Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

[CityHick]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

The saga continues.
I learned that the deals in Idaho were a little too good to be true. Their sale price is accurate, their "as low as" price includes stacking a bunch of nickle and dime discounts that I don't qualify for. I was able to beat their price locally and actually had them find me a truck which was supposed to show up today. Today happens to be when news broke of Fiat/Chrysler under investigation for diesel emissions cheating... how's that for a headline to see upon waking up the day you are about to spend over 50k.
Right now the scandal is unproven and limited to the ecodiesel, but I have been through this once already and don't feel like rolling the dice on another vehicle that might get bought back or "fixed" in some manner that I don't like (volkswagen all over again). There's already speculation this will spread to the 2500+ cummins trucks as well.

I went to the Ford dealer again and drove a beautiful 2017 super duty today. Man I am in love with that truck. Window sticker was about identical to the Ram that I almost bought. Ford was not able to come down on price anywhere near as much (Ram was coming down over $12k, Ford is only budging about $4k). So... 61k+ tax, license, etc... all adds up to being a bit beyond my comfort level.

I drove another F150 ecoboost. Gotta say I like that truck a lot too. There's a 2016 that they are discounting a lot... it is close to what I want (but it is the very short bed). On paper though its payload capacity is about equal to the 2500 Ram that I was going to buy today.

I am almost ready to pull the trigger and step down to the F150. It is still enough truck for me but it is not overkill like the 250/2500 is. Will I still be happy with it in a few years? who knows... probably. It will be cheaper to operate for sure. This has been a real roller coaster day. I know I may be over-reacting by walking away from the Ram but it really gives me the heebie jeebies coming off of 1.5 years of waiting for VW dieselgate to conclude. I am not ready to go through that all again!

We shall see... have a few more questions for the dealer about the F150 but I am starting to lean pretty hard in that direction.

[Efibroncoman]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

I highly doubt any of the 3/4 or 1 ton diesel trucks have emissions cheating like passenger cars do. For one thing none of them have advertised economy numbers because they're commercial trucks. After 22,000+ on my 2015 Ram it still doesn't smell like a diesel when running. Mine also had a sticker of $50K and with True Car I was able to get that down to $41,500. Ford tried the same thing with me. They just aren't willing to deal, they'd rather wait for the suckers that whip out a CC and pay actual sticker without negotiating. Apparently those people are still out there. It does sound like you're kinda all over the place as to what you want. You should probably wait until you narrow down to one truck before dropping $40-$60K, you'll be happier long term and it'll take 3 years at least to pay a loan down enough so you aren't upside down in it.

[CityHick]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

I appreciate what you are saying, Jacob.

I started out looking at "half ton" trucks (in quotes because the F150 I am looking at has a payload of 2250 pounds... a ton and a quarter), own one now, and was planning that from the beginning. I got side-tracked by the deals that Ram can pull for their trucks. I have been all over true car and other pricing plans that exist for all manufacturers. I have been looking at trucks for a long time.

For the record, at 3.5 years and 60,000 miles my Passat TDI never smelled like a diesel either. I haven't noticed that smell coming from any modern diesel in years.

The F150 I am likely buying tomorrow is a very nice truck, it is what I started out wanting and I am over the Ram idea... It rides and handles better, accelerates hard, is very comfortable and well optioned. I will be happy with it.

I am putting a lot of money down and will probably have the whole thing paid off in a max of 3 years. Taking a zero percent loan out for 5 but will overpay every month. I'd rather have the option of taking a break from really high payments (around the holidays for example), than I would be stuck with really high payments every month.

Honestly I doubt I'll ever buy a cab-over camper (one of the use cases I'd sort of fantasized about). I may still buy a trailer for the Bronco but I've been saying that for years and I sold the one trailer I did buy...

[DoubleXL]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

I went from a 2012 D-Max 2500 to a 2014 f150 and love it. If I were frequently towing a heavy 5th wheel it would definitely be a different story, but the 5.0 f150 pulls my loaded car trailer (6800#) to Fordyce with no issues and it's a softer ride and easier to park. I usually change trucks pretty often but I have no plans to change since this truck does everything I need with ease.
Enjoy your new truck!

[CityHick]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

Here she is! My new 2016 F150.
I got a Lariat with just about every single option they'll put onto it. It has the 3.5 ecoboost, 6-speed auto with tow-haul/sport and manual modes, and a selectable electric rear locker.

The more I have driven this truck (all 30 miles) the more I am enjoying it. Per my earlier post there was a silver one that met my specs but the dealer knew I wasn't thrilled. That night they found me two more red ones in the Sacramento area. The dealer had offered me a $700 discount to take the silver one, then traded it for a much more highly optioned red one and sold it to me for the price that we negotiated for the lesser equipped silver truck, with the $700 discount for the wrong color still in place. I came out ahead and now have a truck that exceeds what I was after.
It has the max tow package, the trailer backup package, the panoramic moonroof, power sliding rear window, remote activated tailgate, etc etc etc.

This truck will do everything that my old Chevy did for me and then some. I am really happy with my choice so far and look forward to it being my daily ride. My Chevy of almost 17 years went away today - sold it to a guy I grew up with who is giving it to his son as his first car. His son is thrilled with it - I gave them a good deal, and the dealer was happy that they did not have to mess with it.

[904Bronco]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

Congrats Tony!

[jperry1290]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

The price of cars/trucks is ridiculous, you almost need to pull a second mortgage on your home. My friend just dropped 70k on a new Ford 3500 4x4 diesel utility body. I don't see how spending an extra 35k can offset the price difference between gas and diesel. My 2016 Tundra was 36k and has been a great truck towing, commuting, camping etc.

[CityHick]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

Prices of everything nice in the automotive world these days are insanely high.
My F150 was not exactly cheap but I did get a big discount from sticker (basically truecar price and then some). In the grand scheme though, relative to my current income it is "cheaper" than my Chevy was when I bought it back in 2000. Plus it is really nice to drive, so I have accepted the cost at this point.

I could have gotten a 3/4 ton diesel for another $10-15k equipped similarly, which would have gotten around the same mileage, but at the end of the day it just wasn't worth it to me. The 3.5 ecoboost hauls ass, and I am getting around 22mpg commuting, and about 17-18 combined. Not great but better than what I had before. I have all of 500 miles on it now (it came to me with ~300) so I'm sure once I stop putting my foot into it all the time it'll be a little better. Hoping to take it up to the snow this weekend.

I will say that traction control works like a champ so far, and the ride quality continues to impress me. Creature comforts sure are nice too - good sound system, comfortable interior, heated steering wheel, lane keep assist, all really nice stuff to have that I did not even plan on getting.

[crawlin68]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

Right on Tony. Beautiful truck! I recently bought a 2017 Explorer and I love it. I'm sure you will enjoy this new truck for many years to come.

[CityHick]

Re: Off Topic - New Pickup Trucks

Right on Tony. Beautiful truck! I recently bought a 2017 Explorer and I love it. I'm sure you will enjoy this new truck for many years to come.

Nice, Patrick!
Everybody is buying Fords!

My boss bought a 2016 Edge, another co-worker bought a 2017 Escape. My parents also bought a 2016 Edge. A friend's mother bought a 2016 Explorer, another friend bought a Mustang, and another acquaintance bought a Fusion.

Ford is really making a nice lineup all the way across the board.