but come on....dealer orders in the 164XXX range getting built before some people who ordered 2021's (converted to 2022s)? At some point it's actually just BS.

Vehicles aren't build based upon VIN order period. They are built in the order that keeps the production line flowing the most efficiently, especially now with the global supply shortage. Had we not been in a global pandemic for the last 2 years none of this would be an issue and everyone would be getting their trucks in the 4-8 week timeframe.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Agree with Moparian, makes a lot of sense.

However, I ALSO agree with Pi Esq. Communication sucks, and that's enough to make the whole thing a bad experience and leave a sour taste in one's mouth.

Me personally, I'm good. No rush. But there is a line somewhere.

 

[triple_B]

1 more member with a truck on the way!

VIN	BS	WS	STATE	COLOR
119103 @Cam123	X		Louisiana	Blue

 

[Eighty]

Same info, in the chart. Also several new members (@Retcoastie, @Ramroo, @Zacharyae9893, @IdahoRam, @Virden_ranger_35, @Raj_28, @wayne47).

 

[bigdodge]

1 more member with a truck on the way!

VIN	BS	WS	STATE	COLOR
119103 @Cam123	X		Louisiana	Blue

does it appear to anyone that ram is building trucks that take the most electronics and holding the basic trucks for later, like mine.

 

[Pi Esq.]

does it appear to anyone that ram is building trucks that take the most electronics and holding the basic trucks for later, like mine.

It appears to me that there is no discernible rhyme or reason to how they are building trucks. I've seen a few build sheets that are nearly identical to my build yet with VIN's much later on in the sequence (all of which are loaded with ASG, Tech, TTPMS, etc.).

What I do see, though, is that of the 36 member trucks in the 120 range, only 3 (8.33%) have been built, while 6 of the 39 trucks in the 140 range (15.38%) have been.

 

[deanno33]

Vehicles aren't build based upon VIN order period.

Agree. We all have been receptive to that fact.

They are built in the order that keeps the production line flowing the most efficiently

I don't personally buy this. There are folks with VIN 105XXX in D status and they are sending dealer orders in the 164XXXs. There are plenty of sold trucks between 105XXX and 164XXX that would also qualify as production efficient vehicles. Its a Ram strategy thing more so than a Ram efficiency thing....which is their prerogative. Just frustrating to watch happen is all. I'm done, just disappointed to see another week pass with no movement.

 

[Pi Esq.]

Dealers by and large are going to tell you what you want to hear....plain and simple.

I can't speak for everyone, but what I want to hear is the truth. Also, I'm not sure I necessarily blame the dealers, here, as they may simply be parroting what they are told by Stellantis/Ram (i.e., that sold orders take precedence). Given that Ram Chat has echoed the same sentiment, I would guess that it is a corporate line that is then filtered down to the dealers.

Regardless, and this is where I'll end my diatribes, your explanation is the problem. That one would purposely deceive another for a sale is the issue. Yes, I understand that many people operate this way, but the fact that many people do something doesn't justify what it is they do.

 

[KWKSLVR]

I can't speak for everyone, but what I want to hear is the truth. Also, I'm not sure I necessarily blame the dealers, here, as they may simply be parroting what they are told by Stellantis/Ram (i.e., that sold orders take precedence). Given that Ram Chat has echoed the same sentiment, I would guess that it is a corporate line that is then filtered down to the dealers.

Regardless, and this is where I'll end my diatribes, your explanation is the problem. That one would purposely deceive another for a sale is the issue. Yes, I understand that many people operate this way, but the fact that many people do something doesn't justify what it is they do.

https://imgur.com/a/dDHBENN

 

[NOVA-Rebel]

1 more member with a truck on the way!

VIN	BS	WS	STATE	COLOR
119103 @Cam123	X		Louisiana	Blue

Perhaps I missed it but I don’t think I’ve seen any builds from Virginia (my state), W Virginia, or Maryland?

 

[Mathis35]

Perhaps I missed it but I don’t think I’ve seen any builds from Virginia (my state), W Virginia, or Maryland?

RAM TRACKER

2023 MemberTrucks 2023 YEAR MODEL,<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpsYUSRFNtzEykBYyNn07FYHhWLEC4aSpLC_DR2v8p7-_bYQ/viewform">SUBMIT YOUR VIN</a>,D,D1,E,Build Sheet(BS),Window Sticker (WS),KZX 19,2,12,759,753,599 Member,Status,ETA,VIN,(BS),(WS),Series,Cab,Bed,Engine,Drive,Stat...

docs.google.com

38 in WV
102 in Virginia
81 in Maryland

 

[KWKSLVR]

Perhaps I missed it but I don’t think I’ve seen any builds from Virginia (my state), W Virginia, or Maryland?

According to the heatmap on the tracker, there are several in all 3 of those states.

RAM TRACKER

2023 MemberTrucks 2023 YEAR MODEL,<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpsYUSRFNtzEykBYyNn07FYHhWLEC4aSpLC_DR2v8p7-_bYQ/viewform">SUBMIT YOUR VIN</a>,D,D1,E,Build Sheet(BS),Window Sticker (WS),KZX 19,2,12,759,753,599 Member,Status,ETA,VIN,(BS),(WS),Series,Cab,Bed,Engine,Drive,Stat...

docs.google.com

 

[JoeCo]

I can't speak for everyone, but what I want to hear is the truth. Also, I'm not sure I necessarily blame the dealers, here, as they may simply be parroting what they are told by Stellantis/Ram (i.e., that sold orders take precedence). Given that Ram Chat has echoed the same sentiment, I would guess that it is a corporate line that is then filtered down to the dealers.

Regardless, and this is where I'll end my diatribes, your explanation is the problem. That one would purposely deceive another for a sale is the issue. Yes, I understand that many people operate this way, but the fact that many people do something doesn't justify what it is they do.

Sure we all want honest sales people, but that's not reality. It's not right, but generally that's how it is. I agree with the other poster, there are some honest dealers out there but they are the exception, and the bad ones are just going to tell you what you want to hear. Trust what many of these people say and you run a large risk of being disappointed, doing your own research and not relying on them will always be better, but a lot more time consuming. Again, it sucks but this shouldn't be news to anyone.

As for ramchat/ramcares, not everyone may know how full of it they are too and generally unhelpful they can be (probably ramchat being more useless than ramcares, I've at least heard some stories of ramcares helping). Unfortunately for ordering, the dealer will have access to the best information for your trucks progress. Having one that is willing to communicate with you throughout the process is nice. Have to give Mark Dodge credit there, once I figured out ramchat was useless I just emailed my salesman once a week for updates and got accurate updates from that point forward instead of the automated rambot responses.

 

[RedNightRam]

A

Or, you can see the communication directly from stellantis- View attachment 106857

That only lists 2021s so there should incentives still on our 2022s, right? Am I not understanding this correctly?

 

[Prex01]

Think of it this way... You don't have to wait, you have a great new truck, and while you don't have UC4, at least you won't have to deal with the inevitable clustertruck that UC5 will be. I'm seriously considering moving on from my '22 order because I live in the middle of nowhere (nearest dealer is about an hour drive) and I'm not really looking forward to multiple trips to the dealer to get the (expected) UC5 issues fixed.

That’s very true. I hope like crazy for everyone else that the UC5 release goes smoothly.

My only fear now is that I’ll get tagged by eighty or triple in the next few days saying the truck I ordered is being built