What should I do with my ram? Unique situation.

[beerthirty]

All right, I'm going to unload a lot of info here, but bear with me if you will, please.

I bought a brand "new" 2019 model 1500 back in March 2020. Put a good chunk of change down, financed the rest. One month later, got a call from the dealership with bad news. The truck sitting in my driveway was not the one I bought and did all the paperwork on. This was a dealership that had several identical trucks on the lot, so it was a mistake of a VIN# that was literally one digit off. Don't ask me how it happened, but I learned a valuable lesson that day about verifying VIN numbers. Turns out the truck I actually bought was still on their lot brand new, but it had 700 miles on it. Immediate red flag for me. But, I was convinced at their story: popular model so lots of test drives, they let VIP customers drive these trucks when their vehicles were serviced, and that this may have been used as a company fleet vehicle to go back and forth between the dealership's sister location. Trust me, I was skeptical, but bottom line is I kept the truck and negotiated a free MOPAR Max Care 5-yr warranty.

Now, I want share a few odd things that I've noticed about the truck:

1. It wasn't until I was looking at my truck head on from distance, that I noticed the bumper is not perfectly aligned, i.e. it rests slightly higher on on the driver side. However, this seems to be a well known issue as reported already on this forum.

2. Similarly, my driver side rear door doesn't rest perfectly flush near the bottom, i.e. the door sticks out maybe 1/16 inch. Again, another known issue as reported on this forum.

3. I installed steps on my truck about 2 months after buying it. It wasn't until I got under that specific section of the truck that I noticed the trim under the driver's side door had some very sticky residue on it. It's almost the kind of residue like if duct tape gets left on something too long and you rip it off. I've literally tried everything to scrub it off and it is still sticky.

4. About 6 months ago, I noticed that my driver's side mirror started vibrating and making it difficult to see stuff behind me. I'm not talking vibrating when I hit bumps, because I would expect that. But just driving down the road it would vibrate just enough to distort the images behind me, and it really messed with my eyes. I took it in and had the mirror fully replaced, works great now.

5. About 3 months ago, I started noticed a squeaking sound coming from around the dash on the driver side. Turns out the housing that the control arm for the wiper blade has the slightest bit of play, and it vibrates when the truck is in motion causing infrequent super annoying squeaks. I have yet to get this fixed.


All and all, I know buying a new model truck was part of the problem. I should have let Ram work out the kinks. But at the same time, I am having all these issues on the driver side of my truck. I am wondering if my truck was involved in something and the dealer covered it up. I'm probably going to sell it within the next year to market it with one year remaining on the full warranty.

 

[Loudram]

My last new truck had a small dent in the back corner under the light. It was that way when I bought it. I noticed it the day after I brought it home. I took it back and the dealership repaired it for free. They classified it as "lot damage" because it was. When I traded my truck in a couple of weeks ago it showed up on Carfax as a minor accident.

What does Carfax say about your truck? It might have something on there.

 

[1 MEAN66]

Lawyers cost money! Do you know what if any options you have, do you want to use any of the options if in fact you have any???? Kind of a hard question to answer.

 

[beerthirty]

My last new truck had a small dent in the back corner under the light. It was that way when I bought it. I noticed it the day after I brought it home. I took it back and the dealership repaired it for free. They classified it as "lot damage" because it was. When I traded my truck in a couple of weeks ago it showed up on Carfax as a minor accident.

What does Carfax say about your truck? It might have something on there.

The Carfax is clean. I'm the original owner, the title was "new" when I purchased the truck. Dealers aren't stupid though. If something happened to the truck in their possession while it was new, they simply could have had it repaired without ever reporting it.

 

[beerthirty]

Lawyers cost money! Do you know what if any options you have, do you want to use any of the options if in fact you have any???? Kind of a hard question to answer.

Yeah, I don't have the kind of money for that. There is no way I could prove anything at this point. They could say I damaged the truck after I bought it and there would be no way for me to disprove that, either.

 

[gofishn]

Solely for your own knowledge. Up to the moment you actually drive a car, new or used, off the car lot, you can walk away from the Deal.
Once you drive it off the lot, you own it.
Guess what, same is true for the Dealer.

There simply is not a Court, in the Land, that would force you to return the car, in your driveway, for another one, solely based upon VIN Paperwork.
Who's to tell where the mistake was made. Did you negotiate price on the one in your lot but the paperwork got wrong VIN? Who the heck knows?
What is known is the Dealer does one thing and one thing ONLY. Sell cars. They should damn well know that they car they give to you, is the same one they sold to you.

If you think this trucs been hit, or worked on, forget Carfox or whatever its called. Its a Joke.
Take ti toa body shop and ahve the guy look at it. most times, he won;t even have to walk over to it to tell if its been worked on.
I;ve only ever hwlped out, at Dad's body shops or my buddy's SHop. Never made it a career. Haven;t done any body work, fo note, in decades and can still spot mosts stuff from a long way aways.

Have a body guy check it out.

lets say it has been hit. SO what?
Man made teh thing. Man can repair it.
However, just like the Graduate who is last in class, at graduation, he still gets called Doctor.

Abilities are varying, person to person.

Do not know if would wait, though.
Waiting implies things will be better, later, than right now.
I doubt that is going to be teh case.

Right now, new ones can be bought 4% under Invoice,
Dealers know times are a changing.
Yet, retail consumers are not quite there, yet,
and you can still get a premium for your truck, if you sell your truck, outright.

Think interest rates are going to be lower, now, or 6 months or year from now?

If your job is stable and not going to be affected by these changing times, then jump.
if you are not going to finance much, then wait. What you lose in trade in or outright sale,
you can make up in cheaper pricing, due to overstock. Your cash and solid income might get
you better terms, later.

 

[Farmer Fran]

IMHO - Sell it.

In my state they do not have to tell you about an accident on a new, unregistered, vehicle if the damage is less than (I think) 2k or 5K. It is a lot either way. Who would think to ask about an accident on a new vehicle. Well if you live in NC you should.

I bought my 2018 Laramie from Lake Norman CJDR and it was in an accident on a test drive. I had no clue until I traded it in and it showed up on Carfax. It showed up on CARFAX because in this state you have to stay put until the police show up and do an investigation. Luckily for me I got a really good deal on the Laramie on the trade due to it being the beginning of COVID, but man I was freaking PISSED to say the least. And had to cross a dealer off my list, one I purchased MANY vehicles from, no less!

It kind of worked out, because now I found a better dealer and closer to me.

 

[beerthirty]

IMHO - Sell it.

In my state they do not have to tell you about an accident on a new, unregistered, vehicle if the damage is less than (I think) 2k or 5K. It is a lot either way. Who would think to ask about an accident on a new vehicle. Well if you live in NC you should.

I bought my 2018 Laramie from Lake Norman CJDR and it was in an accident on a test drive. I had no clue until I traded it in and it showed up on Carfax. It showed up on CARFAX because in this state you have to stay put until the police show up and do an investigation. Luckily for me I got a really good deal on the Laramie on the trade due to it being the beginning of COVID, but man I was freaking PISSED to say the least. And had to cross a dealer off my list, one I purchased MANY vehicles from, no less!

It kind of worked out, because now I found a better dealer and closer to me.

Thanks for the reply. I am leaning towards selling it. Mainly because I don't want additional issues to pop up that could be the result of any alleged foul play. But I also think it's still a good time to sell. I really beat the dealer up good on price, all in at $38k 5.7L Big Horn with all the available bells and whistles. And selling it with almost 2 years left on the warranty I think would be attractive as well. Hate to say it, but my image of Ram is really tainted because of this experience, even if it isn't entirely their fault.

 

[gofishn]

Thanks for the reply. I am leaning towards selling it. Mainly because I don't want additional issues to pop up that could be the result of any alleged foul play. But I also think it's still a good time to sell. I really beat the dealer up good on price, all in at $38k 5.7L Big Horn with all the available bells and whistles. And selling it with almost 2 years left on the warranty I think would be attractive as well. Hate to say it, but my image of Ram is really tainted because of this experience, even if it isn't entirely their fault.

Doubt its the Brand's fault.
Far more likely Dealer or RR transport/Transfer yard.

Sell it, buy the one you like, order if need by.

4% under invoice sems to be easily obtainable

 

[turkeybird56]

Doubt its the Brand's fault.
Far more likely Dealer or RR transport/Transfer yard.

Sell it, buy the one you like, order if need by.

4% under invoice sems to be easily obtainable

When I bought my truck off the lot, there was a lil minor dent in LR door, center on fold and a scratch at top of cab by CHMSL. A friend of mine worked out that scratch, and I just said heck with small dent: I negotiated a free TT control install and no labor on steps install, so that lil dent saved me some $$$. Unfortunately, small dents just occur, especially in parking lots, so I just said, WTH, truck good, lil dent not hurt me. BUT that is just my OPINION. Getting sold a truck, and some type of hanky panky about VIN, dunno. OP, you have to make wat eva decision works best in your circumstance. Something fishy there at dealership, but also, could be a 1 character mistake on PW, can happen. Again OP, do what works for you. Yer wallet, yer decision.

 

[Yardbird]

I wrote Lake Norman CJDR off 20 years ago. They turned me off permanently after coming in for a test drive. I will walk before using them.


A 17 number vin is easy to mis-read, especially if only one number is off.

I bought a van at auction that ended up having the first digit listed as 2, when it actually was 1. The new car dealer that originally sold it missed it, the dealer that took it in on trade missed it, the auto auction missed it, the inspection station I took it to missed it, as did every other station since it was new.

I also missed it when I sold the van at my dealership, and the inspection station of the new owner missed it the first year the new owner had it inspected.

It was only found when the inspection stations went to scanners, and the scanner came up with a vin that didn't show up on the states records.

I got called, I called my DMV inspector, and we ended up verifying the correct vin, and all was well. Luckily I had paperwork showing the inspection history, and a copy of the original title when first sold new in my records.

 

[Ronald E Shelton]

The Carfax is clean. I'm the original owner, the title was "new" when I purchased the truck. Dealers aren't stupid though. If something happened to the truck in their possession while it was new, they simply could have had it repaired without ever reporting it.

"NOTHING" out there requires anything to be reported to CarFax . . . .!

 

[Docwagon1776]

I wrote Lake Norman CJDR off 20 years ago. They turned me off permanently after coming in for a test drive. I will walk before using them.


A 17 number vin is easy to mis-read, especially if only one number is off.

I bought a van at auction that ended up having the first digit listed as 2, when it actually was 1. The new car dealer that originally sold it missed it, the dealer that took it in on trade missed it, the auto auction missed it, the inspection station I took it to missed it, as did every other station since it was new.

I also missed it when I sold the van at my dealership, and the inspection station of the new owner missed it the first year the new owner had it inspected.

It was only found when the inspection stations went to scanners, and the scanner came up with a vin that didn't show up on the states records.

I got called, I called my DMV inspector, and we ended up verifying the correct vin, and all was well. Luckily I had paperwork showing the inspection history, and a copy of the original title when first sold new in my records.

I once did a VIN inspection for a '67 Mustang because the title didn't match the VIN by one digit. It was around 2009 before anyone noticed... had been plated and registered the entire time but he let the plates lapse by a month and BMV caught it. Original owner. Still had Bill of sale.

 

[Dusty]

IMHO - Sell it.

In my state they do not have to tell you about an accident on a new, unregistered, vehicle if the damage is less than (I think) 2k or 5K. It is a lot either way. Who would think to ask about an accident on a new vehicle. Well if you live in NC you should.

I bought my 2018 Laramie from Lake Norman CJDR and it was in an accident on a test drive. I had no clue until I traded it in and it showed up on Carfax. It showed up on CARFAX because in this state you have to stay put until the police show up and do an investigation. Luckily for me I got a really good deal on the Laramie on the trade due to it being the beginning of COVID, but man I was freaking PISSED to say the least. And had to cross a dealer off my list, one I purchased MANY vehicles from, no less!

It kind of worked out, because now I found a better dealer and closer to me.

Auto manufactures in general, and Ram in particular, REQUIRES a dealer report pre-delivery damage if parts or paint is required to repair the vehicle to like new condition.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver 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 80240 miles

 

[beerthirty]

"NOTHING" out there requires anything to be reported to CarFax . . . .!

I know that. But, I would think you can't sell a car as "new" then.

 

[Zac1]

I bought a brand new factory special order 1994 F250, I did not know the bed was damaged until 2021 when I sold the truck.

 

[gofishn]

I know that. But, I would think you can't sell a car as "new" then.

"New" simply means never registered & will come with an MSO (Manufacturers Statement of Origin)

Manufacturer, even the Dealer, can totally disassemble/reassemble and it is still 'New'.

Years ago, many options were dealer installed only. Factory was not set up to do them.
Normally High Performance type of options that did not sell well enough to be worth the bother
to configure the assembly Line for doing it. Buick "Stage 2" Heads comes to mind.

 

[stevenP]

Many years ago I bought a GM product from a well known local dealer new. They had to dealer trade for the color I wanted. Got the truck, had some custom decals applied. All great till I washed it the first time. Noticed the passenger side had been completely re-finished. Turns out it had been in an accident, at the other dealer in another city where the passenger door and front fender was wiped out and replaced and re-painted. Took it back, they offered to fix it..I said no way. They located another identical new vehicle and we swapped. I think this only happened in my favor, cause I corned the owner on a chance lot visit the day I was there.

I guess the only take away, is new on the lot still means you look it over top to bottom just to see if it has been damaged. Stuff happens. The experience ruined the new car mind set.

 

[DaveSharp]

All right, I'm going to unload a lot of info here, but bear with me if you will, please.

I bought a brand "new" 2019 model 1500 back in March 2020. Put a good chunk of change down, financed the rest. One month later, got a call from the dealership with bad news. The truck sitting in my driveway was not the one I bought and did all the paperwork on. This was a dealership that had several identical trucks on the lot, so it was a mistake of a VIN# that was literally one digit off. Don't ask me how it happened, but I learned a valuable lesson that day about verifying VIN numbers. Turns out the truck I actually bought was still on their lot brand new, but it had 700 miles on it. Immediate red flag for me. But, I was convinced at their story: popular model so lots of test drives, they let VIP customers drive these trucks when their vehicles were serviced, and that this may have been used as a company fleet vehicle to go back and forth between the dealership's sister location. Trust me, I was skeptical, but bottom line is I kept the truck and negotiated a free MOPAR Max Care 5-yr warranty.

Now, I want share a few odd things that I've noticed about the truck:

1. It wasn't until I was looking at my truck head on from distance, that I noticed the bumper is not perfectly aligned, i.e. it rests slightly higher on on the driver side. However, this seems to be a well known issue as reported already on this forum.

2. Similarly, my driver side rear door doesn't rest perfectly flush near the bottom, i.e. the door sticks out maybe 1/16 inch. Again, another known issue as reported on this forum.

3. I installed steps on my truck about 2 months after buying it. It wasn't until I got under that specific section of the truck that I noticed the trim under the driver's side door had some very sticky residue on it. It's almost the kind of residue like if duct tape gets left on something too long and you rip it off. I've literally tried everything to scrub it off and it is still sticky.

4. About 6 months ago, I noticed that my driver's side mirror started vibrating and making it difficult to see stuff behind me. I'm not talking vibrating when I hit bumps, because I would expect that. But just driving down the road it would vibrate just enough to distort the images behind me, and it really messed with my eyes. I took it in and had the mirror fully replaced, works great now.

5. About 3 months ago, I started noticed a squeaking sound coming from around the dash on the driver side. Turns out the housing that the control arm for the wiper blade has the slightest bit of play, and it vibrates when the truck is in motion causing infrequent super annoying squeaks. I have yet to get this fixed.


All and all, I know buying a new model truck was part of the problem. I should have let Ram work out the kinks. But at the same time, I am having all these issues on the driver side of my truck. I am wondering if my truck was involved in something and the dealer covered it up. I'm probably going to sell it within the next year to market it with one year remaining on the full warranty.

Your mistake was in returning it. Take it to a body shop and see if it was in an accident then try to find a paper trail. They can't hide it.

 

[GTyankee]

BeerThirty,
you mentioned your mirror vibrating badly.

Is it a Tow Mirror or just a regular short mirror

They make a brace for the Tow Mirrors