Never again

[Quint]

There is plenty of blame to throw around.

Good points have been made about the underlying reasons behind the delays. I also agree about the deposits/pre-payments being an additional source of profit. That is a well-known tactic in all industries. Then again, they are custom-making a vehicle for you so a deposit seems warranted. You wouldn't be special ordering this vehicle if it was a common combination of attributes, so it is most likely harder for them to sell if you back out.

This whole thread is a good reminder for all of us that things just aren't as easy to get as we want...or were used to. The moral is be prepared to wait an uncomfortably long period of time for your new vehicle. If that is intolerable, keep searching for that one truck that has most of what you want.

 

[GTyankee]

The Nay Sayers on here have a point

To them a Black Tradesman truck with no options sitting on a dealerships is better or at least as good as the Patriot Blue Bighorn w/ Navigation & full Floor Console & Tow Mirrors

Sure you could buy that Tradesman off the dealerships lot, But then you will be pissed off every day when you walk to the truck to go someplace.

I guess some people did not recall the Toilet Paper shortage that we had just a couple months ago, the only people that did not complain either stock up a couple times a year, or they had plenty of Broad Leaves around their property.

Sometimes you just have to make do, other times if you have a preference, you just have to wait

 

[jimboschnitz]

The last time I ordered a new vehicle was in 1968 when the Plymouth Roadrunner was introduced. The only reason I did was because that was the only way you could get one. Dealers couldn't keep them in stock at that time. Since then I have purchased many new vehicles and have always been able to find a vehicle with options either identical to those I specifically wanted or that were close. The latest example was my quest for a 2020 or 2021 Ram 1500 with the Ecodiesel engine, multifunction tailgate and air suspension. My first choice was a Laramie with those specific options. I cruised the internet looking at dealer inventory in the DFW metro area and expanded outward from there with none in dealer inventory anywhere. So I changed my parameters and just looked for any model with the options I wanted and eventually found a Limited right in my backyard, the local dealer just 5 miles away. I had to pay a little more as the base MSRP for the Limited was about $5 grand more, but I am truely happy with my purchase. The point being, if your looking for that perfect one, albeit a vehicle or a life partner, you may have to accept some alternatives if you are in a hurry for that big RUSH........

 

[LarryA]

FWIW my neighbor ordered a 2500 Laramie that was darn near fully loaded. Took his time until he found a dealer that was completely open to doing a factory order. He ordered at the end of Feb and the truck came in 10 days ago.

His truck does have the blind spot monitoring and the 360 camera.

He did get the typical factory order brush off from a few other dealers, and thanked them for their time and left.

He was worried about delays due to chip shortage, but his old truck was in great shape, and he had a few buyers line up and waiting.

Of course this is just 1 persons experience, I am sure if I ordered today I wouldn't see my truck for 6 months!

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

I guess some people did not recall the Toilet Paper shortage that we had just a couple months ago, the only people that did not complain either stock up a couple times a year, or they had plenty of Broad Leaves around their property.

Sometimes you just have to make do, other times if you have a preference, you just have to wait

There was no toilet paper shortage and I know that for a fact working at Procter & Gamble the last 5 years at the West Coast Mixing Center here in Riverside California .... we were literally sitting on thousands of pallets of toilepaper, towels, diapers, napkins and they were going to the highest bidders and not even close to wholesale ......

On top of that, P&G has their own paper machines to make all the paper goods and hand sanitizers as well .... P&G has in a way created a monopoly when it comes to paper goods, cleaning supplies ... We had trucks waiting days before they were actually loaded up with paper products and only when the distribution centers for target, walmart, costco and other stores agreed to the inflated prices .....

Again, amazes me how many people actually think that there is a shortage of supplies lol .... wake up people seriously .... don't mean to offend anyone and if I do I am sorry but there is no damn shortage of **** in this country ....

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Did you have to give a deposit ?

Nope- no deposit.
I had to order one because my dealer had never sold a PW and they've been in business since 1926.
They had no plans to get one either.
After my build sheet was completed the total on paper was $64K.
The gave it to me for $59K.
What is surprising to me is that a dealer that has never sold a PW ("cause this is farm country") just got a $90k TRX in...

 

[HDGoose]

Ordering the truck you want cost money? Mine didn't cost a penny. As for ordering vs buying from the lot I didn't have a choice as there wasn't a single truck in the configuration I wanted in my entire Province lol.

But truck were available. And

The Nay Sayers on here have a point

To them a Black Tradesman truck with no options sitting on a dealerships is better or at least as good as the Patriot Blue Bighorn w/ Navigation & full Floor Console & Tow Mirrors

Sure you could buy that Tradesman off the dealerships lot, But then you will be pissed off every day when you walk to the truck to go someplace.

I guess some people did not recall the Toilet Paper shortage that we had just a couple months ago, the only people that did not complain either stock up a couple times a year, or they had plenty of Broad Leaves around their property.

Sometimes you just have to make do, other times if you have a preference, you just have to wait

The only "stripped down Tradesman" I have seen on the lot are C&C trucks. I have not seen a 2500/3500 Tradesman pickup with vinyl seats and floors in a long time. Could be a regional thing and how the dealer orders it.

 

[HDGoose]

There was no toilet paper shortage and I know that for a fact working at Procter & Gamble the last 5 years at the West Coast Mixing Center here in Riverside California .... we were literally sitting on thousands of pallets of toilepaper, towels, diapers, napkins and they were going to the highest bidders and not even close to wholesale ......

On top of that, P&G has their own paper machines to make all the paper goods and hand sanitizers as well .... P&G has in a way created a monopoly when it comes to paper goods, cleaning supplies ... We had trucks waiting days before they were actually loaded up with paper products and only when the distribution centers for target, walmart, costco and other stores agreed to the inflated prices .....

Again, amazes me how many people actually think that there is a shortage of supplies lol .... wake up people seriously .... don't mean to offend anyone and if I do I am sorry but there is no damn shortage of **** in this country ....

More toilet paper was sold during the shortage than was sold in years. Artificial crisis perpetuated by social media accented by panic buying.

 

[Octane]

.

 

[HDGoose]

Dollar General stores had plenty in stock.But the only shelved one to three packages per day.They figured that was hoard control apparently.I was at several stores when the truck was there and I saw it.

That was likely a local store decision. Most dollar type store do not have much of a stock room anymore. What comes off the truck goes to the shelves because of lack of storage.

 

[Octane]

That was likely a local store decision. Most dollar type store do not have much of a stock room anymore. What comes off the truck goes to the shelves because of lack of storage.

At the least was a regional decision

 

[Octane]

.

 

[GTyankee]

There was something that i saw back when i was buying my brand new 2009 Dodge Ram 1500.

My dealership parks the Ram 1500s right in front of the Showroom & the new cars are on the opposite side of the main entrance, closer to the Jeep sales building.
If you walk around to the back of the showroom building, they park the 2500s.

I was walking around building looking for a shady spot, mostly to think about what the salesmen had told me, when i spotted the 2500s, back in the far corner i spotted something orange & i wandered in that direction.
Now to the point that i was leading up to,
I saw a Dodge Ram back there, sitting in the shade & it looked completely different from all the rest of the Rams.
I saw a lady walk out of this smaller building & asked her if she knew anything about that very different Ram.
She told me that it was a special order truck & that they covered it normally, but that the person that had ordered it was on the way to pick it up.
That 2009 Dodge Ram was lowered, special wheels, special 2 tone paint that was smoother than a babies butt, special everything
I have never seen anything that looked that good before or after that, besides trucks that customers had worked on forever after purchasing it.

That Ram has always remained in my mind, maybe because of the Limo that pulled into that area to pick up that Ram.

Just the other day, i was looking though the Ram Build Status List, there is a actual code for SHOW vehicles, that i had not noticed before & it reminded me of the very special Ram that i saw in January 2009.

Can anyone tell us anything about where the Ram would have to have gone to after leaving the Assembly Plant to become a SHOW vehicle ?
Would those vehicles be sent to a Carriage Works before delivery ?

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

Can anyone tell us anything about where the Ram would have to have gone to after leaving the Assembly Plant to become a SHOW vehicle ?
Would those vehicles be sent to a Carriage Works before delivery ?

When I was a porter for Honda in the late 90s, those SHOW quality special orders were taken cared by either local detailers or a contracted detailer they work with on a regular basis ..

But yes a Carriage works of some kind is usually what they use ... they usually wet sand to remove the orange peel, polish/buff and ceramic coat the paint and wheels if necessary ... they will also coat the windows and rust proof the under carriage and dress up the engine bay ...

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Trucks aren't the only thing that are behind in availability...
I called the Triumph dealer about an hour away to ask about a new Bonneville Bobber
for my wife.
They don't have any idea when they could have one.
They have several bikes on order and are still waiting, and they only have 4 new ones in the entire shop.
The salesman said a motorcycle shop with only 4 bikes for sale is a shop going out of buisness...

 

[mikeru]

There was no toilet paper shortage and I know that for a fact working at Procter & Gamble the last 5 years at the West Coast Mixing Center here in Riverside California .... we were literally sitting on thousands of pallets of toilepaper, towels, diapers, napkins and they were going to the highest bidders and not even close to wholesale ......

On top of that, P&G has their own paper machines to make all the paper goods and hand sanitizers as well .... P&G has in a way created a monopoly when it comes to paper goods, cleaning supplies ... We had trucks waiting days before they were actually loaded up with paper products and only when the distribution centers for target, walmart, costco and other stores agreed to the inflated prices .....

Again, amazes me how many people actually think that there is a shortage of supplies lol .... wake up people seriously .... don't mean to offend anyone and if I do I am sorry but there is no damn shortage of **** in this country ....

I'm not disputing what you said. But if something isn't available in stores or online for me to buy, regardless of whether the thing is sitting in a warehouse or not, to me it is a shortage. Artificially created shortages are still shortages to people who want to buy something that's not in stock in stores or online. There was no toilet paper in stores for people to buy so from their point of view there was a shortage. Thousands of pallets of TP sitting in warehouses does me no good.

 

[Octane]

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[GTyankee]

Getting back to having to leave a deposit when factory ordering a Ram.
The dealership wants or needs a deposit, so they don't get stuck with the 'Custom' vehicle that only you may want, ( although it would always sell, even if you did not claim it )

Deposits are just that, they don't ADD to the final cost.

If you want a swimming pool installed, you pay 1/3rd up front, the hole is dug & rebar & some plumbing is done, then a County Inspector signs off on that part of the Permit.
Then you pay another 1/3rd & the contractor finishes that part & the Inspector signs off.
You don't pay any more until the Inspector signs off on the final part of the Permit.

It works the same way if you order windows for a building, you are putting down a deposit, even if they don't call it that

 

[Riccochet]

Some dealers want a deposit, some do not. It also depends on what you are ordering. If it's some combo of options that are not typical then, yes, most likely will require a deposit. But, if it's close to something they would normally order then most won't bother asking for a deposit.

Like if you want a 3500 Limited stake body with rubber floors, yeah, you're probably going to be paying a hefty deposit.

I've ordered a bunch of trucks/cars in my life. Some take a while, some are built and delivered ahead of schedule. Either way, I've never been shorted on what I ordered. I get exactly what I want, and I'm willing to wait for that.