So alot of you guys helped me out in my prior post concerning quad cab vs. reg cab. I appreciate the opinions and advice and decided to stick with a reg cab. But now i have the dillema of a 4wd vs. 2wd reg cab.

Every dealership has about 4 or 5 reg cab 2wd hemi's, but i have yet to see a dealer with a 4wd RC. They always end up telling me i can special order one and wait around for 4-8 months. No thanks. My question is:

If there is a 2wd RC Hemi with all the options i want and in the color i want, for only $20k, should i take the plunge and settle with 2wd? I don't plan on 4wheeling or rockcrawling a FS truck, but i do plan on going skiing every once in a while. On the flipside however, i heard that trucks dont even do that well on the snow due to the unloaded weight in the back.

So what do you guys think? What do you use your 4wd truck for? Where can i find a 4wd RC hemi in california? What sucks about the dodge site is that you have to look at each individual dealer and search their inventory to find what your looking for. Is there a universal dealer inventory i can use?

Thanks

 

DonG mentioned finding his truck used. I purchased mine new. My advice would be to find a truck 2 years old with low miles. DON'T SETTLE ON ANYTHING! Decide what you really need and want and stay with it until you get it. I have a Hemi 4x4 & Tow package SLT QC and paid just under 30K - but I didn't settle - I wanted a new truck with exactly those features and I waited until one was available and went to the dealer with base price info to get it ( no interest for 5 years and 7/70,000 warranty as well).

My only regret is the rate at which new vehicles lose value. Buying a great/good used vehicle for cash is the wisest of advice.

(I love having the 4x4 for the 2 to 3 times I really need it in Northern AZ driving.)

 

I dont use my 4wd that much, I have used it when I was pulling stumps trees and bushes out of the ground. there was a time when I also used it for a short period on the highway doing 45 in a monsoon downpour mainly from the rear end getting a little squirrely on me. having 600 lb-ft torque at your disposal can be a good thing for pulling, and also for breaking traction

I dont regret going the 4wd direction. it is there if I need it. and it also helps if I'm parked somewhere and the 970 pounds that my engine weighs desides to sink the front axel, I know I can get it out

besides, the hemi is about 540 pounds and the 4.7 is just a little bit lighter. somewhere in the high 400 range.

the one thing you have to look at is with 4wd your fuel mileage will be less by about 1-3 MPG since you have all the extra drive line to turn.

4wd is nice to have. yes, your insurance will be a little higher. but that first time you get stuck, and shift to 4L and pull out like your at a stop light you'll be glad you have it. just make sure you get a Limited Slip

 

4wd isn't required for snow, but I'm sure its pretty nice. The added things you have to look at are the higher maintainence costs, gas mileage, and weight. I have driven 2wd trucks in the snow since I was 16 (my first truck being a LIGHT 87 chevy s-10, i barely needed a jack to change the tires) and its not so bad as long as you don't get crazy. Though I have been in my fair share of ditches and it would have been nice to switch to 4L and pull myself out. When I bought this new truck, I knew was headed to Texas in May and I couldn't justify to myself paying the extra $3k and maintainence cost and mpg for 4wd when I figured the most I'd ever use it was MAYBE once a year if I went "baja-ing". If after Texas I get stationed somewhere where there's alot of snowfall, i'll end up selling this truck and getting 4wd probably.

SO the point of my blabbering is, look at your lifestyle and plans and pick. 2wd can go probably 95% of the places 4wd can (according to Truckin' magazine). But as Jeff said, DO NOT settle. Its your money, get what you want! And DEFINITELY get used. I was gonna get new, whining about how I wanted to break in the vehicle and how I wanted it to be mine all mine, bump that. Get it used, it'll smell like your stink soon enough. Just try and get the warranties switched over.

 

I think (and that's dangerous) that unless you really plan on using that 4-wheel drive enough to justify the cost, that 2-wheel is the better option. As far as I understand it, 4-wheel will rob some horse power - even when your not using it - more when you are. Gas mileage will drop (again, even when not using it) and insurance cost goes up. Its also one more thing to brake. I had to calculate how many times I figure I'll get stuck and how many payments to AAA for hauling me out it will take to reach the $3000 it will cost me to pull myself out of the ditch. Resale value is higher on a 4wheel drive, but it doesn't add the $3000 its costs to get it. I figure if the roads are bad enough to need 4-wheel drive, its bad enough to stay home, call work, and watch DVDs.

BUT!!! like everyone else has said, do not settle, if you do you'll end up regretting the purchase, so if you reeeeeeeely want that 4-wheel, best get it.

 

Definitely don't settle. I settled on 2wd, justifying to myself that I would never really need it, and truthfully, there were only 2-3 times in the year and a half that I had it that I could have needed it.... but, I'm of the mind that I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

DonG mentioned finding his truck used. I purchased mine new.

Jeff17 - I purchased mine new as well. Maybe your thinking of someone else. I was also referring to new vehicles in the previous thread.

As for 2wd vs 4wd, it's been my experience you will get 100% of the price difference back come resale. I don't use 4wd often, having it when you do need it is PRECIOUS. If you don't have it when you need it you be getting some unplanned exercise walking away from a stuck vehicle. If you NEVER have the need, I'd go with 2wd.

Unless you're worried about making an approximate extra 1 mpg or couple of tenths in the 1/4, the additional weight of the 4wd should't be a factor. The difference shouldn't be significant. I still average 15.5mpg in my QC 4x4 and usually get around 17 hwy. I suspect most who get worse have their foot to the floor more than they admit or drive mostly stoplight to stoplight city driving.

I just checked the inventory in the Dealer that's just a few miles down the road and they had 4 Short box, Regular Cab 4x4s with the hemi.

They had a Dark Slate Grey RC SLT 4x4 for:

Sticker $32,115
Dealer Invoice $28,500
Minus 4500 in DC Rebates (according to DC website)

Price out the Door = $24,000

Again, if the dealer is not willing to come down to the inventory price, BEFORE REBATES, go somewhere else. There is a very high supply of these trucks in the US.
I don't know where you live, but you can see their inventory and window sticker here http://www.westport-mo.fivestardeale...d=u&rid=u&dc=1

I just noticed you live in California. You probably don't want to come to St Louis. I don't know of a way to do an inventory search by area. Larger cities are more likley to be more compeditive and have more high volume dealers.

 

If you searching for a specific vehicle try www.usautosales.com Dave Smith Motors is the largest Dodge/GM dealership in North America. They sell on quantity something like 80 vehicles a day. If they don't have it or can't find it, it doesn't exist. Plus every vehicle is priced $215 over invoice no haggling. Pretty simple, visit the website, submit a query, and a salesman will contact you and you go from there. Pay a small fee for an airline ticket to Spokane, Washington and they will even pick you up from the airport with their own shuttle and drive you to Kellogg Idaho to the dealership. If I didn't receive my dad's DC employee discount, I would definitely purchase every vehicle from them.