Are Idaho Ram dealers worth the drive?

[GBuilders]

I’m looking at the new 2019 Ram 2500 longhorn trucks. I have seen were some have posted buying from a few dealers in Idaho. Dave Smith and Dennis something are two of the largest dealers in the country. I have heard you fly in and they pick you up and put you in a hotel at the dealers expense till your truck is ready??
Not sure if that is true or not? Being in Texas it would have to be an amazing savings for me to purchase and drive back.

Has anyone done this and how much did you save off of MSRP?

Thanks G

[Me_Again]

GBuilders wrote:
Thanks for all the replies I believe I’ll wait a few months and see when the dealers have more stock.
I’m needing a 2500 with the 5th wheel holes in the bed for my hitch. Not very many 3/4 tons with that option.

I believe that on the 2500 you can add the pucks yourself without lifting the bed. ON my 3500 I had to lift one side at a time. But if you are going to tow a 5th wheel, why not a 3500 SRW?

Chris

[GBuilders]

Thanks for all the replies I believe I’ll wait a few months and see when the dealers have more stock.
I’m needing a 2500 with the 5th wheel holes in the bed for my hitch. Not very many 3/4 tons with that option.

[GBuilders]

ShinerBock wrote:
OP, no it isn't due to where you live. Being that Texas is the truck capital of the US, the truck market is very competitive in most metro areas. I got 14k off MSRP on my 2014 Ram at Bluebonnet in New Braunfels which is less than an hour from you. San Antonio itself is not that competitive, but Dallas and Houston are.

Knowing exactly what you want and being firm on how much you are willing to pay for it goes a long way. Heck, when I bought my last F150, I emailed a salesman from all Ford dealerships in and around San Antonio exactly what I wanted and let them bid against each other. The prices between Jordan Ford and Bluebonnet Ford were neck and neck, but I ended up going with Jordan because of the color.

Shiner, I have shopped at Bluebonnet before and I like the dealer. The dealer in Boerne I have not had good luck with. Without the factory incentives on 2019 2500’s out yet I may wait for a month or two.
Thanks for the help.

[ksss]

Living in Idaho (although I live at the other end of the State), when Dave Smith started to put its mark on the vehicle market, the dealers here had to match or at least get you close to the Smith number, close enough that it wasn't worth the hassle. If you price Dillon or Smith it would surprise me if the dealer of your choice where you live would not do the same. I have used the Costco program on my last two GM pickups, I priced Smith and Costco was a better deal. I have never contacted Dillon so I am not sure where they are and it was years ago I contact Smith. So I don't have any current insight. My suggestion would be to get the best deal from either Idaho dealer and shop it and see if you can get the same deal or close to it. I don't have any problem getting invoice, but I have a great relationship with my local GM dealer and I am treated very well. That relationship for me is worth the small price difference.

[dedmiston]

I live in So Cal and three years ago we bought two Dodges out of state. We bought my wife a Charger from Finlay Dodge in Post Falls, ID (new) and I bought a RAM 3500 dually from Texas Direct Autos in Houston (used).

The experience up in Idaho was pretty good, but they were kind of rough with the out-of-state paperwork. The salesman picked us up at the airport in Spokane, WA and drove us back to his dealership. It all went quickly and we got on the road that afternoon to drive home.

Buying from Texas Direct Auto (used) was the only way I could afford that size RAM. I haven't shut up about that place since: They were absolutely amazing.

They actually contract with an agent in our state capital who handled all of the DMV paperwork. It was very painless (except it was expensive).

Some day I suppose I'll need to replace this truck and I'll head right back to Houston to buy another one.

[tchil]

I ordered a 2018 RAM from Dennis Dillon. I would purchase from them again. They give you the price when you place the order and they honored that price when I picked it up. They were waiting at the Boise airport when I arrived and the whole process at the dealer was super smooth.
They made a mistake on the finance paperwork and had to fedex me a new copy to sign which delayed the loan a week past the first payment due date. They paid the first payment for me without even asking and never asked me to repay them I guess since it was their mistake. Honestly you can't beat that in my opinion. I shopped their price locally and dealers here were about 3-4K more expensive after negotiating with them for a few days. The price on their website is accurate but it is the higher of the two prices typically. They are very upfront about that. The lowest price is available but you have to qualify for the additional programs RAM has going like owning a certain type of business or having a membership with certain organizations. Basically after watching their prices for a year or so you can pretty much count on 11K off MSRP. Lower priced trucks might be closer to 10K off and more expensive trucks closer to 12K off. Hope this information helps.

[memtb]

If for no other reason....it’s a pretty drive! Do a mini-vacation while in the area......beautiful country!

[ppine]

The internet allows you to tap into the national market. You can fly up there and drive the truck home. You can have it shipped. I bought a Ford pickup once from a dealer in California and had it shipped to my house.

Once you know the national market then negotiating with the local dealer sometimes works a lot better. I bought a Ford diesel from my local dealer. It was last year's model brand new. I offered them $500 over the dealer invoice, (not the MSRP). It took 20 minutes to buy the truck.

[ktmrfs]

when we bought our 2015.5 Duramax I compared Dave smith prices. In the end going through my credit union the price was less than Dave smith, went through a local dealer.

And guess where my truck came from...... DAVE SMITH. it was the only one in a 3 state area with the color and options we wanted. Was trucked from Dave smith to portland, paperwork was in the car showing it's history being originally shipped to dave smith.

[IdaD]

Grit dog wrote:

whododat wrote:
Just an fyi. At Dillon, you have to finance the vehicle through the company they use. You can then refinance later if you wanted to. I thought that was a little odd but did not go through with it. He definitely have very good prices, just be sure to read any fine print. I did not buy a vehicle through them.
All this is irrelevant, if you are paying with cash I think.

No you don’t unless you want to qualify for another $1000 off or something like that.
They had a 3 -6 month min carry without penalties too. It “could” net you about 1/2 the finance discount if you played it right, but not significant if you have cash or a better rate

When I bought my truck the loan documents didn't have anything in them about a minimum period so I refinanced at no cost through our credit union for a bit better rate within a week or so. It didn't net a much better rate but it was enough to be worth it.

[Grit_dog]

To the OP, what is the question?
Dillon posts their price online. Compare and see.
Almost bought a truck there. Didn’t appear they played games which was nice.

[Grit_dog]

whododat wrote:
Just an fyi. At Dillon, you have to finance the vehicle through the company they use. You can then refinance later if you wanted to. I thought that was a little odd but did not go through with it. He definitely have very good prices, just be sure to read any fine print. I did not buy a vehicle through them.
All this is irrelevant, if you are paying with cash I think.

No you don’t unless you want to qualify for another $1000 off or something like that.
They had a 3 -6 month min carry without penalties too. It “could” net you about 1/2 the finance discount if you played it right, but not significant if you have cash or a better rate

[mikim]

We use to live near Dave Smith, when his son owned the dealership. We have since moved and have found that going through Costco Auto Program was a tad better of a deal.

[DownTheAvenue]

The best thing about shopping prices at these mega dealers is obtaining that price. In most cases you will find a local dealer coming close to a mega dealers price plus your costs in getting to the mega dealer and back home.

The post about a mega dealer giving a super discount price but requiring financing through their finance company is troubling. Obviously, the profit margin on the financing is subsidizing the super discount price and means the consumer probably pays more overall.

[ShinerBock]

OP, no it isn't due to where you live. Being that Texas is the truck capital of the US, the truck market is very competitive in most metro areas. I got 14k off MSRP on my 2014 Ram at Bluebonnet in New Braunfels which is less than an hour from you. San Antonio itself is not that competitive, but Dallas and Houston are.

Knowing exactly what you want and being firm on how much you are willing to pay for it goes a long way. Heck, when I bought my last F150, I emailed a salesman from all Ford dealerships in and around San Antonio exactly what I wanted and let them bid against each other. The prices between Jordan Ford and Bluebonnet Ford were neck and neck, but I ended up going with Jordan because of the color.