Buying my first truck

[Arizonacouple]

Ordinairily I'd flex my manly muscles and plow into the dealership and pray and hope I don't come across as a complete idiot. However, I have found that there isn't such a thing as a stupid request on this forum so I'm asking if you can give me some feedback. I found a NEW 2014 Ram Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 Truck Crew Cab (the dealer is repetitive). It is a DRW and has ALL the bells and whistles. It's a 2014 so they have a "Make me an offer" tag on the truck. MSRP is $70,385 discounted to $56,559. I can get another $1,000 off if they finance it but I may be able to do better on the rate at a credit union or my local bank who have been great in the past. I understand the 2014 might be an issue for some of you but I tend to take very good care of my vehicles and keep them for a very long time.

[davidaf]

First, good choice on DRW and 4WD (now you don't have to choose). I wouldn't have any issue buying a 14 in the Ram if they gave me a good price. The Ford F-450 (lots of changes between model years) yes, but not the Ram. Having said that the price seems a bit too steep for a 14. Sounds closer to what I'd expect for a 15. Jump on TrueCar.com and option it out. See where the invoice is and average paid. They were really close with my last two purchases. Take the $1000 incentive and refinance a month later with your credit union, or any other bank. Or simply tell them your credit union will finance you at X percent and more than likely the'll match the rate or beat it.

[K0LCB]

I have a 2014 Ram Bighorn, it does well. It doesn't quite have the kick my 209 had, but it uses less fuel

[lostshakerofsalt]

Ok, David, I'll bite, why not a 2014 Ford?

[Arizonacouple]

Thanks David. Awesome site. Now I believe I have a tool to make an informed decision. I did notice in reviewing the styles that this particular vehicle is a crew cab and I'm used to a quad cab. I love room in a truck and until I kick the tires I don't know if its a deal breaker. Regardless of the deal I make, I have to remember that I will have the truck for a very long time.

[WeBeFulltime]

quote:Originally posted by lostshakerofsalt

Ok, David, I'll bite, why not a 2014 Ford?

Count me in on this...why not 2014 Ford? Love my 2012!

[NCFischers]

And I love my 2013 Ford. Count me in also.

[mlh]

At 56 k go for it. Actually 55 k and they might take less. Go twist sone arms.
Lynwood

[davidaf]

quote:Originally posted by lostshakerofsalt

Ok, David, I'll bite, why not a 2014 Ford?

I knew I should have edited my post for clarification, I think i'll go back and do that as I really don't want to start any type of flame war

There was a big change in the F-450 (my Ford) between 2014 and 2015 model years.

Oh boy I can see that going south too. The 2014 F-450s were fine trucks but given a choice between a 2014 and 2015 and the changes that were made I would buy the 15. Man I hope that covers my bases. I'm really not out to bash any truck.

[BB_TX]

I agree with take the extra rebate for their financing and then refinance 30 days later if you find a lower rate. No penalty for doing that, at least with Ford credit.

[DQDick]

I wouldn't worry about buying a year old truck, we bought a new, but year old Monty and plan to keep it a long time also so the low price made sense. On the other hand, it's been a couple of years since we bought our truck, but I think they need to go a good deal lower.

[JandC]

There are two school of thoughts on buying a new vehicle from a dealer that is actually 2 model years old. First off is the obvious, when you drive it off the lot it is worth tons less because you now have a 2 year old truck. You are immediately taking a 2 year depreciation. But the second school of thought is if you are keeping that vehicle for a long time (5 years or longer), does it really matter? When you are done with it you will have less miles per year on it divided by the age of the truck.

As far as another $1,000 off for them financing it. Find out how long you have to keep that loan and if there is any penalty for pre-paying it. A couple vehicles ago we took advantage of factory/dealer financing to get more off on the deal and only had to keep that loan for 2 months. At the end of the two months we could refinance it with our credit union at a lower rate. I had also checked with my credit union in advance prior to doing that.

[Happycamperscolorado]

i always seem to buy the previous year truck for the discounts etc.... have a 2013 Ford SD 6.7 and it pulls like an oxe. really like it. my only complaint is the 27gal fuel tank on it. think of adding a second external bed tank

[jfaberna]

I say get the Ram 3500. It's a great truck and it allows you to piss off your Ford buddies.

I picked the Ram over the other 2 because of availability of what I wanted at the price I wanted to pay. Any of the big 3 will do a fine job.

[Arizonacouple]

LOL Jfaberna. Okay my questions seem endless. But I'm learning and isn't that the whole purpose of MOC. I received a copy of a sticker on a Ram that I won't buy but on the sticker they mention axle ratios. My 2500 has a 3.73. The sticker Ram has standard 3.73 but in the options section it goes like this:
3.42 rear axle ratio
4.10 rear axle ratio...................$50.00

What am I looking for in a rear axle ratio and even if I see this on a sticker should I verify exactly what is installed and how can I tell? Thanks.

[jcurtis934]

Doesn't the vin spell out that info? John

[jfaberna]

I had to upgrade to get 3.73. It added a lot of margin to the towing ratings.

[jlb27537]

quote:Originally posted by Arizonacouple

LOL Jfaberna. Okay my questions seem endless. But I'm learning and isn't that the whole purpose of MOC. I received a copy of a sticker on a Ram that I won't buy but on the sticker they mention axle ratios. My 2500 has a 3.73. The sticker Ram has standard 3.73 but in the options section it goes like this:
3.42 rear axle ratio
4.10 rear axle ratio...................$50.00

What am I looking for in a rear axle ratio and even if I see this on a sticker should I verify exactly what is installed and how can I tell? Thanks.

Peter, That vehicle has a 4.10 axle ratio. My '12 Ram has a 3.73 and it works for me. With my weight a 4.10 is overkill and since I spend time out west feel a 3.42 is just too tall.

Now, if the truck has the Aisin tranny, you might consider the 3.42. The 1st and 2nd gear are lower than the 68RFE tranny and the Cummins engine in the trucks with the Aisin tranny is just a bit more HP and TQ.

But the Aisin tranny is like a $3K option and I just do not need that much pulling power.

The lower number (3.42) will give more economy, the higher number (4.10) will give more pulling power.

Jim

[jlb27537]

quote:Originally posted by jcurtis934

Doesn't the vin spell out that info? John

No, the vin does not include axle ratios.

Jim

[davidaf]

I think we all like buying trucks and window shopping. If you post the VIN you/we should be able to pull up the window sticker and see all the goodies the truck has. I'm not sure of RAMs site for looking it up but I'm sure Mr Google has the answer. I probably looked at 20 window stickers before I found the one I was looking for (http://www.inventory.ford.com/servic...8W4DT3FEC02260) since I had no patience to build and wait and I sure wasn't going to drive all over California looking at each truck.

Most of the goodies on these trucks aren't "needed" to tow our Montanas but they sure do make the towing experience MUCH better. My 05 DRW Ram towed the rig fine I just had to work harder, brake sooner, climb slower etc.

Gearing seems to be a personal preference. I like low gears and accept a lower top speed and loss of some MPG. I believe all gearing being offered in these trucks will do the job pulling a 16k trailer but they'll all do that job a bit different (and for more or less MPG) depending on terrain, speed and towing style.