Truck buying

[whacker1]

Thanks all for your opinions!

I'm currently considering a 2009 Ford F-150 XLT Supercab. The only big downside is the miles, at 90,XXX. It's from a "car lot" vs "dealer" which I'm also always leery of (no particular reason), but seems to be priced about $5k under KBB.

XD - I have been looking at new 1/2 tons for a few years, but haven't pulled the trigger.  I have done a ton of research.  I currently drive a 97 F150 with 167k miles on it.  So it is getting to be time, but I keep putting it off. 

Here is my pro / con on the 2009 version.  First what motor is in it? 5.4 or 4.6? 
Pro - new 6 speed transmission, which is the reason that I have been looking at 2009 & 2010
con - Jury is still out as to whether there are any issues with it.

Pro - slightly better highway mileage if it is geared correctly reports of 1/2 mile to 3 mile per gallon - should be same in town mileage if you do a lot of stop light driving.

con - Ford played with the rearend gears, so some are geared incorrectly.  Most are 3.55's and 3.73's, but some are the 3.30 variety, which I think gets too high for what many of us do with our rigs during huntin season.  those higher gears would be great for a 2 wheel drive in California that never leaves the highway, but too high for what I do with mine.

Pro - New body style
Con - pay more for the used 2009 & 2010 vs the 2004-2008 variety

My two cents overall - Chevy's of similar years should do a little better in town mielage and maybe 1 mile per gallon on the highway. 

Both Chevy and Ford had weak transmissions in the 1/2 tons pre 2009 editions, however mine is still holding on, but it is not strong. 

I have made the decision that if I buy another 1/2 ton that it will be a 2009 or newer F150, unless I find out that the transmissions go sideways.  I may drag my current F150 out for another 40k miles though.  If I decide to buy a diesel, I will be looking for 2006 Chevy to go pre-emissions and 6 speed alison transmission.  But by the time I buy the 2006's will be getting high mileage, so that theory is going by the way side every day.

[jackelope]

I think from now on when someone starts a "what truck should I buy" thread, I'm going to immediately lock it and post links to all the other "which truck should I buy" threads that we've had on here.
 
I have worked for Chevy dealers, Dodge dealers, and Toyota(very very briefly). I can tell you that they all break. Toyotas definitely break less frequently than the other 2. I can also tell you that the tow trucks are at the Ford dealer just as often as they are here at the Dodge dealer. They all have their weaknesses.  Dodge trucks eat up front ends, Chevy transmissions suck, Fords like to eat up EGR's, etc. I'm considering buying a 2005 Ford F150 supercrew as my next rig. I need 4 real doors and don't want to spring for a new Dodge. We've got a really nice used one on the lot here with only 50k miles on it. I'm at 150k miles on my 2002 Silverado. It's a great truck and has been since it had 30k miles when I bought it 5.5 years ago. I have put brakes on it a couple times, shocks all around at about 120k, I put a transmission in it at 130k and that's about it. I'm a spazz about maintenance and as long as you take care of these things, they're all good. There's always vehicles with issues...always...I don't care what brand name and I don't care how good you think they are, plain and simple...everything breaks at one point or another. That's what warrantys are for and that's why technicians do what they do and I do what I do.

p.s. my truck is so much better than yours and my dad could kick you dad's butt.

[quadrafire]

p.s. my truck is so much better than yours and my dad could kick you dad's butt.

Just change this to Your favorite Truck Sucks

[xd2005]

So...much to the disappointment of many of you  , I think I've settled on a new F-150 SuperCab. I've been emailing back and forth with Internet Managers at all the local dealerships all day just working to nail down the exact truck and pricing I'm looking for.

[sebek556]

f150 raptor crewcab 

[Bofire]

 :)Someone who is supposed to know  told me that the 2010 Chev I have with the tow package and 6 speed auto, they said the Ford, Dodge and Toyota Tundra, with the 6 speed all have the same tranny. as my Chev??
Carl

[swanny]

f150 raptor crewcab 

[jackelope]

:)Someone who is supposed to know  told me that the 2010 Chev I have with the tow package and 6 speed auto, they said the Ford, Dodge and Toyota Tundra, with the 6 speed all have the same tranny. as my Chev??
Carl

No.

[xd2005]

So when I buy the truck and they ask if I want the Extended Service Plan, what answer do I give? 

It's $1,445 for 72mo, 75k mile.

[FC]

It's a FORD! Of course you want the warranty!

[rtspring]

that is OF COURSE if you believe everything you read on the internet

[jackelope]

So when I buy the truck and they ask if I want the Extended Service Plan, what answer do I give? 

It's $1,445 for 72mo, 75k mile.

My guess, at that price, is that it's not a very comprehensive contract coverage wise. Good contracts that cover "everything"(and I use that term loosely) mostly cost more than that.
Just a hunch. I think those contracts are great as long as you know what you're getting(read the fine print) and that the term of it makes sense for what you plan to have/keep/use the truck for...in other words if you're going to buy a 5 year contract and only put 10k miles a year, don't buy a 5 year 100k miles contract. I just used this for an example so not being specific here.
A transmission will cost you $3-4k or more so you can quickly make your money back on them if needed. Simple things like window motors or water pumps are +/- $500.

[Woodchuck]

Just keep this in mind on those service contracts. They only stay in business because they pay out less money than they take in. If you put the same amount of money a month that you would make on your payment for that into a designated savings and keep up on that no car bill would kill you, and in the end if you dont use it, it is still your money not someone else's 

[jackelope]

Just keep this in mind on those service contracts. They only stay in business because they pay out less money than they take in. If you put the same amount of money a month that you would make on your payment for that into a designated savings and keep up on that no car bill would kill you, and in the end if you dont use it, it is still your money not someone else's 

I would not disagree with that at all. They can definitely be like car insurance, you spend a bunch of $$ on it...hopefully you don't ever need it. It is a good insurance policy though.  $1450 over the course of 60 months equates to about $24 a month not including interest. $24 a month is a lot easier to swallow than a sudden unexpected  $1000 repair bill though, which is I think why they are as popular as they are with a lot of folks. Plus service writers can smack the crap out of the service contract company given the opportunity.
 

[Mike450r]

Pay cash for the extended warranty or tell them you will add it to the loan only if they come down on the price by $2000.  Don't add it to the loan.  Worst thing you can do other than adding gap coverage to the loan.  Pay cash for extended warranties and get gap through your own insurance if you even need it. Every penny you add to the loan that isn't the actual cost of the vehicle gets you deeper in the hole and less likely to ever have equity in the vehicle.