Pure hogwash in my opinion after driving high-mileage diesels for the last 10 years. If you take it in for service, yes, it will cost you. But oil changes and fuel filter changes are simple. Do them yourself and take care of these simple maintenance items, and you will likely go well over 100,000 miles before you do anything... if you don't go 150,000 miles or higher. Personally, I'd never go 10,000 miles between oil changes like they recommend now, but after logging well over what I think has been about 500,000 miles on Strokes (7.3L's, 6.0L's, and a 6.4L smoker), I'd run one again in a minute.

The big problem is that now, unless you tow heavy or haul really heavy, the diesel is too expensive at well over $7000 for the option. Plus, the fuel cost at $0.25 a gallon more is a real hit. My Dad's new 6.7L is pulling close to 20mpg now at only 9k miles on the ticker. Even at that mpg, the new 5.0L gasser in the F-150 and the Ecoboost make it unrealistic to choose a diesel if you don't tow heavy, unless you have money to burn or a BIG want to fill.

 

Several buddies of mine have recommended CarMax as a place to sell/trade in a vehicle, so I stopped by last night. CarMax is nice because they will buy your car even if you dont buy from them. Well, anyway, they offered me $12,000 for my 07 compared to $7,500 from the dealer...which I think is a fair price when they will probably sell it for $14-15,000.

As for the truck(s) I want...I looked at some F-150 Lariats (similarly equipped to an SD I liked) last night with both the 5.0 & 6.2L engines in them, but they were all priced in the $40's ($41-$46K). The SD I looked at was $48K.

My F-150 now gets roughly 16-17mpg on the highway (11mpg towing) with regularly gas, though most reports I've seen have the SD 6.7L Diesel getting around 20, which is roughly a 15-17% increase in mpg. From what I have seen, diesel is about 40 cents more a gallon around here ($3 for regular & $3.40 for diesel), which is roughly a 13-15% increase in cost. The additional cost in fuel will be basically cancelled out by the higher MPG's...That's comparing my current 07 to the 11 SD. If I compare the 11 SD to the 11F-150 (which is supposed to get like 19-20 mpgs), then the F-150 could be cheaper...The point though is that the fuel cost for the SD diesel wouldn't be any higher than my fuel cost now...

Maintenance will be a little bit higher on the diesel as many have stated, but in my experience, it's not too big a deal as long as you keep up with all the necessary maintenance since the diesel is likely to run well over 100k miles before it needs anything "serious" done...

So really what it comes down to is whether I am willing to pay a little more up front for the vehicle...There is barely any difference in the cost to insure the SD over what I have now (Roughly $10/month more).

Of course the choice is ultimately mine, but I was looking for any recommendations/comments/reviews regarding Ford's diesels, & in particular, the new 6.7L.

 

Smokewagun, I phrased that rather poorly reading it over again and realize I was being a little broad in my statement.

 

Nothing personal, Dave. I have a real hard time telling the "truth" about diesels now a days since I love them so much more over a gasser. I'd prefer a new smoker over anything, but there is no way I can justify the cost of one at todays prices. I am hoping the Ecoboost fills the niche.

I always chose diesels for resale value with the high miles I logged, and frankly, all you said on maintenance is probably most true when the diesel is worked hard towing and hauling. I drove mine alot, but hauling was only a large travel trailer, which I'm sure barely broke my diesels into a sweat. I'm sure the expenses of repairs are high when one is used (and maybe abused) as it is designed... not for grocery getting and driving daily as so many do today.

Thanks for clarifying, but again, I meant nothing personal and I was a bit quick on the trigger to respond.

 

No offense taken at all I love my smoker and will not go back to a gasser if I have a choice.

 

I think a F-250 with a 6.2 gasser would do what you want very nicely. It will perform at LEAST as well as your F-150 with a 5.4.

 

Well, I went with the PSD. I picked up my new 2011 250 SD on Friday night. I will post up pictures in the next couple of days. So far I love it & just want to drive all the time, with no particular destination...

 

Snows all the time in Baltimore? No way. I'd never bother with a 4x4 if I lived that far south. I'm in northern NY and do not have 4wd. I have no issues getting around no matter what.

 

Baltimore got plenty of snow this winter, and they don't know how to clear it. Same problem here - we got a 19 inch storm and school was out for TWO WEEKS. The term "Joplin snow removal" is an oxymoron.

 

Typically when a storm moves up the east coast basically draw a line from Philly to Baltimore to DC. That seems to be where alot of the heaviest snows fall. I live about 2 hrs from Baltimore and every time we get a good hit they get it worse. I have 4x4 on my DD only because of winter here. The state of PA, or MD for that matter, have a clue how to handle a winter storm. There are alot of mild winters though I'll give you that. The last few years we only had a few inches all year, but the last 2 have been like a normal winter.

 

I live about 45 minutes from the Gulf which is far South and we only get snow once every 10 years. I'm on my 2nd 4wd and probably will continue to buy 4wd's. I buy them b/c I don't like lifting a 2wd truck and b/c there easy to get stuck. I wouldn't buy a 2wd Diesel down here b/c of how heavy there front ends are. The ground out here gets very soft. I've seen many 3/4 and 1 ton Diesels and a few 3/4 ton gassers get stuck on dry ground during the summer. It doesn't take much for these front ends to sink.

 

Your truck also weighs a few thousand pounds less than a Super Duty... My 2wd F-150 did great in the snow. My Powerstroke is so heavy up front, wet grass sucks in 2wd.

 

In the past three years, my truck has probably been in 4wd a total of 100 miles...maybe.

 

Not a fair comparison. My 08 has been completely helpless on grass with just morning dew. An 1100 pound motor without a drive axle under it is an anchor.

Adrianspeeder

 

Diesels suck on slippery surfaces because once they start to build boost it's game over. This is the first year in a long time that I have not run any weight in my truck although I did not travel for work like I did in years past and we did not get the snow we have in years past either.