Any questions for a Dodge Truck salesman??

trex99 · January 1999

Stefano...one question....did ya order that with the snowplow prep group?????

stefano1 · January 1999

Well no because with diesel engine all items comprising the snowplow prep group are included.

Thanks

Steve.

KCRam · January 1999

Stefano,

the diesel does not include the correct front suspension for plowing. The snow plow group includes different springs that are higher-rated than standard.

stanford · January 1999

Remember the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. Unless the addition of a snowplow directly causes the problems you may have, they have to honor the warranty. A summary is available from the aftermarket perspective on the Gale Banks website.

tom18 · January 1999

Are all Ram trucks made in Mexico ? If not can a purchaser specify which location he/she wishes to get the truck manufactured?

KCRam · January 1999

tom,

Rams come from one of four plants:

Warren Michigan
Fenton Missouri
Saltillo Mexico
Lago Alberto Mexico

There is no way to specify whcih plant will build your truuck - when an order is placed into the computer system by DaimlerChrysler ((or any manufacturer, for that matter), the next available plant that builds that model gets the job.

trex99 · January 1999

Stefano...the real difference is actually that the snowplow prep group gives you height adjustable springs and an automatic trans overheat warning lamp.....thanks...T REX

EdBedsworth · January 1999

I've been trying to find market share numbers. Dodge RAM vs. Ford F-Series vs. Chevy CK. Do you have them?

Ed

trex99 · January 1999

Hey Brian...this is a forum for questions not advertising, please start your own domain and advertise there...Thanks.... T REX

Dmat · January 1999

I don't doubt the #'s that you posted. However I wonder if the figures took into account retail sales only, or did they also use fleet #'s.

It's still amazing that Dodge is the smallest of the three and moved out half as many Fords. I wonder how small Dodge is compared to Ford. I don't think that we are anywhere near half their size.

Trex, I'm writing back to you tonight. I haven't had the time.

Matt D

dwe · January 1999

Will the Dakota come out in a conventional quad cab (a current club cab with 4 doors like the Ram), or is the one with 4 full size doors the only option? I like the current Dakota club cab but would like it to have 4 doors.

trex99 · January 1999

The Dakota that is coming out with the full 4 doors is the only one that will be offered....Kinda funny when they added 4 doors to the Ram people said why didnt they make them real doors? Now theyre going to on Dakota and people want the smaller suicide type doors....go figure... T REX

stanford · January 1999

Not quite -- a large contingent of one-ton people have been begging their local Dodge dealers for a real crew cab for many years now... from long before this whole quad-cab idea started. If they had one, I'd be driving a Cummins right now.

cagent · January 1999

Why are all the Dodge dealers I talk too reluctant to say anything good about the V-10 engine? They all say it is not a good engine. Is there something inherently wrong with it, or are they trying to sell me the Cummins engine for more money.

stanford · January 1999

I was not that impressed by the feel of the Dodge V10. One of my neighbors has one -- it doesn't feel as strong as my Ford V10 and gets worse mileage. In a Dodge, I'd take the Cummins any day.

cagent · January 1999

what kind of mileage is your Ford V-10 getting? My brother had a '94 Dodge v-10 4x4 that was a tire burner. He got around 10 mpg on the farm and around town.

stanford · January 1999

I'm getting right around 10mpg in town too. That's for a one-ton crew-cab 4X4 DRW with 4.30:1 gears on reformulated gas. The 3.73:1 gear folk are reporting much better mileage.

ApexEnv34 · January 1999

Dmat: I suspect the numbers include fleet sales. Allegedly fleet sales was what made Camry on top of Accord.

If you add up all Ford sales, Dodge is much smaller than 1/2 of Ford. I think Dodge is making big stride on their cars and trucks, at least style-wise.

trex99 · January 1999

Well don't get me wrong the v-10 IS a good engine, I just feel that if you need a truck that big and have that much weight to haul you'd be a fool not to buy a cummins....better fuel mileage, much longer engine life, better pulling power, and the dealer doesnt make any more money if you buy deisel over gas it just makes more sense and most people know that thats why we sell so many Cummins versus v-10's...T REX

stanford · January 1999

Well, actually the dealer makes an extra $600 if you order the Cummins -- MSRP, that is.

ladyblue · January 1999

Trex:

How long does it usually take to get a build date and delivery date on a truck order? The order was placed on 1/4. A friend of mine placed an order (Ford) on 12/29 and already has a definite delivery date.

trex99 · January 1999

Well the dealer will put the order in the "dial" system and when the order is picked up and ok'd then they will send it to the next level...I dont know how the ford system works but at Dodge they just tell you what status its in whenever you check on it....I'll try to get a list of status codes for you on monday....T REX

Dmat · January 1999

Sorry T, your incorrect. The V-10 will pull more than the Cummins (if they are in the truck). Max weight for the V is 14,200 LBS, 13,800 on the 4x4. I can make some great arguments to get the V over the Diesel also.

You: save money on the starting price, they are not as noisy, gas mileage is lower but the gas is cheaper, the lifespan is less but how long were you going to keep the thing anyway.

To break even with a V-10 you have to drive the Diesel for at least 140 KMI.

Ladyblue, You put in the order just after Christmas break for the UAW. I would thing that 6-8 weeks is an average time for a big dealer, 8-10 for a smaller one. Chrysler does give an ESD (Estimated Ship Date), call up your salesperson and ask if he/she could run a function (94 or 84) on the dial network.

Matt D

trex99 · January 1999

OK Matt heres the facts....
The 3/4 ton equipped with the 24 valve cummins, and the 5 speed trans will pull 14,200 lbs
Tha 3/4 ton equipped with the v-10 and the 5 speed trans will pull 13,400 lbs....right outta the Dodge manual.......AND lets say for arguments sake that Gas is $1.00 a gallon and diesel is $1.25...you will get maybe between 10-14 mpg in the v-10 and will get 18-24 mpg in the diesel....so in the long run which is really cheaper???? and as far as breaking even?? when you do hit 140k miles your v-10 will be close to done and your diesel will be halfway to its FIRST rebuild..... and who is going to keep it that long anyways?...I'll tell ya...all the people who are buying cummins are......T REX

cdean · January 1999

v10 done at 140K miles? there's not a lot of faith in that product is there?

stanford · January 1999

Then again, for the price of one fuel pump and an injector, you can have the V10 rebuilt. The extremely high maintenance costs of the newer diesels were what converted me back to gas, especially since I'm now doing 30-40K per year, more than half of which is city driving.

cdean · January 1999

for the normal pickup driver, very rarely does a truck outlast an engine. Most of today's engines, with proper maintenance, last well beyond the life of the truck.

I've been around industrial service pickups my whole life and there are only 2 trucks that I can remember right now off the top of my head that needed motor rebuilds were both one ton Chevys in good shape with 350's that had between 250K and 300K miles on them. Most of the time the truck has fallen apart before the engines get ready to croak.

the industrial sector may see the need for a rebuild, but personal owners: practically never.

dodgeram · January 1999

Are the cummins diesel good for snow plowing?

Also I found a 94' cummins diesel reg cab, 2500 4x4 SLT, with only 48000km, The used car dealer is asking $24,900cdn, for the truck, is it a good deal. I could probably talk him down to 22,23k.

The truck looks great, has running boards, and a very clean interior. It is a automatic.

quadrunner500 · January 1999

dodgeram:
The cummins diesel is great for snow plowing if your diesel fuel is in good shape for cold temperatures. That is, it flows like a liquid, not like a gel. Red flags are raised for me about that truck you describe. A '94 with only 30,000 miles seems very low. How do you think it ended up on a used car dealer lot? I dunno. I think I would try to get a title search. As for the price, about $15,000 US, well it could be okay, but it depends on the truck. I would look it over for frame damage from the bottom, if you can crawl under it. Look for crash damage around the seams and welds, or paint overspray. The seats and interior should be nearly new if things add up right. I don't know how you judge the condition of the diesal engine, except to look for other items that could be a clue to fraud elsewhere. On the other hand, if it checks out well mechanically, it could be a good deal even if it was overpriced a bit. (Not saying it is.)

dodgeram · January 1999

Price wise were going to talk the dealer down, but haven't seen the truck yet, going this weekend to look at it. Pictures look good, but thats pictures. It only has one owner, I'm thinking it might be leaseed one which has just ended.

How much power does the 94' cummins have. Are they as well insulated for noise in the cab as to more of a current one?

dodgeram · January 1999

One more thing, It is a chrysler dealer selling the truck.

cagent · January 1999

T, Where can I get a look at the 2000 models? Word is there is a body style change.

trex99 · January 1999

cagent....I dont know af any body changes on Rams..as far as I know its the same......

dodgeram...I dont know if this helps but we did an off-site sale day after christmas and we took in trade a 93 3500 dually ex-cab automatic, fully loaded up cummins that had 29k original miles on it and was immaculate and it sold for 16,999 so I can only say that there are a lot of diesels out there that are actually in good shape even for ones that are 6 or 7 years old so go check it out you just might score..... T REX

KCRam · January 1999

Matt,

I'm surprised - you should know better!! The Cummins is detuned substantially with an automatic, while the V10 has the same power and torque ratings regardless of transmission.

Dmat · January 1999

Why do we decrease the power? There aren't 2 different transmissions on the engines, or are there? One can handle 13,000 while the other can only handle 10,000? Why not just use the top rated trany for both?

I pulled some other people in on this debate here at Melloy. It helped to break up the monotiny of the day.

P.S. Do you like dealing with back seat teckies

trex99 · January 1999

Kcram...He obviously dont get it......duh!!

stanford · January 1999

Er, if you offer an auto and a 5spd, you have at least 2 different transmissions. Think about it...

Dmat · January 1999

I'm talking auto vs. auto. Are there two different auto's.

Matt D

KCRam · January 1999

Matt, both the V10 and the Cummins use the 47RE automatic, that is true. HOWEVER, the Cummins' torque output is too high and too steady at too low an rpm for the trans to handle. Thus the engine is detuned. Check your engine specs:

Cummins w/ manual:
235hp@2700rpm, 460lb-ft@1600-2700rpm

Cummins w/ auto:
215hp@2700rpm, 420lb-ft@1600-2700rpm

dodgeram · February 1999

Well all those automatic tranmission numbers are about to be changed. Dodge is not going to bring
the six speed manual transmission to the current generation ram trucks, however they are bringing a six speed automatic that is built by allison. It will be avaiable in the next two months or so. It's almost a done deal, just have to wait for the official announcment. Go to www.car-truck.com for more details.

Dmat · February 1999

According to my service writter, who asked a tech.; the two main differences between the units is that they have a different valve bodies, and different governing pressures.

This question goes to show how complicated our job can get at times. It's always good to check in a book to make sure that the unit can do what a customer demands. To say that a Diesel is better or worse than a V-10 depends on what trans. they want.

The best thing about this board is the fact that we talk about our product. Probably one out of 200 people would ever ask the question that I did. I posed it because I knew that it was a tough one to answer.

BTW: Someone wrote to me about a month ago, animate about the availability of the 6 spd. He swore that it would be out in Jan.

Matt D

cdean · February 1999

A six-speed automatic by Allison sounds like it would be great behind the Cummins. I bet that would get pretty popular. I just wonder how much that options going to cost. Allison builds great trannies, but they don't give them away, either. I just hope its not outrageous for the Dodge or the Chevrolet.

goldrush · February 1999

Trex,

My dealer says 6 speed manual and limited slip not on hold. WWW.Wheels.com says 6 speed on hold until Jan 25 and limited slip on hold until March. Do you have any info.

Thanks,
Ed

dodgeram · February 1999

If they are still bringing the six spd tranny, it will be dodge not allison. But the 6spd auto. will definetly be by allsion trannsmissions.

mjnak · February 1999

I've decided to buy a Dakota. I'm looking for a 2X4, extended cab, automatic w/ a/c. Though I live in Colorado, I don't have much need for 4 wheel drive.
I another customer I ran into at a dealership said I would have trouble selling a 2x4. What do you think?
This will be my first new car/truck purchase. I'm leaning toward the 5.2L V8. I will only occasionally need to haul things. Can I get by w/ the 3.9L?
I'd appreciate your advice.

panman · February 1999

mjnak,
If you are leaning toward the 5.2L, go for it because I doubt you'll be happy if you don't. Sure you can get by with the 3.9L but sometime in the future, you will wish you had gotten the 5.2L. Where in CO do you live? The friends I have that live there have said they couldn't get by in the winter without 4x4 and won't as long as they live there. This is probably the reason you would have trouble selling a 2x4 later.

mjnak · February 1999

Thanks for responding, Panman. Now I'm really confused. Both the dealer and a broker I spoke to today said the 3.9L and 2x4 would most likely fit my needs.
I live in Denver. I work about 9 blocks from work. Quite a few of the folks at work are urging the 4x4, but I'm feeling that if the roads are that bad, I don't need to be out.
The resale thing is less of an issue since I plan on keeping the truck until it dies.
I was quoted $19,400 for the 2x4, extended cab, automatic, w/ a/c this morning. I haven't had a chance to compare to the prices listed here, but will do so later.
Anyway, I appreciate your input.

dodgeram · February 1999

Mjnak,

You may also want to wait until late summer, when the 2000 dakota comes out with the all new 4.7l v8
mated to a 4spd tranny also all new. They maade this tranny just for this powerplant. it has many advantages, like 2 second gears, and a reverse gear that is just the same as first gear, so you get maximum reversing power. Also four full dorrs if you want it. It also gets better gas milage.

P.S Currently in the new grand cheroke. Go drive one of those to see if you like the 4.7lv8.

panman · February 1999

mjnak,
Didn't mean to confuse you. My only point was that if you were leaning toward the 5.2L V8, the less power of the 3.9L might someday make you wish you had gotten the 5.2L and then it will be too late. 99% of us could certainly get by with a smaller engine in our trucks, its simply a matter of desire. Living only 9 blocks from work in Denver, I would say go ahead for the 2 wheel drive also. If you don't leave Denver very often for driving in bad conditions, 4x4 really wouldn't be worth it. Dodgeram also had a good idea about waiting for the 4.7LV8.

dpatton · February 1999

T Rex,
First, thanks for taking the time to respond to all of these questions. Just about all of the dealers I've encountered couldn't tell the difference between a Dodge truck and a Tonka truck. I'm looking to buy my first truck, and I'm behind the power curve on trucks. This forum is really helping get smart.

I'm looking at buying a '99 Dakota, V6, manual. I test drove one this evening. I could sense the transmission slip a bit after the clutch was fully released. I also noticed a lot of vibration being translated to the stick. It just wasn't a very smooth ride. The dealer said that was common for new V6 engines and that after 5000 miles it would settle out. Well, I'm not dropping 20 grand on something like that without verification. So, your insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

DP

Any questions for a Dodge Truck salesman??

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