[MichiganKid]

Hi guys - New Guy here (current DMAX 2500HD CC LB owner) looking to move to the RAM 3500. I haven't bought a new truck in 12 years so I'm a little rusty. While I don't modify the diesels like a lot of folks on here I do love them - I have diesel truck, diesel car, 2 diesel tractors and 2 diesel lawnmowers. Nothing like the smell of diesel in the morning.

I drove a 3500 Laramie Mega Cab Dually but after that ride I determined wrong color and bed was too short. I did get a price from the dealer just to see if he was interested in moving it. His price was 9.6% off of MSRP. I asked another dealer for pricing on a similar speced 3500 but CC and LB. That guy was 10% off of MSRP. I haven't yet tried pushing on either one yet. I have been digging through the threads trying to determine fair pricing. Seems quite of few of the folks are getting 15-18% off MSRP.

Does that sound about right? Am I looking at the wrong time of year? I don't have red or blue tractors (green:smile2 So I don't get those discounts. I'm not a business owner or farmer or realtor or military, so none of those.

I am not in a rush so I can wait a bit or I can also order one I suppose. A couple of things I need on the truck - 4.10 gears, Cummins, Aisin transmission, CC, LB, Gooseneck Hitch, and Leather buckets (for the boss:nerd:, when she rides along). Everything else is nice to have but not needed.

Appreciate the help guys and hope to be joining the group with a new ride soon.

Thanks.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

Discounts vary by area, and how well equipped the truck is, higher level trucks with more options can be discounted more because there is more to discount.

My Lone Star MSRP was around 55K IIRC and I got it for about 46K, but we've all heard of others buying 75K trucks for 55K and other such stories. Did that actually happen???

 

[Diesel1892]

10-15% is typical depending trim. Higher MSRP can get steeper discounts. 15-20% can be had but might take more work or the right timing or truck. It can also be dealer dependent. Higher the volume dealer the bigger discounts can be had in general.

 

[Trowel2013]

Make sure you take whatever truck your considering on a long, high speed (65-75 mph) test drive to determine if there is any driveline vibrations. If it vibrates, do not buy it unless it is fixed before you sign. There is a long thread on here about this "problem". For the record, mine doesn't vibrate, but figured I'd give yah a public service announcement.


2013 2500 CCLB 4x4 Laramie
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ptisceo]

I got 16% off MSRP on a Laramie (which is the minimum trim level for those leather buckets in stock form) in the spring of 2017 without a ton of haggling.

 

[Jhenderson]

You’re on the right track using % rather than $$$. Too many don’t understand why they can get more $$ off a $70K truck vs a $50K truck. 16-18% off msrp is usually considered a decent deal. That should put you right around invoice price. Check online dealers and do the math to prove % reduction, then go negotiate with local dealers.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

I jumped on Auto Trader and searched for what I wanted in a 500 mile radius. Found who had the best deals going on and then started with them until I could get the best deal possible. Narrowed it down to a small dealership in a small town who had the best deal for me. Every other dealership swore there was no way possible that they could sell me the truck for that price and that it was just a trick to get me in the door and they were all wrong. The price they quoted me was the price I paid.

 

[Jlawson1]

Definitely shop around if you are able to. I ended up getting right at 18% off MSRP on the truck in my sig. They arent going to get any cheaper, so I bit the bullet.

 

[Diesel1892]

Mine was about 18% also but it was good timing as well. The 2017’s were starting to show up.

 

[Bdstalls40]

Get a hold of Indytruckchampion he is on this forum. He is the man. I just bought my second truck off him in the last 2 years. He has the best price hands down. Great customer service and an all around good dude.

 

[RayK]

I got 15.4% off my Laramie in July 2014. It was a deal compared to GM and Ford HD's.

 

[Readyman]

I remember talking to indytruckchampion, almost bought a truck from him until i had an issue pop up. Definitely good dude and worth giving a try. I never considered ordering a truck before so he explained it all pretty well.

 

[bigfish95971]

$500 over to Invoice minus rebates should do it, Some places may give a few hundred more off, or if you find a loss leader ad truck, but you do not usually see them in Laramies and above or in 3500.

You looking for SRW or Dually and why 3500 over 2500?
When shopping out of state dealers beware of added dealer fees. Chrysler pays them all prep fees. Anything over $100 Doc fee is outrageous. Don't buy anything becasue if is "already on there" except actual factory options and charges.

 

[m_ross05]

I used the 1% below invoice affiliates rewards discount as a starting point. My company was on the list but I got them to give an extra 1% below invoice. It was just at the local dealer, no special time of year/month or anything. They even had to do a dealer trade because they did not have the exact color truck I wanted in stock. The deal ended up being 17.6% below MSRP on a tradesman.

If you do not want to negotiate or are just not having much luck on a good price, the affiliate rewards 1% below invoice is great. You can join Tread Lightly for $100 for a year membership and after 30 days you can use their code for the program. I would verify that they are still on the list first though.

 

[chrisminx]

Most dealers will do Factory invoice minus all rebates/incentives and split the holdback.

 

[Indytruckchampion]

My price is 1k under invoice minus rebates. The Affiliate Rewards price is roughly 500 under invoice. Dealer holdback on all these trucks is around 1900 (roughly). More expensive trucks with more options have a few hundred more in holdback. Lower trim levels with fewer options have less.

Another thing to look at when pricing trucks is the total with sales tax and all dealer fees. There are some well known "high volume" dealers that end up with thousands - yes thousands - of dollars in extra fees that are hidden all through the final contracted price. I have heard countless stories of people traveling to some place with a "guaranteed" price only to find out the finance manager had the real number that never gets disclosed until it's time to sign.

I just had a conversation this morning with a manager here about these types of issues. I put the blame squarely on the dealer's shoulders. Dealers have played so many games over the years it's nearly impossible to trust any of them. Of course - I have encountered more than one customer that thinks he can outsmart the system. Those types are nearly as fun as dealing with a dealer...

Next month's allocation is the last allocation for ordering 18s. That puts the cutoff for ordering a sold unit around September 15th. There is always a little wiggling that goes on for balance out but that's risky to count on. I just did the math. I need to have 290 trucks in the system by the middle of next month to get us through. I seriously doubt I can get that many scheduled. Why am I telling you guys this?? Because 18 models are going to get hard to come by this year and that generally means rebates and pricing will stay flat if not increase slightly over the next 6 months. We won't see 19s until February or March of next year. The HD "reveal" is scheduled for the Detroit Auto Show in January. That is supposed to be a 20 model. What's amazing is how much is still up in the air about all of this....

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[barongan]

subscribed, this seems like a very interesting thread

 

[brownbear]

Get a hold of Indytruckchampion he is on this forum. He is the man. I just bought my second truck off him in the last 2 years. He has the best price hands down. Great customer service and an all around good dude.

Nevermind, he posted above.

 

[bigfish95971]

Indy is right about dealer fees being outrageous some places. Sometimes at Dave Smith for example. However Sales Tax has nothing to do with any price and should not be. It is calculated by the state of residence and is always paid to them. If any dealer collects Tax from an out of state customer it is supposed to be sent to that state and customer get credit for it.

Affiliates or anything at or below invoice, minus rebates is a great price and should not be complained about. Always check for extra individual qualified rebates. If you have ever sold cars or anything, you know that Customers are much bigger liars than most sales people. Cannot say the same for many owners or general sales managers.

 

[Uneasyrider]

Indy is right about dealer fees being outrageous some places. Sometimes at Dave Smith for example. However Sales Tax has nothing to do with any price and should not be. It is calculated by the state of residence and is always paid to them. If any dealer collects Tax from an out of state customer it is supposed to be sent to that state and customer get credit for it.

Affiliates or anything at or below invoice, minus rebates is a great price and should not be complained about. Always check for extra individual qualified rebates. If you have ever sold cars or anything, you know that Customers are much bigger liars than most sales people. Cannot say the same for many owners or general sales managers.

lol... spoken like a man who has sold cars... so true unfortunately.

Right now some dealers have coupons for $250 and can use up to 4 of them to get a deal done. Limited quantities so you have to be the fish that they want to catch.