New truck prices are insane

No ****, 10 year loans plus extended waranties and what not, I think the Amish saw this coming 200 years ago.

I think it has reached the point where you simply cannot buy a truck if the manufacturer does not have pretty massive incentives in place. Pity the guy that has problems with the vehicle they have and needs to buy a new truck right then and is unable to wait for the size of incentives that are needed for a semi reasonable truck purchase.

I say that because I have been on both ends of that situation. A year ago, I needed to replace a pickup truck, and could not wait for better pricing. I ended up buying a plain Jane Tradesman 3500 Crew Cab 4x4 with single rear wheels. It has been a good truck, no problems with it at all. But, I plan on retiring in 1 to 2 years, and when I do, I want to change from a 40' Toy Hauler to a slide in pickup camper. And I know from experience that a dually will work better.

Fast forward to a month ago, and I am looking at an add from the local Ram dealer that shows incentives of $12K to $15K. The price they are asking for a new 3500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4 with dual rear wheels is $10K less than I paid for my 3500 with single rear wheels. Boy did I pay too much for that other truck. But, ... I thought if I am going to change to a dually in a year or two, taking advantage of current incentives might be the cheapest way to do it. So, just to satisfy my curiosity, if nothing else, I called the salesman I have dealt with for the last few decades and asked him to give me a price difference to trade my SRW 3500 for their year newer DRW 3500. They were equipped the exact same except for the DRW. When he called me back with an offer, he asked if I wanted to transfer my extended warranty to the new truck. I said no, because I had regretted buying the extended warranty right from the start. He then said there was a refund on the unused portion of the warranty, especially with my truck being a '23 with only 4000 miles on it. The refund was added to the trade in price of my truck, and it turned out that with the new truck incentives, the refund on the extended warranty, and a good trade in price for my truck, the out the door price after TTL and doc fee was $609. I said "sounds good to me", and I traded trucks.

So, ... incentives can be helpful. I don't think I will ever buy again without similar incentives on the next truck I buy.

3TV said:

So, ... incentives can be helpful. I don't think I will ever buy again without similar incentives on the next truck I buy.

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I'm glad you got a good trade, but you don't always have the choice to wait. If you are in accident and your vehicle is totaled, for example, you may be forced into a sellers market. Happened to us during Covid. We felt good to find a fair deal on a new Pacifica for the wife. Probably paid too much, but we wrote a check so at least we're not upside down.

My local dealer is now advertising they are doing $20k off MSRP on the remaining 2023 2500s they have(7). Maybe the tide has turned and the supply is out doing the demand finally.

I have not bought a brand “new” truck since ‘15. It was the biggest pos I had the misfortune of driving. That is my last GM product. The dealer bought it back from me. My father passed away in ‘16 in which I inherited his ‘01 Ford F150. Truck has zero issues. Just need more room as in crew cab. The man retired from GM. Speaks volumes doesn’t it. I have always had a love for Ram. My new used Ram doesn’t even have 40,000 miles. Which is new for me these days. I figure with todays prices for any brand, gives me ambition to take excellent care of what I already have

Gladiator MSRPs on lower trims dropped a bit for 2024. Not sure if other trucks will follow, and they are still significantly higher than 3-4 years ago, but I think it's an encouraging sign.

Higher trims increased.

And it would run on REGULAR gas!

Lots of rams are close to 20% off MSRP right now...seems like a good deal until you think about how the MSRP has gone up around 50% since covid.

stevenP said:

Maybe the tide has turned and the supply is out doing the demand finally.

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Actually, it's been that way for quite a few months now for Ram. This article is from last summer:

We've gone from dealers asking MSRP or over during covid to 20k off. I bought my 1500 last fall when the strikes where fresh, thinking prices could go to the moon with less inventory, but it didn't happen. Discounts continued onward. I got 12k off which I'm p!eased with and really like the truck.

I have to think the excessive inventory is partially due to the interest rates being so high and folks being so used to zero % interest the past decade they just aren't buying.

skates15 said:

I have to think the excessive inventory is partially due to the interest rates being so high and folks being so used to zero % interest the past decade they just aren't buying.

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Partially. But GM and Ford don't seem to be having as much trouble moving their pickup truck inventory.

jejb said:

Partially. But GM and Ford don't seem to be having as much trouble moving their pickup truck inventory.

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My wife just bought an ordered Bronco last month, $1,000 under invoice. They used to charge thousands above MSRP. The Ford dealer is over-inventoried with F150s and Lightnings. I noticed an overstock on the GMC lot not far from us. When I say over-stocked, I'm seeing yardstock parked on grassy areas I've not seen used before.

The Ford dealer told us many who had ordered a vehicle were walking away because of the high-interest rates. It put their payments too high and she said many are upside down on trade-ins.

For me...I can afford the truck I want. I would just write a check for it. I just refuse to pay what they want. My truck is a 2019, and the 2024 I looked at is almost the exact same truck. They haven't made any upgrades to speak of, and think they can charge people almost double what they did when I bought mine in 2019...I'm not gonna do it!! Screw those greedy corporations!!

Ram still tops the slowest selling pickup list:

jejb said:

Ram still tops the slowest selling pickup list:

The Fastest and Slowest Selling Cars in 2024

Find out which new car models are highest and lowest in supply, and learn how this data can empower your car buying journey.

caredge.com

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I have to wonder what RAM is thinking, they have higher than competitor MSRPs, but that isn't how to move inventory. Now I see just about every YouTube reviewer has a video of the 2025 RAMs which offer nothing much but higher pricing. They did introduce a new higher trim level that broke past a $100K MSRP.

I don't know about you all, but I'm getting hit with higher costs from every direction. House insurance is up 155%, and car insurance is up 12%, I could go on and on but I'm no different than you. My income only increased by just over 3%. I don't see a new vehicle in our future, not with these prices.

Everyone has their own needs. I have a 2001 Ford F150 XLT that is immaculate. This truck has the 5.4 Triten, which I have heard nothing but horror stories concerning these engines. With 113,000 miles, and meticulous maintenance done by both the previous owner (my dad) and myself. I inherited this truck when he passed in ‘16.
In ‘21 my mom died on the way to the hospital in the ambulance. The awesome Emts were able revive her. And the Docs at the hospital and 4 stints later, mom was recovering exceptionally well.
However a choice was made, by my mom, my wife and myself to move in with mom to take care of her.
So picture 3 grown disabled adults. Two of us are fluffy, In which I will omit the names to protect the guilty. And mom is 125lbs soak and wet. That extended cab Ford became our family vehicle until recently. Mom will be 70 this year, and I wanted her to be comfy in the back seat. Without me having to put my seat up where my gut hits the steering wheel.
A Crew Cab truck was going to fit our lifestyle well. So shopping my wife and myself went. Looking at both Ram and Fords sticker shock on new trucks were able to be overcome by the grace of GOD and not having a truck payment since ‘16. Looking to put half down was going to make an extremely affordable payment. Then “she” came up on the screen. And apparently Ford is so “proud” of their trucks I hadn’t heard back from the dealer. The Ram dealer didn’t really have what I wanted. As a “Tradesman” or “SLT” will do nicely.
When “she” came up on my screen after my wife showed “her” to me on Happy 1911 Day no less, was a no brainer. A ‘15 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab already equipped with extras needed to haul power wheel chair and two scooters.
After yesterday’s drive, and three smiles later. Even almost 24hrs later. And again no payment, didn’t deplete the things that go “bump” in the night fund adopting this Ram.
The journey continues, with peace of mind, from Extended Warranty that I know doesn’t cover everything. The members of this Forum, sharing their knowledge when things break. And I still have that trusty old Ford XLT as back up.

Everyone seems to be getting hit with higher home owners insurance, auto insurance, car prices up, mortgages still high, groceries crazy high. I think it makes some of us a little numb. The sticker on my 23 Limited was within a couple thousand of our first house purchase in 82, which didn’t sink in until later. The car and truck retail model has never made much sense to me. Why not try to price your product at its actual cost plus a reasonable OH and profit and try to build and retain your customer base based on being a good value at a reasonable price. Well, I remember years ago it seemed like a lot of car shoppers didn’t seem aware they could dicker over the price of a car - they thought the sticker price was it, take it or leave it. And I guess a lot of people did and maybe they still do. The dealers seemed to take advantage of this. Sell the car for as much as you can, even load it up with a bunch of dealer options and put a premium on popular models. Gouge the consumer if they will put up with it. If not, we’ll trim the price a little to make them feel like they are getting a deal. I even fall victim to this in a way. I got about 16% off my Limited sticker which was off a lot. I walked out feeling OK with it. And then I read of members using a manufacturers coupon or going to an out of area dealer, etc and getting 20-24% off or something and think, well I was hasty and stupid and left a couple thousand on the table. I should have done a little more research. Yeah, it’s a ****** way to do business but it’s legal. Doesn’t do much for brand loyalty but then they all do it. Ever see the dealer premiums Ford dealers put on the Shelby GT350 and GT500?

BossHogg said:

I have to wonder what RAM is thinking, they have higher than competitor MSRPs, but that isn't how to move inventory. Now I see just about every YouTube reviewer has a video of the 2025 RAMs which offer nothing much but higher pricing. They did introduce a new higher trim level that broke past a $100K MSRP.

I don't know about you all, but I'm getting hit with higher costs from every direction. House insurance is up 155%, and car insurance is up 12%, I could go on and on but I'm no different than you. My income only increased by just over 3%. I don't see a new vehicle in our future, not with these prices.

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I know a few members of the family that own one of the largest network of GM dealerships in the DFW metro and one of them said they are losing a cpl. hundred thousand a month right now. on the other hand I saw a new '24 chevy 2500 ltz dsl crew cab 4x4 with quite a few options for 67,000 after 5000$ incentive while similar rams around here are still in the 70's.

The higher interest rates have bumped many people from financing qualification. I see more inventory across all brands than at any time before. The local Hyundai dealership has a full lot of new vehicles, never seen it that full before

What I see is a lot full of customers who no longer qualify for financing if the rates push them to an extra 100 per month or even 50 extra a month. This shows how precarious family finances are due to groceries being higher and inflation in general.

skates15 said:

What I see is a lot full of customers who no longer qualify for financing if the rates push them to an extra 100 per month or even 50 extra a month. This shows how precarious family finances are due to groceries being higher and inflation in general.

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If a hypothetical family's budget is that tight, financing anything at all should be the last thing they are considering. Banks will give you more than enough rope to hang yourself with and don't care when you hit that sudden drop. They got theirs.