Thanks for the response. I agree on the assumptions with the dealership. They are known for over-pricing and the internet guy who took the test ride with me insisted the truck had a Hemi and kept telling me to punch it to prove it after my rebuffs. All that aside, the truck is in great condition and due to my accident and the reasons I'm not very proud of.. I probably have to be picking out a truck in the next 2 to 3 weeks. I would love a HEMI but so far I haven't found the right deal on one. I can't jack up the price too much from my range of under 20 due to my insurance hike but how much extra $$ should I expect to spend for a HEMI? How much should it be worth? Thanks again everybody.

 

I'd say so.

 

Well first off that guy is an idiot if he thought it was a HEMI. You should have told him to lift the hood and if it didn't say "5.7 Liter HEMI" then you take the truck home for free lol. But if he had said that to me I would have stopped the truck in the middle of the road and gotten out because he just lost a customer for life. But as for what you asked yes you can find HEMI's all day long for under 20K. Hell my truck was 21K and that was only when it was a year old with 16K on the clock.

 

That's just a quick look. High price as well but easy to find.

http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...d-84ce6c86a60a

 

Thanks for the input 08HEMI. Anybody ever dealt with CarMax in buying? I've been searching them a bit.. How are they on coming down on the price? Sorry, I'm 25 and had my Silverado for 9 years due to the GM family discount so haven't had to deal with the used avenue before. New to the CarMax game, same as a typical dealer?..

 

I think Carmax is pretty strict on price but I'm not 100% I got my truck at a dealer and got 2k knocked off the window sticker. It was a military discount and them just trying to sell trucks back in 09

 

Yeah, with carmax the price you see is the price you pay although I have heard so many horror stories from people who bought from carmax that I would think twice about buying from them ( google carmax and you'll see what I'm talking about ). $20,000 is a nice budget for a used truck especially if your not looking for a 4x4, you should have many options. I got my 4x4 Mega Cab Laramie for $17,500 2 years ago.

 

OMG, I just went on trucktrader.com and found almost 7,000 Dodge Rams just in my area most of them under $20k. You should have a ton of options.

 

Best vehicle was my 96 Ram with 318. The 4x4 never hesistaed and that motor never quit or dripped/burned a spot of oil. If it wasn't for changing the oil I know the level was always full. My neighbor owns it and still drives it in the winter with over 250k miles on her.

And I love my 04 hemi 4x4 just as much. That 96 is still my first love though. Hell of a truck.

 

First off hope everyone's ok after the accident. I also favored GM's for quite some time but since they now only offer a 5'box on the crews, I moved on to Dodge. I have to say for the same vintage, the ram is a lot nicer inside, more power, and looks better in my opinion. The GM did have a more 'car like' ride and better on gas but depends on what you need for your day to day stuff. I can't comment on price much since our markets are quite different but if anything, I would try and get the hemi if you can. On the highway, gas mileage isn't a whole lot different than the 4.7 and if you work it at all by towing or hauling, the 4.7 might even be worst. If you do a lot of city driving, then the Hemi will bleed you dry but let's not forget most of these big v8 will. Power wise, it would be like comparing a 305 to a 350. I certainly don't regret switching from my 5.3 Silverado to my current ram but then again the Silverado never gave me any grief either, just needed a little more power and 4 real doors.