What to look for, Dodge Ram edition.

Macdaddy4738

Macdaddy4738

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Been looking off and on for a truck for a bit. Happened upon a 2015 Ram 1500 Tradesman. It's got the 5.7 Hemi and only has 57,500 on it. Seems really low for a truck that age and the price is right. It's only RWD, but I don't see a real need for a 4wd truck with what I need it for.

Planning on checking it out today but I'm not sure what specific points I need to look at on these. Anything to watch out for? It's kind of an odd duck. It's a base model Tradesman but has some higher level options like heated mirrors, automatic headlights, power windows, etc. Carfax looks good. 2 owners. The original took really good care of it. The second has no real maintenance records but could just be that it was owner maintained. 2nd owner didn't have it very long and only put like 10k on it.

How's the resale on these? I only ask because the price on this seems quite low compared to other trucks I find with the same mileage. I don't forsee selling it any time soon, but it's nice to know.
 
That truck could have been bought new for 29-30k FYI.
Do you back out math from there...
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
How's the resale on these? I only ask because the price on this seems quite low compared to other trucks I find with the same mileage. I don't forsee selling it any time soon, but it's nice to know.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure the answer to that question is within the reason you are asking. As long as you buy it for a good price, resale value doesn't matter. If you're worried about resale value, go pay too much for a Toyota or Honda, and then be proud of your resale value. Once the new car depreciation is hit, the value has a pretty flat curve until it approaches 100k miles.
 
Ron said:
That truck could have been bought new for 29-30k FYI.
Do you back out math from there...
Click to expand...

Sort of my concern. Resale isn't that big of a deal for me, I just found it odd that it seemed low. It's actually a Quad cab, not a crew as advertised. That's sort of frustrating.
 
Resale on 2wd Ram's isn't the best, but most 2wd trucks don't hold value well, so buy low, sell low....buying high and selling high typically only makes you feel like you got a good deal resale wise.

As a former 2wd Ram owner, I would say look for one with the 8 speed and the 3.92 rear axle ratio. The 3.23 ratio is ok, but it hunts a lot on the highway between 7 and 8. If you can find one with the Ram box option....it is the best addition to any Ram pickup, hands down!

Also, fire the truck up cold and listen for lifter tick....there will always be some, but it shouldn't be so bad that say....your wife would notice. The hemi requires 5w20 because of the hydraulically activated lifters that are used for cylinder shutdown, you might have a noisy start-up due to 5w30 being used (so use that to your bargaining advantage). Of note, on the 8 speed, you can manually select your highest gear, if you select 8, it turns off cylinder deactivation, you can use a tuner for permanent delete, or just select '8' every time.

Lastly, the Hemi requires mid-grade, I always ran Premium, and filled up at costco because price wise it was almost the same as regular anywhere else. When towing bigger loads, the ECU dials the power WAY back if you cheap out on gas.
 
This one is a 3.21 rear axle with the 6 speed. The only options I see is the "popular equipment group" which included cloth seats and remote keyless entry. Kinda disappointing that they opted out of the 8, but you get what you pay for I suppose.

Towing capacity is listed at 6,750. I won't be towing anything major with this, a small utility trailer, and maybe eventually a pontoon boat.

List price was 31,045. I would guess it's past the major depreciation drop now.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
This one is a 3.21 rear axle with the 6 speed. The only options I see is the "popular equipment group" which included cloth seats and remote keyless entry. Kinda disappointing that they opted out of the 8, but you get what you pay for I suppose.

Towing capacity is listed at 6,750. I won't be towing anything major with this, a small utility trailer, and maybe eventually a pontoon boat.

List price was 31,045. I would guess it's past the major depreciation drop now.
Click to expand...

If the price is right, just don't go test driving any ZF8's with the 3.92 rear....it will ruin this truck for you.
FWIW, I would limit my search to the 8 speed, IIRC the 6 is a Chrysler design, where as the 8 is the new standard for chrysler and designed by ZF, it is a beast and smooth as can be.
 
Seems high to me, but I haven't really priced those as I had one until a year ago.

For visual ID, all 6 speeds will have a column shifter, all of the 8 speeds got the silver hockey puck on the dash....which you do get used to. The only thing that REALLY pissed me off was when the dealer changed the programming so the transmission automatically shifts itself to park if the drivers door is open or opened (which I do on occasion to backup trailers and such).

I would avoid the V6, it got the weaker 8HP45 vs the 8HP70.....both 8 speeds, but not the same torque capacity.
 
Window sticker says "rotary shift" but I don't see it in the pictures. I guess maybe that was a deleted standard option when they subbed the 6 speed for the 8.

It has the 5.7 Hemi.
 
I maybe crazy, but the second truck in Ron's link looks like the drivers fender is a re-spray.

And the first one is definitely missing 2 Cylinders!

But the point is valid.....at the price range you are shopping, and in 2wd if you can wait....there is some old man, one owner truck out there that has been well loved at the same price point, and probably lower mileage.
 
I can only commit on the mileage. My past trucks, sat in the garage, more than anything. They weren't my daily driver. I used the for towing & hauling, so mileage averaged 4 -5 K, a year. Annual inspections backed that up! When I bought my 2016 truck, I decided I Needed to Drive this expensive beast. Work was & is close to home. Jeep is for play & such. No need for a car. Then I semi-retired. Just as Corona hit, My daily driven [almost] truck, turned 4 years old, at 36,000 miles. Carfax & state inspections, should verify the mileage.
 
The quad cab is small, but I also bought a mega cab over a crew cab so my opinion may be skewed lol.

Duane
 
Went by and looked for it. Looks like someone has already purchased it. They've swapped out the wheels and tires with some oversized goofy ones and there's a "Mom Life" sticker on the back.
 
Sucks for her. Quad cab and mom life don't go together. Sold my quad cab '14 ram because I'm 6'3" and couldn't put car seat behind me
 
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