2014 Dodge 1500 Eco Diesel

[Gimme Fuel]

Bad thing is, the used market is so high on crew cab diesel trucks, you can get a brand new one for just a couple grand more than a 2-3 year old used one. It is nuts! A 05-06 crew dmax with 150+k miles is going for 20-25k+ still!

 

[corey331]

Bad thing is, the used market is so high on crew cab diesel trucks, you can get a brand new one for just a couple grand more than a 2-3 year old used one. It is nuts! A 05-06 crew dmax with 150+k miles is going for 20-25k+ still!

Tell me about it. I have been looking for a Dodge Mega Cab cummins for a year or so now. One of those with 150,000 miles is still pushing $30,000. The only diesel truck that is halfway cheap is a Ford with the 6.BLOW, and there is a reason for that.

 

[karzrus]

We all have to stop thinking we need a totally loaded truck. I'm a GM guy, but that Dodge is available for $27,000 in the Tradesman trim level. That sounds like a great deal. I think we may all want a few more options than that trim level has, but really, we don't need them.

As an example why put leather in a car/truck anyway. Leather is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, so then you need heated and cooled seats just to be happy.(more money, more things to break and more weight to carry around and waste fuel) Leather does not last very well either, most of the leather driver seats I look at, look horrible after 5-7 yrs and 100K miles. Cloth seats last longer and don't require heat or fans to feel comfortable. My buddy who does snow removal loves his rubber floored(no Carpet) 2013 Dodge Cummins 3500 SLT?(I think thats the mid trim level he has)

If you want a deal on a truck be open to looking at less loaded ones. Get a truck with power windows, power locks and air conditioning options and be happy at how good a buy it was. If I had a heavy trailer to pull, the air bags and trailer brake controller might be worth considering and if you do business out of the truck, the handsfree bluetooth for phone calls might be wise. But these things can be added individually after, so don't pay a big premium and get a bunch of stuff you don't need, lumped in.

My Dmax is an CCSB, SLE, 2008 bought 2 yrs ago with 36K km(24Kmiles) for $31,500 Canadian money. It now has 90K km on it and might still be worth $25,000? I'm a careful shopper, took a while to find the right truck, had cash in hand and was able to buy immediately when I found it. But it was also a deal because it is a bench seat mid trim level truck instead of a SLT or Denali.

Everyone wants and thinks they need the 20" wheels, leather buckets, a sunroof, a big screen DVD player for the back seat. Why? If you fall for it, that's how the car companies get big margins. I like that stuff too, but it makes this new Dodge a $50K truck instead of a $27K truck, and that's just crazy.

 

[corey331]

I actually prefer a lot of the basic stuff on a truck. I'm not worried about what wheels come on it cause I'm going to change them anyways. But as far as leather goes, that is a big deal to me with twin 1 year olds, leather is more stain resistant and easier to clean than cloth. Plus I usually take my boxer with me on trips and dog hair again, wipes right off of leather but gets stuck in the cloth seats and is damn near impossible to get out. And the rear entertainment, while not a must, would be very nice again because of my twin girls and the fact that our truck is usually our main mode of transport especially on long trips cause those also usually involve the boat.

My wife's grandfather is retired from GM and we get his employee discount. I have priced new GMC trucks and what;s funny is, he gets a bigger discount by adding more options. So the difference between a fully optioned truck and a bare bones is usually no more than $2000-3000. But, since I am in the market for a 2500 diesel, discounting a $60K truck down to $40K is still too much for me. That and the fact that my last two trucks have been GM's and they have more than convinced me that I will most likely not be buying another GM product.

 

[RNGRDVE]

My current truck has cloth seats and carpet. I would love to switch out to leather seats and rubber floor. I do lawn care in the summer and also get a little muddy from time to time and the ease of cleaning would be nice. Tinted windows take care of the hot leather in the summer and a towel covering the seat takes the edge off of cold leather. IF I had the cash I'd have a brand new fully loaded d-max pickup even though I don't need that much power. you won't find me in a Ram, I've seen to many trans issues over the years to ever buy one.

 

[Rob B]

My current truck has cloth seats and carpet. I would love to switch out to leather seats and rubber floor. I do lawn care in the summer and also get a little muddy from time to time and the ease of cleaning would be nice. Tinted windows take care of the hot leather in the summer and a towel covering the seat takes the edge off of cold leather. IF I had the cash I'd have a brand new fully loaded d-max pickup even though I don't need that much power. you won't find me in a Ram, I've seen to many trans issues over the years to ever buy one.

I have cloth seats as well and looking to get this:http://www.clazzio.com/

 

[Problem Child]

you won't find me in a Ram, I've seen to many trans issues over the years to ever buy one.

You bast@#* , thems fightin words ! Ha ha. Ive heard years ago about them but none of my Rams ever went to the shop. My 06 Hemi Quad was still on the original brakes when I traded it in at 96000 miles. My 2013 just did a 25mpg trip to Battle Creek and back running slow through a bad snow storm with, -20 deg, a 20mph tailwind , over inflated tires ,tonneau cover , 20 gallons fuel, light luggage and a wad of cash for the casino(much less cash coming home) but my favorite thing is still the back up camera. No more arguing with the wife every time we hook to a trailer. It also has a nice sound when it throws you back in your seat while passing the mall at a very high speed and the wife cant even be heard.

 

[Chris]

Apparently Chrysler took orders for 8000 Eco-Diesel trucks in the first three days they were available for order.

http://wot.motortrend.com/1402_firs...0_ecodiesel_trucks_ordered_within_3_days.html

-Chris

 

[Sam I am]

They're out 6-8 weeks. At least that's what the dealer told me. I went to work the deal and we couldn't get close on my CTS. It's a 2012 and Cadillac redesigned the CTS in 2013...so, they're trying to really stick me on the trade. $10,000 less than pay off. Frickin' brutal. So...no deal. They quoted me $500 over invoice for a loaded up Eco Diesel. Every option except sunroof and rear entertainment. $48,XXX. MSRP was $54,XXX.

It's going to be a great truck.

 

[Chris]

Sam,

Hardly anything up here in Kanook-land sells for less than down in the good old U.S of A, yet there are dealers up here that are selling Ram Laramies for around 40K pretty well loaded. Most of those trucks sticker up here for around 54K depending on whether they have Ram boxes etc. The limited Ram's are a bit more.

When I bought my Laramie in '12, I got over 15K off the sticker price although I bought mine in the summer at the end of the model year.

I would imagine on the eco-diesels because there is so much demand outstripping supply, I would imagine most dealers aren't going to negotiate a whole lot as they don't have to.

-Chris

 

[1989checkmate]

If I am correct I believe that is a Fiat diesel motor in that truck. Plus you have to sit and think, am I really going to spend $50,000 something thousand for a 1/2 ton? When I can dang there get the big dog cummins that will rip the guts out of that 1/2 ton.

 

[Sam I am]

If I am correct I believe that is a Fiat diesel motor in that truck. Plus you have to sit and think, am I really going to spend $50,000 something thousand for a 1/2 ton? When I can dang there get the big dog cummins that will rip the guts out of that 1/2 ton.

I want the mileage...28 advertised on the highway. Even if it's 25...I'm cool with that. I tow my fishin boat on weekends and my Suburban can manage that fine, but I have to watch the temp in the summer. I only get 13 towing with the burb. If the Ram could manage 18-20 towing I'd be ecstatic. I usually have to tow at least 50 miles one way to get to a lake and it's more often 70 to the south or 180 to the northwest. Combine that with the fact that I really want to start fishing Lake Winnipeg and the Red River delta and that's a 240 mile (one way) tow, and I really get drawn to the mileage.

But, it ain't going to happen. Waiting for a used one in three years will be my approach.

 

[JW]

Been looking at the numbers. Right now, my closest station (shell) has 87 octane at $0.90 a gallon less than diesel. So I did some math:

15,000 miles per year, $3.40/gallon versus $4.30/gallon and estimated 17 mpg average versus 25 mpg average. Year round average normal driving and towing, not highway best numbers. At that, I think I'm handicapping the gas down and the diesel up, but what the heck. Might be close for a careful driver that tows some.
The gas truck costs $2999.99 per year gas only
The diesel truck costs $2580 per year diesel only

The 3.0 diesel costs what, $2800 more than the hemi? The numbers above show the diesel payback is 6.66 years, not including the extra costs of maintenance. Let's call the payback at 7 years when you add in the cow piss and extra maintenance.

The math doesn't work for me, as I don't keep a vehicle that long. Plus, I'll bet you can discount the hemi further than the diesel, so the payback possibly stretches to a decade. Diesels are cool though, and fun to drive.

 

[Sam I am]

If I am correct I believe that is a Fiat diesel motor in that truck. Plus you have to sit and think, am I really going to spend $50,000 something thousand for a 1/2 ton? When I can dang there get the big dog cummins that will rip the guts out of that 1/2 ton.

The power plant is actually VM Motori...BUT, they are owned by Fiat. So, you're right. It's a great motor. This thing puts out better power than the 6.5TD GM put in Hummers and other vehicles (and what I have in my Burb). It also put's out better numbers than the older Cummins plants that went into the Rams back in 95ish up through early 2000's. It doesn't hold a candle to the new Cummins engines. But the fact of the matter its still putting out 240HP and 420 ft-lbs. Not too shabby. Plus it's soooooooooooo quiet. This has been a long time coming...Diesel technology has been suppressed in the states for far too long.

We've all seen what VW, Audi, BMW and Mercedes can do with diesels in a car: 55 mpg!!!! There's no legitimate reason we can't get a 1/2 ton truck to 30. None.

 

[Chris]

Been looking at the numbers. Right now, my closest station (shell) has 87 octane at $0.90 a gallon less than diesel. So I did some math:

15,000 miles per year, $3.40/gallon versus $4.30/gallon and estimated 17 mpg average versus 25 mpg average. Year round average normal driving and towing, not highway best numbers. At that, I think I'm handicapping the gas down and the diesel up, but what the heck. Might be close for a careful driver that tows some.
The gas truck costs $2999.99 per year gas only
The diesel truck costs $2580 per year diesel only

The 3.0 diesel costs what, $2800 more than the hemi? The numbers above show the diesel payback is 6.66 years, not including the extra costs of maintenance. Let's call the payback at 7 years when you add in the cow piss and extra maintenance.

The math doesn't work for me, as I don't keep a vehicle that long. Plus, I'll bet you can discount the hemi further than the diesel, so the payback possibly stretches to a decade. Diesels are cool though, and fun to drive.

Up here, Diesel is about 10 cents a litre more than regular 87, which would work out to be about 40 cents per U.S. gallon more, or about 45 cents per Imperial gallon more.

Currently, a litre of regular is going for about $1.30 versus $1.40 for diesel or about 7.7% higher in cost.

The other unknown is that Diesel trucks typically have much higher resale value than gassers.

-Chris

 

[Sam I am]

Been looking at the numbers. Right now, my closest station (shell) has 87 octane at $0.90 a gallon less than diesel. So I did some math:

15,000 miles per year, $3.40/gallon versus $4.30/gallon and estimated 17 mpg average versus 25 mpg average. Year round average normal driving and towing, not highway best numbers. At that, I think I'm handicapping the gas down and the diesel up, but what the heck. Might be close for a careful driver that tows some.
The gas truck costs $2999.99 per year gas only
The diesel truck costs $2580 per year diesel only

The 3.0 diesel costs what, $2800 more than the hemi? The numbers above show the diesel payback is 6.66 years, not including the extra costs of maintenance. Let's call the payback at 7 years when you add in the cow piss and extra maintenance.

The math doesn't work for me, as I don't keep a vehicle that long. Plus, I'll bet you can discount the hemi further than the diesel, so the payback possibly stretches to a decade. Diesels are cool though, and fun to drive.

Dude...you're a boat guy, when did you start caring about sound financial decision making!! lol...just messing with ya JW!!

 

[Chris]

To me, the lower depreciation on the diesel truck is potentially the key figure in any of these comparison calculations.

Let's say you take a Hemi Ram worth about 40K then compare that against the exact same model with the diesel motor which would be worth about 43K with the extra cost of the diesel.

If the gasser depreciated over 5 years down to 48.6 % of it's original value, which would probably be the best case scenario as that is currently the estimated depreciation rate of the F150 which is the best full size truck for lowest depreciation.

So that $40,000 gasser truck after 5 years would be worth $19,440.

Then we'll compare that against the Diesel model of the same truck and we'll use a better (lower) depreciation rate, let's compare against the gasser at the current Toyota Tacoma depreciation rate which is 57.3%.

So that $43,000 diesel truck after 5 years would be worth $24,639.

So the savings in the depreciation rate would be $5,199 less the original cost of 3K for the motor for a difference of $2,199 plus whatever savings are garnered from potential fuel savings.

Here are a couple of pages that I used to help to do up my calculations.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2012/04/which-pickups-hold-their-value-best/comments/page/2/

http://consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm

-Chris

 

[Sam I am]

That's pretty good stuff Chris! Were the residual values after 5 years trade value or fair market value?

I have friends who have the Eco boost F150's that are supposed to be getting great mileage and they're not seeing it. I think the Ram's EPA MPG is pretty optimistic, but I think it has a better chance than the gassers. My cousin just bought a Chevy 2500 Gasser and he's pleased with it, but he said the difference mpg at 70 vs 75 is staggering. Headwinds are another ding. Hills...those hurt too. I think diesels do a nice job of calming the winds and flattening the hills all by themselves. Combine that with an 8 speed transmission to stretch the legs of the Ram and I believe we're approaching a very useful compromise that will deliver useful real world utility and value.

 

[Chris]

That's pretty good stuff Chris! Were the residual values after 5 years trade value or fair market value?

I have friends who have the Eco boost F150's that are supposed to be getting great mileage and they're not seeing it. I think the Ram's EPA MPG is pretty optimistic, but I think it has a better chance than the gassers. My cousin just bought a Chevy 2500 Gasser and he's pleased with it, but he said the difference mpg at 70 vs 75 is staggering. Headwinds are another ding. Hills...those hurt too. I think diesels do a nice job of calming the winds and flattening the hills all by themselves. Combine that with an 8 speed transmission to stretch the legs of the Ram and I believe we're approaching a very useful compromise that will deliver useful real world utility and value.

I think they are using Kelley Blue Book as their guide.

Here's a link to the 2014 Kelley Blue Book 2014 truck page.

http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/pickup-trucks-new/2000010267/

-Chris

 

[atc250r]

I've owned diesel Dodges since 98. I realize there's a DPF now that should not need service but who knows. Other than that there should be less maintenance to do. Air filter, fuel filter, diff service, and trans service and you're diesel is good. Gasser is the same except you have spark plugs and maybe no fuel filter. Personally, I'll do the fuel filter on my diesel 5 times rather than try do dig out the spark plugs on a modern gasser once. As far as transmissions go just get a truck with 3 pedals and call it good, better for towing anyway IMO. All of that said, the prices of the new trucks are off the wall and I would never buy the first year of a new truck design or drivetrain package. Let someone else be the guinea pig.

John