Roll.Tide
Well-known member
- First Name
- Rick
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2021
- Threads
- 23
- Messages
- 91
- Reaction score
- 66
- Location
- Western NC Mountains
- Vehicles
- 2021 F150 King Ranch
- Thread starter
- #1
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Pedaldude
Well-known member
No surprises at all, other than the fact that they are learning from this. Who would have thought people would pay more for something that they wanted?
The model of trusting clueless fleet managers to guess what they can sell customers to make the most for the dealerships rather than the vehicles that customers want, then having the manufacturers 'pay' customers money to buy a vehicle that might not be the best fit needs to end.
A long standing lament of automotive journalists is 'why won't people buy base model trucks despite always saying that they want one?' and the answer is multiple:
Dealers won't stock base model trucks and when they do, they ordered them with options that would have been standard for the next trim up and they wind up being a terrible value.
Dealers will install the same dealer add-ons and various rip-off packages to the base trucks as they do to the upper trim levels. Bullshit VIN etching, microdots, aftermarket alarms, pin stripes and nitrogen filled tires for $1000-3000 extra may not seem like much to someone getting a Platinum but on an XL, it's a pretty good chunk of the percentage of the whole freaking truck. Same for tint and bedliners, an XL buyer might prefer to pay someone to do it rather than spend twice as much to have the dealer pay someone to do it.
Dealers only order white base trucks with vinyl seats. Some buyers might want a base truck in an actual color with cloth seats and maybe the V8, instead of the base V6.
The black XL reg. cab is pretty sharp and with the 5.0 is $32,980 and while expensive, is still $10-20K less than most of the trucks seen on lots. For a few more bucks, you can find a set of take-off wheels from a higher trim truck and pay a gearshop to install an LSD and have a truck that stands out more than a fully loaded Platinum.
Another problem has nothing to do with the the dealers and everything to do with the manufacturers hamstringing the lower trims. This is a historic trend and a pretty shameful one, as things considered basic safety items, like seat belts, passenger side sideview mirrors at one time could only be optioned on higher trim levels until they were mandated by law. The most recent example of this that I can think of is reverse cameras, which were unavailable for any cost in many manufacturers base trims and optional on others until people who ran over their kids and grandchildren petitioned the government. Hell, even windshield wipers were optional at one time. One of the stupid things about the base truck above is that you can't even add alloy wheels without upgrading the package level and there's absolutely no reason for that other than avarice.
The model of trusting clueless fleet managers to guess what they can sell customers to make the most for the dealerships rather than the vehicles that customers want, then having the manufacturers 'pay' customers money to buy a vehicle that might not be the best fit needs to end.
A long standing lament of automotive journalists is 'why won't people buy base model trucks despite always saying that they want one?' and the answer is multiple:
Dealers won't stock base model trucks and when they do, they ordered them with options that would have been standard for the next trim up and they wind up being a terrible value.
Dealers will install the same dealer add-ons and various rip-off packages to the base trucks as they do to the upper trim levels. Bullshit VIN etching, microdots, aftermarket alarms, pin stripes and nitrogen filled tires for $1000-3000 extra may not seem like much to someone getting a Platinum but on an XL, it's a pretty good chunk of the percentage of the whole freaking truck. Same for tint and bedliners, an XL buyer might prefer to pay someone to do it rather than spend twice as much to have the dealer pay someone to do it.
Dealers only order white base trucks with vinyl seats. Some buyers might want a base truck in an actual color with cloth seats and maybe the V8, instead of the base V6.
The black XL reg. cab is pretty sharp and with the 5.0 is $32,980 and while expensive, is still $10-20K less than most of the trucks seen on lots. For a few more bucks, you can find a set of take-off wheels from a higher trim truck and pay a gearshop to install an LSD and have a truck that stands out more than a fully loaded Platinum.
Another problem has nothing to do with the the dealers and everything to do with the manufacturers hamstringing the lower trims. This is a historic trend and a pretty shameful one, as things considered basic safety items, like seat belts, passenger side sideview mirrors at one time could only be optioned on higher trim levels until they were mandated by law. The most recent example of this that I can think of is reverse cameras, which were unavailable for any cost in many manufacturers base trims and optional on others until people who ran over their kids and grandchildren petitioned the government. Hell, even windshield wipers were optional at one time. One of the stupid things about the base truck above is that you can't even add alloy wheels without upgrading the package level and there's absolutely no reason for that other than avarice.
