From Here on Out It's the Green Pump.

For once I feel like we got a great deal on a new vehicle and at this point there are no regrets. Here is the story in a very condensed time frame. Thursday I was searching the various used car web sites and came across a 2005 Dodge 3500 SRW Diesel Long bed. I called and talked the salesman I know at the dealership and he assured me that it was a very clean truck with only 33000 miles on the engine. Linda and I talked and decided to put some money on it to hold it till Saturday when we could get over and inspect it. I hung up and we started the research checking Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds. We got all the figures together on the new rig and on our existing Dodge 2500.

We drove over to the dealership, looked the truck over and drove it. It was real nice! The color was exactly the same as our present truck, in fact everything was the same except the interior color, black, it was a long bed, and was a diesel. Our truck was a 2004 with 55000 miles on it so we were gaining in that respect. The long bed was a big plus. This will allow us to move up to a larger camper if we want. If we don’t move up to a more spacious TC it will allow me to bring the center of gravity of our Northern Lite forward, providing more stability and a better ride.

Looking the newer truck over we decided to try to make a deal. It was almost too easy. The dealer came down in price, not as much as we wanted, but they came down quite a bit. Our next plan was to make sure we got what we wanted on our trade. Blue book told us it was worth $19000, they offered us $18000, and we took it! We were not ready to sell our truck at this point and so I had not put the tailgate on it when we left the house. We struck our deal and drove home. Prior to making the deal I talked to our dealer and asked it would be alright to remove the items that I had installed to improve the ride while the camper was on the truck and he said go ahead.

On Monday I took the truck in and had the Rancho Shocks exchanged for the original shocks, took off the trimbrens, remove the Supersprings, the swaybar and finally the camper tiedown system. If figured that was over $1000 of parts that I can either use on the new truck, if they fit, or sell. As the miscellaneous parts came off I kept the salesman informed on the progress so no one at the dealership would be upset. It was no big deal to them; I guess they just wanted the stock truck anyway. I put the tailgate on and was ready to make the vehicle exchange.

Tuesday I went to pick up our new truck and when I got to the dealership, they could not locate it. My salesman said that it was right out front all last night because he worked late. I kept an eye on everyone and they were all meeting and whispering, sometimes pointing. A manager came out and I was asured things were alright. After about an hour they located it in the shop. From what I gathered, two other people had put money down on the truck. They do this just in case our deal were to fall through. We had the first bid, but the salesman for the people who were third in line jumped ahead and sent it into the shop and had some major accessories installed. His buyer was going to use the truck to pull a fifth wheel and so they installed an electric break, some electrical plug-ins, one other item that I didn’t really understand, and finally a Hidden Hitch system. All this had to be removed. If you are familiar with a hidden hitch, you will know that to install it you have to cut a hole in the center of the bed of the truck. Obviously they could not fill the hole, so I now own a truck with a Hidden Hitch system and some electric plug-ins. The parts installed came to over $1000 and we didn’t have to pay a cent. I believe the new salesman is paying for the Hidden Hitch system. If we ever sell the truck, I’ll be looking for a fifth wheel hauler to sell it to.

That was our excitement for the week. A new truck, a good deal and $1000 in extras; we are a happy couple. We will now do a few improvements to the new rig. I want to add Tork Lift tie downs, possibly some air bags and that should make it complete. Some of the parts I removed will work on the new truck and I'll put them back on. If they don't fit, watch for my posts on Craig’s List, or other areas. Make me a deal I can't refuse! This was a very positive experience purchasing a vehicle, wow, I never though I would ever say that.