frater secessus
Well-known member
I was going to put off serious van consideration until late in the year but I just stumbled across a van I like. Dangit. I've never bought a new or nearly-new car before so I am a bit spazzed out at the prospect.
2017 Ram Promaster 159" cargo, white. 12k miles.
It was owned by a fleet/rental place (the only owner) for about 6 months.
Good but not insane price; about 23% off new invoice.
Low-pressure and surprisingly knowledgeable salesdude. He knew more about the Promasters on his lot than the Ram dealers do.
2 years / 24k miles factory warranty left on bumper to bumper and roadside.
4 years and 48k miles factory warranty left on (gas/6spd) drivetrain.
Normal work scratches on side, no dents. Dealer got it at auction and hasn't cleaned it yet. Still has workmen dirt on floorboards; I think that is preferable to seeing one that's been detailed and faked up. I crawled around under it; no damage, rust, etc. Spare is there.
Drove it and felt like it could be the one. For a ginormous land yacht (the cargo area is is 6'4" tall by 6'2" wide and 12' long) the van is nimble and quick, no issues of any kind that I can tell. I have no doubts the 3.6L is sufficient. Steering is centered, no hard shifts, no brake squealing (a common issue on PMs). Roadfeel on the 2500 was better unladen than my Ranger. Faster too.
Came home and ran Carfax, Autocheck, flooded/stolen/salvage; all clean. Logged into Chase where I have had an account for 25yrs; they don't lend for cargo vans. They are totally absent from the Chase auto loan website and a phone rep confirmed it. Fine, ya bastids. I have an account elsewhere and did the pre-qual there.
There are a couple of things I would have to do to it, so I will offer a bit less than they want:
* front tires need replacing. since it only has 12K miles on it and they are evenly worn like old tires I think the prior owners stole the new tires for another Promaster and put the dying ones on this one before sending to auction. :-( $200 x 2.
* no backup camera. It was fine in traffic but I want to be able to see behind its giant van butt when backing up. ~$100 aftermarket.
* maybe no cruise control. I was in city traffic and didn't look for that. If not, another $200?
I will talk to the dealer tomorrow, check the cruise, and if all systems look go I will have a mech look at it. Will make a highway run on the way to the mech. If I was smart I would put it off few more months but this looks like a winner.
2017 Ram Promaster 159" cargo, white. 12k miles.
It was owned by a fleet/rental place (the only owner) for about 6 months.
Good but not insane price; about 23% off new invoice.
Low-pressure and surprisingly knowledgeable salesdude. He knew more about the Promasters on his lot than the Ram dealers do.
2 years / 24k miles factory warranty left on bumper to bumper and roadside.
4 years and 48k miles factory warranty left on (gas/6spd) drivetrain.
Normal work scratches on side, no dents. Dealer got it at auction and hasn't cleaned it yet. Still has workmen dirt on floorboards; I think that is preferable to seeing one that's been detailed and faked up. I crawled around under it; no damage, rust, etc. Spare is there.
Drove it and felt like it could be the one. For a ginormous land yacht (the cargo area is is 6'4" tall by 6'2" wide and 12' long) the van is nimble and quick, no issues of any kind that I can tell. I have no doubts the 3.6L is sufficient. Steering is centered, no hard shifts, no brake squealing (a common issue on PMs). Roadfeel on the 2500 was better unladen than my Ranger. Faster too.
Came home and ran Carfax, Autocheck, flooded/stolen/salvage; all clean. Logged into Chase where I have had an account for 25yrs; they don't lend for cargo vans. They are totally absent from the Chase auto loan website and a phone rep confirmed it. Fine, ya bastids. I have an account elsewhere and did the pre-qual there.
There are a couple of things I would have to do to it, so I will offer a bit less than they want:
* front tires need replacing. since it only has 12K miles on it and they are evenly worn like old tires I think the prior owners stole the new tires for another Promaster and put the dying ones on this one before sending to auction. :-( $200 x 2.
* no backup camera. It was fine in traffic but I want to be able to see behind its giant van butt when backing up. ~$100 aftermarket.
* maybe no cruise control. I was in city traffic and didn't look for that. If not, another $200?
I will talk to the dealer tomorrow, check the cruise, and if all systems look go I will have a mech look at it. Will make a highway run on the way to the mech. If I was smart I would put it off few more months but this looks like a winner.
