JoeinGa

I only had about $6000 to $6500 when I was buying so I was looking at '03s 04s and 05s. So what do I wish I had known before I purchased?
I sure wish I had looked CLOSER in the engine bay.... and noticed that the dip**** "mechanic" that worked for the used car dealer had GLUED IN the stripped out bolts that hold on the intake manifold! That would have led me to look WAY closer at the rest of the truck. I THOUGHT I was getting a super deal at $5000 but 5 months later I had to replace the engine and trans because of the bull**** that BOZO had pulled!

HangDiver

I suggest that you look carefully at the yellow payload sticker inside the driver side door jamb.

Shadetree43

What ^^^^^^^^^^^ said. Be VERY aware that all those comfort & convenience features eat up your max passenger & cargo weight really quick.

Herk

So did you buy something @prepmonster ?

I'm a relatively new owner of my first pickup and my first Ford. I'd been a lifelong Toyota guy who was convinced to look at F-150s by my father-in-law (a lifelong Ford guy). I'd been shopping off and on for the better part of 18 months. I was looking for:

- SuperCrew
- 4x4
- 3.5L EB (based on the assumption that I'd get better gas mileage for my ~60 mile round trip daily commute)
- Black exterior and interior
- 8" console display (so my wife could have the big backup camera if she ever drove it)
- And of course I wanted as low of mileage as I could find for as little money as possible.

In April 2019, the other vehicle I was driving died in my garage (or so I thought at the time - turned out to be wrong on that), and that prompted me to go out and buy the truck that day. I had about 3 hours to find, drive, negotiate, and buy a truck before I had to pick up my kids from daycare. I ended up buying a 2015 4x4 SuperCrew XLT with HDPP, FX4, 302A, and Sport package, with ~44k miles. I paid ~$28k + TTL.

Regrets? Don't really have many, to be honest. As I've learned more about the truck through this forum, sure, there are some things I'd prefer be different about my truck, but at that time, and with my criteria, I'm really happy with what I got.

The things I'd change if I could?

I think I'd prefer the 5.5' box to the 6.5' box I have. The 157" wheelbase is just a monster to drive around, especially when I'm coming from a mid-sized SUV. I'll use that extra foot of box space maybe once or twice a year, but feel the extra foot of pain every time I have to park in an urban parking ramp!

I have the 3.55 rear axle, though I don't really think that matters to me one way or another. I do *not* have 4A, which, like you, I'd kind of gotten accustomed to on other vehicles. Oh well. Just something to get used to I guess.

To be honest, the only thing I'm slightly kicking myself for is not looking at all into the new truck market. I had just assumed, based on sticker prices, that they were all out of my price range (for the trim I was interested in and my budget), but since then I've seen several threads about people getting $8-12k or more in rebates and whatnot, so now I wonder how close I could've gotten on a brand new truck. There are some wonky things the previous owner did to my truck that I'd just prefer to not have to deal with. Nothing big, but just little irritants that don't come with buying new.

Anyway, just curious what you ended up getting!

Drix

I wish I would have known about the max tow and HDPP, I do not regret not having them though, lastly I would have looked for a F-150 with a higher cargo weight capacity I didnt think to look because I figured they were all pretty close. My Want was a Lariat with the most bells and whistles I could get and I found it for a great price with 502a and it was a dark blue, my first truck was a Dark blue 1982 F-150 XL.

River1

They're getting harder and harder to find but I always want a 2 door with a full sized bed.

szym

They really are....majority of trucks are 4 door or extended.
Regular cab LOOKS sweet IMO

13XLTEco

I wish I had checked the payload sticker but it turns out that only 1401 pounds is fine for the size camper I have and usually just me in the truck. I can still get a newer lighter made camper that is larger if I want and still be good with the payload capacity.

Adogg9626KR

For me pretty much this except we ended up with a King Ranch instead of an xlt and higher miles/ no warranty. But all the options we wanted were there plus the ability to add stuff seems fairly easy in comparison to the hoops I've seen with our other vehicles.

Gonna tackle the tow mirrors soon because we will be glamping next month with a rented camper

13XLTEco

I disagree. If towing is important, get Max Tow AND HDPP.