Some Ram 1500 Drivers are Reporting Huge Offers to Sell Their Trucks

Several of the larger Ram truck forums have postings from people who are being recruited to sell their newer Ram 1500s. While in the old days, it used to be a sales gimmick, it appears many of these recent offers are real. The semiconductor chip debacle has created delays and shortages of some of the most popular new vehicles. The shortages are keeping new vehicle prices high, as well. Many buyers are paying top dollar for relatively new used vehicles, especially Ram 1500s.

Selling a Leased Truck for Large Profit

One California driver posted that he was going to turn in his leased 2018 Ram 1500. The buyout was $27,000. He claims after he filled out the KBB paperwork he got several offers. “Within 30 minutes I had multiple emails, calls and texts from dealers wanting to buy my truck. Within an hour I had set up a drop off with a local Mercedes Benz dealer of all places, as they had offered $43k for the truck. No payoff needed. They’d handle that. So I drove over. Dropped the truck off, signed a few forms. They now send a check for $27k to Chrysler, when Chrysler gets that in a few days, MB overnights my profit check of $16k to me.”

Another driver posted, “just looked on KBB for the value of my 2016 Bighorn, with the mileage and condition says $34,000 for the condition and mileage of my truck, 4 grand more than what I paid for it out the door. sure glad I bought it in late 2019 instead of waiting.”

Obviously, the demand is different in different markets. A gentleman, from the Jersey area, says the dealers aren’t as anxious to buy his 2019 Ram “and around here (South Jersey / Delaware) they barely will offer me mid 40's for a Longhorn with 22k miles on her.” I’m sure once dealers find out about that truck, they will try to buy it.
This New York lease holder sees an opportunity. “I did a Carvana online appraisal and my lease payoff in 6 mos is exactly 30k and I'm being offered 37k now, so it seems about even. But hey, gas prices are up - good times”.

Can’t Win On Both Ends of the Deal

It is great that sellers are able to get high prices for their trucks, however, if they need a new truck that price will be higher, too! This Ram driver posted “I am receiving 2 to 3 calls a week for my 2021 Limited with 4k. It is goofy what they are offering. The problem is I can't replace it for what they offer.”

That is exactly the problem many of the drivers are having. Most people who drive trucks, love their trucks. They usually only sell their truck to buy another. Rarely, do truck owners switch to a different type of vehicle.

What Happens When the Shortage is Over

The obvious question is how long will the high prices last? One poster posed the question. “So, when all this craziness and chip shortage is over, and since there's alot of built vehicles waiting for chips:
How low do you all think the prices will go if there is a huge surplus of built vehicles?”

Others don’t expect the shortage to be solved overnight. “The market was hot before the chip shortage so expect it to continue even with trucks on the lots.” I would agree. All of the automakers have vehicles that are partially built just waiting for the semiconductor chips to arrive. It will take some time to get the supply chain back up to speed. Demand is so high right now, I can’t imagine that supply will meet demand any time soon. There certainly won’t be a glut of new trucks in the near future. Prices may moderate but they won’t fall drastically.

Every Ram forum I checked had a similar thread or topic of truck owners receiving multiple offers. It will be interesting to see how long the bidding war over used trucks continues. Hopefully, manufacturers will find a way to get their chip supplies for their new vehicles soon.

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