I had a 2012 Sierra that I liked (save for the dash cracking issue), but the interior hadn't been updated yet when I got my F150 in 21 in the newer models or I might have looked at them more closely. The other big issue I have with GM trucks is the the 5.3 liter. It was a good motor 15 years ago, but it's a dog compared to the Ford offerings at this point. You have to spend 65K+ just to get a 6.2 if you go the Sierra route. GM needs to kick the 5.3 to the curb and just roll with the 6.2 across the board as their V8 option. You can get them cheaper in a Silverado, but you're not going to get as much truck at the same price point as an F150 if you do.

 

A test drive of a new truck isn't going to tell you how the transmission will shift later. Remember that it's has adaptive learning and needs time to learn your specific driving style. Brand new it's running it's default programming.

 

I think you are blaming the wrong person here. It's not the corporate responsible for greedy *** dealers taking advantage of people to make a quick buck. I will be honest....I wanted to get into a KIA Telluride SX loaded. At the price point...it's a LOT OF CAR at low 50s but I couldn't find a single dealer with one on the lot who was not asking anywhere from $5k-10k markup above MSRP.....and I searched nationwide for months not just in my area and gave up. Coming from a 2020 Sierra...the GM dealerships would not honor supplier pricing on their vehicles...I wanted to get into an AT4 but comparing options with the 502A Lariat I ended up going with which I got under invoice...it was a no brainer....and no need for later bs retrofits. Screw these dealerships.

 

I would not want to see what putting a cap on the back of one of those does to the gas mileage, nevermind when towing. That isn’t the right powertrain for a truck.

 

funny, almost the exact same experience here. We need two vehicles, a kid hauler and a truck. Was seriously considering the Telluride until I had the same experience as you. Now that I’ve had the experience I’ve had with the F150, when we decide to pull the trigger on the new SUV I won’t even go to other dealerships. Personally I think there should be a movement in this country using social media for consumers to single out a brand doing this price gouging and boycott them one by one until each company doing it goes out of business. Start with KIA and run through the list one by one until only the ethical companies are still in business. Ford made a customer for life out of me after this. It infuriates me so many dealers took bailout money only to turn around and price gouge like greedy pigs. And if the corporate entity who owns the brand is going to allow it, then they deserve to be boycotted forever in my mind. Remember something, We don’t need them, they need us.

 

You don't need social media, you need to contact your state's politician and tell them to repeal the dealer protectionist laws that prevent us from buying directly from the manufacturers. It's not the manufacturers doing this it's the dealers. Ford's CEO is fed up with it and is doing all he can. He is investigating dealers that are turning in fake customer orders to get vehicles and dealers who jacks the price up of a custom order when it's delivered and if the person doesn't agree sell it to someone else. He has said dealers will lose alloation of their most popular products like the F series trucks and Bronco and dealers who continue to violate will have their franchise agreement terminated.

However he is constrained by all the protectionist laws most states have that benefit dealers. We have to stand up and put pressure on our state politicians to repeal these laws.

 

I don't know Kia and Hyundai's (same company) position on this, but both Ford and GM came out publicly, and made it very clear that none of their dealers are allowed to sell anything for over the MSRP, period, end of story. They also both went on to say that if it was happening, that they wanted consumers to report those dealers directly to them. Now...is it still happening with some dealers? Absolutely, positively, and it's gross! The fact that consumers are now even willing to pay MSRP is a huge win for the dealer, and for the auto industry. Fortunately, auto sales are finally beginning to drop, and rapidly rising interest rates won't reverse that trend anytime soon, so perhaps things will finally settle down.

 

There were few dealerships around me who were marking up vehicles $5K-$10K+ Ford, GMC and Toyota for sure. But they were only marking up the vehicles on the lot. If you were to order a build from the factory then it would be MSRP but also 6 months away with a possibility of further delay.

When manufacturers came out telling dealers not to mark up vehicles, then these dealerships began installing "winter packages" or "3M protection packages". Which surprising was costing around $5-7K. And if you wanted a vehicle that didn't have these packages then you would have to factory order, because coincidently all the vehicles on the lot had these packages. Found out that dealerships get 3M done from third party shops and they pay them like $500max for putting stickers on. Then they charge it out at $5K.

They aren't called "Stealerships" for their reasonable dealings and fair prices.

 

I believe it was only for the Mustang Mach-E and the Lightning.. then Ford also upped the prices because it wasn't just a piece of the pie Ford wanted, it was the whole pie. The demand was crazy. Most dealerships are still asking for above MSRP in certain models, particularly the Raptor.

 

It definitely was not model specific by either manufacturer. It is a blanket statement that was released to the media, and made it very clear that they would cut off any dealers who were engaging in this practice. Now, as has been mentioned in this very thread, dealers will always find a way around the rules. Hell, they'll title the vehicle, and then sell it as "used", and then the manufacturer has zero say over how to price any "used" vehicle.

GM and Ford threaten to withhold popular cars as dealerships raise prices - The Washington Post