New F-350

[TheLexx]

If you dread negotiating in person with the salepeople, then do your shopping by email. That's what I did. I emailed tons of dealers before I found the right color, options and price. Every dealer has an internet salesperson nowadays. So don't be afraid to drive your hardest bargain online.

Then once you get your deal, make sure they send you a printout showing the exact vehicle, equipment, and terms.

[xrated]

I live in the Knoxville, TN area and I've bought two trucks via email to the internet sales person at each dealership. The first one was a brand new F250 diesel and was in Charlotte, N.C. The second one, my present truck a F350 Dually, was done the same way with that dealer being in London, KY. I had a trade in for both of the deals and I warned both of them.....if the dollar amount we agreed upon was changed by even one penny, I'd turn around and walk out of the dealership and not look back. In both instances, the deals went just as they should.

[Boomer58]

WOW - Up to 3 pages already. I appreciate all of your responses. I have to read up on the PCO. I do qualify for X-Plan from where I retired from and I intend to use it. I have a price from a dealer and we are not close to where we have to be. I called Ford marketing and am getting a list of the dealers in the 200 - 300 mile radius that have a F-350 DRW on the lot and try to make a deal on the internet. I am surprised at the amount of the loaded ones that I have found that have all of the cameras, mirrors, tow package, BIL system etc, and they do not have the 5th wheel package from the factory. I will keep all of you posted on how it goes. Thanks again, Boomer

[TheLexx]

Go on the Ford website and configure the truck exactly as you want. Then try to find one as close to it as possible, at the price you want. Don't limit yourself to 2-300 miles. Plane tickets are cheap these days. I flew from NorCal to Las Vegas and drove mine back home 800 miles. It was worth it as NONE of our local dealers were offering more than a couple thousand off MSRP.

On the 5th wheel package, just make sure you order the one with the cams in the bed for the 5th wheel hitch. You don't need to buy the Ford/Reese 27.5k hitch. If all else fails and you can only find one with a gooseneck ball prep, don't worry all is not lost. You can swap out the OEM unit with a Reese Goosebox that mates up with a simple gooseneck ball in the bed.

[Dreamin' Dreamers]

Before I ordered my SD I was searching different areas of the country. For some reason the Carolina dealers had most of their SD's equiped with the puck system. Use the build and price. Once you nail down what you want use the search function using different zip codes. It's tedious and will make your eyes bleed but what could be more fun than looking for a new truck to buy!!! ������

[Jerryr]

Boomer,

You’re in the same place I was about 6 months ago. I had a 2017 F350 and wanted a new Superduty equipped specifically the way I wanted.

I had X-plan as a retiree from the company I worked at for 38 years.

I decided to order a new truck exactly the way I wanted that way I wasn’t paying for or getting options I didn’t want and would get a truck with every option I wanted.

X-plan formula http://www.fordemployeeplan.com/pricing.html is Invoice minus 0.4% plus $275 so with a $75k truck it comes out within $25 of Invoice. X plan makes it easy since every dealer sells at the same price so the only negotiation is trade in value. Another benefit of x-plan is that it caps dealer fees at $100.

I negotiated the trade in over a few days and my local dealer locked in my trade in value at time of order. They also locked in the $3000 PCO, $500 Ford Cash and #250 USAA cash at time of order. That $3750 was used like a down payment on the contract. Today Ford Cash incentives may be different.

My new truck arrived a month after the PCO had already expired but being locked it at time of order it was not a problem.

You can get exact invoice price for a 2019 Ford truck at https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2019/Ford/Truck build it the way you want it and when done give the printout to the dealer.

Good luck on finding what you want.

[jim1521]

Hey Boomer, sorry we missed each other in Ft. Myers this year.

Howard summed it up perfectly in his post #9 about getting the DRW "just in case DW wants something different in the future". I did the same thing. This needed to be my "last truck", so I went all in on F-350 duallly, diesel, etc. Now it no longer matters what we buy, I know I'll be able to tow it. My only advice is if you're planning on keeping it forever, make certain you get all the options that you want/need. I bought mine 2 years old, but it was at a price that I literally couldn't turn down. I missed a couple of options I would have liked, but in my case the $10,000+ difference in savings allowed me to get over it quickly.

As someone else said, the first time they went through the mountains and said "this was worth every penny" becomes priceless. I feel that had I gone with the SRW I would have forever second-guessed myself.

Get the DRW in the color/options you want and don't look back.

[Boomer58]

I have been searching all over for the right one and I think you're right Duane (or Mary Jo, Dreamin Dreamers) The Carolina , Virginia areas seem to have a lot of ones with the puck system. I am meeting with a local dealer on Monday or Tuesday to look at ordering one. I just got the news that I will be laid up for awhile coming up so the whole house sale and going full time will have to be delayed but trying to keep a positive attitude. Our goal was to sell out and leave the northeast by the end of July and do 7 - 8 thousand mile trip and end up in Florida sometime in November/December. Get the new dually and just look at it in the garage, better than laying around and watching television. Another question I have is I see a lot of the DRW's come with 410 rear ends but my F-250 has 355's and it pulls just fine. What are you guys pulling with ?

[howson]

Another question I have is I see a lot of the DRW's come with 410 rear ends but my F-250 has 355's and it pulls just fine. What are you guys pulling with ?

Mine has the 3.55 gears and does just fine, but even with my Goldwing in the bed and the 315RLTS near GVWR I'm not even close to max'ing out my truck. I haven't towed through mountains (yet), either. I suspect the truck will do just fine, though, as the torque curve maxes out at a very low RPM. I've read (but don't know if it is still true) that Ford restricts max torque below 3rd gear to keep the wheels connected to the road.

This is a decent article on the gear ratio subject: https://www.forconstructionpros.com/...kup-axle-ratio

[Farfaraway]

Ah, Boomer, funny you ask. I almost commented earlier. My 2016 Sierra came with 3.73's and made much less power and torque then the Ford and never, ever did I find myself wishing for more power with the Sierra. The F350 has 4.10's and the engine is crazy strong and rarely slows for anything. But, with my current travel weight around 14,000 lbs I think 4.10's are overkill. If I ever got another truck I would probably go with the 3.55's unless I thought I would end up with something in, say, the 20,000 lb territory some day. I've test driven Rams and Fords with both gear choices and I feel that the transmissions all felt "happier" with the base rear gears. My truck feels like it's already trying to shift almost as soon as I start moving. It's in 6th by 40-45 mph. And I took a fairly significant mpg drop with the new truck, though to be fair, I expected that and that's mostly when empty. The mileage when towing only dropped by about 1 mpg but as much as 4 when not towing. Still worth the change.