Thanks for taking a moment of your time..
I have finally settled on a particular F250 that I want... now the question is... Where do I go to get the best deal? Does anyone have any advice regarding online car sites? How about what should I be looking for in a dealership? ANY help would be greatly appreciated.... as I dont wanna get "bent over." thanks
-SmegZ

 

Hello Smegz

I to am new here but I can tell you what I have found. First, go to www.kbb.com, www.vehix.com and www.edmunds.com to find out what the model you want should cost. I did this so now I can walk into the dealer and not get taken advantage of since I know all the numbers to the letter. I myself have a trade in, so at kbb.com, I was able to get the trade-in value. It all helps.

I got a pleasant surprise today. The Ford dealer I went to just put almost all the 250 and 350s on sale. They have a sweet 350 with everything, only thing is that its white for $25,895...its a 2000 so thats why. Does anyone else think this is an awesome price for a 350 S/C 4x4 with a V10?

Geez, I sounded like an idiot. I had more typos in my post than I can accept. LOL

[This message has been edited by BigOne (edited 04-19-2001).]

 

Smegz: Big One has already mentioned the sites to check out. (nice job Big One!!!) The best thing you can do for yourself is to get all the info you can. Also do search and read up on past members and how they did it. Read Big One's last few topics, they mostly answer all your questions.


BigOne: that price seems pretty good to me. I haven't checked the prices with kbb but by just thinking back to what I paid for my truck, it sounds like a very fair price for that V10 4x4. You can always put some fancy decals on the side of all that white paint. That's what I did on my Green CrewCab.

------------------
2k F250 CC SWB 6 speed 4x2 Diesel XLT Super Duty, Woodland Green
Power Mirrors, 3.73 LS, Captains Chairs, ARE tonneau top, rear privacy glass
TT Pkg, Class IV hitch, sliding rear window, running boards, mud flaps
265/75/16 AS OWL tires, am/fm/cassette/cd, rechargable MagLite
Clarion APA 5240 amp, Memphis speakers:Components front, 5x7 rear, 10"sub
SuperChip, Stepshields, Ventshields on windows, rubber bed mat
rugged liner bedliner on tailgate, quick disconnect jumper cables
unaFORDable (decal on tailgate) Western Diesel Turbo Brake (whoa boy)
Finally gauges!!: Pyrometer & Boost on the A-Pillar mount

 

Hi SmegZ

You didnt say if that was out the door price?
Looks good.

Use those sites listed KBB, Edmonds etc.

Dealer used same exact info. i had got from those sites. Thats the invoice they talk about. I got prices from brokers, about 400.00 less than a dealer. So dont overlook brokers.

Price it out just the way you want it, take that with you, cause dealer gonna show you the same thing, or at least they did to me. Tell them you just want to buy at a fair price, its just business, but you gotta pay attention.

I think Ford may have overproduced the 2001 SD, cause they flooded the market here with them. Anyway loaded F250 XLT SD 4X4 V10 with not all but alot of options: 32589.00 out the door, 2001 model. Another dealer 32369. & broker 400.00 less. But im sure that price gonna vary, has to! So that price you got on 2000 seems pretty good to me.

Take your time. Shop-Shop-Shop to ya drop!
Decided to keep my 99SC. Think my next will be PSD.(3742.00 more)

Bottom line, lots of good info. here & experiences, all different, , so pay attention, etc.

Good luck OT

 

Oppps! Sorry guys. Got Smerz & Big One thrown together. My mistake.

But guess you get the point im trying to make. Hey Tina, hows that PSD holding up??

Have a good one. OT

 

BigOne, Tina, & OldTimer - Thanks for the replies!
Looks like I am in the right place for some support! You Guys (and Gals) are very helpful and I will be checking your suggestions....
You guys sure seem to have found some sweet deals.... in comparison to the www.fordvehicle.com website....
thanks again!
-SmegZ

 

Tell me about it. When I was looking for a new truck at Fords site, I was getting a little depressed over the MSRPs I was seeing when I built the one I want. LOL I started to think they were overpriced until I started looking around. KBB, Vehix, and Edmunds are really the sites to have bookmarked when dealing with vehicles. Now my next big "project" is to find as many Ford dealers within a 100 mile radius of me so I can check their inventory.

Can someone answer me this...Almost all of the Ford dealerships I am checking out online have mostly XLs and hardly any XLTs. They seem to be priced too high and white seems to be the prevailing color. Has anyone else dealt with a dealers online inventory only to find it was incorrect once you actually went to the dealer? Most don't offer photos of the specific truck (only the generic ones from Ford), most don't list "their" selling price, only MSRP, and most have very limited ammounts of 250/350s.
I really hate the thought of having to go to each dealership looking for the one I want. I also have not received ONE reply for a quote from the 3 different dealers I submitted a request to. Go figure, I guess they don't want the business.

 

BigOne,
It's pretty darn disconcerting to hear your experiences; especially when you consider that you are potentially putting out a huge chunk of $$$ for one of these bad boys... I have noticed that the prevailing color in general is WHITE (havent noticed your observation about XL models tho - noticed that most have NO F350's). I know that most companies in "general" don't seem to care about updating their website, and for some reason I can't seem to picture somebody at the local dealership keeping meticulous care as to what is and isnot listed online...maybe I am wrong....

Unfortunately I am about 4 weeks away from getting my master's degree, am in MEGA debt, and am trying to figure out the best deal that I can get (shouldn't be so hard, right?) I hope I don't have the same experiences as you bud - who wants to do all that lookin'!

take care and keep me posted!
-SmegZ

 

Old Timer: thanks for asking about how my PSD is doing. It's doing just great, NO THANKS TO FORD!!! A couple of weeks ago I had a stumbling/shutting off problem. Researched it over on the diesel board and these type of things are usually caused by a faulty campshaft position synsor. I had the check engine lite come on too so I knew it was throwing codes to the PCM. Took it to Ford, explained that I have a chip and I'd pulled it out. But that I didn't clear the codes. They told me not to clear the codes and to bring it in for them to check. Then they proceeded to check the codes. Well of course they come up with some conflicting codes but I was hoping they would look past that to find out why the truck was stumbling. Nope!! Canceled my warrenty on the PCM on the spot!! Said I needed a new one that the old one was fried. Naturally I questioned that because I'd driven the truck there. They wanted to charge me $550 (an estimate) for the new PCM!! I told them to get me my truck. Still I had to pay $120 for labor/dianostic. I went home and called Mike T. He asured me that if my computer was fried that one, the truck would not be running (as there are very slim chances of a fried computer being able to run) and that I could send him the PCM & chip and they would check it out. He also said that if it was bad, they would replace the PCM & Chip. Long story- short story, I'm still driving my "so called fried" PCM with the chip in. The truck drives GREAT. I haven't had any stumbling since I removed the chip and drove a few days without it. (I probably just had a loose connection) I'm so mad at my dealer that I bad mouth them every chance I get (like now) And if anyone wants to read an even worse story than mine then go over to www.ford-diesel.com engine & drivetrain section, throwing codes (and a list of codes) topic. This poor guy had the exact same thing happen to him only he didn't get his truck out of there and they charged him $1500 to replace his PCM.

OK, I've ranted enough. Bottom line, my truck runs great. We pulled our trailer to Raleigh two weeks ago. Ran great. Last weekend we went to Myrtle beach with the trailer. Again, pulled and ran great. It's amazing how goooood a fried computer can run!!!

 

Londonblueback;
Interesting perspective. There are alot of different viewpoints and opinions here - that's what is so great about this site! We all have different wants/needs for our trucks. Best of luck to you!

------------------
'00 F250XLT 4x4CrewCab V106.8L Auto 156
Island Blue/Silver
[*]Off-Rd Package[*]3.73LS [*]Hvy Serv.Susp.[*]Shift-on-the-fly[*]LT265/75Rx16E AT Tires[*]Class IV hitch[*]DrawTight Activator II Trailer Brake[*]cloth split bench [*]power seats[*]rear slider [*]privacy glass [*]clearance lights[*]Line-X bedliner[*]Leer Canopy

coming soon: K&N filter

 

Tina,
as you know I am a newbie
here's my newbie question (#344):
>>>>What's a PCM?
PSD = Power Stroke Diesel (got that one)
thanks

-SmegZ

 

Hi Tina

Glad you called Mike T. re: pcm & chip. Im still learning about chip in my 99SC.

Hey, i sometimes learn as i go, this is one of those times. "appreciate your reply" as i can tell it was p*ss*d off time,for good reasons.

I need to get clear so bear with me. My truck under warrnaty. I just realized, anyone can read this public forum, oh well--

OK--Truck underwarranty. Schip installed. T.light comes on, maybe same time as you notice something aint right. Ok, gonna go to dealer. You take out chip before you go to dealer.

What else, if anything, would you do differently before going in??If you do battery disconnect, that would clear the trouble codes? & if you dont, then schip program might still be in pcm, even thou you took chip out? You told dealer. Yeah, i can see where that got you.

Is there another way to approach this. Take chip out & do what before you go to dealer? Hope you understand what im trying to ask!

I know Mike T. said if chip ever fried a PCM, they would make it good.

Looks like you had a temp. problem that went away, or the "Fried PCM" corrected itself.

You might not want to go to that dealer again.


Ok. Good luck Thanks OT

PS: London, you make your choice & go for it. Think BD, pretty much says it.

SmegZ---"PCM" Power train control module"

Ok, have a good one.

 

I've been visiting and enjoying this site
for the last week. I've learned a lot, and
all in all, enjoyed the hours I've wasted
thumbing through the threads.
The most surprising things to me have been:
1. the amount of pride and puffery that has
been exhibited over things like air cleaners,
faux headers, superchips, Amsoil, foglites,
etc.
2. The abuse that guys are subjecting their
new trucks to in off road racing, street racing.

New vehicles are terribly expensive--
parts are expensive. To abuse stuff and
continuously drive it to the max and then
complain about noises, leaks, costs of repairs seems more than a little like
spoiled children and their toys to me.


I don't know what the average income
is for people spending $25 to $35K for a truck. I don't know if they are saving for
a house, OR retirement. I do know that to
pay off a car loan at %7 .25 of $25K over
sixty months you are going to paying just
shy of $500. Now, in order to have $500
after taxes you are going to need to gross
around $730. Add another $200 a month for
insurance, Add another $200 for gas (remember these are after tax dollars you are
spending) All in all, this $25K truck is
going to cost you somewhere around $1500
a month gross income. It will take two
weeks of your labor at $25/hr per month for
the next 5 years to pay for this thing--not
including, service, parts, add ons, tires, etc.
Seems like a pretty big sacrifice to me.
I'm old, 51. The 1990 F150 I just retired
had 200,000 miles on it. It still ran as
a daily driver. It was starting to need
somethings--paint(thanks Ford), brakes, transmission work, injectors, engine still
had 150psi per cylinder +/-.
I found a 98 F250, 5.4, 4R100tranny, LS diff,
ABS/4 wheel disc, air, long bed (have to have
for work), new tires, brakes just done, immaculate body and interior, Gemtop steel
canopy ($2175 list on the Gemtop website)
fleet vehicle, high mileage 120K for $8700.
If I subtract the top, which is better than
I would have bought, but still would have
spend at least another $1000 on a canopy.
I figure the truck cost me $7700. With
$3K downpayment, I'm at 36 payments of
$200/month--since I use it for work, I'll
deduct that as a business expense, bringing
my cost down to closer to $140 a month.
Of course, I also save on insurance.
Finally, the point I want to make: We
are all guilty of doing things that didn't
make a lot of sense when we looked back at
them from somewhere in the future.
Regards,
LBB.

 

Smegz:PCM also called the computer or black box

Old Timer: My dealer knows I have a chip. Head service guy has even asked for info on it. So when I start having these shut offs, I go there, chip's still in. They tell me to remove it and not to clear any codes so that if the camshaft position synsor has throwed a code, it will show up. What I didn't know is some of the stuff that I've been reading over on the diesel board. Quite a few people are finding that the dealerships are really looking for "anything" to void your warrenty. They basicly had me pegged from the moment I walked in the door. Probably were in the back discussing how to write up the final ticket.
The only way I know of to get rid of the codes is to clear them. You can do a reset by disconnecting the batteries (remember I've got two of them) and turning on your headlights for 5 minutes. It will reset to original program if you have the chip out. As far as Ford not being able to tell. They only have to look at your PCM. Remember, you had to clean the terminals. They see clean terminals and want to know why. At this point I would recomend that you lie through your teeth and say you haven't got a clue why it's clean. I've always been upfront and honest with my dealer and you see where it got me.

 

Hi Tina

Tks. for the reply. But,"Fried PCM" that one surprised me. I guess the good news, you had good sense to get out of there & not get soaked for new PCM. Uhmmmmmmm?

Turned out you were right. I know, been to alot of Ford dealers, no two alike, so, at least you know what to more or less expect from your current dealer/ser.dept.

Almost bought PSD, neighbor has 99, only problem so far, blew somekind hose off turbo, lost alot of power, just a quick fix, otherwise, no problems.
Thinkin about test driving one again.

Good luck. OT