Pricing is out of control

[Docwagon1776]

The 2024 tradesman 4x4 Quad starts at just under 44K. Big Horn 4x4 Quad is just under $49K. The 2024 Tradesman Quar 2x4 is $39K

I looked at 2023 prices in my earlier post. All I am saying is, that it is tracking a lot closer than some of you all are making it out to be. Inflation is up, no doubt. But look at history and the trends.

MSRP is not as relevant as actual sales prices. Compare that, and the gap will widen significantly, especially over the past 3 years. Remember nobody pays MSRP. Rebates, incentives, and dealer mark downs when supply exeeds demand vs lack of the same and dealer markup when demand exceeds supply. See:

U.S.: average selling price of new vehicles 2022 | Statista

In the United States, the average selling price for a new light vehicle came to around 46,290 U.S.

www.statista.com

 

[kirk35]

It's a conspiracy to make EV pricing look more attractive. The government wants us all driving golf carts.

 

[JoshsRam]

It's a conspiracy to make EV pricing look more attractive. The government wants us all driving golf carts.

I'm no conspiracy theorist but I honestly can't rule this possibility out. In any event, I compared the two prices side-by-side, my 2021 big horn and a 2023 big horn and it's a straight 25% jump. $39k base to $49k base. Even if they added things as standard that were optional, there's no way it's $10k in additional items now standard. Either way, I'm not going to be buying new again for a very long time since I'll just keep this truck until it stops running now.

 

[HemiSam]

Inventories are building. Discounts coming. If you can wait a while...it'll improve....some.

Best of luck. Time is our friend...

HS

 

[jkdyer]

In 1999 I bought a brand new off the lot Ford 1 ton diesel dually, long bed, crew cab for $40k. In 2012 I bought a used (17k miles) gas 3/4 ton Ram Laramie Longhorn, short bed crew cab for $42k. In 2023 I bought a brand new Ram diesel 1 ton dually long bed crew cab (Night edition) for $98k. I was irritated at having to pay that much for all of them at the time of purchase but I loved every one of them and now that I have the 2023, I don't plan to ever buy another one.

 

[OnTheTrails]

Everyone is crying because they think they aren't getting paid enough for their value. Raise salaries prices go up. Pretty simple. If a worker at McDonalds is going to get a 100% raise from $7.50 to $15.00 that drives other salaries up and a pickup costs $50,000.

I wish it was really that simple.

 

[JerryETX]

Folks if you don't like high prices stop buying these high priced vehicles. If enough people stop buying them I promise you they will go down.

I'm floored at someone who doesn't use their truck to make a living paying 70K for a truck then financing that truck for 6 years at 7% interest rate.

 

[Hootbro]

RAM prices have increased 48% over the last 5 years when inflation averaged about 21%. Other domestic makes are not far behind that. So there is some "Greedflation" going on here. Supposedly their strategy was to overextend MSRP and then just do occasional rebates and sales events as a marketing tool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cO9x4L8nlc&t

 

[Tulecreeper]

The 2024 tradesman 4x4 Quad starts at just under 44K. Big Horn 4x4 Quad is just under $49K. The 2024 Tradesman Quar 2x4 is $39K

I looked at 2023 prices in my earlier post. All I am saying is, that it is tracking a lot closer than some of you all are making it out to be. Inflation is up, no doubt. But look at history and the trends.

Sorry, I was referring to the 2500. The 1500 never entered my mind.

 

[Tulecreeper]

MSRP is not as relevant as actual sales prices. Compare that, and the gap will widen significantly, especially over the past 3 years. Remember nobody pays MSRP. Rebates, incentives, and dealer mark downs when supply exeeds demand vs lack of the same and dealer markup when demand exceeds supply.

When I ordered my 2500 in January, there were no rebates, incentives, or mark downs. The online build price is what I paid.

 

[ramingspeed]

You want to know the real reason why prices are way more than they should be?
First for those claiming it has to do with wages increasing thats wrong. For wages to have caused prices to increase on Large Ticket Items like they have EVERYONE would have had to have gotten a 2000% increase in wages. If your local McDonalds worker is making 40/hr then there's the reason BUT GUESS WHAT! THEY AREN'T MAKING THAT! So stop with the bs about wages driving up prices because they don't correlate on the huge increases we are seeing on large ticket items.
For you normal day to day stuff yes there is correlation there. For vehicles and homes no.
First the primary cause was the pandamic and the sudden stop of EVERYONE purchasing large ticket items. Initially there was a slight surplus but that didn't last and we ended up with a shortage. Supply and demand came in and prices started to rise. BUT, BUT that wasn't what led to continued price rising because it doesn't work like that. You eventually reach equalibrium as anyone with even a basic understanding of economics knows.
What happened was Manufacturers saw that previous huge slowdown followed by the price spike and said you know what, we are going to keep supply low artificially. You have collusion taking place in the housing market AND in the automotive industry by the producers to keep prices high. There is not enough people in the market to buy homes AND vehicles to continue maintaining prices at these high levels. You haven't heard anything about this because there are alot of people in the top 5% making huge profits. Prices should have gone up slightly, inflation demands it but not to these levels. There will be a correction and its going to hurt mostly those that have bought and now have loans that are over inflated because your vehicle loan is now upside down. I really feel sorry for folks buying vehicles at these prices right now. Not those in the upper tier because they'll just write it off but those in the middle that really can't afford it and are taking loans for longer than 6 years...

 

[Sherman Bird]

I am hoping the next time .gov (at any level) starts talking of shutdowns, the American public flips them the bird and otherwise says NO!

Several folks I know did. I did as well, to a certain point. My doctor was absolutely silly about it all. He kept hounding me to get Vaxxed. I told him eventually, he's have to hold a gnu to my head.... I changed to a different doctor when I went to him and was diagnosed with CowVeed. He was right up in my face looking at me. The nurse came in and swabbed me and I Had it. Doctor comes in a few minutes later wearing what amounts to a Hazmat suit! Fer Gawd's Sake! Really? I got over it with Zpac and lots of vitamins.

 

[Tominator223]

Dcfj. Is up 48% from 5 yrs ago more than any other mfg. subaru is the lowest increase at 22-25%. And they won’t sell last year model for less because it brings down new prices. Also the only way to raise employee wages is to cut corporate pay. But they won’t do that so prices go up. Wages actually have nothing to do with the current inflation . Printing to much $$$ is

 

[Ronald E Shelton]

Please justify that comment.
When things go up at the bottom that puts the proverbial DOMINO effect in place.
We are more than fortunate that we realize only a 25% increase.

 

[David James]

Hi All,

I was reading a different thread on here (sorry, I forget which) and they were talking about RAM prices increasing by a lot. I guess I hadn't really paid attention so I went and looked at my 2021 1500 BigHorn's MSRP listing on my window sticker and then compared a 2023 RAM 1500 at a local dealer. I almost choked when I realized that the price jumped by 25%! My base MSRP was just under $40k ($39k + change). The new one was listed at just under $50k. MSRP. Before options. Wow. Just wow.

I haven't looked but is this pretty much the standard now across most trucks? Did all the manufacturers just decide to collude one day and raise everything 25%?

If you “haven’t looked”, these increases are largely due to governmental meddling, not manufacturer collusion.

 

[Farmer Fran]

If you “haven’t looked”, these increases are largely due to governmental meddling, not manufacturer collusion.

Largely true also

 

[HunterCat]

You want to know the real reason why prices are way more than they should be?
First for those claiming it has to do with wages increasing thats wrong. For wages to have caused prices to increase on Large Ticket Items like they have EVERYONE would have had to have gotten a 2000% increase in wages. If your local McDonalds worker is making 40/hr then there's the reason BUT GUESS WHAT! THEY AREN'T MAKING THAT! So stop with the bs about wages driving up prices because they don't correlate on the huge increases we are seeing on large ticket items.
For you normal day to day stuff yes there is correlation there. For vehicles and homes no.
First the primary cause was the pandamic and the sudden stop of EVERYONE purchasing large ticket items. Initially there was a slight surplus but that didn't last and we ended up with a shortage. Supply and demand came in and prices started to rise. BUT, BUT that wasn't what led to continued price rising because it doesn't work like that. You eventually reach equalibrium as anyone with even a basic understanding of economics knows.
What happened was Manufacturers saw that previous huge slowdown followed by the price spike and said you know what, we are going to keep supply low artificially. You have collusion taking place in the housing market AND in the automotive industry by the producers to keep prices high. There is not enough people in the market to buy homes AND vehicles to continue maintaining prices at these high levels. You haven't heard anything about this because there are alot of people in the top 5% making huge profits. Prices should have gone up slightly, inflation demands it but not to these levels. There will be a correction and its going to hurt mostly those that have bought and now have loans that are over inflated because your vehicle loan is now upside down. I really feel sorry for folks buying vehicles at these prices right now. Not those in the upper tier because they'll just write it off but those in the middle that really can't afford it and are taking loans for longer than 6 years...

I agree with you that manufacturers are playing games to take maximum advantage. However, the main reason for the insane prices is due to the amount of money the government pumped into the system during covid. They literally gave away trillions of dollars. Around 5 TRILLION. Stimulus checks were just short of a trillion but the lion's share went to "small businesses" in the form of grants and loans with all loans being forgiven. This was a feeding frenzy for fraud.

The government has admitted they were scammed out of about $400 Billion. If they're admitting to $400 Billion, then the actual number is probably much, much higher. You read about people getting prosecuted here and there but the majority of folks are going to get away with it. There's just too many of them. The government is grabbing the low hanging fruit; the idiots who were on tik tok taking delivery of their new Lamborghini. As you'd expect, these people didn't bank their new found fortune; they spent it as quickly as they could and they didn't care what they were paying for real estate and luxury toys.

That's why everything is up across the board.

 

[Ramfan001]

Prices are out of control on EVERYTHING these days. I have a 2013 1500 4.7 ltr, fairly basic truck, I bought it new and I have 275K on it. I have been lucky in the fact that I have not had to throw money at it to keep it going. Because of my situation I cannot just go out and buy a new truck. With that said, I have purchased after market maintenance protection. It covers more than I expected to cover. I think its way cheaper than a new truck. I know there are guys out there that think these products are a waste of money and they are entitled to their opinions. I like the peace of mind and I like that I don't lose my mind everytime there is a new noise while I drive. In short, keep your truck properly maintained.

 

[Dusty]

Funny, the main stream media doesn't think the economy's bad.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 94793 miles.

 

[rosco11]

Hi All,

I was reading a different thread on here (sorry, I forget which) and they were talking about RAM prices increasing by a lot. I guess I hadn't really paid attention so I went and looked at my 2021 1500 BigHorn's MSRP listing on my window sticker and then compared a 2023 RAM 1500 at a local dealer. I almost choked when I realized that the price jumped by 25%! My base MSRP was just under $40k ($39k + change). The new one was listed at just under $50k. MSRP. Before options. Wow. Just wow.

I haven't looked but is this pretty much the standard now across most trucks? Did all the manufacturers just decide to collude one day and raise everything 25%?

Welcome to the new reality. And it is not just trucks or Dodge. Until the market hits saturation and demand drops off dramatically, it is only going to get worse. My motto used to be to buy something 4 years old, at which time it depreciated 50 percent, and find a clean vehicle under 100k miles and clear car fax. Imagine my shock when the current 4 year old vehicles were worth as much as my 10 year old cost brand new.