Trade my Tacoma for a Ram???

My dad had a 99 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel, worst car we have ever owned. Gas guage, oil gauge, keyless entry, A/C, 3 Transmisions, Rear Window Leaked, Rear diff. all broke and we only had it till 70k. It was a really good looking truck, leather fully loaded. Diesel was awsome, but when its in the shop almost every other month it gets old... That and do you want to have another payment for the next 72 months when you already have been paying on you Tacoma and have less that 72 months to pay? Your call, look at consumer reports and reliability ratings.

 

What do you need a fullsize truck for? Are you gonna be towing anything big? Have you ever had a fullsize truck?

Seriously...fullsize trucks are more of an inconvenience unless you're using them for heavy hauling/towing. Fullsize trucks (I owned a Dodge RAm for 3 years) are BIG. Big & bulky. A pain in the ass to drive & park in small & tight spaces. Yeah, the power is nice.... but are you really gonna USE IT?
If you want power, save your money and get a sports car that's built for going fast. Are you gonna be taking a lot of long trips? I don't think the 8/4 cylinder deal activates until you're on long trips. So - the gas mileage in & around town and even short highway trips is still gonna suck.

Sure - Dodge does offer some awesome deals to make you wanna buy one. I ended up getting a 2004 Quad Cab 5.7L SLT for only $27,000 (sticker was $37K). Back then, Toyota didn't have the Tundra yet or I probably would've gotten a Tundra instead regardless of the discounts. I had a Jeep/trailer to tow and really needed a fullsize.

The Ram was nice.... roomie. It went in for warrantee work about 8 times. High pressure steering lines were leaking. And the *service 4WD* light came on and it took them 6 trips to the dealer to figure that out - was a loose connection deep inside the dash. I had the Transmission ECU flashed to fix its 'hunting for gears' while towing. It still 'hunted' even after the flash was done. I wanted an alarm, but they couldn't install one because the truck didn't have the 'computer' it needed to support the alarm.

Get on the Dodge Ram forums and look around at the complaints & issues before you make a commitment.
http://www.dodgetalk.com/
http://dodgetruckworld.tenmagazines.com/ew/forums.asp

 

You think you are getting a good deal on your dodge, but remember that your tax money is what is giving you that deal. So may as well get some of it back.

 

when you traded in your dodge, where you happy with how it held value?

 

I've said it before. I've owned a Dodge ONCE. My brother in law has a 2004 Ram 1500 and he likes driving it, but it goes into the shop 2-3 times a year. No thanks, I'll stick with my Tacoma.

 

Be prepared to lose your ass in depreciation and be upside down on your loan for 5 years+. If your buying it because you need a big truck fine, if it has anything to do with the warranty - LOL

The new dodges are pretty nice, they've improved them. And that Hemi puts down some serious power with some cheap aftermarket parts. But the company behind the warranty will probably be gone in a couple of years and the Gov't will pull out of honoring the warranties for life IMHO and you'll be left in the cold trying to sell your worthless truck.

 

Forgot to mention that. Truck had been paid off for years so trade in all went towards purchase of the Tacoma, but yes it sucked. It's unreal how bad Dodge vehicles depreciate.

I personally wouldn't hesitate to buy a 2-3 year old Dodge truck that someone else took the depreciation hit on, but don't think I'd buy new again. I think at this point a lot of the urban legend about Dodge reliability is unfounded. At least in my experience. Your mileage may vary.

But anyway, I'm a Taco driver now so it really doesn't matter to me anymore.

 

I just traded in my 02 quad cab sport in September for a Taco. The truck was nice for a full size but I didn't need it any more, and the repairs 3 months after the warranty expired were insane, u-joint and front hub. The paint was the worst I had ever seen, it would chip if you looked at it wrong. Also, when in the shop they said my power steering was leaking but it was a $700 fix, and was not worth it, so I dumped it.
390hp is nice, but if you don't ever get into the higher RMPs, its worthless. Drop a SC in your Taco and enjoy the ride.
its your call, Dodge is in trouble as others have said and I feel they do not stand behind behind their product.

 

While your monthly payment will be the same you'll be horrendously upside down on the Dodge. As soon as you take possesion of it, you'll owe $3k + taxes, fees, etc more than anyone else can buy one for! When financing for a 72 month term, the truck will depreciate WAY faster than the rate you're paying it off, assuring you will never be anything but hopelessly upside down on it. Now consider what the price of oil will do in the future .... hmmmmm, when oil is back up to $150/barrel (it's rallying right now hold on!!!!) and fuel is back at $4/gallon how much is that Dodge going to be worth and how badly will you want to get rid of it???

Just my opinion, but I would want to think about alot more than monthly payment.

 

No, no no. And did I mention - no?

The Dodge will be a nasty truck to drive if you're happy with the Taco. Seems like a major thing enticing you to change is the deal - I wouldn't do it for that reason. Just becasuse you can afford it doesn't mean you should do it. Wait 'til gas prices go back up to $4/gallon and that deal won't look so good. And you'll still be left with a heap of junk in the driveway.

 

Lot of guys I know have trouble with the trannie(auto) in most models of Dogde trucks..... I have a couple of friends who have done them twice, one is just a regular truck and the other is more of a work truck, both have had them replaced, the warranty covered the first but they balked and gave them the run around on the second. This seems like a major problem with Chrysler Corp.....
Just a thought

Jeff, 06, V6 SR5, 6spd

 

if anything get a ford they are 100 times better than dodge

 

I'd rather buy an F150, before the Dodge, and even before that I would look into the Tundra way before I looked at the Dodge. The Ram looks good, but I think thats about it.

 

screw that man if you want a dodge then go for it and dont buy a god damn POS ford. Personally i like dodge rams, not so much the new ones with the slant front end. The models right before the new ones are awsome. That or a old school 12 valve cummins

 

New Ram Sport models with the 20's look pretty good. I would probably look at an F150 myself before I'd get a Dodge. If I was getting a fullsize I would look at the F150, Silverado/Sierra, Tundra all before the Ram though. As far as the cylinder deactivation, look at what the other trucks in the segment get. I bet their highway mileage is right around the same. The 07 Impala SS I had did the same thing and people who tuned that out still got around the same gas mileage. And they're doing away with the lifetime powertrain warranty BTW. I don't know if that's effective with the 2010 models or what. Something to consider.

 

I work at a bank and I can honestly say I have never successfully refinanced a Dodge Ram. Nobody even has enough equity in them to break even. I once had someone come in with 15k negative equity on a Dodge Ram.

I rarely run into equity problems with Toyotas.

Stick with the Toyota, Dodges are money pits.

 

I'm curious as to why a full size truck is needed or is it just wanted?

Going upside down in a trade is just not worth it if its not needed.

What are you going to do with a dodge ram 1500 that you can't with the Tacoma?

 

I have had a 95 X-cab Dakota 318ci 4x4 and a 99 X-Cab Ram 318ci 4x4 and really liked both of them. Actually to this day I wish I would have kept my Dakota. Not as a daily driver but it was awesome off road and paid for.

 

I'd get a Ford well before getting a Dodge

 

Got enough opinions yet?

I have learned in life if you want something, go for it - don't worry about others.

Dodge quality is just as good as Toyota - if you get a good one. My grandfather's had 2 Dakotas to almost 200k miles with no trouble, I had one with 70k problem free, but I also had one blow up at 40k. I honestly believe the problem is they put out more bad ones than Toyota, so it's more of a crap shoot. Yes, they are known for bad trannies (10 years ago), brakes, A/C, bad fuel economy, etc. But, far as I know they haven't had any break in half due to rusty frames, or had squeaky clutches, weak motor mounts, or bad throwout bearings. Every car maker and car line has it's problems, just be particular in the one you buy. The one thing to be careful of is buying first year you sometimes are a guinea pig for problems that they couldn't fix or haven't discovered yet.

As for being upside down, if you keep it a long time who cares? You're only upside down if you sell it before you own it outright!