Which truck should I take?

pioneer 1 · September 12, 2023

I ordered another f 450 10+ months ago. Pretty sure Ford isn't going to make it. In June, I went to a Chevy dealer and looked at trucks. I never heard back from him. I then ordered a3500 high country dually from another dealer. I then ordered a gmc Denali ultimate thru our company's fleet plan. I haven't heard from the fleet plan guy yet but the first dealer called out of the blue this mining and said my trucks in. I told him I didn't order it but still may take it. The other Chevy dealer called me this morning and said that truck is in. If I take one of these trucks, I will lose the deposit I had to put down on the fleet plan. It was $2000. I'm overwhelmed at this point. Ford can't make a truck to save their life and GM is pumping them out. Hate to lose $2000 but this strike will cause chaos. Not sure what to do

Pryme · September 12, 2023

You might be overwhelmed because you ordered a bunch of trucks you had no intention of taking possession of.

Sumrtime · September 12, 2023

If you ordered three different trucks from three different dealers, you should be happy that it is only costing you 2K!!!

Never heard of a dealer special ordering a vehicle for a customer unless the purchase agreement was signed.

pioneer 1 · September 12, 2023

13 minutes ago, Pryme said:

You might be overwhelmed because you ordered a bunch of trucks you had no intention of taking possession of.

I played by the rules for 10 months and didn't get a truck. I see dealers selling trucks on the lot and my original order not getting built. I don't like to order multiple trucks but when I straight out told each dealer I may not take the truck I was ordering, they all said they could sell these trucks. I got screwed playing by the rules the first time

64BAwagon · September 12, 2023

In many states its illegal to keep a deposit. The dealer would only be able to keep it if they were harmed by you not taking the truck. Since they shouldnt have any problem selling it if you decline then they owe your money back.

pioneer 1 · September 12, 2023

14 minutes ago, Sumrtime said:

If you ordered three different trucks from three different dealers, you should be happy that it is only costing you 2K!!!

Never heard of a dealer special ordering a vehicle for a customer unless the purchase agreement was signed.

Good point on signing an agreement. I called this dealer several times to see what they had appraised my f450 at several months ago. He never returned my calls. Not quite sure what's going on there. I had forgotten all about him till today.

64BAwagon · September 12, 2023

19 minutes ago, Sumrtime said:

If you ordered three different trucks from three different dealers, you should be happy that it is only costing you 2K!!!

Never heard of a dealer special ordering a vehicle for a customer unless the purchase agreement was signed.

I have ordered at least a dozen GM trucks with little more than a phone call, no signature, no cash up front.

Pryme · September 12, 2023

17 minutes ago, Sumrtime said:

If you ordered three different trucks from three different dealers, you should be happy that it is only costing you 2K!!!

Never heard of a dealer special ordering a vehicle for a customer unless the purchase agreement was signed.

The market has changed pretty dramatically with much higher interest rates and people starting to come back to reality. Dealers were fine ordering a year ago because it would be sold to the next warm body in line but now I don’t think trucks are moving at such a fast pace so I don’t think they will be just ordering blindly. There is probably going to be a bit of a problem Ala 2008 housing collapse when people realize they can’t afford 1,000 dollar notes for their truck that they are painfully upside down on. Its going to be unfortunate.

Pryme · September 12, 2023

1 minute ago, 64BAwagon said:

I have ordered at least a dozen GM trucks with little more than a phone call, no signature, no cash up front.

Yes but not all at the same time. You’re talking about over the years.

64BAwagon · September 12, 2023

I was referring to @Sumrtime comment.

And oh BTW, I have ordered 2 vehicles at the same time on at least 2 occasions, one being this March.

Edited September 12, 2023 by 64BAwagon

nitro882 · September 12, 2023

1 hour ago, pioneer 1 said:

I ordered another f 450 10+ months ago. Pretty sure Ford isn't going to make it. In June, I went to a Chevy dealer and looked at trucks. I never heard back from him. I then ordered a3500 high country dually from another dealer. I then ordered a gmc Denali ultimate thru our company's fleet plan. I haven't heard from the fleet plan guy yet but the first dealer called out of the blue this mining and said my trucks in. I told him I didn't order it but still may take it. The other Chevy dealer called me this morning and said that truck is in. If I take one of these trucks, I will lose the deposit I had to put down on the fleet plan. It was $2000. I'm overwhelmed at this point. Ford can't make a truck to save their life and GM is pumping them out. Hate to lose $2000 but this strike will cause chaos. Not sure what to do

I think it depends on a few things. Thing #1 how badly do you need a truck at the moment. Thing #2 how important are the Denali Ultimate features to you?

I think the answers are simple somewhat simple.

If you need the truck near term and are indifferent to the "ultimate" features that cannot be had on the Chevy pull the trigger on it. Like you mention the strike could be an issue and DRW trucks are still in high demand and hard to find on a lot. If you are desperate for the truck it might be time to strike while you have the opportunity.

If you don't need the truck near term and not having the Denali "Ultimate" features are a deal breaker then you many need to take your chances and wait.

Like you i may still have a Ford on order and no updates on when. Last I heard from the dealer last month odds were quite high that Ford was going to cancel the order and have me place an order for a 2024 which i told them i was not interested in doing. I have already been in line since last Oct when the books opened and i'm not doing it again. They have not been in contact since and i don't expect them to be, I told them i bought another truck so at this point they know im just done.

I was in a slightly different scenario where i needed a truck since i need a DRW and did not have one at the time. For us we decided the "ultimate" features did not rank higher than our dislike for the interior color on the truck and i pulled the trigger on the first regular Denali i could find that was available for purchase. We could have afforded to wait a little bit if we wanted the Ultimate but we hated the color and i didnt think the massage seats were worth the extra money to wait over getting one that was on its way that we liked. Had there been a Chevy HC available i would have had no issue with that truck either. I actually like the dash layout of the HC slightly better.

1 hour ago, Pryme said:

The market has changed pretty dramatically with much higher interest rates and people starting to come back to reality. Dealers were fine ordering a year ago because it would be sold to the next warm body in line but now I don’t think trucks are moving at such a fast pace so I don’t think they will be just ordering blindly. There is probably going to be a bit of a problem Ala 2008 housing collapse when people realize they can’t afford 1,000 dollar notes for their truck that they are painfully upside down on. Its going to be unfortunate.

The DRW market is still pretty tough. I have a friend looking for one now since his F350 just got totaled out. Nothing on the lots anywhere and anything in transit is already spoken for just like it was in May/June when i bought mine.

Edited September 12, 2023 by nitro882

pioneer 1 · September 12, 2023

22 minutes ago, nitro882 said:

I think it depends on a few things. Thing #1 how badly do you need a truck at the moment. Thing #2 how important are the Denali Ultimate features to you?

I think the answers are simple somewhat simple.

If you need the truck near term and are indifferent to the "ultimate" features that cannot be had on the Chevy pull the trigger on it. Like you mention the strike could be an issue and DRW trucks are still in high demand and hard to find on a lot. If you are desperate for the truck it might be time to strike while you have the opportunity.

If you don't need the truck near term and not having the Denali "Ultimate" features are a deal breaker then you many need to take your chances and wait.

Like you i may still have a Ford on order and no updates on when. Last I heard from the dealer last month odds were quite high that Ford was going to cancel the order and have me place an order for a 2024 which i told them i was not interested in doing. I have already been in line since last Oct when the books opened and i'm not doing it again. They have not been in contact since and i don't expect them to be, I told them i bought another truck so at this point they know im just done.

I was in a slightly different scenario where i needed a truck since i need a DRW and did not have one at the time. For us we decided the "ultimate" features did not rank higher than our dislike for the interior color on the truck and i pulled the trigger on the first regular Denali i could find that was available for purchase. We could have afforded to wait a little bit if we wanted the Ultimate but we hated the color and i didnt think the massage seats were worth the extra money to wait over getting one that was on its way that we liked. Had there been a Chevy HC available i would have had no issue with that truck either. I actually like the dash layout of the HC slightly better.

The DRW market is still pretty tough. I have a friend looking for one now since his F350 just got totaled out. Nothing on the lots anywhere and anything in transit is already spoken for just like it was in May/June when i bought mine.

Thanks for the analysis and just about what I'm thinking also. Just so surprised to get 2 calls on the same day. And if I wasn't clear earlier, I didn't really order the first Chevy; that dealer must've ordered it on his own. So I really only have 1 Chevy and 1gmc on order. Plus the Ford-which doesn't count in my mind

nitro882 · September 12, 2023

54 minutes ago, pioneer 1 said:

Thanks for the analysis and just about what I'm thinking also. Just so surprised to get 2 calls on the same day. And if I wasn't clear earlier, I didn't really order the first Chevy; that dealer must've ordered it on his own. So I really only have 1 Chevy and 1gmc on order. Plus the Ford-which doesn't count in my mind

One other thing, before you decide on anything i would do test drive that Chevy even if you don't buy it. From what i gather from your first post you have an F450 now and the GM 3500 is not going to have the turn radius that the F450 has. It will be more in line with what an F350 would be like, AKA a bus..... I know lots of folks prefer the 450 for that turn radius so its something you will need to determine if you can live with not having it.

pioneer 1 · September 12, 2023

I do like my 450. I would have another one if they could make it. However, looking forward to a new style and brand. Hopefully it rides smoother than the 450. Weight capacity is close and I never pushed the boundaries with the Ford. I had a350 dually before the 450 and never had issues turning.

Salzette · September 12, 2023

4 hours ago, Sumrtime said:

If you ordered three different trucks from three different dealers, you should be happy that it is only costing you 2K!!!

Never heard of a dealer special ordering a vehicle for a customer unless the purchase agreement was signed.

I’m not sure it’s that rare. My dealer didn’t ask for a deposit. Said they only would have if I’d been ordering something really unusual that would’ve been hard to sell.