Why are 2500 6.4’s not selling?

[JerryETX]

IDK. When I bought my 2022 2500 tradesman 6.4 in 2022, there was still quite a supply chain issue. I got mine for $2500 under list, 2.9% for 6 years, delivered to my NJ home from VT. After 15 years and 250K miles in my Chevy Duramax, I made the jump to Ram and the 6.4 gasser. Admittedly it does not have the torque of the Duramax but given the infrequency with which I tow heavy loads these days, the trade-off was definitely worth it. Still pulls 14,000 lb behind me with no problem, just more shifting than the diesel. After two years, still happy with my choice so far.

That’s a lot of weight for a 6.4. You running 3:73 or 4:10?

 

[Dusty]

Well, if any prospective buyers visit this forum, I guess I'd be put off by all the critical, doomsday comments, too.

As someone already pointed out, sales fluctuate by region. According to the last report I read, Ram national sales were down about 25%. A couple of months ago my dealer had roughly 40-45 Ram Classic 1500 on his lot. Today there's only seven. I don't normally pay much attention to the HDs, but it looks like sales are slow on those.

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 117544 miles.

 

[RacerDave]

I don't know.....but I'm inclined to think that most 2500 buyers are thinking heavy duty and towing, and opt for diesel rather than gas. That would leave an excess of 6.4s.

 

[JerryETX]

I don't know.....but I'm inclined to think that most 2500 buyers are thinking heavy duty and towing, and opt for diesel rather than gas. That would leave an excess of 6.4s.

I’m sure there’s something to this. For me it’s about towing performance and resale and the Ram 6.4 loses in both of those categories in most cases. I have no allegiance to either manufacturer. Nowadays it’s rolling the dice whether you’ll have issues or not with any of the big 3.

 

[big tom]

I have a 2016 2500 6.4 Big horn Crew cab 39,000mi modernity loaded Black night edition ram box and all the heavy accessories 4:10 gears. Garage kept. KBB is $39,500 to $41,500 trade In. Some of the dealers have had 2500's 2023-2024 in the upper $50k range $58k-$59k. So, I'm on Autotrader and they have the section on every listing that says to submit your offer, and it's linked to KBB for your trade. Phone rings... Of course, it's a saleswoman from the dealership. Same dealer my daughter and I brought a Jeep 4d ruby and my truck at the same time. She ask's what options are on your truck and I told her we brought it from your dealership to pull the info. Calls back with the deal $30,000 for my trade!!!!

 

[Tulecreeper]

That’s a lot of weight for a 6.4. You running 3:73 or 4:10?

Yes, it is but it's not the max limit. The 4:10 only adds about 2000# to the tow cap vs the 3:73. And that's just getting it off the line. Once to highway speed it matters very little.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Side note: I almost never see Power Wagons on the lot, and even 500 mile radius searches return few examples, and most of those are Rebels that have been incorrectly labeled in the inventory system. There are, however, plenty of Rebels with a lot of days on the lot. Are Rebel buyers opting for the F-250 Tremor instead, or is just nobody buying the sorta-off-roady HDs? PW has no direct competitor, seems like it would be an easier sell, but I don't know.

 

[Bfleming]

oddly enough, fleet sales for contractors, and ram for car transporters is all i ever see around here lol. every dually with a car hauler with 3/4 cars on it is always a ram cab and chassis

You are correct. Ram / Cummins is the only truck that will hold up long term under this type of heavy hauling and big miles allowing these guys to make a profit. The Fords diesels are just to troublesome and expensive to repair. The GM trucks w/Duramax hold up ok but being a v8 requires more labor and down time for repairs when needed. The commercial grade straight six is used in many class 6 and 7 trucks of many different makes making parts and service easy to obtain

 

[Slick61]

I have a 2016 2500 6.4 Big horn Crew cab 39,000mi modernity loaded Black night edition ram box and all the heavy accessories 4:10 gears. Garage kept. KBB is $39,500 to $41,500 trade In. Some of the dealers have had 2500's 2023-2024 in the upper $50k range $58k-$59k. So, I'm on Autotrader and they have the section on every listing that says to submit your offer, and it's linked to KBB for your trade. Phone rings... Of course, it's a saleswoman from the dealership. Same dealer my daughter and I brought a Jeep 4d ruby and my truck at the same time. She ask's what options are on your truck and I told her we brought it from your dealership to pull the info. Calls back with the deal $30,000 for my trade!!!!

... not really surprising... most dealerships I've seen have a LOT of inventory that they don't want to add to. Plus... it's a 2016... an 8 year old truck... most people are not going to want to finance $30k-$40k on a truck that old... regardless of condition... and vehicles that old are more difficult to finance & may go straight to auction. I know... it stings. I'm in the same boat... a '16 Tradesman with 4.10s & only 55k miles. Held off upgrading due to pandemic pricing & supply chain issues... not have to pay the piper...

 

[Slick61]

I’m looking at getting a new truck. I’m seeing massive discounts on 2500 6.4 gas trucks both in Big Horn and Laramie (this is in central/south Texas). 8-10 grand off MSRP is fairly common and I’ve seen a couple Laramie’s for as much as 15-17 grand off and they’re still sitting on lots for many months. That has to be at or below dealer cost. Why are these trucks not selling?

... because they've done nothing but change the headlights, grille, and taillights in the LAST TEN YEARS! ok... the tranny upgrade was nice, but still... hard to justify spending $30-60k for something that looks exactly the same as what you have... in my case anyways.

 

[Scottly]

You are correct. Ram / Cummins is the only truck that will hold up long term under this type of heavy hauling and big miles allowing these guys to make a profit. The Fords diesels are just to troublesome and expensive to repair. The GM trucks w/Duramax hold up ok but being a v8 requires more labor and down time for repairs when needed. The commercial grade straight six is used in many class 6 and 7 trucks of many different makes making parts and service easy to obtain

Fords are troublesome...But I can personally show you three 2020-up, Duramax trucks with over 300K on them, without having any repairs. The Cummins is a fine engine, but everything attached to it is a POS. If you think the Cummins is cheaper to fix, you're uninformed. I own both...For overall reliability, the newer Duramax has my vote.

 

[JerryETX]

I had an interesting conversation with a salesman at a Ram dealership yesterday. I commented on how I thought the writing is on the wall with the outdated 6.4 and that an engine change has to be coming to the Ran 2500’s. He didn’t come out and say I was right but he definitely didn’t disagree at all. Keep in mind he was trying to sell me a 6.4 2500.

I won’t be surprised if we start to hear rumblings about engine changes coming to 2500-3500’s. Probably not for 2025 because of the Hurricane but my guess is for 2026.

 

[mtnrider]

I won’t be surprised if we start to hear rumblings about engine changes coming to 2500-3500’s. Probably not for 2025 because of the Hurricane but my guess is for 2026.

If they are Ram is being Very tight lipped about it. Engine changes are usually years in development (other then small tweaks), and I haven't heard a peep about anything. Just like the 8 speed trans in the Cummins, that was being tested 5+ years ago and is just now coming in the 2025.

.

 

[JerryETX]

If they are Ram is being Very tight lipped about it. Engine changes are usually years in development (other then small tweaks), and I haven't heard a peep about anything. Just like the 8 speed trans in the Cummins, that was being tested 5+ years ago and is just now coming in the 2025.

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I hear ya to be clear my comment is just my guess. It makes no sense to me for Ram to keep producing an engine that isn’t selling for many of the reasons stated in this thread.

 

[Docwagon1776]

If they are Ram is being Very tight lipped about it. Engine changes are usually years in development (other then small tweaks), and I haven't heard a peep about anything. Just like the 8 speed trans in the Cummins, that was being tested 5+ years ago and is just now coming in the 2025.

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They've focus grouped a turbo 6 in the 2500s to see if current 3/4 ton owners, of both their product and competitors, would be willing to consider it.

 

[Riccochet]

If they are Ram is being Very tight lipped about it. Engine changes are usually years in development (other then small tweaks), and I haven't heard a peep about anything. Just like the 8 speed trans in the Cummins, that was being tested 5+ years ago and is just now coming in the 2025.

.

Cummins has been developing a new 6.7 engine ISB6.7 that's capable of running on gasoline and natural gas. You can find all kinds of info about via search. It's been "rumored" that this engine will eventually replace the 6.4 Hemi.

My problem with that is the specs on this engine. 240 HP and 560 ft/lbs. That's going to be one slow *** engine. The torque is nice, should pull really well, but dang if it won't take you 2-3 minutes just to hit 60 MPH while doing it.

 

[mtnrider]

Cummins has been developing a new 6.7 engine ISB6.7 that's capable of running on gasoline and natural gas. You can find all kinds of info about via search. It's been "rumored" that this engine will eventually replace the 6.4 Hemi.

My problem with that is the specs on this engine. 240 HP and 560 ft/lbs. That's going to be one slow *** engine. The torque is nice, should pull really well, but dang if it won't take you 2-3 minutes just to hit 60 MPH while doing it.

Yeah I've seen rumors of that circulating. I was thinking more along the lines of another (bigger?) V8, haven't heard anything leaked about them going down that path so maybe the turbo 6 is where they are heading?

 

[PA Ram]

The Federal Trade Commission used to crucify retail businesses that raised prices then claimed they were having a "sale" and marked them down....I guess that doesn't apply to vehicle invoicing, because Ram has raised the prices of these things tremendously for the last two years, and since they aren't selling, they are now marking them down to where they should have been priced in the first place. Just my $.02, it's worth what ya paid for it

Sounds about right

 

[Docwagon1776]

Yeah I've seen rumors of that circulating. I was thinking more along the lines of another (bigger?) V8, haven't heard anything leaked about them going down that path so maybe the turbo 6 is where they are heading?

Several of my friends work in management for suppliers and I do focus group stuff on occasion. The best I can tell, Ram/Stellantis doesn't have any new V8 in consideration. If they do, it's in such early stages that nobody I know has gotten a whiff of it. If I had to bet on a company pushing out a new V8, or a significantly updated version of an existing one, I'd bet it all on Ford.

Over the medium term, I think we *may* see a Coyote based hybrid knocking down some big numbers. Electric for the low end, Coyote 5.0, either NA or FI, making the top end, and the combination making a fat power curve. Or it may die on the vine like the high performance hybrid Ranger that never materialized, not every idea makes it to production.

 

[Scottly]

GM announced the development of a next generation V8...But as mixed up as GM is, they coulda been talking about vegetable juice, for all we know.