$70k Truck Falling Apart at 38k Miles

[Docwagon1776]

I walked up to a receptionist desk and somewhat irritably asked if there were any salesman working today as we sure haven’t stumbled across one and we were interested in possibly buying a RAM. That got us a salesman finally and everything went well after that but it kind of makes you wonder.

I actually prefer this. Treat me like I'm a skittish wild animal at a car lot, let me approach you. I don't need a salesman until I need one and they are just an annoyance following me around until I do... And please, please, please get me an old guy. I don't have the patience to teach one of your newbies their job and I'm better at running their games than they are. Fun thing about learning criminal interview/interrogation, much of it translates very well to other avenues of life in which you're negotiating, fact finding, and seeking a joint resolution. Just without the need for four square...

 

[Tulecreeper]

I agree that with vehicles like that you don’t want to be looking at vehicles that they have let people just walk in off the street and take joy rides in. It was more their attitude and indifference when we first were approached that pissed me off. I remember thinking, geezz maybe I should have swapped my jeans for slacks before we came down here. And then after they ran our credit the complete 180 degree turn around just made it all the more irritating.

I thought I was having a repeat of this when we went down to the Dodge dealer last Fall to seriously look at RAMs with the intent of buying. We parked, walked around and looked at trucks for 15 - 20 minutes, climbed into several to get a feel for them, more or less figured out what we wanted, and not a salesman in sight. So we eventually wandered into the showroom where we found another truck that caught my eye and looked it over good. Still, no salesman in spite of many obvious employees sitting around and in cubicles. Finally, somewhat irritated after 30 minutes or so and having looked at about everything we could, I walked up to a receptionist desk and somewhat irritably asked if there were any salesman working today as we sure haven’t stumbled across one and we were interested in possibly buying a RAM. That got us a salesman finally and everything went well after that but it kind of makes you wonder.

I find that way better than the old days where they sprinted to your car before you got out, then hounded you around the lot for a half hour.

 

[Docwagon1776]

I don't think I've ever even had to show my license before a test drive.

I did until I didn't. I honestly think it's mostly about your age and what you rolled up in. It's also a marketing tool. It's not for their insurance, even though the salesman may believe that himself. It gives them your address. Same reason for "can I look this up and call you right back?" They could put you on hold or they may already have the info...but now they have your telephone number.

 

[Yardbird]

I did until I didn't. I honestly think it's mostly about your age and what you rolled up in. It's also a marketing tool. It's not for their insurance, even though the salesman may believe that himself. It gives them your address. Same reason for "can I look this up and call you right back?" They could put you on hold or they may already have the info...but now they have your telephone number.

I owned an independent auto dealership here in NC. It's a requirement to fill out a dealer demonstration permit before any test drive of a dealer vehicle, especially if the salesperson is not with the customer.

It's time consuming to fill this out, and many dealers don't do it. But, if you have a hard nosed, by the book, inspector like we did in my county, you filled the permit out, no matter how long it took.

My inspector made the statement there were too many dealers in our county, and his mission was to clean out the ones that didn't do things by the book.

Try as he/they may, there was never anything in all my paperwork concerning any type of transaction or requirement that wasn't 100% correct, much to the inspectors dismay.

The law stated at that time an independent dealer tag can only be used for 100% dealer duties. The inspectors would ride around grocery store and other parking lots looking for dealer tags.

I know of one dealer who came out of the grocery store, with the inspector sitting there with his license tag in his hand, and a ticket written out.

Cost him $200.00 I think to get it back.

 

[mikeru]

Soft inquiry is nothing to your credit, and hard pulls are so negligible that unless you're trash tier credit it's nothing anyway. Of course now, it's easy to have your own soft pull (giggity) and most banks or credit cards offer a free one routinely.

It's not expensive cars, generally, it's cars that are rare and are going to sell someone quick even if it isn't you. Double bonus if it inspires hooliganism. You can tart up an F-150 Platinum to the point it's way more expensive than two Broncos, but it's not rare. When Broncos were super constrained and dealers were at $10k ADM, you couldn't test drive one even if you had one paid for, the only exception being "mannequins" that Ford specifically provided for test drives. Dealerships would only let you drive 2-3 miles in those because they knew at the end of 6 months it was their car to sell and it'd still be worth thousands over MSRP, people were lined up to buy it, and they wanted to keep the miles off it. Any dealer will toss you the keys to the more expensive, but more common F-150. I drove several Raptors on test drives...but only one Bronco. Of course the market has turned now, so the Bronco isn't the example it was a few years ago.

Ford made maybe 4,000 Lightnings a year and they had no problem selling them, so that's why I'm saying it's not a sign of a bad dealer in that case. It's a rare vehicle that is going to command a premium, that the buyer will not want a bunch of test drive miles on, and that inspires hooliganism. I'd not be shocked if a dealer didn't want an agreed upon price, with the condition you like the test drive, before letting you drive one. Saw that on higher trim Corvettes and ZL1 Camaros a few times, and I was in the position to simply write a check for it so nothing to do with credit or ability to buy, and I pulled onto the lot in one, so no concern I couldn't drive one etc. Just making sure I wasn't a looky-loo. I told him I couldn't talk price because I didn't know how much I would value the newer one over what I had and that, frankly, I may like it less than what I had and at that point price wouldn't matter. I was not the buyer they were looking for, but they still sold it within 48 hours...and likely for way more than I would have went.

Could be that I just haven't been interested enough in a rare car to ever test drive one. I'm not a car collector. I buy cars to regularly use not to preserve. I wouldn't want to daily drive a rare vehicle so there's no real point in my buying one. Maybe if I were ever in the position to simply write a check for one I might consider looking for a rare car to start a collection. So I'll have to take your word on that. But most people don't shop for rare cars. I was jut sharing information with people why might not know a credit check isn't normally required until you've agreed to finance the vehicle.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Could be that I just haven't been interested enough in a rare car to ever test drive one. I'm not a car collector. I buy cars to regularly use not to preserve. I wouldn't want to daily drive a rare vehicle so there's no real point in my buying one. Maybe if I were ever in the position to simply write a check for one I might consider looking for a rare car to start a collection. So I'll have to take your word on that. But most people don't shop for rare cars. I was jut sharing information with people why might not know a credit check isn't normally required until you've agreed to finance the vehicle.

We're on the same page. It's not normally required, but the post that kicked it off wasn't a normal situation, which was my point.

 

[mikeru]

We're on the same page. It's not normally required, but the post that kicked it off wasn't a normal situation, which was my point.

Agreed.

 

[Docwagon1776]

I owned an independent auto dealership here in NC. It's a requirement to fill out a dealer demonstration permit before any test drive of a dealer vehicle, especially if the salesperson is not with the customer.

Definitely not a thing here, no such form exists, but I get different states do different things in different ways.

The law stated at that time an independent dealer tag can only be used for 100% dealer duties.

Also definitely not a thing here.

 

[DanAR]

I actually prefer this. Treat me like I'm a skittish wild animal at a car lot, let me approach you. I don't need a salesman until I need one and they are just an annoyance following me around until I do... And please, please, please get me an old guy. I don't have the patience to teach one of your newbies their job and I'm better at running their games than they are. Fun thing about learning criminal interview/interrogation, much of it translates very well to other avenues of life in which you're negotiating, fact finding, and seeking a joint resolution. Just without the need for four square...

That’s true. When I want to browse car lots just to see what’s new I do so when they are closed on Sundays so as to not be hounded by salesman. And here I was, for once needing and wanting a salesman, and not one to be found.

 

[abouttobeglue]

It doesn't matter whether you spent $70k or $40k on the truck. They're all made on the same assembly line, with no consideration from the people building them for how much someone might pay for it. You should be able to expect not to have the issues you mentioned after only 38k miles on any vehicle.

Though some of the issues are not the fault of the truck, as mentioned

I work on an assembly line for Toyota, can't speak for others, but I do make sure the parts I install and work with are done correctly and properly.

 

[Bill Wilkison]

I own a 2018 Ram 2500 6.7. I purchased it new and it now has 107k miles on it, @20k while towing a 14k trailer. The truck has never been modified. It has never been back to the dealer nor ever been in any shop, except for tires. I take care of it and drive it like it was meant to be driven. I understand there can be issues from the factory, but not on every vehicle. I don't know the history of your truck, but I do have questions.

 

[Mark DeRoncey]

Nothing personal...Not making allegations.... 1) I have had customers say to me, "This shouldn't be breaking...It's a new car" - It had 50K on it, so it's a used car. It's not new. It stopped being new the day they delivered it to you. It needs maintenance. These things aren't perpetual, they are machines...they break. 2) " alignment from the factory was so off after 10k easy miles that it took them a whole day to fix and the steering wheel has been tilted right ever since". The ONLY way an alignment goes out is if a part wears or a part bends/breaks. At 10K, probably not wear. Whatever, if they "aligned" it and the wheel is not centered, THAT is a technician issue, not a vehicle issue. Everything can be aligned properly, if the parts are functioning correctly and nothing is bent. Not saying you bent it...But if the alignment was out with 10K miles, something was probably bent or altered. Has this thing been lifted??? 3) " 2wd sharp turns/reverse the truck stops and I have to give it gas and it feels like its doing the 4w hop, at stop lights it randomly seems the break is applied and wont roll forward, I have to give it gas to BUMP it out of whatever is holding it back then its always TOO much gas" Lots of probable causes here, I won't speculate. At 38K, I have to assume it doesn't have the factory tires on it anymore...Were they replaced with a larger size? Tires hitting will cause this...As well as a host of other things. I'd be curious to see. 4) The dashboard...I'd raise hell about that with the dealer. 5) I once had a customer blow a motor apart at 55K miles, look me in the eye and tell me, "No one ever told me I was suppossed to change the oil...Where does it say that?" When I asked if they read the owners manual, they looked puzzled. Not saying you are THAT guy, but I've see enough of THAT GUY to know that there is always another side to the story I am reading on the interwebs. So, call me skeptical.

Sometime you just het a bad vehicle. I had a Nissan Titan that began falling apart day one. Alignment went out at 3500 miles, original equipment, nothing hit, both front shocks leaking oil at 6500mi. Mirror cable was misrouted from the factory and was cut the fist time I rolled the passenger window down. Heater core failed at 10k, seat belt tensioners failed religiously every 10k mikes, fan speed control module failed at 12k, tran. Cooler lines leaked at 10k miles, radiator failed at 21k, seat cover kept ripping at the seams (I am 130#), drive shat spline issues from day one, they replaced the rear end twice before they figured that one out. Door panels would pop loose regularly. Clock spring failed at 30k. Exhaust manifold crack at 35k. Everyone I knew that owned a Titan loved it and never had any of the problems I had. Sometimes you just get a bad vehicle, and while all my issues were covered under warranty the down time was ridiculous. I chalked it up to maybe being the last off the line on the Friday of a holiday weekend. I take extremely good care of my vehicles because I keep hem for an average of 14 years, but I couldn’t wait to get rid of that one. It was a good truck with solid bones, never had a minutes trouble with the engine or transmission, but everything else was suspect. Sometimes life just deals you a lemon.

 

[djhartm]

2014 Limited, 83k miles. Hemi Fever tune, LT, cat back intake. Looks & runs like new. And it's never been garage parked. Only 'major' issue was one of the sunroof drains getting clogged. I don't do anything crazy, i.e. 3k oil changes with Blackstone analysis, just change the fluids according to the service manual.

Of course if you take your vehicle to a dealer service dept for ANYTHING, they will bend you over the barrel & tell you a million things are wrong with it.

Sounds like you just got a lemon. It sucks, but it happens. Sell it & move on.

 

[counselor3]

The leather dashboard has completely peeled and looks terrible even from the outside, sun visor just dropped out of the holder and I cant use it, girlfriend tried to close the tailgate once and the whole thing came off, sun roof and bed light leaks water, alignment from the factory was so off after 10k easy miles that it took them a whole day to fix and the steering wheel has been tilted right ever since, parking sensors go off randomly sometimes throwing the brakes and making loud noises when theres nothing around, in 2wd sharp turns/reverse the truck stops and I have to give it gas and it feels like its doing the 4w hop, at stop lights it randomly seems the break is applied and wont roll forward, I have to give it gas to BUMP it out of whatever is holding it back then its always TOO much gas... All this and I am not even going into the issues with the 12 inch stereo system.

I have been a long time owner/member of the forums. I have owned Dodge/Ram trucks and cars since the 90's and always had good things to say about them. I purchased a 2020 1500 Limited with every option except the ones I didnt want and its been the worst quality vehicle I have ever owned. The base models I used to have had very little problems.

The worst part is that all of this started happening as soon as the warranty ended. I just had someone hit my wheel while I was parked and decided to take it in to look at all the issues. $6,000 to fix it all.. Most of the issues I could have looked passed and just chalked it up to "things happen". The dashboard problem however, is absolutely inexcusable. Looking on the forums I see its a common issue. These are some of the highest trim levels available and the leather peeling off of the dashboard at such low miles/time is laughable. They want me to spend $3,000 to install the same poor quality dashboard only for it to go out in another 30k miles.

This will make me never buy another product from this company. It quickly went from being the best truck I have ever had, friends loving it, to explaining how a $70k truck is completely falling apart.

There are lawyers that specialize in suing manufacturers check google for one that is near you I used one from Phila he flew in to Pittsburgh didn’t cost me anything are you under any warrenty

 

[counselor3]

There are lawyers that specialize in suing manufacturers check google for one that is near you I used one from Phila he flew in to Pittsburgh didn’t cost me anything are you under any warrenty

I think I did it under the pa lemon law

 

[katywoodworker]

Sorry to hear about the issues. I bought a 2016 RAM 1500 Crewcab new. It has been in the shop once for a few items including the fuel pump / indicator as well as the HEMI tick.
Well I am just over 100k miles ans having the same issue again.
But I bought the Factory warranty at $3.5k when I purchased the truck. The warranty covers most if not all of the non consumables such as brakes, lights, etc. and it cost me so far $100 per visit. I will be taking it in next week for the tick.
Since the majority of folks know that things seem to break after the warranty, I bought the lifetime warranty of time or mileage limits.
Just like folks buy life insurance because they know there is an end, I know that a mechanical beast will breakdown.

 

[Dusty]

I was not aware of a dash peeling issue on the Limited trim. My sister had a Lincoln MKZ (?) that the upper dash cover did the same thing. Ford would not fix it.

We had a little neighborhood get-together yesterday where I was introduced to a young Toyota salesperson from out-of-town. He was telling me that the new Tundra engines have a serious flaw (eating main bearings!!) and that customers are waiting 50-60 days for a replacement engine. And some of the replacement engines have suffered the same fate.

My neighbor the Ford tech. says their 10-speed transmission is "trash."

An acquaintance, a Chevy tech., has commented that Silverado engines are burning oil excessively and they have a propensity for lifter lock up.

Things may always look dismal from one perspective, until you see what's going on elsewhere.

You're playing roulette when it comes to buying a vehicle nowadays.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 112373 miles.

 

[Jerrybob]

You've never bought a truck equipped with Bridgestone Duelers I'm guessing. They make a pretty good studless snow tire (Blizzak) but those Duelers are lucky to make it 30k miles for most people.

I got 40K on my Duellers.....just replace them with new Michelins.

 

[Zguy]

For whatever it's worth, I have a 2016 RAM 1500 limited with 181,000 miles. Besides normal maintenance I've had to replace the ESIM and radiator. The truck is maintained according to the manufacturer's printed schedule and has been a dream. Interestingly, by VIN and date, it was one of the very last made in this country and nor Mexico.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I've had 3 new trucks in the past 35 years, the only vehicles I've had in all that time. This one that I bought last year, a 2000 Silverado 1500 4x4 that I bought in Oct 1999, and a 1987 Ford Ranger 4x2 that I got in 1987. None of them have caused me much grief, mechanically, other than the expected things as they age - U-joints, etc. - but then I kept up on the maintenance. I count myself lucky that I never got a lemon. This current truck I only have 6200 miles on because although it's my EDD I only put maybe 300 miles per month on it.