Florida Hag

I bought my XLT with 302A after months of research. Anything more was a waste of money for me. I had a Lariat and learned that I didn’t like leather seats. I’ve had sun/moonroofs in the past – don’t like them either. I was not going to pay $995 for 20” stock wheels knowing that I was going to swap them out. I don’t need cooled seats, BLIS, and navigation. I don’t plan on trading this truck in anytime soon. This is a keeper. I had a list of must have’s such as V8, 4x4, SCrew, heated mirrors and back up camera. I have spent over $4000 in mods so far. During the next year, I plan on changing the exhaust system, front grill, fenders, and adding a lift kit. Everything I want is not offered on trucks sitting at the dealership. I enjoy making it my own and I don’t do it for anyone else but me. I know that others probably think I am a little nuts for putting that kind of money into this truck. If we all liked the same things and had the same thought processes, that would be a very sad state of affairs. I like pulling into a parking lot and seeing modified trucks and cars. The mods may not be my first choice, but I still appreciate the thought and effort that went into it.

BoozeDaily

iTrader: (2)

The price paid for the vehicle is dependent on a lot of things. Current rebates, haggling ability, dealer inventory, dealer location, etc.

Good job getting a great price on the truck you want. "great" is a subjective term though in this regard. If you walked out of there feeling like you got a good price and you're happy, then that's all that matters.

Before the forum, if I got MSRP minus rebates I'd feel like I got a good deal. Inexperience. Due to this forum, if you paid anything above invoice-500-rebates then you're a sucker.

HotLap

I think the real answer here (as already stated above) is to each his own. Personally, I like all the options and that's why I bought a KR..I'm also a "gear head" and enjoy modding my vehicles (within reason). It helps if you are somewhat mechanically inclined as it appears your friend paid on the (way) high end for his mods, but if it makes him happy that's what matters most. I did the Kicker sub/amp/enclosure and door/dash speaker upgrades, total parts were $849 and I enjoyed installing everything myself. Just couldnt' hang with the very poor sound from the Sony :Preimum" sound system...the 6x9 single cone Sony speakers were a whopping 25 watts Great time to have a ball game going on in the background and a few frosty ones. AS far as factory lighting, I really do like the brighter lights, either xenon or LED, bought a Fusion Titanium Energi a couple of years ago and couldn't stand the weak, yellow stock halogen lighting...especially coming from a xenon equipped vehicle. I've also painted my calipers and rotors (black not bright red) as I think the stock silver color looks awful and when black they tend to blend in better. Also, had the front center bumper (chrome area) wrapped in Caribou to match the rest of the lower KR accent as I think it looks much better. Anyway, keep those mods coming as I enjoy checking them out.

Ryan...

I also ended up buying an XL because I knew what I wanted from the factory, and what I intended to do with the truck to make it how I wanted.

There was no reason to go with an XLT or higher trim, because I plan on going aftermarket for nearly EVERYTHING I want to do.

zx12-iowa

Financially all mods make little sense. People do it bc they want to . Like putting on bigger tires, leveling a truck, a louder exhaust just to hear their engine work. Logically they are all silly. But people do them to all trim levels and justify it by saying they bought a lower trim level to save $ to do "x". Frankly buying anything above the base level truck would be the same logical analysis. So even an XLT can be deemed not "financially smart". yet most of us buy a trim level above the "base" - including me and know the financial impacts.

TexasFording

iTrader: (14)

39K for a 502a? Seriously doubt that. For a 500 or 501, that's a killer deal. I got my 302 for $31K, so yeah, these vehicles have very low manufacturing costs which in turn have low selling prices.

TexasFording

iTrader: (14)

And vehicle demand. 2017 SD's are going for no less than sticker. Way overpriced by the way, but, its the hottest ticket in town. Supply/demand.

Glad to be part of this community that helps educate us and show lots of tips and stuff.

gopherman

I know I bought the Platinum...partially due to some of the looks (not for the applique...but for the grille, wheels, body color bumper, leather -- although I wish it didn't have the platinum badge).

I would've gone for an XLT/Lariat if I could've made them look similar to the platinum...

Hence my other thread...why pay almost 20K more if you don't care about the additional features / looks. I thought I would use them and that they would work and they have been a large disappointment. I would've bought an XLT/Lariat and done the mods as well to save a large amount of money and probably would've been more satisfied with the overall value of my vehicle.

I would not have spent 1000+ for lights though, but that's just me. I find it insane that the LED's on this thing are that expensive. I specifically added the lighting package to my ESP because of it (which btw is not in there by default).

DangFoo

Good post and it can also be said that I feel like a sucker at times ... nearly $65K for a truck here and plenty of options go unused. Going a la carte on upgrades/mods makes a lot of sense for some people and can easily be more economical.

Sysop

I waited till well after the 16s were out and most of the 15s were gone. It was the last '15 Lariat at any of the local dealers. They also really wanted my trade-in and I wouldn't talk about my trades until getting the price I wanted. Sticker on the truck was $49,400, I think it is a 501. I wanted it for $40k minus whatever rebates were available. I got that, I got a fair price for my trade, and then overpaid a bit for the premiumcare warranty.