So I ordered a TRX through Granger right after Xmas of 21. Never done it before, so maybe some of the things below can help potential buyers navigate the process. Some things I wish I knew when I did it.
1. Pricing/Financing - Pricing was very straight forward, at least through Granger. I built one on the ram site and pdf'd a copy of the build to Granger. They made an invoice showing my discount and outlining the costs etc. I jumped the gun and applied for my financing with my local credit union right after not knowing you cant pay for anything until it was delivered. As many of you know, it takes a while to get the truck. By the time my truck came in (5 months and change), my original application, rate, and other incentives had already expired. Most banks only have a XX day window in which your rate is good for. If you run more applications trying to shop for the best rate, it may also impact your credit. If i were to do it again, I would just wait, have the dealer run an app and see what they come back with. I ended up financing it through a local credit union that Granger uses.
2. A forum member was able to have the truck shipped from the factory to his local dealer. He said he had to specify during the order process and it had to be done before the invoice was created. Now I never inquired further about this with Granger as my order was already months in process so I didn't see the point. Im not sure if its dealer to dealer, I would imagine some dealers will probably tell you its not an option . Either way, definitely something to inquire about. Could potentially save in shipping headaches.
3. Shipping - I ordred from Granger in Iowa. I live in San Francisco. Its about 1700 miles. This is where I learned the most. The whole shipping game is a shady place. I had gotten quotes from everyone including forum sponsors, google searches, friend recommendations, forum member recommendations. They are all playing games. The way it works is, you tell them you want it shipped from XX address to XX address. They tell you, no problem, and will quote you a nice low number like $1300. Some quoted me $2000. Obviously I inquired more with the $1300. We set up a date, they said they had a driver picking up a bunch of cars from a nearby dealership. So the price seemed realistic. Shipping day comes, get a text "we had to cancel, the other shipment cancelled, we will get back to you when we find another driver" A day goes by, " we found another driver, it will cost 2000 for him to pick up" I said pass. A day later, same thing, but now its 1900, then 1800, then 1750. I understood the game. They were hoping I wanted the truck so bad, I would just pay the difference. I also spoke to an owner/operator that could see the board that the job was listed to. He said the 1350 bid never existed. It was a classic bait and switch. I ended up flying out and driving it home. my plane ticket was 300, gas ran me about 600ish, hotel for one night was 100. All in all about $1000. Had a great drive back, hit some dirt roads through utah. Very enjoyable. Skip the shipping headache unless you are ok with the price.
4. Documents - Im not sure how other dealerships go about it, but with Granger, I was emailed by different people in different departments. It was hard to keep track of who I was speaking to about what. Finance, general, original sales, etc etc. Make sure you stay organized with what documents have been signed, etc. When I got to the dealer, they were quick and knew what documents I had signed, and all it took was the girl double checking I hadnt missed anything and off I went. Just be organized.
5. Pickup - The other reason to go pick your truck up is to inspect it before you take delivery. My truck was fine, I had noticed a few bolts holding the fender liner to the sheet metal backed out and about to fall off. Bolts would have been long gone if it made the trip to CA like that. Simple request to the service tech to borrow and 8mm wrench and it was fixed. He was nice enough to check them all. I also had the problem of the screen not coming on. Unfortunately no one on site to check the software, and I was on the clock to get back. Everything worked except the screen. I figured I could bring it in to any dealer when i got back, so i hit the road. It came back on the next time I started it. Ill be trouble shooting this later.
All in all it was a pleasant experience. Some things unexpected, some things I expected. I've never spent that much on a car before so this price point was new to me. Truck was dirty like it had been sitting out for weeks. I kind of expected it to be detailed since they knew which day I was picking up. Thought it was normal for this price point, but I guess not. If it was a car I'd probably have more of an issue, but it got covered in dirt and dust on the way home anyway.
Would I do it again? You bet, I saved a ton of money not paying ridiculous ADM and had a nice adventure driving back west. Drove through some beautiful country (Wyoming, Utah, Nevada) in an awesome truck. Hope this helps some new buyers.
1. Pricing/Financing - Pricing was very straight forward, at least through Granger. I built one on the ram site and pdf'd a copy of the build to Granger. They made an invoice showing my discount and outlining the costs etc. I jumped the gun and applied for my financing with my local credit union right after not knowing you cant pay for anything until it was delivered. As many of you know, it takes a while to get the truck. By the time my truck came in (5 months and change), my original application, rate, and other incentives had already expired. Most banks only have a XX day window in which your rate is good for. If you run more applications trying to shop for the best rate, it may also impact your credit. If i were to do it again, I would just wait, have the dealer run an app and see what they come back with. I ended up financing it through a local credit union that Granger uses.
2. A forum member was able to have the truck shipped from the factory to his local dealer. He said he had to specify during the order process and it had to be done before the invoice was created. Now I never inquired further about this with Granger as my order was already months in process so I didn't see the point. Im not sure if its dealer to dealer, I would imagine some dealers will probably tell you its not an option . Either way, definitely something to inquire about. Could potentially save in shipping headaches.
3. Shipping - I ordred from Granger in Iowa. I live in San Francisco. Its about 1700 miles. This is where I learned the most. The whole shipping game is a shady place. I had gotten quotes from everyone including forum sponsors, google searches, friend recommendations, forum member recommendations. They are all playing games. The way it works is, you tell them you want it shipped from XX address to XX address. They tell you, no problem, and will quote you a nice low number like $1300. Some quoted me $2000. Obviously I inquired more with the $1300. We set up a date, they said they had a driver picking up a bunch of cars from a nearby dealership. So the price seemed realistic. Shipping day comes, get a text "we had to cancel, the other shipment cancelled, we will get back to you when we find another driver" A day goes by, " we found another driver, it will cost 2000 for him to pick up" I said pass. A day later, same thing, but now its 1900, then 1800, then 1750. I understood the game. They were hoping I wanted the truck so bad, I would just pay the difference. I also spoke to an owner/operator that could see the board that the job was listed to. He said the 1350 bid never existed. It was a classic bait and switch. I ended up flying out and driving it home. my plane ticket was 300, gas ran me about 600ish, hotel for one night was 100. All in all about $1000. Had a great drive back, hit some dirt roads through utah. Very enjoyable. Skip the shipping headache unless you are ok with the price.
4. Documents - Im not sure how other dealerships go about it, but with Granger, I was emailed by different people in different departments. It was hard to keep track of who I was speaking to about what. Finance, general, original sales, etc etc. Make sure you stay organized with what documents have been signed, etc. When I got to the dealer, they were quick and knew what documents I had signed, and all it took was the girl double checking I hadnt missed anything and off I went. Just be organized.
5. Pickup - The other reason to go pick your truck up is to inspect it before you take delivery. My truck was fine, I had noticed a few bolts holding the fender liner to the sheet metal backed out and about to fall off. Bolts would have been long gone if it made the trip to CA like that. Simple request to the service tech to borrow and 8mm wrench and it was fixed. He was nice enough to check them all. I also had the problem of the screen not coming on. Unfortunately no one on site to check the software, and I was on the clock to get back. Everything worked except the screen. I figured I could bring it in to any dealer when i got back, so i hit the road. It came back on the next time I started it. Ill be trouble shooting this later.
All in all it was a pleasant experience. Some things unexpected, some things I expected. I've never spent that much on a car before so this price point was new to me. Truck was dirty like it had been sitting out for weeks. I kind of expected it to be detailed since they knew which day I was picking up. Thought it was normal for this price point, but I guess not. If it was a car I'd probably have more of an issue, but it got covered in dirt and dust on the way home anyway.
Would I do it again? You bet, I saved a ton of money not paying ridiculous ADM and had a nice adventure driving back west. Drove through some beautiful country (Wyoming, Utah, Nevada) in an awesome truck. Hope this helps some new buyers.
. I did put my UPR catch can on immediately - that picked up some nice goobies. When I finally made it back to Texas I did my oil, front and rear differential, and transfer case at the dealership. I should have inquired as to the cost because THAT was a surprise. $840….is this normal?! Yes. Lesson learned. Next time I’m doing it myself with a damn bucket from Auto Zone. Thank you Tim.
