Rontbeamer

Me too...

Monsterford1

What he said ^^^^

JBrax

These threads and some of the back and forth arguing are juvenile. Who cares how much you make or how big your johnson is. To the OP as some have said go drive the different trucks. You may be dead set on the XLT and then drive a Platinum and be blown away by options/amenities/comfort or vice versa. It's your money and no one else is your financial adviser. Enjoy life and get whatever puts a smile on your face.

Nighthawk87

Really good feedback guys. However I was hoping for a more unanimous decision haha. I'm starting to lean towards xlt more. Crappy thing is the xlt I'm looking at doesn't have the tailgate step or the side mirror spotlights or blis even though they are available on the xlt. If i find one with either then it doesn't have my 36 gallon tank.

Decisions decisions

Rontbeamer

I don't think you are going to get one. A lot of us have wrestled with this issue and came away with different conclusions. Only you can decide the things that are important for you personally. For me as I stated before I couldn't get there with the current price differential and the current XLT feature set. When the price differential was a bit less I have gone with the higher trim level. This time around I went with the pretty much loaded XLT. I will tell you I just traded in my FX4 (Currently the Lariat with the FX4 package) which was the top trim level in 2006 and the trade in value was pretty much no difference between the FX4 and an XLT. Take that for what it is worth.

Asaberan

I just ran two blue book values with Nada Guides. 90k miles (15k/year).

2009 Lariat Super Crew 4WD. Clean trade in is $22,200.
2009 XLT Super Crew 4WD. Clean trade in is $17,525.

The difference is $4725. In 2009, the top MSRP of an XLT was $36,015. The top MSRP of a Lariat was $39,265.

If you're not getting appreciably more for a Lariat over an XLT when trade in time comes, you either need to find yourself a new dealer or some better negotiating skills.

Nighthawk87

Props for researching it. Proves that it's arguably free to have a lariat trim over an xlt, assuming you sell within 6 years.

AbitaPro

wrong thread

Asaberan

It is obviously a larger investment to purchase a Lariat over an XLT. Also you will pay more in interest and tie up that extra $10k in a depreciating asset when you could've invested it into something else which may appreciate.

It really depends on what you are comfortable with spending. My last go-round I opted to go used and saved about $8-10k. I have kicked myself ever since because, while the initial investment would've been higher, I settled for something that was about 90% if what I wanted. In the end, I saved around five figures, but had I actually spent it, that truck would've retained more value so in the end the difference would have been minimal.

It is amazing how much these trucks have increased in cost though. I found my sticker in the glovebox today and found myself thinking this MSRP is what I would gladly pay for a two year old used truck I have been chasing lately.

k.b.

I am glad I found this thread. Other than some casual bickering that I have ignored, there were a few things you guys pointed out for me. Thanks! I am trying to also decide which, XLT or Lariat? I will likely get a 2016 in either case. I am OLD. I just retired. I keep things forever. This'll be the last vehicle I probably ever buy. I know from experience electronic gizmos get outdated but the larger screen on the Lariat may be handy for my aging eyes? At my age I will get leather, but Katzkin choices may be preferable to factory cowhide. Not trying to steal the OP's thread just add a little more dimension to it. I can't decide SCab or SCrew, usually I am just one person in the vehicle. Here are the prices at xplan for similarly equipped model. hmmm...
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tr><td><b>F150</b></td><td><b>Scab</b></td><td><b>SCrew</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>XLT</b></td><td>43560</td><td>45940</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Lariat</b></td><td>47611</td><td>50950</td></tr></table>