Questions about options...(contains small rant)

[Shiftman]

I've been looking at Ford's website, searching dealer inventory for about a month. None of the trucks have all the options I want, or they have a sunroof, which I absolutely do not want. I've looked at XLTs and Lariats. The XLTs with Premium package are OK, except for a couple things:

1: I'm still not sure on the Light Gray cloth interior...It looks cheap and easy to stain... something out of an econobox rental car--There's no comparison to the Sport Cloth seats in my Ram 2500 SLT (Bighorn). Why do they not offer nicer seats on an XLT Truck like they do on an XLT Expedition?
Can some folks with XLTs comment on how the seats are holding up as far as wear and tear, in addition to keeping them clean?

2: Can't get dual zone automatic climate control or heated wheel in XLT (both are in my Ram)
Not sure if i can do without the heated wheel, although I had trucks without it for years, just didn't know what I was missing.
I think I'm alright with the single zone climate, as I'm solo 90% of the time.


So, I started looking at Lariats:
Not a single Tremor that I've looked at in the Southeast has a heated wheel or rear heated seats. I understand about the option 60W Rain sensing wipers, which apparently nobody at a Ford dealer seems to know about. Come on, Ford! These are both standard on a Ram Laramie. I'm not trying to crap on Ford, but for them to charge a premium price over Ram, it seems like the options would be better--or equivalent. Whether or not the difference in quality is better, I can't say. I can only speak for my current truck, which has had a couple issues, but they were taken care of for the most part.

Another problem is, I can't justify the price difference between the sale (or trade-in) of my current truck to buy a loaded Lariat like I want. So an XLT with added options is more in my price range.
I found one XLT, which should arrive by end of month., that checks off the main things that I want in an XLT. But not sure if I can live with the gray cloth seats or not.


So, this has me considering special ordering a truck. But if it came in with some of the QC related issues that others have posted, I would be pretty upset. Plus, the whole waiting game. I was really hoping to find a truck that I could live with on a dealer lot and I could inspect it thoroughly and then walk away if needed.
Can some of ya'll awesome guys help me out? Maybe I just need a different perspective?

 

[Cropgun]

Disclaimer. I'm not an expert at all.

The XLT to me seems to be the "work truck" or "fleet truck" option. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with that. But might explain how you feel about the seats and lack of options.

You're also trying to pick over current inventory. Why not just order and get exactly what you want. QC issues? Maybe. I ordered mine and I've had no issues that I've found since delivery in July. If there is a problem you take it to the dealer and have it remedied. All new off the lot vehicles are at risk for this. You can still order the truck and then walk away when it shows up if its not what you want.

Every person I have ever known save for 1 person that has owned a Ram has gotten rid of it in short order.

 

[PapaRaptor]

I purchase work trucks for my employees because they are hard on trucks. They get caulk and paint on the interiors, have knives and screwdrivers in their back pockets forget about them and sit in the seats and tear them up. One guy is a huge chain smoker and his truck stinks to high hell.

The interior of these trucks are trashed in short order. It's the cost of business. However I am surprised at how well they hold up under that amount of use. We purchased Ram trucks and Ford for years. The Ram dealership was closed a few years back and I lost my connection with them. So it's all Ford now. The Ford trucks have always held up better than the Ram trucks. I used to get a smoking deal on the Rams only reason I got them. But the plastic trim and other parts of the Ram just went to hell much faster than the Ford counter parts. Ford builds the trucks knowing that some are work trucks used by employees that just don't give a rip about the truck since they don't own it. So I believe you will be happy with the XLT and its ability to hold up over time.

 

[Shiftman]

Disclaimer. I'm not an expert at all.

The XLT to me seems to be the "work truck" or "fleet truck" option. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with that. But might explain how you feel about the seats and lack of options.

You're also trying to pick over current inventory. Why not just order and get exactly what you want. QC issues? Maybe. I ordered mine and I've had no issues that I've found since delivery in July. If there is a problem you take it to the dealer and have it remedied. All new off the lot vehicles are at risk for this. You can still order the truck and then walk away when it shows up if its not what you want.

Every person I have ever known save for 1 person that has owned a Ram has gotten rid of it in short order.

Ordering one is most likely what I'll do if I don't find anything soon. I guess with the cost of a new vehicle, I have a really high expectations, but they're made by humans, and quality control is done by humans, so if they're having a bad day, then you get problems no matter what brand. My current truck has been pretty good, but scared to make the switch I guess...
I really appreciate your perspective

 

[RAVAGE88]

Disclaimer. I'm not an expert at all.

The XLT to me seems to be the "work truck" or "fleet truck" option. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with that. But might explain how you feel about the seats and lack of options.

You're also trying to pick over current inventory. Why not just order and get exactly what you want. QC issues? Maybe. I ordered mine and I've had no issues that I've found since delivery in July. If there is a problem you take it to the dealer and have it remedied. All new off the lot vehicles are at risk for this. You can still order the truck and then walk away when it shows up if its not what you want.

Every person I have ever known save for 1 person that has owned a Ram has gotten rid of it in short order.

^^^^THIS.

Current inventory is based on demographics....dealers order what sells in their respective regions. Sounds like your best bet is to skip the frustration and place an order. The wait is the wait and patience is a discipline that’s willingly learned.

As far as QC, I’m 55 and have owned nothing but Ford’s my entire life....A LOT of Ford’s. My brothers have owned Dodge and Chevy. Not one of my Ford’s ever went to the dealer or was worked on by me for a QC issue. Normal wear and tear like brakes and tires, yes. One EGR valve stopped up on a 6.0 PowerStroke after 150,000+ miles. My brothers, not so lucky.

If you’ve been looking for as long as you say, place an order and get what you want.

MB

 

[Shiftman]

I purchase work trucks for my employees because they are hard on trucks. They get caulk and paint on the interiors, have knives and screwdrivers in their back pockets forget about them and sit in the seats and tear them up. One guy is a huge chain smoker and his truck stinks to high hell.

The interior of these trucks are trashed in short order. It's the cost of business. However I am surprised at how well they hold up under that amount of use. We purchased Ram trucks and Ford for years. The Ram dealership was closed a few years back and I lost my connection with them. So it's all Ford now. The Ford trucks have always held up better than the Ram trucks. I used to get a smoking deal on the Rams only reason I got them. But the plastic trim and other parts of the Ram just went to hell much faster than the Ford counter parts. Ford builds the trucks knowing that some are work trucks used by employees that just don't give a rip about the truck since they don't own it. So I believe you will be happy with the XLT and its ability to hold up over time.

I take good care of my vehicles, so it's not the greatest concern, but I wish they offered a darker gray or charcoal/black cloth that would potentially show less grime. I guess I could buy some nice seat covers.
I got a good deal on my Ram, and I always had Cummins, so that was my direction when I bought mine. But the diesel emissions stuff worries me long term, especially when the OEMs don't warranty any of that stuff for long enough, IMO.

I'll look at the XLT when it comes in and then see what I think.
Thank you also for your perspective!

 

[Shiftman]

^^^^THIS.

Current inventory is based on demographics....dealers order what sells in their respective regions. Sounds like your best bet is to skip the frustration and place an order. The wait is the wait and patience is a discipline that’s willingly learned.

As far as QC, I’m 55 and have owned nothing but Ford’s my entire life....A LOT of Ford’s. My brothers have owned Dodge and Chevy. Not one of my Ford’s ever went to the dealer or was worked on by me for a QC issue. Normal wear and tear like brakes and tires, yes. One EGR valve stopped up on a 6.0 PowerStroke after 150,000+ miles. My brothers, not so lucky.

If you’ve been looking for as long as you say, place an order and get what you want.

MB

Ordering seems to be the general consensus to get exactly what I want. I'm pretty patient, but 3+ months is a long time to wait! I seem to read more and more about Fords holding up better, but have never owned one because I never liked their diesels. And now I don't even need a diesel, so the 7.3 gas has me intrigued.
Thanks for your reply, sir.

 

[BigJack601]

I was in the same boat as you! Had to order mine. Lariat Ultimate, winch, dual batteries/alternators, no carpet, no sunroof, 5th wheel/gooseneck prep, 7.3

 

[RAVAGE88]

I take good care of my vehicles, so it's not the greatest concern, but I wish they offered a darker gray or charcoal/black cloth that would potentially show less grime. I guess I could buy some nice seat covers.
I got a good deal on my Ram, and I always had Cummins, so that was my direction when I bought mine. But the diesel emissions stuff worries me long term, especially when the OEMs don't warranty any of that stuff for long enough, IMO.

I'll look at the XLT when it comes in and then see what I think.
Thank you also for your perspective!

Carhart or WeatherTech Seat Covers can be thrown in the washing machine. I have leather seats and use seat covers....wear and tear is controllable.

MB

 

[RAVAGE88]

Ordering seems to be the general consensus to get exactly what I want. I'm pretty patient, but 3+ months is a long time to wait! I seem to read more and more about Fords holding up better, but have never owned one because I never liked their diesels. And now I don't even need a diesel, so the 7.3 gas has me intrigued.
Thanks for your reply, sir.

I squeezed 97,000 miles out of the tires and brakes on my 2004 F-250 SD. People find it hard to believe, but like I stated above, wear and tear can be controlled.

MB

 

[PapaRaptor]

I take good care of my vehicles, so it's not the greatest concern, but I wish they offered a darker gray or charcoal/black cloth that would potentially show less grime. I guess I could buy some nice seat covers.
I got a good deal on my Ram, and I always had Cummins, so that was my direction when I bought mine. But the diesel emissions stuff worries me long term, especially when the OEMs don't warranty any of that stuff for long enough, IMO.

I'll look at the XLT when it comes in and then see what I think.
Thank you also for your perspective!

I agree love the Cummins but everything else on those trucks would always go to hell. The Ram has good styling too. They look cool.

I have my "personal" work truck ( 2000 Chevy 3500 HD) Real base, I got a camo seat cover from Cabela's because the seat is light grey ( bench). I put chain saws and tools on the seat, muddy dogs sometimes, I eat and drink and sloop food on it. Holds up great, looks great. If It smells like "wet dog" I can pull it off and put in the washer. I only keep the old truck so I don't have to do bad ( messy) work things in my Lariat Tremor. The truck is probably not worth anything so I just keep it.
Check out some of the seat cover options, they are made well and hold up, you can change them out too.

 

[Cropgun]

Ordering one is most likely what I'll do if I don't find anything soon. I guess with the cost of a new vehicle, I have a really high expectations, but they're made by humans, and quality control is done by humans, so if they're having a bad day, then you get problems no matter what brand. My current truck has been pretty good, but scared to make the switch I guess...
I really appreciate your perspective

I completely understand how you feel about paying that amount of money and then something being not perfect. I went with the Lariat ultimate with a powerstroke and I still can't believe a truck can be that expensive.

But like you said, the human factor is involved so mistakes are inevitable. My dad bought a new off the lot Denali and it has been in the shop a few times fixing things like power seats and other small annoyances.

 

[Shiftman]

I think if I can live with not having a heated wheel (not sure if this is possible?), then I can be ok with an XLT. Some seatcovers to preserve the cloth, and the rest of the options added on to get where I want.
I've also considered a non-Tremor with 4.30 gears, but if I have to special order, might as well go to Tremor!

 

[Cropgun]

I think if I can live with not having a heated wheel (not sure if this is possible?), then I can be ok with an XLT. Some seatcovers to preserve the cloth, and the rest of the options added on to get where I want.
I've also considered a non-Tremor with 4.30 gears, but if I have to special order, might as well go to Tremor!

Something else to consider is that some options can be added later in a weekend in your garage. A heated wheel is one of those things. There are guys putting raptor steering wheels in these trucks already. Its a matter of a new wheel and a wiring harness. Doesn't seem too complicated. Can't have adaptive steering though.

 

[inthegap18]

I think if I can live with not having a heated wheel (not sure if this is possible?), then I can be ok with an XLT. Some seatcovers to preserve the cloth, and the rest of the options added on to get where I want.
I've also considered a non-Tremor with 4.30 gears, but if I have to special order, might as well go to Tremor!

I wont be without the heated steering wheel but then, Im from Michigan
I work at night and i just hit the start on fordpass
Wheel and seats are toasty when i head home
Just giving u my input, get the lariat...you get nice packages for reasonable price
I love mine

 

[Shiftman]

Something else to consider is that some options can be added later in a weekend in your garage. A heated wheel is one of those things. There are guys putting raptor steering wheels in these trucks already. Its a matter of a new wheel and a wiring harness. Doesn't seem too complicated. Can't have adaptive steering though.

Oh wow, I didn't know folks were doing this, and it looks like a viable option for me for sure. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[DanMan583]

I've been looking at Ford's website, searching dealer inventory for about a month. None of the trucks have all the options I want, or they have a sunroof, which I absolutely do not want. I've looked at XLTs and Lariats. The XLTs with Premium package are OK, except for a couple things:

1: I'm still not sure on the Light Gray cloth interior...It looks cheap and easy to stain... something out of an econobox rental car--There's no comparison to the Sport Cloth seats in my Ram 2500 SLT (Bighorn). Why do they not offer nicer seats on an XLT Truck like they do on an XLT Expedition?
Can some folks with XLTs comment on how the seats are holding up as far as wear and tear, in addition to keeping them clean?

2: Can't get dual zone automatic climate control or heated wheel in XLT (both are in my Ram)
Not sure if i can do without the heated wheel, although I had trucks without it for years, just didn't know what I was missing.
I think I'm alright with the single zone climate, as I'm solo 90% of the time.


So, I started looking at Lariats:
Not a single Tremor that I've looked at in the Southeast has a heated wheel or rear heated seats. I understand about the option 60W Rain sensing wipers, which apparently nobody at a Ford dealer seems to know about. Come on, Ford! These are both standard on a Ram Laramie. I'm not trying to crap on Ford, but for them to charge a premium price over Ram, it seems like the options would be better--or equivalent. Whether or not the difference in quality is better, I can't say. I can only speak for my current truck, which has had a couple issues, but they were taken care of for the most part.

Another problem is, I can't justify the price difference between the sale (or trade-in) of my current truck to buy a loaded Lariat like I want. So an XLT with added options is more in my price range.
I found one XLT, which should arrive by end of month., that checks off the main things that I want in an XLT. But not sure if I can live with the gray cloth seats or not.


So, this has me considering special ordering a truck. But if it came in with some of the QC related issues that others have posted, I would be pretty upset. Plus, the whole waiting game. I was really hoping to find a truck that I could live with on a dealer lot and I could inspect it thoroughly and then walk away if needed.
Can some of ya'll awesome guys help me out? Maybe I just need a different perspective?

I have an XLT Tremor, 2020. When I was shopping I did not want leather seats and wanted the gray interior. Ordered a truck in February. Due to COVID , all orders got stuck down along with the plants. There was no ETA on startup, so I started looking hard at dealer inventory. Found an XLT Tremor that had about 97% of the options I wanted but the interior was Camel. Figured I’d go look at it, and at least drive it.

I took it home next day. The Camel Color is mixed in with black accents and looks awesome. Seats are Scotchguard from the factory. They have held up great fo 10 months so far. I just put a Carhartt seat cover on, (it was my Christmas gift) I’m solo 90% of the time too. But I like it so much I’m ordering another fir the passenger side.

The XLT was loaded, had Nav, Heated & Powered seats, it was actually nicer than what I wanted but I got a great deal on it. It does not look like a work truck on the inside at all.

 

[ICT Tremor]

Lariat, plus Value Package, plus 60W (includes heated wheel) is a lot of content for the dollar if you don't load up from there, at least in the context of the Ford Super Duties.

XLT trim is pretty down-market with respect to what it compares to for the money with GM and especially Ram. Can get a well-equipped XLT in basically all of Ford's other trucks and SUV's, but in the SD's they really keep it modest. A Lariat with minimal options is a far better value, content-wise, especially up against a loaded up XLT.

Ford is proud of the SD's when it comes to pricing - and apparently demand allows them to be. I was between the Ford F350 and the Ram 3500, and I'm not sure how much I would have saved on the equivalent/competitive Ram over the Ford as I decided on the Ford pretty early, but I'd hazard a guess it's somewhere between $5K and $10K. That's a chunk of money to most folks.

 

[Shiftman]

I have an XLT Tremor, 2020. When I was shopping I did not want leather seats and wanted the gray interior. Ordered a truck in February. Due to COVID , all orders got stuck down along with the plants. There was no ETA on startup, so I started looking hard at dealer inventory. Found an XLT Tremor that had about 97% of the options I wanted but the interior was Camel. Figured I’d go look at it, and at least drive it.

I took it home next day. The Camel Color is mixed in with black accents and looks awesome. Seats are Scotchguard from the factory. They have held up great fo 10 months so far. I just put a Carhartt seat cover on, (it was my Christmas gift) I’m solo 90% of the time too. But I like it so much I’m ordering another fir the passenger side.

The XLT was loaded, had Nav, Heated & Powered seats, it was actually nicer than what I wanted but I got a great deal on it. It does not look like a work truck on the inside at all.

That actually looks really good with the black contrast. Thanks for the photos.

The one I'm going to be looking at (coming in at end of month) has the light gray interior. It is equipped pretty well and has XLT Premium pkg, Chrome pkg, Navigation, roof clearance lights, Pwr sliding rear window, UTT Camera Pro backup assist, Remote Start, LED box lighting, upfitter switches, rear wheel well liners, adjustable pedals, tailgate step, and full center console. I would pick most of these options on my build.
The only things I would add are 5th wheel prep, spray in bedliner, front wheel well liners, and front/rear splash guards. I can add all of these afterwards with no problem, as I would do B&W turnover gooseneck hitch, Line-X or Bullet Liner, OEM front wheel well liners, and either OEM or RokBlokz splash guards.
Now that I know that its possible to add the heated wheel after the fact (even though its expensive), it makes me feel better about the XLT.

 

[Shiftman]

Lariat, plus Value Package, plus 60W (includes heated wheel) is a lot of content for the dollar if you don't load up from there, at least in the context of the Ford Super Duties.

XLT trim is pretty down-market with respect to what it compares to for the money with GM and especially Ram. Can get a well-equipped XLT in basically all of Ford's other trucks and SUV's, but in the SD's they really keep it modest. A Lariat with minimal options is a far better value, content-wise, especially up against a loaded up XLT.

Ford is proud of the SD's when it comes to pricing - and apparently demand allows them to be. I was between the Ford F350 and the Ram 3500, and I'm not sure how much I would have saved on the equivalent/competitive Ram over the Ford as I decided on the Ford pretty early, but I'd hazard a guess it's somewhere between $5K and $10K. That's a chunk of money to most folks.

Agreed on ALL your points. I 'd like to find a Lariat with Value Package and 60W, in either white or Silver. If I could, then I'd seriously consider it.