Here is a good rhetorical question: If a truck is ordered and it is made known to the dealer that IF the truck has EGR on the engine that the ordered truck will be rejected, is the money put up to initiate the order rightfully forfeited?

I am very leery about getting an '04 ordered tomorrow because I can't get a straight answer from any Dodge dealer I have talked to about exactly when the EGR engines will start appearing in '04 Rams. I REALLY wish the EPA would stop dictating what companies can and cannot sell on the free market. Where does all this stop?

I talked to a dealer today in Raymondville TX and he indicated that the production run in progress will end soon and the next bunch of orders (dealer stock and customer orders) would start about mid-October. He said DC has not said one word about EXACTLY when the cut-over date was for EGR. Also did a dealer search for the truck I want [2500 4X4 short bed, 6 spd, limited slip, ST package, HO, trailer tow / mirrors, quad cab, cruise control, white interior / dark gray interior] in the '03 and there was none available within 1000 miles. Or in '04 model either...almost all dealer stock I have found is with automatic trans and I don't care for the automatic.

He DID say that ordering as a ST would more than likely accelerate the build dramatically as the restricted options list was getting kind of volatile lately. I really don't want a truck like a cadillac since I plan on really using it for surfing, hunting, fishing, work etc. and a plain basic truck has less to break and is easier to keep it clean when it gets filthy which it definitely will. Also said that he ordered one today almost identical to mine (wish list) and that a lot of the farmers locally get theirs set up the same (ST / 6 spd etc.) So I guess it is not as uncommon as I had thought to order an ST rather than the SLT.

Does anyone have any updated info on the EGR status; i.e. when it will rear its ugly head? I could just kick myself for not already having an '03 in my possession. To me it is much better to take the end-of-year depreciation over getting an EGR-equipped Cummins.

 

I talked to my local dealer yesterday and he did not have a date yet but said: "They tell me we can take orders for the HO 6 speed in mid Oct." I live in CA and can't buy the HO 6 speed untill the EGR is put on them :'( so it seems that is when it will happen.

 

I doubt anyone can give you a straight answer on when they EGR will be added. I was told it will happen on vehicles built in December. Now about rejecting a vehicle with EGR and getting your deposit back is between you and your dealer. When I ordered mine earlier this month, I didn't sign anything, put any money down and the dealer told me that if I didn't like what came in, I don't have to take it. How's that for customer service?

 

Well that is good news. I haven't ever ordered a truck so did not know what the procedure was. If I can just get a dealer to order what I want with no money down on it then if it has EGR all I have to do is to walk away from it.

Only problem I can see (from dealer's point of view) is the fact that I want to order an ST instead of an SLT. I think most people want all of the options on them (and an automatic trans) and all I want is the truck set up for go, not for show. So a dealer might not be as eager to order one like that without a deposit. On the other hand that might be a good dealer screen in that if they won't work with me on the order, then they don't get my business. I guess it depends on how much a dealer wants to sell a truck. I will try that approach and see if any dealers locally will go for it. Worst they can do is say "NO".

 

My Dodge dealer, I found by complete luck. I had driven by them many times and noticed they had a lot of Rams so I stopped in to test drive on. After test driving a few I told him I wanted specific things on it and that I wasn't looking for the extras. That's when he offered to order one. When I told him I was hesitant because different vehicles drive different even when they are the same, he said "I understand, but the Dodge is a great truck and if you order one and don't like it, you don't have to take it. I'll just sell it to someone else and I don't even need a deposit to order one for you." I still did not belive him, and about a week later, I was at a gas station and there was a guy there with a new Ram with this dealers logo. When I asked him about this dealer, all he could do was praise them and that he had bought 6 vehicles from them in the last 10 years. Then I was on the other side of town lookd at Rams at another dealer, well low and behold, they had a DX ram that my dealer had ordered for a customer that the customer did not accept because of money problems. That sold me and I went to order. So far all I have is praise for my dealers sales dept and they gave me a below invoice right off the back.