I'm new to the forum but not new to vehicles. I'm looking at starting a small fabrication business on the side and will need a truck for some towing and basic hauling.

Right now I have a 2005 4Runner V8 4WD and a 2009 Mercedes C63 AMG. I'm thinking about selling them both to cut down on my vehicle assets and replacing them with a nice F150. I've had several Fords over my lifetime and other than a few issues they have been great vehicles for me. I am possibly entertaining the idea of an F250 as an alternative, but I think that would be overkill for what I need. Other requirements are 4WD to go into the snow or for camping, four doors and I think the 5.5' box would be fine.

So here's what I'm looking at:

2012 Ford F150 FX4, SuperCrew, 5.5' Bed
Ingot Silver or Sterling Gray
+ 3.5L Ecoboost Engine
+ FX Appearance Package
+ FX Luxury Package
+ Max Trailer Tow Package with Power Mirrors
+ Navigation System
+ Power Moonroof
+ Spray In Bed Liner
+ Rearview Camera
+ Tailgate Step


Carsdirect.com price is $43,819 on a MSRP of 49,550k. I qualify for the Ford X-Plan so I'm not sure what that will bring the price in at.

I'm also having a hard time deciding on the 5.0L or 3.5L engines. Out of the 30 or so cars I've owned, I think around 26 of them have been V8's. I like technology but I dunno. My local dealer has invited me down to test drive a few trucks to see what I like and also to see if they can find an inbound truck matching what I want. They said they wouldn't hassle me or cause a bunch of haggling BS. The thought of going from my C63 to a F150 is a bit daunting but the usefulness of F150 is much higher.

I know the feelings on the engines on the forum are mixed. I also know the feelings on the FX Appearance package are mixed. However I think it looks pretty sharp in the silver or gray colors.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Any other incentives out there that are not well published?

 

Sounds like you have thought it thru and already made your decisions. I would just test drive both engines and pick what you want, either way I don't think you can go wrong. Only suggestion I would have is you said you needed the truck to haul and tow stuff, but your choosing the 5.5ft bed over the 6.5ft. You know what you will be hauling so you should know which is better, but if you make the wrong choice with the 5.5ft bed you can't get more room other than by putting the tailgate down. If you made the wrong choice going with the 6.5ft you would just have extra space leftover. I don't haul a bunch but my 01 supercrew had a 5.5ft, and my 2010 is 6.5ft. And i like my 6.5 footer much more. Makes the truck a little longer, but hey its already long.

 

The max trailer tow has to have the 3.5 TT engine, so if you pick the 5.0 you lose the max trailer tow option. Normally the X-Plan price is a few hundred over invoice pricing.

Kevin

 

this.

for price, it's hard to tell you since you will be getting the new model year. If it was a 2011 with that msrp i'd tell you to pay no more than 40k.

 

Or the 6.2, but that's not available in a FX4.

 

I'd do the 5.0 over the ecoboost but that's just me. I love my 5.4 but those 5.0s are sweet and I would love to have one. Boost is cool but I'm a V8 guy myself.

 

Welcome to the forum! What exactly are you towing or hauling? By fabrication do you mean weldments? I agree the extra foot of the 6.5' bed will be much more useful, but it can also cause garage fit issues. Other than that you can't go wrong with any other choices on an F-150

 

Go to Ford's website and request a brochure. You may get a $750 private offer. Good luck.

 

Agreed. Unfortunately mine came too late and I was too impatient. I ended up getting one in the mail but had already purchased the truck.

 

get the 6.5 bed vs 5.5 For one at 6.5 you can open the tail gate and laey down 8ft stock of anything it wont hang over. Plus I think it evens out how the truck looks on super crew. I might be wrong but I think you actually pay more for the shorter bed. If you are not going to do any towing and your payload is not huge you might even think about getting the regular v6 as its cheaper and probably better on gas. Although a traight v6 on a truck is going to take hard hit on resale or trade.

 

The only Supercrews that you can get the base 3.7 V6 in are XL and XLT 2wd with the 5.5' box. 4wd or 6.5' bed requires the 5.0 or EB.

 

Welcome! I to am a UNIX admin

6.5 ft bed is $300 more than the 5.5 ft. I too would go the the 6.5 cant' go wrong with extra space.