KILOFINAL

I'll wait a couple of years till the dust settles on aluminium bodied trucks. There will be growing pains with aluminium body repairs, insurance rates and initial bugs with any new body style.

Ram seems to be selling alot of Ecodiesel trucks even with the $3000 plus price premium. Ford makes a bigger profit on the existing truck, so dealers and Ford are more than happy to load up on remaining trucks and offer big incentives imo.

A year from now, if the price differential was greater than $5000 on a leftover 2014 versus a 2015, I would take the 2014. I would have to drive the 2015 a long time to make back $5000 in fuel savings.

IdaDuck

This truck buying stuff is complicated. I was pretty well set on an Ecoboost (leaning towards 14) supercrew 6.5, but then I noticed that the Dodge dealer in town is selling 2014 2500 Cummins trucks for about the same price (mid-$30s), and that's a tough deal to pass up - especially now that gas prices are right up there with diesel. These are the base level models, but they have everything I need. And more, really - I don't need 800 ft-lbs of torque. Or do I?

Matt_E_Salesman

The cost of repairs/insurance is a red herring. Yes, body shops are going to have to spend some $$ to be able to repair the #1 selling truck on the continent. Yes, this will make the repairs somewhat more expensive in the short term. That being said, any insurance agent will tell you that the bulk of your premium is not the collision coverage on your own vehicle, but rather the liability to other peoples property and personal injuries, neither of which are affected by the fact that you're driving a truck that will cost slightly more to repair.

The longevity of an aluminum body with respect to corrosion (whether this is reality or perception is another discussion) will also play a factor for anyone in the northern US or Canada.

Fuel economy is a MAJOR motivator of vehicle purchases, regardless of segment. So much so that people will do very silly things like take a loss on an SUV to get into a car so they can save money on gas. Mathematically this makes no sense as the loss will far outweigh any savings on fuel.If we do see a significant fuel economy increase (10% is all it would take to be considered "significant") it will attract buyers from other makes. In my opinion, they will pay a premium for that alone.

DBL Boost

I talked to a body shop that is across the street from a ford dealer and they told me they were going to buy the equipt ment to repair the f150 until they found out ford has first crack at they when they need to be repaired so they said why waste the money.

All Hat No Cattle

Exactly. If Ford comes up with a mileage improvement they can really brag about, we are talking "stampede" at the dealers. I don't see a lot of rebates on the 2015, especially if there is a waiting list. Why would they?

ZBoater

I'd never buy a first year model truck. The 2013s and 14s have most of the bugs worked out. 14s with their rebates are an awesome buy. It will be several years before the bugs on the new model get worked out AND you see significant rebates IMO.

FX4life

I'll never understand why this is the logic for so many folks on this board...

ZBoater

Ummmm, because in my unscientific observation first year model trucks suffer from bugs and issues that are corrected in subsequent years?

Curmudgeon

According to a JD Powers press release in 2013: "The perception that all-new or redesigned models can't be as dependable as those that have been on the market for a year or more is not accurate." [autos.jdpower.com/ratings/dependability-press-release.htm]

The article continued to express what I have observed over six decades of new vehicle purchases. The quality of vehicles, especially domestic brands, is improving vastly with each passing year, and US workers assembling 'foreign' vehicles have learned a new quality ethic encouraged by management. I recall a 1964 Pontiac LeMans that was so poorly assembled that I turned in a 7 page list of issues to the dealer that I expected to be corrected...most were ignored. In 1968, I started purchasing quality imports (e.g. Toyota Crown) many of which were 1st-year models...no problems.

In 2011, I purchased a 2012 model year Hyundai Veloster, a 1st year model, defying all street myths about Hyundai vehicles...no issues whatsoever to this date, a great, satisfying car (after swapping out the Kumho tires). I have recently owned a '97 and a '04 F-150 and a 2010 Fusion...absolutely no issues with either. IMO, it's time to put the 1st year myth to rest.

ZBoater

So you are saying there's no fixes or improvements in subsequent model years as a result of people reporting defects, TSBs, etc?

Ummm, ok.

EDIT: I bet you the 2014 Veloster will have some of these fixed.

http://www.automd.com/tsb/hyundai_m/veloster_mm/