Dealer Allocations; how do I get the truck I want?

AngelPhoenix · May 29

Hi everyone!

New to the forum, and new to HD truck shopping. I'm in the market and in no particular rush (and hoping prices will normalize at least a little bit over the next year or two) but it seems it may be quite difficult for me to get the truck that I want. Like, ever.

I currently own a 2022 Ram 1500 Limited Night Edition. Almost fully loaded and I absolutely love it. Except the payload is just not there for the size trailers my wife and I would like to have. I thought I had done enough research to have a solid idea of what my payload would be. I knew it would be low, but it came out even lower than expected based on the options I selected. We are thinking that, if we can find the right truck at the right price, we'd like to upgrade to a heavy duty now so that we can get a bigger trailer, and also future proof ourselves for even bigger trailers down the line.

After many build & price sessions, Chevy is the best value by far. Ram has lots of nice comfort features but they are way overpriced. So is GMC. Ford is a little better, but I'm a bit wary of the issues they've been having with their 7.3, and they are the least likely to make a deal. The number of standard features offered by Chevy is really something, and I'm very excited about the 6.6 gas getting the 10-Speed Allison transmission. I test drove a 2024 2500 Custom the other day and was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled and accelerated considering how big and heavy it is.

Anyway, the issue is that the dealer is telling me that they only get a handful of allocations per month, and that each allocation is fairly specific, and it may be months or more than a year before the configuration I want is even possible for them to order. They also straight up told me that selling under MSRP is not a thing, but I paid $500 under invoice for my RAM at the height of the chip shortage, so I'd be surprised if there's isn't a Chevy dealer out there willing to make, well, a deal.

What are my options? When I was on the Ram forums doing research, people were ordering from a particular high volume dealer down in I believe Georgia that was getting them the exact config they wanted at around invoice prices, and shipping the vehicle to them within 4-8 months. Anything like that for Chevy?

Dunn · May 29

Laura Chevrolet in st louis, $2500 off on special orders I believe....at least their GMC store does.....their are other ones I am sure and wouldn't be surprised if better but Laura is always solid

I bought mine from Van Chevy in Scottsdale (I drove from LA) seeing how you may be in Phoenix by your name....worth a shot

Actually bought 3 from them and they sell a ton of vehicles....

Your thinking of Mark Dodge in Louisiana for Ram.....and yeah their pricing was really good on orders...

good luck man

sabre364 · May 29

Dave Smith (GMC) in Idaho - they obviously do most business as CDJR dealer (one of top in the country by volume). Not sure how they are with ordering, but they are a volume dealer like Laura GMC in MO. I presume volume = allocations, at least that's how Ford does it with commercial.

AngelPhoenix · May 30

Thanks guys. Checking out Laura Chevy. And you're exactly right, it was Mark Dodge I was thinking of. But even at like 5% under MSRP or whatever they were doing a couple of years ago, Ram just went insane with their pricing. I mean, all the manufacturers did, but at least with Chevy it seems like I'm spending a lot but also getting a lot.

arkenzo · May 31

i've been talking to 3 local dealers in the inland empire area and none of them are willing to place an order for a truck. they just want to sell you what they've oredered or have on the lot.

weird time...

AngelPhoenix · May 31

Seems like dealerships are getting in the way more and more as time goes on. If I could just order direct from Chevy I would probably do that, even if I had to pay MSRP and wait 6+ months.

May 31

No offense but you can't compare Ram to GM on selling price. At the height of the over MSRP craze a year ago, a year +, a Colorado dealer was offering to order me any new Ram 2500 at a good % under invoice. I was considering a Power Wagon, and just remembered the way I built it came out to 78k or so, and the out the door price would have been about 12k off. For a brand new built to my specs truck.

That said, my current 2020 AT4 1/2 ton stickered at 67 and I got it for 58. This was 12/2019, so pandemic issues were not yet affecting the market. I am looking at a 2024 GMC 2500 right now, and no way in hell I will pay MSRP.

arkenzo · May 31

14 hours ago, AngelPhoenix said:

Seems like dealerships are getting in the way more and more as time goes on. If I could just order direct from Chevy I would probably do that, even if I had to pay MSRP and wait 6+ months.

yup, same here.

dealerships here are basically trying to sell their 2022, 2023 trucks before anything.

AngelPhoenix · May 31

@453030 yeah, that's exactly the thing, now that I've gotten a deal at well below MSRP, there's no way I'm going back to sticker prices ever again. It just blows me away that enough people are paying these insane amounts that dealers don't have much incentive to take the time to special order me something and make a deal. They have people forking over MSRP and then some for whatever they end up with on their lots.

Though, I am getting wind from Youtubers and people I know in the business that lots are starting to fill up again so hopefully things are on their way to being slightly less insane.

Dunn · June 4

I bought my 23 in April for quite a bit less than Laura was advertising at the time......and way, way below any so cal dealer that i could find......just depends

a day or so travel to save thousands is no brainer.....registration is bit more of a hassle but whatever.....

On a 24 may have to wait a bit to get a good dealer discount, though am sure someone out there has gotten a smoking deal on one from somewhere....

Jettech1 · June 4

From what I've seen, no one can beat online prices from Rivard in Tampa, Fl. Yes Laura will give good discounts...but if you want to see some huge discounts, check out Rivard in Tampa...They run on volume for sure!!