Thoughts on 2019 RAM Classic HEMI Crew Cab

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Grimjaws

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My brother is in the market for a full sized pickup and a local dealer got a bunch of off lease RAM Classic crew cabs with the 5.7 Hemi. Anyone drive over of these? Any issues? Are they still prone to rust in the wheel wells and tailgate? Any major mechanical or electrical issues? What should we look for when we inspect it?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
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I'm a member of the never buy another Chrysler product club. However, the 2019 Dodges seem to have some styling changes that are pretty attractive. I live in the rust belt and any Dodge PU 3 yrs. old has rust over the rear wheel wells.
My personal opinion (worthless I know) is I would not have a full size crew cab unless I had a "crew" to haul to the job site daily. My next door neighbor has a 2019 full size GMC crew cab with all the stuff and it's so big I swear he needs a couple VW's to tow it away from the dock.
If I was in the market I'd get a GM Colorado or Canyon. They're about the size of an '06 Chevy Silverado.
 
I bought a 2019 classic with the Hemi. It is the crew cab, back seating is huge, and it has 5.7 bed. No regrets rides great, very quiet, plenty of power. I get 20mpg. It was cheap enough that I also bought a 2019 Wrangler. I got both for about the same price as my brothers Z71. I kept my 2004 Dodge Ram, it is still going strong. 2004 has no rust
 
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The 2019 Ram is a totally new design, 2019 Ram Classic has last years styling and is the same as the 2018 model. The reason for the Ram Classic is lower price, I bought a new 2018 Ram Quad cab with 305 horsepower V6 with power windows, locks, mirrors, keyless entry, alarm, bed liner, trailer tow package, blue tooth infotainment center, heated mirrors, chrome package, aluminum wheels, carpet, cloth seats, etc for $23,600 plus doc fee. I love everything about the truck except that it has black carpet, and have about 45K miles on it. I had a Titan and a F-150 and they were good trucks and my Ram is superior to both but those trucks were older designs. I think all the trucks are pretty good now but its hard to find one that's very cheap.
 
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Grimjaws said:
My brother is in the market for a full sized pickup and a local dealer got a bunch of off lease RAM Classic crew cabs with the 5.7 Hemi. Anyone drive over of these? Any issues? Are they still prone to rust in the wheel wells and tailgate? Any major mechanical or electrical issues? What should we look for when we inspect it?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Here in New Yuck State, every truck is prone to rust in the wheel wells & tailgate. :mad:

The one problem I had with a crew cab is a shorter bed.
I had extended cab trucks for almost 20 years then bought a crew cab. I hated the shorter box for hauling anything.
When it was time for a new truck, I went back to an extended cab with the longer bed.
Just a thought if he does any hauling.
 
My superintendent just traded his '16 on a new Chevy 2500. He got to 60,000 miles and started to have a multiple problems with suspension, gas tank and various mechanical and electrical gremlins. He didn't have body rust but he did have a lot of chassis and connector rust underneath. I'm not sure what improvements have been made since his model, but I went for a crew cab GMC 1500 Sierra last week partly because of his issues.
 
Grimjaws said:
My brother is in the market for a full sized pickup and a local dealer got a bunch of off lease RAM Classic crew cabs with the 5.7 Hemi. Anyone drive over of these? Any issues? Are they still prone to rust in the wheel wells and tailgate? Any major mechanical or electrical issues? What should we look for when we inspect it?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I have the same Model as Farmer17 with about 20,000 miles. Since 1981 I have had 6 new trucks; 3 Rams, a Ford, a Chevy and a GMC. They all have treated me well. This Ram is the best of them all.

I no longer tow, so I didn't consider the Hemi or another diesel. I did however peruse the various online forums for each truck I considered. Regarding the Hemi, I found some common minor issues that can occur down the road. They discuss this quite a bit on the Ram forum.
 
According to Pro Mechanics I know, I have heard numerous times the new Ram Trucks are a major headache now. Tranny's go, a/c compressors fail, electrical systems are not good and over all they have lost their reliability. Too bad!

While a little more expensive, I'd say stick to a GMC, Chevy or Ford until Chrysler gets their act together.

Personally I have had EXCELLENT luck with the GM's over the last 15 years. The Fords some of my Bud's own are pretty good as well.
 
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It will be a long time before I buy another GM vehicle the last one we had I should’ve dumped it before it got 80,000 miles on it. No repair cost over $1000 to fix but there was a whole bunch of them! I have a good friend who owns a mechanical contracting company and he owns several 4x4 trucks for his plumbers and HVAC guys and he has owned all the brands over the years and prefers RAM.
 
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We have a 2018 Laramie and love it. It has too much to list but so far we can't complain. It had already 2 recalls, 1st one I don't remember and the other is for the tailgate actuator or something.

Have him get the VIN and check with Mopar regarding recalls, it'll tell you everything.

Of the top of my head there are 2 things I don't like about this vehicle, one; there's an interior light in the overhead console that illuminates the dash/mid console. It turns on when the headlights are on. Whoever designed this was either drunk or blind. It's annoying and I put black duct tape over it. Two; we have a sunroof and the headliner is very flimsy up there, making noise at time when you dive down a dirt road or something other than smooth asphalt. Annoying.

Other than that, it's been great. Love the Hemi and the 4x4.

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Good friend bought a Hemi 2wd when he retired a few years ago. Very happy with it.


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