Hirsbrunner
Junior Member
Hi all,
New member here! Please enjoy my long "why I bought a Ram" post!
I just purchased a new to me 2018 Ram 1500 Big Horn w/ the 5.7L from Carmax maybe a month ago. 29K on the odometer. This is my first "nice truck" so to speak, coming from a 2006 Ford F-150 STX with zero options other than 4x4. I'd been looking at Rams for a while and purchased it outright with MaxCare. No monthly payment here. I'm continually impressed with how well-optioned these Big Horns are for the price.
I wasn't particularly brand-loyal, but I had a few wants. First, I wanted no suicide doors. I don't understand why Ford still uses them. I'm a teacher and a musician (tubist) and got sick of the suicide doors in my driveway or in parking lots. I have a lot of stuff that I put in the back seat everyday and a small driveway.
I don't drive people around often, so I went for the Quad Cab and saved a few grand. I had good luck with my Ford, but it was really rusty, and started to be in the shop probably once a month the last 8 months I had it for new things being broken.
Secondly, I still wanted a V8. I chose Ram partly due to the Hemi having been around for quite a while, so going into this I understand the common pitfalls or issues of the engine. I'm a hobbyist; I can't pull apart an engine in my driveway, but I can fix some things by myself. That's why I bought a warranty anyway.
Last, you may laugh, but I wanted power locks, windows, and remote start. Neither of my old trucks had any of that. This one has all of it and then some.
This is ALSO my first purchase from a dealership. My F-150 came from a private party. Carmax was very easy to purchase from, but I'm not completely satisfied. They only told me about the two safety recalls the day I came back to buy the truck. They also didn't put OEM brake parts on it, according to the dealership.
Future plans? Bed liner and running boards will come first; I don't hate the chrome, but I'd like some different wheels. Not sure yet if I'll have the truck color matched or not. Not anytime soon, that is.
It's not all sunshine here. When it was in for recalls, the service advisor noticed the blend door actuators need replacing. Great. Also, I've been hearing a not-normal noise when braking that I assume is due to the cheap brake parts, so they'll be fixing those next week. To those curious, it sounds like a creak coming from the drivers side front. Not sure what it could be. I'm not thrilled as it doesn't have that many miles on it, but that's what I got MaxCare for.
All in all, I really like the truck. It's comfortable, drives really well, and after I have these few things fixed, I'll have nothing to complain about.
All the best from IL,
David
New member here! Please enjoy my long "why I bought a Ram" post!
I just purchased a new to me 2018 Ram 1500 Big Horn w/ the 5.7L from Carmax maybe a month ago. 29K on the odometer. This is my first "nice truck" so to speak, coming from a 2006 Ford F-150 STX with zero options other than 4x4. I'd been looking at Rams for a while and purchased it outright with MaxCare. No monthly payment here. I'm continually impressed with how well-optioned these Big Horns are for the price.
I wasn't particularly brand-loyal, but I had a few wants. First, I wanted no suicide doors. I don't understand why Ford still uses them. I'm a teacher and a musician (tubist) and got sick of the suicide doors in my driveway or in parking lots. I have a lot of stuff that I put in the back seat everyday and a small driveway.
I don't drive people around often, so I went for the Quad Cab and saved a few grand. I had good luck with my Ford, but it was really rusty, and started to be in the shop probably once a month the last 8 months I had it for new things being broken.
Secondly, I still wanted a V8. I chose Ram partly due to the Hemi having been around for quite a while, so going into this I understand the common pitfalls or issues of the engine. I'm a hobbyist; I can't pull apart an engine in my driveway, but I can fix some things by myself. That's why I bought a warranty anyway.
Last, you may laugh, but I wanted power locks, windows, and remote start. Neither of my old trucks had any of that. This one has all of it and then some.
This is ALSO my first purchase from a dealership. My F-150 came from a private party. Carmax was very easy to purchase from, but I'm not completely satisfied. They only told me about the two safety recalls the day I came back to buy the truck. They also didn't put OEM brake parts on it, according to the dealership.
Future plans? Bed liner and running boards will come first; I don't hate the chrome, but I'd like some different wheels. Not sure yet if I'll have the truck color matched or not. Not anytime soon, that is.
It's not all sunshine here. When it was in for recalls, the service advisor noticed the blend door actuators need replacing. Great. Also, I've been hearing a not-normal noise when braking that I assume is due to the cheap brake parts, so they'll be fixing those next week. To those curious, it sounds like a creak coming from the drivers side front. Not sure what it could be. I'm not thrilled as it doesn't have that many miles on it, but that's what I got MaxCare for.
All in all, I really like the truck. It's comfortable, drives really well, and after I have these few things fixed, I'll have nothing to complain about.
All the best from IL,
David
