I am in Cuero TX and need to buy a Diesel 1 ton 4 wheel drive pickup, I guess I will buy new anyone have a lead of a place to start.

Im north of Houston so i cant help with a dealer. But would like to know if you've looked at the gas 1tons. With the price of fuel and all the epa shit these new diesles just arnt worth it for me anymore. I have a 2007.5 dodge 3500 which was the first year with all that crap. My dads 5.9 gets mid 20's mpg and mine with the 6.7 got 8. Yep 8. After a burned up turbo and 4 or 5 reflashs' it was10. Then i did a delete and am getting 17-18. But seeing the fuel price as high as it is when gas is so much lower pisses me off. Anyone else remeber when fuel was always  priced lower that gas? Anyway just wondering what you've found out there. Things may be different from 08' now. I see your a big poster so maybe you'll be back.

You may be right, I just hope I can find one that gets good MPH , may have to pull a large travel  trailer thru  some  hills. just thought I may get an AR15 guy a chance to sell me one. I just here horror stories about gas trucks getting 4 MPH while pulling a trailer.
Thanks for you prompt reply.
Regards

 


 

Chevy, Dodge, Ford?

If you want better fuel mileage buy a 2WD.  4WD doesn't really improve towing capabilities (actually if you look at Ford and Chevy's websites, the 2WD trucks have higher towing capacity) anyway and unless you own land in the country there really isn't a whole lot of reason for 4WD in most of Texas since almost all the roads are paved (and since virtually all land belongs to someone, going off-road usually means trespassing) and we rarely get any snow.  Additionally 4WD will cost you thousands more to begin with and cost you more in insurance and usually maintenance costs too...  I've got a 2WD truck with a pneumatic locker rear differential, and it will go just about anywhere I've got a legal right and reason to go in the state.

Call Wendell Tanner at Covert Ford on Austin.
I assure you he will treat you right and no BS.
Here's the price and where do you want it delivered.

If you want to skip the long post below here is the TLDR version - Times (and laws) have changed, buying a car used to be a big hassle with a lot of haggle involved but it really isn't anymore.  Deal with the internet sales department over the phone and walk in and sign the papers to close a deal within 1hr and almost no haggling now days.

LONG version - To get started I suggest you read Confessions of a Car Salesman.  This is an investigative journalism piece done by Edmunds.com back before they were well known.  Some will say that this piece is what made their website take off.

What is generally conveyed in that piece is a bit dated, it was penned about 12y ago, and there have been a lot of changes in the industry since then (including regulatory reforms).  But the basics still hold true.  Most people are actually negotiating three separate deals when they buy a new car:

1.  Deal #1 is the obvious deal.  The price of the car you are buying.  You should always deal in the purchase price of the car.  Not the monthly payment.  You are buying a car from the salesman, that's it.  Usually this is where most people think the haggling and heartburn reside, but it isn't.  Because of the proliferation of the internet you don't have to drive to different dealerships to 'price shop'.  You can now pull up carmax, autotrader, cars.com, and competitor dealer websites right in front of the salesman and show competing prices.  As such you'll generally get a pretty good price from any salesman who has more than two weeks on the job.  It isn't worth their time to haggle on the price here because of all the easily available information out there.  Besides, they can make more money on deal #2 that is coming.

2.  Deal #2 is the hidden deal, and you start this before you drive up to your dealer to start #1 above.  This is where the dealer and salesman actually make their money now days.  Your trade in price.  This price is highly subjective and fraught with a high amount of variability. There are thousands of dollars of commission hemmed up in this deal for the dealer.  To get yourself a good starting point for negotiations you should prep for this though.  Take your trade to the nearest CarMax and get a trade valuation by them.  It is free and the best part is this is your ROCK BOTTOM number.  Because CarMax will buy your car for this price regardless if you buy one of their cars.  Once you have that go to two other mainstream dealers that sell the type of vehicle you are interested in.  Looking for a Dodge 1ton 4x4, go to two Dodge dealers and, drive up to the used car lot and ask for a trade valuation to be done to your car.  They'll ask if you want to buy something, tell them, "If you are going to give me a good deal on my trade, THEN we will talk about a purchase".  But you won't, you are using them to get more negotiating firepower.

Now that you have your trade valued by three different places, you can talk with your dealer of choice about what your trade is worth to them.  No need to be sly, just hand them your keys, let them know that you have already shopped your trade around and let them know what your rock bottom price is (CarMax).    Use your other two trade valuations to back up the CarMax if needed, but you should be able to get above CarMax price for any trade at any dealer that deals in your type of used vehicle.  Example, if you are trading in a 1ton 4x4 at a Dodge dealer, they should give you a better deal than CarMax because they deal in this type of vehicle and know how to move it.  But if you are trading in a Porsche at a Kia dealer, CarMax will probably be a better deal, because the Kia dealer doesn't have the market to move a Porsche in (you can swap that around too, a Porsche dealer won't be able to move a Kia in the used car market).  Just be realistic here and don't let yourself get pushed over.

3.  Deal #3 is now pretty regulated and used to be another big hassle, but now days it doesn't have to be.  Financing.  Best bet is to get pre-approved through your bank/credit union and you don't have to worry about this at all.  But let's assume you are going to go through financing at the dealer.  In the past the finance manager used to have the power to manipulate the interest rate that you received on your loan.  In the past the finance manager used to also get commission on that rate.  This isn't the case anymore.  This business sector has come under the ire of the government and is pretty well regulated now.  The finance department is now mostly a broker.  They just take your information to multiple lenders and show you your options.  They generally get a flat rate for 'placing' that loan, and they make the same money no matter what the rate or who they place the loan with.  BUT, that doesn't mean there isn't money to be made on the back end.  They will talk financing with you, rates, whatever you want.  But where THEY make their money is on the extras.  Do you want that extended warranty, gap insurance, that clear bra, those running boards, etc.  My standard line whenever I buy a car has always been, "I came to Dodge to buy a fucking dodge, not insurance and saran wrap.  I don't want to see any extra line items on that contract.  Fill the paperwork out and call me back in here when it is done."  Then I'd go grab some coffee from the lobby and go back to their office.  

Buying a car now days is nothing like it was in the 80's, 90's, or heck...nothing like it was just 7y ago.  A lot has changed in the past 6y regarding car buying.  It's not like buying a new pencil for your kid at school, but it certainly isn't like it used to be.

Try the process on carproahow.com. Jerry Reynolds, he does the radio show and he's hooked up with dealers all over the country. His listeners get special treatment and pricing. It works.

I found a 2012 Ford 2500 EXT  cab 4 wheel drive diesel pickup  it is an XL no power windows or locks, 39,000 miles its has the 6.7 and they want 28,000.00. I cant find any 2500's in this area at this price point. How does that price sound. Thanks for all the replies

I almost never see a pickup for sale with that few miles on it around here...  Usually a 2012 is going to have at least 60k on it by now, often closer to 120k...  According to what I find online a similar new 2014 runs around $40k.  $28k seems like either a pretty good deal...  but I almost worry if it isn't TOO GOOD to be true...  Around here a clean recent, lower mileage used pickup on a car lot has an asking price only slightly below what a new one would be.  In Austin, I'd expect the window sticker on that to be at LEAST $32k and probably more like $35k unless there was something hidden that they really wanted to move it out because of.

You maybe right it should have a warranty on all the power train, however one can never tell.