by "ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
Published 05/02/2017 at 19:30
by "ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
Published 05/02/2017 at 19:30
No Tags
STARS: 14
Well Oppo, I’ve gone and done a thing. I purchased a new 2017 F-150. Sport package, 2wd, 2.7l ecoboost, 6spd auto, 3.73 gears with the electric locking rear end, tow package, all the usual power accessories, ect... I always thought my first aluminum bodied vehicle with a twin-turbo V-6 would be something very different, but it turned out to be pickup truck. Go figure.
FAQ:
What will it do?
This will become my daily driver along with being the tool that gets the boat to the lake and (most importantly) gets the racecar to the track.
Why?
I’ve made the decision that I’m going to play with the racecar again. Knowing full well what it costs in both time and money to play with the racecar, I realized that I was going to have to make some changes to the fleet to make it happen. Playing with an old racecar, that is transported on a rusty ass old trailer, being towed with an old GMT400 Escalade and daily driving a very nice but also very old corvette just wasn’t going to happen. At some point, I would run out of time, energy and/or money trying to sustain that maintenance and repair effort over the long term. The reality is that playing racecar probably means driving a tow vehicle to work (which is what I did the first time around and never once though that trade off wasn’t worthwhile), and my old Escalade is not that vehicle over the long term.
This configuration?
The initial plan had me kicking around the idea of picking a slightly used F-150 ecoboost, but then I realized how expensive they are in any kind of non-work truck configuration. With my tow vehicle being a lightly loaded commuter most of the time and weekend tow vehicle when needed, an lightweight aluminum bodied truck with a small displacement turbo engine starts to make a lot of sense. When I took a hard look at what I really needed out of truck and what would be the smallest, lightest and cheapest thing that does what I need it to do, this was the answer I came up with. Because I don’t need a backseat, and I don’t care to pay for fancy new, I began to realize that new just might be an option (and it would mean I could get exactly what I wanted).
I didn’t know you were in Sherman, TX?
I’m not. Being me, I came up with something very, very specific that I wanted. It turned out that a sport package regular cab, short bed, 2wd, short locking rear end, full tow package and integrated trailer brake controller is NOT a common configuration at all. With tall gears there were suitable trucks out there, but I wasn’t in the market for a truck with a 3.15 or 3.33 gears. It turns out that my local dealers were not overly enthusiastic about ordering an odd little configuration, and there were a couple of trucks close to what I wanted West of the Mississippi. This truck turned out the be both the closest to what I would’ve orderd, the closest geographically and the cheapest. I learned that Ford’s rebates and incentives vary significantly by region. This truck had 3k more in incentives than it would in the El Paso area, and the dealer seemed to want to sell this truck on top of that. While I would have ordered a different color (looking at you, Lightning Blue), this was a good enough deal to be worth buying a plane ticket to DFW and driving back to El Paso. I wasn’t really planning to do the great car exchange of 2017 quite so soon, but everything fell into place for this to happen.
What is it like buying a car long distance?
It was, by far, the best and easiest car transaction I have ever had. Also, Tom McParland was right. Email is a fantastic way to negotiate over a car. It is certainly way more fun than doing so in person. You can respond to an offer, respond latter to an offer or ignore them all together as you fancy. I contacted their internet manger and worked from there negotiating out the door price with an itemized breakdown of everything. Over a couple of days we came to an agreement on all terms (price, travel, ect..) and then the finance guy called me. I cut him off 10 seconds into his pitch to point out that I would not be financing through them, nor would I be purchasing any accessories, extras, warranties or service contracts of any kind. He then prepared the paper work to reflect the exact numbers negotiated on.
Once that was hammered out, I called my bank and got a loan for the difference after my down payment. It has been a long time since I had a car loan of any kind, but it turns out being an middle-aged adult with really good credit makes getting a loan a lot easier than when I was younger. I used State Farm Bank, and the process works through my local insurance agent. After unfreezing all my credit reports, I called them up and had a loan in about five minutes. The conversation was only very slightly more complicated than “Hi, I would like to borrow some money.” They responded with basically “Sure. How much money would you like to borrow?” Then on Thursday afternoon, I took off work a bit early and stopped by my local agent’s office. I signed the papers and in about 15 minuets I had bank draft made out to the dealer and an insurance policy on the new truck. Later on Thursday night, it was slightly weird to realize that I had a loan against and an insurance policy on a vehicle I had never actually seen in person.
On Friday morning I got a ride to the El Paso airport and got selected to be felt up by a TSA agent who lacked a sense of humor. Once I was done being publicly molested, I boarded an American Airlines 737 to Dallas where the dealership’s driver picked me up on 2017 Subaru Legacy and took me about 60 miles North to Sherman. Once at the dealership, the process was so smooth and fast that I still can’t fully believe it happened.
We pulled up and I was met by the Sales Rep the internet manager handed the final transaction off to. The truck was waiting out front, and he asked if I wanted to drive it. I declined the test drive, but spent a couple of minutes going over the interior and exterior ensuring that nothing was out of sorts or damaged. We then went inside to the finance guy’s office. As promised (and to my surprise) he actually did have everything ready to go and prepared exactly per the agreement and exactly as the advanced copies I had him send me. I signed the purchase order, registration paperwork and odometer disclosure statement and then gave him my check for the down payment, the bank draft for the remainder and the insurance binder. He then gave me the keys and my copies of the documents. The sales guy asked if I wanted any demonstrations of features on the truck or help setting anything up, which I politely declined. I then tipped the driver who picked my up from DFW, and then got in my truck and drove to the the rib restaurant across the street for lunch. I was literally at the dealership for less than 15 minuets.
How was the drive back?
I drove first to Dallas and spent the night eating BBQ and drinking quality beer at variety of breweries with one of my best friends who happens to be a brewer and manager at one of Dallas’s bigger new breweries. After a hearty breakfast at the Gold Rush Cafe the next morning, I set out for Abilene. Another friend of mine is a very talented Blues musician who now lives on the family land in Eula, TX. I spent an afternoon and evening Bluesing it up and drinking with him and a friend of his. I got up Sunday morning and drove back to El Paso a very happy camper.
How is the truck?
In short, fantastic. I really like it, and it should work very well for what I’m going to do with it. Ford makes a nice truck, and that little ecoboost motor is no joke. Between the motor, my truck’s short gears and its just over 4,000lbs curb weight, it down right boogies. Acceleration is very much similar to my LT1/6 speed corvette. When not driving into a 20-40mph sustained head wind, highway fuel economy is in the low 20's with a brand new motor and exposed pickup bed (17-18mpg into the head wind). It should do nicely, and I fully believe Jalopnik’s previous 5.7 second 0-60 test of a 2.7l ecoboost F-150 in a considerably heavier configuration than mine.
What about the rest of my fleet?
My parents are actually going to buy my old escalade and use it as their very occasional towing, inclement weather and hauling stuff/big objects vehicle. It will replace their not nearly as nice 94 Dakota (5.2l, extended cab, 4X4, slt, 2 owner, 196k but everything works including the A/C). They’ve got that for sale if any oppos are looking for an ugly, but useful old Dakota in the Abq area. Once I get the escalade up to them and settled, I’ll be listing the corvette for sale. If any oppos are looking for a nice LT1/ 6 speed C4, I’ve got one for sale. I’ve also got a pending sale to a friend on my rusty old trailer that will be replaced with a new one.
Turbos are fun, and they gave me a reason to go visit some folks I dearly miss seeing on a daily basis. I also learned that doing almost every part of the transaction in advance makes buying a car from a dealership a lot more fun.
"jimz" (jimz)
05/02/2017 at 19:39, STARS: 3
two things:
1) if things go to plan, I will probably be moving from my Ranger to the diesel F-150 when it comes out.
2) consider this: out of 2.7 liters, your truck has only 20 lb-ft less torque output than the 7.5 liter (460 c.i.) V8 in the 1997 F-250. It also has only 50 lb-ft less torque than the 7.3 liter diesel of that year. And you have a ton more horsepower.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/02/2017 at 19:41, STARS: 1
Indeed. It has 25 more hp and 35 lb-ft more torque than my corvette. The turbo lag is not much. It ought to tow very nicely.
"jimz" (jimz)
05/02/2017 at 19:45, STARS: 2
the EcoBoost engines use small turbos which spool up insanely fast. unfortunately that limits high-rpm power but for a truck, who cares?
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
05/02/2017 at 19:55, STARS: 1
Getting older and having good credit is awesome. 8 years ago I got my first car loan, and only got it because they screwed me into a 17% interest rate, which at the time I didn’t even understand. , because you don’t learn anything useful in high school. I ended up selling the car 9 months later because it was cheaper than attempting to pay off that load on schedule. A month a go I went to get pre-approved for a home loan and it was like, “yes, no problem here’s an awesome interest rate, a please do business with us.”
"BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo" (bluemazda2)
05/02/2017 at 19:57, STARS: 2
ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US.
My dad just bought a new 2016 F150 SuperCrew XLT Sport 2.7 EcoBoost in January to replace his 215k mile 2004 Ranger Edge SuperCab 3.0 V6 5 speed manual.
I got 5.8 with my dad in the passenger seat timing it on Costco regular gas.
I’m actually contemplating getting one over a 3-Series.
"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
05/02/2017 at 20:01, STARS: 2
I fully believe Jalopnik’s previous 5.7 second 0-60 test of a 2.7l ecoboost F-150 in a considerably heavier configuration than mine.
that’s FAST! To me, at least. Sounds like a lot of fun to drive. Good luck with it!
"facw" (facw)
05/02/2017 at 20:04, STARS: 0
Ouch 17%?!? I guess it works for credit card companies but offering someone a car loan at that rate seems like a sure way to end up having the debtor default.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/02/2017 at 20:04, STARS: 1
While it doesn’t corner anything like a sports car, it does get with the program when you step on the skinny pedal. It still causes a bit of dissonance for me that my pickup truck boogies like it does.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
05/02/2017 at 20:12, STARS: 0
Yup, but I was 19 with no credit history, a minimum wage part time job, and it was a 10 year old car.
In 9 months of paying 135 bucks a month, I had only paid off 800 dollars. I sold the car for what I owned and never looked back.
"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
05/02/2017 at 20:16, STARS: 0
Right, let alone a stock one! Good turbo noises from the exterior too, I’ve heard a good whoooosshhhh from one of these at a stop sign before
"facw" (facw)
05/02/2017 at 20:16, STARS: 0
Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it is smart to offer you a loan in the first place (aside from horrible buy here, pay here places that are just itching to repossess their shitbox so they can sell it to the next sucker), and it definitely wasn’t smart for you to take it (as you quickly discovered).
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
05/02/2017 at 20:25, STARS: 1
Yeah, I had borrowed the money to buy the car from my girlfriend’s dad on the terms that within the week I’d get a loan and pay him back, plus it was the car I wanted and needed. So I didn’t car about the terms I just wanted a loan. Plus I had a friend who was a managaer at this credit union so she pulled strings just to get me a loan at all. The high interest rate is insurance for the lender tho, so even if you only make payments for 6 months they still make money. I just did the math and in that 9 months I paid 415 dollars in interest. Ouch.
In stark contrast the last time I got a car loan I got a 1.9% interest rate, and paid it off in half the term.
"BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind" (briangriffinsprius)
05/02/2017 at 20:29, STARS: 0
This is the truck that I’d buy, if I was going to buy a new truck. Thoughts about tuning the engine to get it to move even faster?
"Verdog ~ manual Bro, Bro - HellHawk Equipped" (verdog)
05/02/2017 at 20:33, STARS: 1
I have declined test drives when initially shopping, but NEVER on the final pick. I know its under warranty, but YIKES.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/02/2017 at 21:07, STARS: 1
If you’ve driven one newer F-150, which I did, then you’ve pretty much driven them all. I drove an extended cab, 2wd, XLT with the same motor a few months months back and poked around a variety of crew cab XL sports to get a feel for materials and finishes, so I knew what I was getting. With 2 miles on the odometer, I wasn’t too worried about what might have happened before I owned it. Anything seriously wrong that could’ve jeopardized the sale would’ve presented itself when I inspected it upon arrival. Anything not serious would’ve made itself known on the drive home and could’ve been taken care of by a local dealer when I got home.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/02/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 1
From a practical standpoint, I wouldn’t even consider it for next five years or 60,000 miles. From a realistic standpoint, it doesn’t need it. At least with an unloaded bed, traction is my limiting factor. With the traction and stability control turned off, it will step sideways rolling hard on to the skinny pedal at 60mph. I think it would need more rubber to do anything with more power. My escalade was adequately powered for my towing needs, and this has 70 more hp and 35 more ft/lbs of torque than it while having a shorter rear end, two more gears in the tranny and weighing 1500lbs less.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
05/02/2017 at 21:25, STARS: 1
Nice truck!
"Racin'Jason001" (racinjason001)
05/02/2017 at 21:40, STARS: 1
Nice choice! Congrats on your new DD!
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
05/02/2017 at 22:09, STARS: 1
My friend would tow his race cars with a double decker trailer he welded up himself using a twenty year-old pickup. He also got kicked off a track after running 8s in a car he built, not realizing he needed an NHRA license, so he might be special.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/02/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 1
Good to know. The truck is nearly silent inside.
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/02/2017 at 22:28, STARS: 0
Um yeah so I’m gonna be in Albuquerque in 2 weeks for vacation (flying to ABQ then driving to Santa Fe, assuming I actually decide on what car to rent). I wonder how much my wife would murder me if I looked at that Dakota...
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/02/2017 at 22:29, STARS: 1
Also, I always forget these regular cabs exist. I see maybe one for every 100 extended and crew cabs out there.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/02/2017 at 23:01, STARS: 1
I have no real need for a crew cab, so my initial thoughts were an extended cab. However, the more I thought about it the less I was able to come up with a good reason why a regular cab wouldn’t work for me. I’ll put a cab height camper shell on it, so the dogs will have a safe place to ride that won’t involve me having to remind them that neither of them is old enough to drive as they try and climb in my lap on the interstate. It was also lighter and cheaper. My whole thought process on this truck was centered around what I actually need, which is different. Most of my previous truck purchases have been more about what I could get.
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/02/2017 at 23:36, STARS: 0
Oh yeah I’ve got no problem with the regular cab on a full size. It just seems like a dying breed even if a lot of people would be just fine with one. I’m OK with the death of the regular cab smaller trucks though. I’ve driven both regular and extended Rangers/S10's and owned an extended cab S10 and having the extra room in there is nice at 6'2".
"gawdzillla" (gawdzillla)
05/03/2017 at 12:09, STARS: 0
congrats ~! so how much did u paid ?
and whats the tow rating with those gears ?
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/03/2017 at 14:40, STARS: 2
8600lbs tow rating. I was $22,600 and change out the door.
"gawdzillla" (gawdzillla)
05/03/2017 at 15:16, STARS: 0
very nice
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
05/05/2017 at 23:38, STARS: 0
NP
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/07/2017 at 17:26, STARS: 0
I don’t know if it will still be around, but https://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/6121654784.html
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/08/2017 at 08:49, STARS: 0
Thanks. Unfortunately, my wife shot it down. She doesn’t want anything extra to worry about during vacation. I imagine you won’t need me to get it sold - looks like a pretty solid truck and priced right.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/08/2017 at 10:20, STARS: 0
Thanks. He’s got a sale pending.
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/08/2017 at 11:06, STARS: 0
Alright good deal!
"Makoyouidiot" (makaan12)
05/19/2017 at 23:05, STARS: 1
Ahh it’s a boat and racecar tower, I see now.