Thanks for the input guys! I will be going to look at the 09/10s again and see what I can come up with. I never drove the 09 so I am going to try to drive that and then the 07 back to back and see the differences. Like I said before, if the 09's will go down when the 11's come out then that might be my best bet.

As for financial situation, I just graduated college last year and bought a house a few months ago. Woman got a new car last year and I have a beater for work. I have ranged that I can afford a payment of 450ish which puts me at a price range of $25,000 with no down payment, stupid school loans are killer. Anyway, if I can save up 5-8k and put that down then the new truck isn't so far away.

I do not plan to drive the truck as my DD since work is 70m round trip.

tbraquet - that truck in your sig is very nice!

 

Man, you guys must be makin some bank to have a new house, a new car, and still be looking to buy a new truck.

 

For that i would be looking at new, 2009's left over's. rebates are like 6000 right in most markets, pluss there is always haggle room. I dont think you will get a fully loaded 09 -11 for 450 a month unless you finance it forever. As a former finance manager I emplore you to do you and your family a favor dont lease. they were good for me but do nothing for you.

 

Agreed. If you have great credit and get a loan for 25K, you're still looking at payments of just over $410 for 6 years. Leasing is just silly unless you ALWAYS have to have a car that is less than 3 years old. Even then it doesn't net you much better than buying the car. I would suggest finding an 07-08 truck for 25K or less so that you don't end up taking the hit on depreciation quite so bad. At the time I bought my truck, I would have said buy new, but the auto industry has recovered a bit so sale prices aren't as low.

 

The 2009 FX4 price seems low to me. The other two are way to high as you could buy them new for those asking prices.

You should be able to get a brand new leftover 2009 XLT Screw for $25k.

 

Best deal I found so far was 09 Screw XLT with 18,412miles for $26,500. On the other hand I found the same thing in an 08 for $21,000.

From what you guys are saying it seems like the dealers are really marking them up around here.

 

Keep in mind also that because of cuts in production of F-150 models from mid 09 until now, Ford trucks for those years are few in comparison to previous production years. Because of this their resale values are going to be a bit higher and probably less negotiable (even though they have a great resale value anyway). That being said, I would grab the 09 and hang on. Good luck on your choice, but dont wait too long.

 

Well I did a bad thing today, looked at a Dodge. The salesman was very nice and was a friend of a friend so there was no pressure. Anyway, he told me that his crew cab 1500 with the hemi "can get" 22mpg on the highway at with cruise set at 66mph. Something about the 4 of the cylinders shutting down...?

I haven't had any information of the F150 doing, I mean 22mpg is not shabby for a truck!

 

Yeah, it shuts down half of the cylinders. Dodge just copied what GM V8's have been doing for a long time now. However, 1mpg difference between the Dodge, GM, and Ford trucks isn't going to make me think it's any better. Hell, the 21mpg from Ford is only with the XFE package I believe. GM and Dodge can claim the 22mpg only on their comparable version of the XFE package (usually a single cab, low-ratio rear end like a 3.31).

If you want 22mpg's reliably, find a Tacoma.

 

I brought home an '09 Dodge 1500 for a weekend when I was truck shopping. That truck got no where close to 22mpg on the highway. In fact the MDS (system that shuts down 4 cylinders) light only came on one time for about a half mile when I was on a 40 mile trip.

I am so glad I decided against that truck and got the Ford instead.

 

I looked at the same year trucks you did before I settled on my '09. All the trucks were nice, and the '04-'08 style is timeless, but the new look, 6 speed auto, and more comfortabe interior and seats sold me. It's hard to put into words how much I love my FX4. Mileage is great for me, 15-20 city/hwy. The black leather seats are beautiful and so comfortable to sit in, and Sync is just awesome.

What I did was buy on the Flex Buy plan, which got me 0% for 66 mo. What that does is it'll increase your payment 15% after the first three years. It's good for those just getting started in life, or who want to trade in after three years. My truck started out at $42k, I financed it for $38k and my payments are $100 more than where you're wanting to be, if that offers any insight.

 

ouch, paying 38K on a loan note just hurts to think about! I had to swallow hard to accept the 25K note I signed (gave 5K cash)! My MSRP started out the same as yours though.

 

That was zero down and I had to forgo the extra incentives in order to get the 0%.

 

If you work hard for your money, which i would venture to guess all of us do. You want the best value for your dollar. a few things to consider when looking at your new truck now your looking at 25-30k on a truck and just like a stock option. with a truck you want room for growth, good performance, and longevietyas an added bonus a solid resale value would be great.

Now all that being said, I dont want to brand bash: however, dodge historically has had more than its fair share of issues, now ford is not exempt, but the differences in warranty dollars versus sales capitol is staggering. Im not saying that dodge hasnt built a nice truck the only point im making is that with resale value, dodge dosent have it. chevy dosent have tho to they have built a nice product, the toyota you can barely call a truck. When you go on the lot next time the only thing you need a salesman for is a price. because he or she is going to tell you what ever you want to hear to get you interested in that product. las week that same guy was selling kias and if he dosent make his numbers this month you will see him at the honda store and so on. its sad but a product of the business,

My point is, do your home work. talk to guys who have em, not thoes who sell em. and pratcice saying no, on average you should have to get up and walk out at least twice when negoating for your purchase. happy hunting, I appoligize for the novel.

 

I appreciate the input and this is the exact reason I decided to start looking now. I won't be buying for another 4-6months so this will give me plenty of time to get the most for my dollar, which is what I love doing and probably the only reason I can afford this.

Now when you say, "walking out" do you mean going home then having them call you and go back. Or get halfway to the door and they give in. Only reason I ask is because when buying our other car we were pretty set on one car with $3000 difference between what they wanted and what we wanted. They would not budge and we walked out only to get a call and ask us if they should shred our paperwork. This was on an 09 last year though.

We never went back to that place. Maybe I need to work on my negotiation skills, but the dealership GM was not a very nice guy. With that said, I will be on the forums and keep learning.