So turned off by Ram dealers

[sgdgolf]

So I have been looking at my first Ram 1500, my first Chrysler products ever. I normally contact 3 or 4 dealers via email and ask for quotes and when we get close to a number I like, I will go visit the dealership for final negotiations.

Not so with Ram. 3 of the 4 dealers refused to send me a quote via email. The fourth did and had a pretty good sale price. Then I mentioned that I would lease the vehicle and he said that in that case the price would go up $3,000. WTF??

Has anyone else had such experiences? Needless to say I stopped negotiating and am now considering getting a Chevy Colorado instead. I have probably leased/bought around 30-40 vehicles in my lifetime (own a company), but I have never come across such behavior? I am really turned off at the moment by Ram dealers.

Any thoughts? I am in the SoCal area.

 

[cptwing]

You think the sales staff is bad? Wait until you deal with the service departments, staffed with incompetent unskilled and undertrained idiots. By far worst than ford or chevy and I have no love loss for either of them either. But when it comes to Ram dealership service departments are clueless idiots.

 

[noupf]

So I have been looking at my first Ram 1500, my first Chrysler products ever. I normally contact 3 or 4 dealers via email and ask for quotes and when we get close to a number I like, I will go visit the dealership for final negotiations.

Not so with Ram. 3 of the 4 dealers refused to send me a quote via email. The fourth did and had a pretty good sale price. Then I mentioned that I would lease the vehicle and he said that in that case the price would go up $3,000. WTF??

Has anyone else had such experiences? Needless to say I stopped negotiating and am now considering getting a Chevy Colorado instead. I have probably leased/bought around 30-40 vehicles in my lifetime (own a company), but I have never come across such behavior? I am really turned off at the moment by Ram dealers.

Any thoughts? I am in the SoCal area.

no different that most dealerships around the country. I'm in NY and only one gave me a fairly good price via email. The rest want you to come in. Some dealerships around the country are beginning to operate differently ( doing more over teh phone and internet ), but they are by far the minority

 

[MADDOG]

Lease terms are always priced at or near retail as the payment assumes retail less depreciation over the term of the lease, which is what you are paying for. It also provides for a base acquisition cost at the end of the lease.

That is common across almost all dealers, regardless of brand.

As far as negotiating over email, very few will do that these days but I've noted more and more additions to websites which facilitate that communication. Not sure why that is different from any other electronic medium but maybe it allows the business manager to keep track of multiple deals at any given time through a single tool or portal.

In any event, good luck with your truck search.

 

[Pull Ya]

Use the internet or a buying service.
Jay

 

[sgdgolf]

Lease terms are always priced at or near retail as the payment assumes retail less depreciation over the term of the lease, which is what you are paying for. It also provides for a base acquisition cost at the end of the lease.

That is common across almost all dealers, regardless of brand.

As far as negotiating over email, very few will do that these days but I've noted more and more additions to websites which facilitate that communication. Not sure why that is different from any other electronic medium but maybe it allows the business manager to keep track of multiple deals at any given time through a single tool or portal.

In any event, good luck with your truck search.

I am sorry, but this is contrary to every other brand and dealer and also does not make any financial or mathematical sense.

First off, the negotiated sale price is independent of MSRP. Whether you buy, finance or lease is completely irrelevant. In essence, these are two different events.
With a lease you are paying for the depreciation of the vehicle plus interest. That is the reason why the bank sets the residual value and that value is not negotiable. The acquisition fee is normally paid at contract signing and is usually around $400 depending on the bank. MSRP is Gross capitalized cost and sale price is Net capitalized cost. Lease rates are always based on net capitalized cost. Your monthly payments are based on the difference between net capitalized cost and residual value, plus interest and then divided between the number of months.

There is no other brand that I have ever encountered that changes the sale price of a vehicle depending on how you plan to pay for it, simply because that does not make sense. Those are two separate transactions. The only time that could happen is if the finance arm is giving different incentives depending on the financing. In this case though we are talking about the dealer rebate and not any factory rebates.

 

[clh1220]

I know there was a few dealers I walked the lot, and no one got off there lazy ass and came out to see if I did need any help. I went into one to get a brochure and a salesman asked if I need any help. I said no that's ok you sat here on your ass and watched me and the wife look at trucks for the last 30 min. I'll send the owner a pic of the truck I bought some where else. I Don't know if it is a ram issue or any dealer.

 

[SomeGuyInTexas]

I don't think that any brand of US car has a "typical" dealer quality of good vs bad. Perhaps it is my regional experience, but I will say that there was a huge difference between the two Ram dealerships I went to when getting my 2014. The first dealer is only 5 miles from my house, but I felt like I needed to take a shower after starting price negotiations. I left that dealer and went to another the next day - this one in a smaller town 40 miles away. Night and day, they were straight up on everything from pricing to trade in value for the car I was trading in.

My personal worst experience with a GMC dealership... But 8 years later I went to a different one 10 miles away and was very satisfied.

 

[DavidRam]

I don't think the experience is typical of the brand, but rather the dealer, area, and (if it's a woman) time of the month!

My South Bay/Torrance dealer gave me an excellent price and buying experience...

What part of SoCal??

 

[MADDOG]

Don't be sorry. It's a good discussion.

However, you said "negotiated sale price"...you aren't buying the truck. You are leasing.

Call your local Chevy dealer, negotiate a sale price, then tell them you want to lease and let us know what they say.

I am sorry, but this is contrary to every other brand and dealer and also does not make any financial or mathematical sense.

First off, the negotiated sale price is independent of MSRP. Whether you buy, finance or lease is completely irrelevant. In essence, these are two different events.
With a lease you are paying for the depreciation of the vehicle plus interest. That is the reason why the bank sets the residual value and that value is not negotiable. The acquisition fee is normally paid at contract signing and is usually around $400 depending on the bank. MSRP is Gross capitalized cost and sale price is Net capitalized cost. Lease rates are always based on net capitalized cost. Your monthly payments are based on the difference between net capitalized cost and residual value, plus interest and then divided between the number of months.

There is no other brand that I have ever encountered that changes the sale price of a vehicle depending on how you plan to pay for it, simply because that does not make sense. Those are two separate transactions. The only time that could happen is if the finance arm is giving different incentives depending on the financing. In this case though we are talking about the dealer rebate and not any factory rebates.

 

[sgdgolf]

I don't think the experience is typical of the brand, but rather the dealer, area, and (if it's a woman) time of the month!

My South Bay/Torrance dealer gave me an excellent price and buying experience...

What part of SoCal??

I am in San Diego and contacted Carl Burger dealership and also Huntington Beach Ram.

Btw, I will make sure my wife does not read your comment.

 

[sgdgolf]

Don't be sorry. It's a good discussion.

However, you said "negotiated sale price"...you aren't buying the truck. You are leasing.

Call your local Chevy dealer, negotiate a sale price, then tell them you want to lease and let us know what they say.

Uhm, I did. Sales price did not change. Nor did it change with any of the other 40 vehicles I have bought or leased in my lifetime.

The sale of the vehicle and the form of financing are two different transactions. At least in the rest of the car buying world.
Chrysler and the dealer are both getting their money from the bank, so they should not care how you pay for it. And yes, the car gets sold to the bank, which is why they appear as the lessor on the title. I am not leasing it from chrysler or the dealer.

Now it would be different if Chrysler Financial (different company than FCA) gave lease or finance incentives, but we are just talking about the sale price of the vehicle here with only dealer rebates.
If they have changed the price on you previously depending on the financing, you probably got taken, sorry to say.

 

[mtofell]

My buying experience was about the same with Ram as with any other vehicle I've bought. I went through the Costco Auto Program and it was great.

Service wise, Ram has some ground to cover to catch up with other big manufacturers. They are constantly out of basic parts and just don't seem to have things figured out like others do. For example, I had a TPMS sensor out for months and the dealers in my area didn't have the part (and couldn't tell me when they would). Next, my third brake light leaks and I was told Ram is away of it but had not fix designed yet. I just ended up fixing it myself with a piece of weather-stripping in the Home Depot parking lot in 5 minutes.

Overall, I love my truck but am not overly impressed with Ram as a company.

 

[jdwaynes1980]

They have all been great here in the south east.

 

[TruckNut]

They have all been great here in the south east.

I agree regarding this region. I have a dealer I use and the service department is overall very good. If they screw up I photo/film it and bring it to the attention of my service advisor. Gotten a couple of free services as a result.

 

[Truckit]

My experience tells me that this isn't brand related just incompetent dealer personnel. The owner of the local GM dealer told me he couldn't understand " us Chrysler drivers". He then told me enough lies to plug the sewer. What he did't know was I had decided to buy a used vehicle in his lot and had my check book ready. He lost the deal. The local Ford dealer told me that he couldn't price me a 2015 King Ranch or Platinum because there was no demand for them. My local Ram dealer refused to find and transfer a truck from another dealer. That turned out good because I bought elsewhere on the phone and saved $2300. This time he didn't even get a chance. I have a new Limited in "D" status ordered from the same salesman that sold me the last one on the phone.
Having been in both retail and wholesale for almost 40 years,I just don't get the attitude of the majority of the new car dealers. It is almost like they don't want to sell and I will only deal with someone that wants my business.

 

[sgdgolf]

My experience tells me that this isn't brand related just incompetent dealer personnel. The owner of the local GM dealer told me he couldn't understand " us Chrysler drivers". He then told me enough lies to plug the sewer. What he did't know was I had decided to buy a used vehicle in his lot and had my check book ready. He lost the deal. The local Ford dealer told me that he couldn't price me a 2015 King Ranch or Platinum because there was no demand for them. My local Ram dealer refused to find and transfer a truck from another dealer. That turned out good because I bought elsewhere on the phone and saved $2300. This time he didn't even get a chance. I have a new Limited in "D" status ordered from the same salesman that sold me the last one on the phone.
Having been in both retail and wholesale for almost 40 years,I just don't get the attitude of the majority of the new car dealers. It is almost like they don't want to sell and I will only deal with someone that wants my business.

Amen to that. The amount of incompetence always baffles me, especially considering that a car is the second most expensive item most people purchase after a house.
I always wonder how quickly I would be out of business if I treated my customers that way.
But just like you said, it almost seems like most of them do not even care.

 

[crazy_luck]

If you are not looking for NEW, but lightly used, check competing brand dealers for a used one. I picked up my '13 at the end of 2014 for half of the original price with 18K miles, at a Chevy dealer - they wanted it gone because there were more people looking at this Ram than were looking at their own products. Did the same thing in 2002 when I bought my '01 Ram Sport QC for less than half from a Ford dealer who wanted it off their lot for almost the same reason. In both instances, they were extremely easy to deal with, especially since I had financing pre-arranged thru my credit union.

My Charger, I didn't just buy new, I ordered it and had to wait 7 or 8 weeks for it to come in - I took my time finding a dealer I wanted to work with - the first one that I HAD to ask for a sales person was the place I went with - no pressure sale and everything went smooooooth!

 

[clh1220]

If you are not looking for NEW, but lightly used, check competing brand dealers for a used one. I picked up my '13 at the end of 2014 for half of the original price with 18K miles, at a Chevy dealer - they wanted it gone because there were more people looking at this Ram than were looking at their own products. Did the same thing in 2002 when I bought my '01 Ram Sport QC for less than half from a Ford dealer who wanted it off their lot for almost the same reason. In both instances, they were extremely easy to deal with, especially since I had financing pre-arranged thru my credit union.

My Charger, I didn't just buy new, I ordered it and had to wait 7 or 8 weeks for it to come in - I took my time finding a dealer I wanted to work with - the first one that I HAD to ask for a sales person was the place I went with - no pressure sale and everything went smooooooth!

That's a Hell of a deal.under 20k for your truck.

 

[SlowRoller]

By the time I'm actually ready to buy, I've researched the product enough to know more about it than the Salesman does,,,
I prefer to be left alone on the lot, not followed around. Simply give me your card and I'll call ya if I need ya.

Been buying stuff online, and it's soooo much easier.. Some Dealers use the internet only as a way of getting your contact info. Those who openly advertise deep discounts and/or know how to communicate in this electronic age are the ones I've bought from.
No regrets.