I've had a RC in the past and after having my current QC I'll never go back to a RC again! But in your situation I think a RC will be best money wise unless you've got money then get the QC SRT/10.

 

went to the dealership today:

2005 2wd RC hemi = $20k
2005 4wd QC hemi = $28k

If they had a 4wd RC hemi i would've drove home in it. Damn SoCal punks, no one wants a 4wd down here.

Right now they are having a huge sale on ram 1500's, 3500 off an already discounted msrp.

 

Whatever you buy, don't pay more than dealer invoice (before rebates). Some dealers will never sell for invoice, but many will sell every vehicle at invoice. You can find out the invoice at www.nadaguides.com. For example a fairly equipped 4x4 QC hemi with 35,000 sticker will invoice for around $30,000 - 4,000 in rebates = $26,000. I think there are only $3,000 in rebates now for the RCs. If you have a trade-in that makes the calculation more difficult. Typically, dealers won't give you more than wholesale value for a vehicle. KBB's market value with FAIR checked for condition is pretty close to wholesale value. Many dealers use this to do rough calculations. I found the vehicle I wanted at 1 dealer but they were only willing to come $2,000 off sticker. I found another dealer who immediately told me they would sell it to me for 1% below invoice, and they got the vehicle from the first dealer.

 

Hmmm, what about those two little BAGS that will blow up and fill the cab area during that "what if" frontal accident? think that seat will survive?

 

I thought there was a switch to shut off the air bag on the passenger side on the RC? On the QC you'd just stick 'em in the back.

 

YEah. There's a switch.

 

My last Ram was a 2500 QC 4x4/5.9, completely loaded, as was every truck I've owned in recent years. This time I just wanted a cool drive to work truck, so I bought this RC 2wd, 4.7 with tilt, cruise a/c, CD, chrome 17's and not much else. I love it, the MPG is great! I've got an STS that runs mid 14's and about 150 +-, a '67 Impala SS with a '96 Vette LT1 drivetrain and an all original G-body Grand Am that I bought new. All are very quick and pretty much loaded, why do I need a loaded up truck, too? I'd always just bought one with everything until now. I'd been thinking about this for a while, so far I'm very happy.

 

I am a college student. I have a reg. cab because they're easier to park, and just look cooler for a 21 year old. But you won't hear me saying that MPG is any better, because my truck drinks gas like it's going out of f*ckin' style.

 

I bought mine loaded because I got a good deal on it and its going to have to be my "toy" for a while until I get enough money saved up to buy a nice car. I NEVER would have gotten this truck if I hadn't found it used for $21k with 19k miles on it. I was trying to spend no more than $23k on my first vehicle. The truck I have, new, would have run about $32k. I'm only 10 months out of college and I had figured I'd buy a Ram in like 10 years, haha. Fate and "Yahoo!" had different plans for me.

 

Don't waste resources on the QC if you don't need the room. Who wants the performance hit of hauling around a third of another truck if you don't need it?

btw, I just ordered a regular cab because it's all I need.

All the best.