Anyone here own a F150 with the 5.4L

ha ha ha ah... thanx for the "worst" nightmare comment!!!

I've been "coached".... good friend of mine works at Grubb's Marine in Winston-Salem and gave me a few pointers on what "not" to say or do at the dealership (cars or boats... it's all the same)... and I have to admit,,, he was spot on.... I did get them, they realized it quick too, but they cant go back on this deal. Thing is, just want to make sure them Ford's are as good as they say cause I will put it to the test....

[Blue_Runner]

Well done Dave. Would've done the same if I were buying a new car. Turn tha tables on those dirty dealers! Arg!

[Franco]

THATS ALL WELL AND GOOD TO SAY..... BUT...................
NOT ALL DEALERS ARE DIRTY DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!
THEY HAVE TO CARRY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INVENTORY TO MEET THE CUSTOMERS NEEDS.
WHEN NOBODY ELSE CAN FIX IT IT GOES TO THE DEALER.
WHEN THE MANUFACTURER MAKES A BLUNDER (I.E. RECALLS) THE DEALERS TAKE THE HEAT FROM THE CONSUMER.
MOST DEALERS MAKE VERY LITTLE PROFIT ON THE SALE OF THE CARS OR TRUCKS THEMSELVES. THEY MAKE THIER MONEY ON FINANCING AND AFTERMARKET SALES LIKE RUST PROTECTION AND EXTENDED SERVICE CONTRACTS.
IF YOU WANT A GOOD DEAL WHEN BUYING A NEW CAR, USE THE INTERNET TO PRICE THE CAR AND HAGGLE FROM THAT POINT. EDUCATE YOURSELF ON WHAT ADDITIONAL THINGS YOU WANT TO PURCHASE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING, BUT IF YOU RETAILED A PRODUCT AND A CUSTOMER PULLED A BAIT AND SWITCH ON YOU, YOU'D BE PISSED TOO!
THATS NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE DEALER DOING A BAIT AND SWITCH ON YOU, AND IF THEY GET BURNED A FEW TIMES BY CUSTOMERS, THEY BECOME A LITTLE GUN SHY, THE WILL SHOOT FOR THE SKY AND KEEP YOU "IN THE BOX" FOR HOURS.
THE BEST ADVICE I HAVE IS KNOW WHAT THE PRICE SHOULD BE, HAVE YOUR MONEY IN PLACE IF YOU WANNA GET YOUR OWN FINANCING OR AT LEAST KNOW WHAT RATE YOU QUALIFY FOR. IF THEY DON'T WANT TO HAGGLE, TELL THEM SEEYA LATER!!!! THEY ARE THERE TO SELL CARS, IF YOU WANT TO DRIVE AWAY TODAY AND THEY CAN MAKE A LITTLE PROFIT, IT'S GONNA BE YOURS. THEY JUST PLAY HARDBALL WITH CUSTOMERS THAT THEY PERCEIVE AS GAME PLAYERS.
BUT..................... I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THERE ARE DEALERS, MORE OFTEN SALESMEN, THAT ARE REAL ASSHOLES - BUY A CAR AT THE END OF THE MONTH, LOOK FOR THE GUY THATS SALESMAN OF THE MONTH/YEAR/DECADE - HE IS PROBABLY THE STRAIGHTEST SHOOTING GUY , AND THE END OF THE MODEL YEAR IS COMING - JUST MY TWO CENTS WORTH.
BUY THE WAY, I DO WORK AT A DEALERSHIP - AS A SERVICE DIRECTOR - I DON'T SELL THEM

I understand Franco completely
I know what they're worth
got my financin (4.75% was the final)
and wasnt here to teach folks to beat the dealer, so I dont want to give that perception. :-/

I will tell ya, in this neck of the woods around Fayetteville NC, they will flat stick it to ya if ya let'm. :-*

Anyhow guys... appreciate the comments, I pulled the trigger today on it... Too good of a deal to pass up.
Final was $23, 503 out the door tax, tags, trade and all... so I got the feelin they made money otherwise they'd a walk'd, balk'd or pulled out. ;)

Anywhoo, I got sticker right here, Truck after options and some rebates MSRP was $32K and some change. That helped bump my interest rate down a quarter!! GO FIGURE!! :o

They swore up and down the truck I got with the class IV will pull my load. They even let me take one home to hook up to the boat and tow the boat around just to make sure before I pulled the trigger on it.... I must say, that 5.4L is pretty nice!!! The truck didnt squat like my Dodge did and stop'd pretty good. I got it up to 70 mph with the over drive in the off position and we got a few low rollin hills and it didnt kick down a gear like the Dodge would've and it ran 200 rpms lower than what I'd seen with my old truck.....

We're towin to the lake this weekend and I think she'll be just fine. I must admit, Ford did give some thought to the hitch set up, but man if someone ever rearends one of these trucks it'd be a mess.. The hitch is 6 point welded to the frame and bolted as well, very stout for a half ton.

I will keep an eye on the brakes, They appear to be up t the job, but I can always get larger rotors and run pads designed just for heavy towin... we'll see down the road here....

Anyway... bought me a truck... will post some pix here later on.

Thanx again guys, and Franco,,, I didnt mean to ruffle any feathers.... It's just buisness brother.... :)

eeee... there she is fella's... if she dont work,, guess I'll sell the little truck and go diesel shopin on a regular cab.... Little trucks paid for,, so I'd sell it and get a used diesel older model...

Oh well,, we'll give Ford a shot and see just how "tough" they claim to be.

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[Franco]

No offense taken Dave, I just have to rant once in awhile and I bought a case of soap boxes at the wharehouse club!!! I was trying to educate people on how not to get ripped off!!! As you know a few bad apples spoil it for the good people trying to do a good job. Those are the guys that give car dealers a bad name. In my case, I work in the service department. Everyday we have people that come in after having thier cars worked on at the local garage, the tire stores, or what ever. They come to us as a last resort after spending hundreds of bucks elsewhere, and expect us to fix it in 15 minutes fo 10 bucks. Then the check with the tire changer at walmart or the parts clerk at advance auto parts to see if we know whats wrong with the car. When that guy says that his 70,000 mile car should be fixed under warranty they want to get in my face. My guys at my shop average over 120 working hours a year ( 3 weeks) in training to learn how to work on one brand of vehicle! These cars change every six months, they have more computer power than nasa used to launch the apollo moon mission, and thousands of components that could fail. I just don't know how some guy, no matter how talented a technician he is, can out gun an educated dealership technician.
Okay enough of that stuff. You can beat dealers at their own game. You just have to educate yourself and you played the game pretty well. I can see that your not the average dolt that is impressed by the chrome plated whatcha callit that buys by impulse. You used your brain, knew what you wanted and I'm sure you will be happy with the new truck. It's the uneducated guy that is led around by his nose and buys a vehicle that won't do what he needs it to that is unhappy and bitter when he finally wakes up.
If anyone failed to notice, I do voice my opinions loudly sometimes, I hope I didn't give you a bad impression of me. I have put in over 30 years of my life trying to be a good technician, and now manager in dealership service.

[Franco]

By the way, Nice truck and cute co-pilot!!!

Nope, no bad impression at all Franco... ;)

Good rant by the way!! :o
Too bad all shops dont work as hard as y'all. But I think that havin to deal with sales folks is like goin to the dentist for alot of folks... and it's really hard to tell when someones genuine or not and usually it's after they'd already slip'd it to ya is when ya find out in most cases... :-/

I hate it when it's time to vehicle shop.... too bad they (manufact.'s) cant just put up the price...here it is, no more no less, pre factor in that profit... but like you mentioned,, some consumers dont take the gloves off... ::)

Like in my job, Tech's are the backbone and keep things goin like clock work and are 99.9% of the time under-acknowledged. I can share/respect that.... :)

Yup, that's my littl Capt in trainin.. he wanted to go to the lake today, but dadda had to put the brakes on him.... promised him we'll be on the lake saturday. ;D

Welp, pretty impressed with the truck so far.
Definately needed that Class IV package
doesnt squat like the Dodge did.

Will be gettin a weight distribution hitch, thing is for anyone considering to get the max performance out of their trucks, to consider how them weight dist. hitches work. *MOST will not work with surge brake type trailers.
There are some that do, they allow the tension arms to not lock onto the trailer, but ride in a bracket that allows the full function of the trailers surge brake system. *Cost really isnt that much and still keeps ya within manufacturers ratings for trailer, truck and all that.

equalizer hitch will be the one I'm goin with, since we dont tow everyday and use the vehicle as a daily driver. *When towing, keeps everything safe and in spec limits.

My trailer manufacturer was very helpfull as well and responded to my questions, rather quickly. *Road King trailer folks are very knowledgeable and helpfull, highly recommend them.

Just wanted to post FYI on how I made out by not goin diesel. *

The one thing I do not like about the truck is it's too quiet.. hard to get that road feel with this thing, get I'll figure that out down the road...

here's the link for weight distribution for boat trailers
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/produc...patibility.php