Lt CHEG
Platinum Member
As far as the pricing games at dealers, I don't mind haggling for a bit, even for a while. I look up online what invoice is so I'm armed with that figure for my negotiations. If I'm interested in the vehicle, I will offer them the easiest sale of the day if they cut right to the chase and sell the vehicle for $100 less than the invoice price that I can find on the internet (which tends to be a little high but not too bad) plus any manufacturer rebates, incentives, etc. They'll usually counter offer and the negotiations continue until I'm at no more than invoice cost, or I leave. I don't get upset and huffy but I don't buy something unless it's the right decision for me. For an easily replaceable vehicle like the type that I buy I don't think it unreasonable to a dealer to accept just their holdback on a vehicle as if they agreed to that in the beginning they could sell me my vehicle in 15 minutes. The dealer that I purchase from has always understood that, and the dealer I bought my most recent vehicle from understood it the best. I went to the dealer to look at one of three trucks like mine in the area (only difference was color). I had talked to the internet guy from another dealer and got a price of invoice plus incentives faxed to me, plus what I thought to be a fair amount for my trade (pending final inspection of course). I told the dealer that he had to do better than invoice for me to buy and he did. He gave me more for my trade in than the other dealer, and sold me my new F250 for $800 below invoice plus I got $6000 in rebates. The whole process including test drive with the wife took 35 minutes. This same dealer has made three other sales from people that I know and have talked to since I bought my truck. All were sold with similar profit margins (invoice or better plus incentives) in less than half an hour. The salesman that I dealt with sells like Walmart, high volume, low markup and sells on average over 100 vehicles per month himself. He doesn't waste my time and I don't waste his.
As for the vehicle choice to the OP, I like the new GM and Ford offerings, and would consider a Dodge Cummins chassis cab as long as it had the Aisin transmission. My uncle who swears by his Dodge Cummins has a favorite diesel mechanic who is highly regarded. He prefers the Cummins engine but drives a Ford with the 6.0. He says that all of the new diesels including the 6.4 and 6.7 liter Fords, Post 2007 6.6 DMax and post 2007 6.7 Cummins are all junk and to a certain extent I believe him. He swears that all the engines are good at heart, even the 6.0 PS as long as it has head studs, but all the EGR and other emissions crap is what causes things to fail on the engines. He removes emissions stuff and does custom tuning, including a lot of tuning to factory power levels that allow for the removal of DPF's and he sees very few problems with the new engines once that happens. He actually really likes the 6.4 PS as he says it has tremendous potential for huge power numbers when the emissions junk is removed and the engine is tuned. He also likes the 5R110 transmission equipped Fords as he says they'll handle 200 horsepower or more over stock without batting an eye, whereas even the Allisons need a little tuning to reliably handle that horsepower. So as for problems on the internet yeah all the new diesels are having issues and most all of those issues are directly related to emissions crap. Ford outsells GM and Dodge when it comes to diesel equipped trucks so it makes sense that you see more complaints on the internet from Ford owners than Dodge or Chevy motors. But when I last drove my uncle to this independent diesel mechanic to pick up his Dodge after yet another round of transmission work on his Cummins equipped Ram (with upgraded B&D transmission no less) I not only saw a Ford with its cab off, but a Chevy too (it's the easiest way to work on DMax's too).
The reality is that all of the trucks have ups and downs. As much as I like the 5R110 transmission in my F250, I still think that in stock form the Allison is the best. I still think the Cummins engines are the best, and I still think the Ford has the best overall package, tied with the new GM's. I won't own a non Aisin transmission equipped Dodge based upon the experience of my uncle (who still loves his Dodge btw even though he's gone through 5 transmissions). Unless the price is really great I wouldn't buy a non urea injection equipped truck either (the new non urea injection equipped GM and Ford trucks are gone now) as they are definitely an improvement in fuel consumption. If you don't need a crew cab and have another vehicle to use for when you aren't towing your workshop, I would probably not go with the F450. Firstly because you've said you don't really need a fancy crew cab, and secondly because your trailer, while large doesn't really necessitate a truck with 10 lug wheels and super low gears. A regular one ton dually with the new 6 speed autos and 3.73 or 4.10 gears if available would work just fine. I'm sure with all the money tied up in equipment the OP isn't driving his mobile shop around like he stole it, so a truck so equipped would allow him to comfortably drive at reasonable speeds AND with much better fuel economy.
As for the vehicle choice to the OP, I like the new GM and Ford offerings, and would consider a Dodge Cummins chassis cab as long as it had the Aisin transmission. My uncle who swears by his Dodge Cummins has a favorite diesel mechanic who is highly regarded. He prefers the Cummins engine but drives a Ford with the 6.0. He says that all of the new diesels including the 6.4 and 6.7 liter Fords, Post 2007 6.6 DMax and post 2007 6.7 Cummins are all junk and to a certain extent I believe him. He swears that all the engines are good at heart, even the 6.0 PS as long as it has head studs, but all the EGR and other emissions crap is what causes things to fail on the engines. He removes emissions stuff and does custom tuning, including a lot of tuning to factory power levels that allow for the removal of DPF's and he sees very few problems with the new engines once that happens. He actually really likes the 6.4 PS as he says it has tremendous potential for huge power numbers when the emissions junk is removed and the engine is tuned. He also likes the 5R110 transmission equipped Fords as he says they'll handle 200 horsepower or more over stock without batting an eye, whereas even the Allisons need a little tuning to reliably handle that horsepower. So as for problems on the internet yeah all the new diesels are having issues and most all of those issues are directly related to emissions crap. Ford outsells GM and Dodge when it comes to diesel equipped trucks so it makes sense that you see more complaints on the internet from Ford owners than Dodge or Chevy motors. But when I last drove my uncle to this independent diesel mechanic to pick up his Dodge after yet another round of transmission work on his Cummins equipped Ram (with upgraded B&D transmission no less) I not only saw a Ford with its cab off, but a Chevy too (it's the easiest way to work on DMax's too).
The reality is that all of the trucks have ups and downs. As much as I like the 5R110 transmission in my F250, I still think that in stock form the Allison is the best. I still think the Cummins engines are the best, and I still think the Ford has the best overall package, tied with the new GM's. I won't own a non Aisin transmission equipped Dodge based upon the experience of my uncle (who still loves his Dodge btw even though he's gone through 5 transmissions). Unless the price is really great I wouldn't buy a non urea injection equipped truck either (the new non urea injection equipped GM and Ford trucks are gone now) as they are definitely an improvement in fuel consumption. If you don't need a crew cab and have another vehicle to use for when you aren't towing your workshop, I would probably not go with the F450. Firstly because you've said you don't really need a fancy crew cab, and secondly because your trailer, while large doesn't really necessitate a truck with 10 lug wheels and super low gears. A regular one ton dually with the new 6 speed autos and 3.73 or 4.10 gears if available would work just fine. I'm sure with all the money tied up in equipment the OP isn't driving his mobile shop around like he stole it, so a truck so equipped would allow him to comfortably drive at reasonable speeds AND with much better fuel economy.
