Think back to your favorite car. Maybe it was a truck. You really didn't care what others thought of it. No words could break that special bond between the two of you. But somewhere along the way you were separated. Maybe you couldn't make the payments. Maybe your neighbor stole it in the middle of the night. Maybe a pack of tree-hugging Earth Liberation Front eco-terrorists turned it into a candle. Or maybe you borrowed it from Dodge 12 months ago and now it has to go back.
Inside Line spent the past year with the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. For more than 33,000 miles we drove the Ram across the long-term blog pages, a mileage milestone that ranks on top for any 12-month durability test in the history of our fleet. Functionality had a lot to do with its popularity, admittedly. The Ram could haul, tow and for one stretch it was the only genuine four-wheel drive in the garage. But there was more to this pickup. And each of us will list a different reason why it ranks among our favorites.
Why We Got It
The 2009 Dodge Ram pickup truck was all-new. But it was significant for one reason above all others: coil springs. Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds bellowed, "Prepare yourselves, fellow truckers, for a brand new day. No more will you be surprised by a sideways leap of the ass end of your truck when you encounter midcorner bumps or cross railroad tracks. No more will your insides turn into a quivering bowl of gelatin as you traverse a lumpy freeway. And no longer will you and your passengers quiver at the sight of a washboard dirt road or a poorly maintained driveway. The 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup has been healed!"
Praise for the new Ram was not limited to our first drive of the truck. It also won our full-size truck comparison test.
Durability
We enjoyed driving the Ram, as a truck or just as transportation. Senior Editor Dan Pund volunteered to drive it from Michigan to Colorado, where he would hand the reins to a West Coast staffer. Pund reflected on his trip, "With about 1,300 miles to cover in our new long-term Dodge Ram, we have some alone-time on our hands. Even splitting the drive up into two days, there are almost exactly 1,000,000 miles of corn-wrapped straight, flat Interstate 80 to cover. In a decent automobile, which early impressions indicate the Ram certainly is, this is a monstrously boring drive. The kind of boring that might inspire a grown man to affix Bugles-brand corn-based snack trumpets to each of his eight fingers, just...you know...to see. We're not saying that we actually did this, but I did."
These were expected, save for the oil temp, which soared to 260 near the apex of the grade.
Engineering Editor Jason Kavanagh towed with the Ram for several thousand miles during its tenure. Kavanagh reflected, "The Ram drove and steered remarkably well with 4,000 pounds behind it. The ride was plush as ever. There is enough reserve power in the Ram's 5.7-liter engine that there were no sweaty-palm moments while accelerating. We drove the Tejon Pass, a grade of about 6-7 percent, for a couple miles. I locked the cruise. At 4,500 rpm coolant temperature reached a peak of 218 degrees F, trans temp hit 175 and oil pressure was 51 psi. These were expected, save for the oil temperature, which soared to 260 near the apex of the grade. It took several miles of downhill driving (i.e., light load with plenty of cooling airflow) before the oil temp even began to drop from this peak."
Our problem history with the Ram was minor. Nearly 18,000 miles into our test we began to question the advertised sturdiness of its RamBoxes. Take a tow hitch, store it in the RamBox, add a splash of road imperfection and serve the punctured plastic RamBox liner under warranty. Aside from the RamBox incident, our dealer visits were limited to routine maintenance at recommended 6,000-mile intervals. La Brea Chrysler Jeep handled the bulk of our maintenance needs and did so to our satisfaction. We should probably mention the morning we struck an inanimate object, but we'll leave that out.
Total Body Repair Costs: $2,291.32
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 12 months): $253.06
Additional Maintenance Costs: None
Warranty Repairs: Replace RamBox liner and RamBox key cylinder
Non-Warranty Repairs: $456.85 to replace 2 tires
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 4
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: None
Days Out of Service: 8 to repair body damage
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: None
Performance and Fuel Economy
We sent the Ram through our standard battery of tests when it was new and again as our test wrapped up. Our first track test of the long-term Ram was impressive. But we were quite pleased to see that after 33,000 miles of service it was even better.
Senior Editor Josh Jacquot noted while testing, "Stomping the pedal is the quickest way to accelerate. Brake torque doesn't help. No real technique required." Acceleration from zero to 60 mph required 7.4 seconds (7.0 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) en route to a quarter-mile pass of 15.3 seconds at 89 mph. These figures mark a 0.2-second improvement from its first track test. Similarly, slalom speed increased to 60.3 mph and lateral acceleration around the skid pad bumped to 0.70g. Stopping distance from 60 mph remained consistent at 130 feet.
Over the course of 12 months we tracked fuel economy in the Ram with and without a trailer in tow. We averaged 14 mpg over the course of our test, with a best tank of nearly 20 mpg. Stick a trailer behind it and the figures drop as expected. Our average fuel economy with 4,000 pounds in tow was 11 mpg, with a best single tank of 12.9 mpg. That average fell to 11.7 mpg while pulling 6,000 pounds. Neither came close to the Ram's 9,100-pound maximum towing capacity.
Best Fuel Economy: 19.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 10.5 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 14.0 mpg
Retained Value
When our long-term Ram arrived, the odometer read 97 and the sticker in the window read $49,660. Over the next year we drove it cross-country, towed numerous heaps of metal behind it and filled the bed with everything under the sun.
By the conclusion of our test, Edmunds' TMV® Calculator valued our Ram at $30,026 based on a private-party sale. That equates to depreciation of 40 percent. For a point of reference, our long-term 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and 2007 Toyota Tundra depreciated 46 and 38 percent, respectively. The Chevy had 32,000 miles at the time of sale, making it a better comparison than the Toyota, which only ended its term with 26,000 miles.
True Market Value at service end: $30,026
Depreciation: $19,634 or 40 percent of original MSRP
Final Odometer Reading: 33,234
Summing Up
We have a new favorite car. And it's a truck. Our goal is to accumulate at least 20,000 miles on all long-term testers during their stay so the Ram's massive mileage accumulation is big news. Almost as big a story as a half-ton truck that offers class-leading ride comfort and competitive towing ability.
One year with the Ram made clear to us that this is the suspension of tomorrow. Not once did we shy away from the Dodge because it "drives like a truck." Instead, we drove it everywhere. We went cross-country, one-third of the distance pulling a trailer. We towed cars to the track. And sometimes we just drove it around town because our kids liked to sit up high and look down on other cars. Let's not even start with all of the stuff we hauled in the bed.
Dodge showed us that a truck can have redeeming qualities beyond its sheer utility and that even a truck could be comfortable. We will miss the Ram.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Add A Comment »
myob says:
09:55 AM, 12/22/2011
Hey Canddmeyer,
1. If your truck isn't sellling it could well be the price. I buy and sell a lot of used vehicles and am constantly annoyed/amused/frustrated at the ridiculous asking prices in ads by private sellers. They are often unaware of the true market prices for private sale vehicles. I have seen nearly-new vehicles where the seller is asking more than I could buy a new one for! Most sellers over-value their vehicles, and forget that sales tax and other transaction costs they paid don't matter to the next buyer. Typically people need to save enough buying used to knock their payment down at least $100/mo or they'll just buy new to avoid the risks of a used car.
Your truck's value is unrelated to what you owe on it. So if it takes coming up with cash from your pocket to get out of it, that is still the best outcome possible.
2. Actually there is currently a shortage of clean used vehicles due to the economy. Dealers often make their most profits on used car sales, not new. They WANT used cars to sell. There is a current shortage for two reasons. First, dealers sell fewer new cars and have fewer cars traded in. Second, there is more demand for cheaper used cars by people who can no longer afford new ones.
3. I also see numerous poorly written and incomplete ads. There should be photos of EVERYTHING available either in the ad or on a web site you direct them to from the ad. Every detail of options, colors, condition, mileage, where it's located, etc should be included. If your truck has minimal info and another is more detailed, they will often go with the one they can SEE, rather than waste time calling only to find out it's not what they're looking for or is too far away.
Also include modern contact info (email, etc).Most people shy away from calling if it's just to get basic info on the car. If your truck is paid for, mention you have title in hand. It's an easier transaction than if they have to pay off your bank and attractive to many buyers. Include a "firm" price if you want fewer lowball offers. It might also attract those uncomfortable with negotiating.
4. Dealer advantages:
-One is fraud and crime risk. More people today are afraid of scams and even getting robbed when looking at cars sold by strangers. The dealers have an advantage here.
-Dealers also have access to many financing methods for those with bad credit. Most people want financing on newer more expensive vehicles, so they may be willing to pay a dealer a little more to get help with that.
-Trade ins. Many buyers have a trade in with a loan on it. They don't want to sell it themselves and are ignorant of how much it costs them to trade in. So the dealer has an advantage here also.
-Location. They're centrally located where a buyer can drive numerous vehicles in a day. You may be further out and they aren't willing to invest the time to see your truck if it's not nearby.
5. The economy. People short of cash do not buy gas sucking pickups unless they really need one. If they want a family vehicle they might choose a crossover instead to save on gas. If yours is not a simple work truck do not expect stellar resale. The Ram 1500 is a very desirable truck these days but only at the right price. New ones on lots are selling at $8,000 or more off MSRP. If you bought yours when demand was higher you may have paid much more than new ones cost now.
6. EBAY: When you can't sell it privately using old methods, try this. Write a detailed honest ad and mention all the flaws and include a lot of photos and they will flood you with bids. The more honest you are the more buyers you will find, rather than trying to hid anything. Smart shoppers can sniff out BS and appreciate the honesty. I sold a european car here in a rural area that way because nobody wanted to drive all the way out to see it locally. Easy as pie.
You can search Ebay (advanced search) to include only completed auctions. You can find similar vehicles and see what they're actually selling for. You will note that a majority of auctions do not result in a sale. This is because the price is not low enough relative to the value of the vehicle or the quality of the ad. If you want $30,000 for your ride and Ebay only shows them selling at $25,000, you are not going to get a lot more than $25,000.
7. Carmax, dealers: You can establish wholesale value by going round and getting quotes from Carmax and Ram dealers plus maybe some independent used car dealers to buy outright your truck. Add $3,000 or so and that is a good starting price.
We are in a global recession right now. Don't expect top dollar if you want a quick sale.
myob says:
09:26 AM, 12/22/2011
I've had two Rams, one had a transmission issue early fixed under warranty, as well as strange brake issues that were worrying. Neither was kept to old age so I don't know how they hold up that long. The other was trouble free for 4 years when I replaced it with something that got better fuel economy.
A relative has owned two also. First had transmission issues resulting in a (Dodge paid for, finally) replacement transmission mid-life. The second one no serious problems.
I have a Chevy now. Badly slipping transmission at 34,000 miles. I had three others in the past. Two with zero problems, one with a major oil system failure within a month of driving off the lot.
No trucks are perfect, if you look at real statistics you'll see even "unreliable" brands are perhaps twice as likely to have a failure as "reliable" brands. That sounds terrible, until you realize that means .6 issues (minor or major) a year vs .3. No large pickup currently made has a failure rate half that of all the others. So you're probably looking at a visit to the shop every 2.5 years for a "good" one and every 2 years for a "bad" truck.
Ram warranties their drive train till 100,000 miles. Toyota, Nissan, Ford are I believe just 50-60,000 miles. That means something. It means that even if you're right, and they don't last, you're still going to get many years of service before you'll have any major repair bill. (as in the $3,000 range).
It's annoying to have problems with an expensive purchase. But drop the ego-driven stuff (you didn't design it, you just bought it and now want to whizz on the other brands to make sure you feel good about your purchase and how smart you were to choose that brand) and realize that it happens with them all.
Jason5 says:
06:07 AM, 08/13/2010
A couple of words of wisdom for the "foamy mouthed Chrysler bashers" in the group. As was so eloquently stated "somebody said that somebody said" ain't data--it's desperation disguised as intelligent discourse. I come from a family of 8 siblings and that includes or included numerous Chrysler products with NO..count em'...NO transmission failures. My own experience includes an Intrepid with 4 speed autostick that accumulated 162,000 miles with no transmission issues. My current vehicle has the 6 speed autostick (same general roots as the 4 speed) and 87,000 miles without a hitch. So....personal experience is what it is.
Much like Audi's "unintended acceleration" (and perhaps Toyota's)....Chrysler's transmission failures were overstated for a variety of reasons largely due to human failings. Two of the most infamous--and well known to anyone who cares to understand--were speed sensor failure and botched or no maintenance. The speed sensor on my Intrepid broke (a $12 part) and caused the tranny to go into "limp home" mode. The sensor was replaced and all was right with the world. Other repair shops etc who were unfamiliar no doubt made it a highly profitable "your tranny failed" issue. The final, and most significant issue was the rampant use of the WRONG fluid by other service shops who used non-ATF+4 fluid and caused some trannys to fail. My own non-dealer shop did this EVEN AFTER I TOLD THEM TO USE +4. I called my local Dodge dealer who promptly told the shop to push the car in, drain the fluid, and replace it with ATF+4.
Hope this helps.....no one is arguing that all makes and models can have some lemons. No one is arguing that their can be problems. However Chrysler is no more or less prone to problems that anyone else. Notice Honda of late???
colorado1974 says:
09:37 PM, 08/02/2010
A loose bolt on a pre-production model does not a failure make. Hell, if it were a honda Pilot, it'd be on its third transmission by now.
Sorry, you're wrong about Ford and its quality. Ford F series is only the best seller for 2 reasons, they combine sales totals for f-150 through f-850. Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra combinded outsell it by almost 20% and that doesn't include any medium duty units either.
The second thing you're wrong about is the "reliability" of ford trucks. the powerstroke is a 10 year joke in diesel reliability. the f150 is also mediocre at best. the secret to all those "loyal" buyers is rebate money. ford dominates the fleet business. that's why all state agency's run fords. that's why large fleets run fords. it isn't reliability it's the fact that they can buy them almost 15% cheaper than any other product on the market.
I know, I bid against them. If the bottom line is all that matters, they take the ford. If they want a better truck, they take the chevy or Dodge. This new Dodge has won over 90% of my fleet business b/c of the simple fact that it's the most reliable and the best truck on the road.
bodyblue says:
04:55 AM, 08/02/2010
"The new Grand Cherokee changes everything. The rest of the lineup? Not so much...yet. "
The new Jeep had a major failure on its first test with this magazine....take a look. Fords quality is well known with it owners...and shown by its sales over the last 30 years. If it was a poorly built truck it would not have the amount of repeat buyers.
colorado1974 says:
05:15 PM, 08/01/2010
bodyblue: the F Series hasn't won any quality awards. Dodge Ram, 3. No truck in history has won more than 1 in the same year. Yes, the Raptor is a cool truck but has a very limited audience (ie wrangler rubicon) and is a small volume unit. I, and many other journalists agree that the Powerwagon represents a better off road truck for 90% of the population.
As for your view of editors and journalists, I disagree. They are more critical in every facet than anyone I've read or spoken to. If this were 2 years ago, the Ram is the bottom of the heap. Great powertrain but that's it. This truck? It changes everything.
The new Grand Cherokee changes everything. The rest of the lineup? Not so much...yet.
bodyblue says:
04:27 PM, 08/01/2010
If the 41TE in that mini van was not serviced on schedule then I am not suprised that it failed 4 times in that many miles. I also would not be surprised if that van had the crap run out of it with little or no preventitive maintenance. Some people run cars into the ground and then cuss them for failing
colorado1974:
I like MOPAR cars and trucks a lot but they are far from as perfect as you claim they are. No offense but you admit that you are a dealer so how does that make you un-biased? They are getting better, I am sure, but just because a truck is "awarded" a lot from car magazines does not make them any better than anything else since those magazines accept advertising from the very companies that they review. There is a reason Ford trucks sell so well and have such high repeat customers.....they are really good machines. The new Powerstroke V8 is a marvel of high tech...and the Raptor is just out of this world. Rams are great trucks, far better than Chevy I think but not yet up to the level of quality of Ford products. Just dont become the MOPAR version of 1487....
colorado1974 says:
09:07 AM, 08/01/2010
nobuhiro: ah, so you went from an older car that had 4 transmissions over 270k to a newer unit that uses 4 transmissions over 50 k.
nobuhiro says:
11:41 PM, 07/31/2010
"My daughter's 2003 Chrysler T&C (which she bought new) required 2 or 3 transmissions."
My fathers 94 grand voyager, which had about 270k when we put it into the cash for clunkers program(for a 2010 prius[19k]), had eaten about four 4speed auto's. I hated that thing, as it was horrible on the road. whether you're driving it or a passenger. But it always got us from point A to point B. It was surprisingly good in snow too. no more Chrysler branded automobiles for us anymore... we're running 3 toyota's and a honda this day.
windsor5 says:
10:59 PM, 07/31/2010
The fact that oil temp. spiked while only towing 4000 pounds is of a big concern for me. But other than that seems like a great truck. Wish yall did some serious towing with it considering that 4000 pounds can be towed by most small trucks let alone a full size pick up. I would have liked to see how the coil springs handled 8000-9000lbs over the long term. which these trucks are meant to tackle. So I wont reserve any judgments on that front.
Coil springs great for towing below 5000lbs but the jury is out if they are good for anything above that long term.