Buying a Ford Super Duty in today’s market…

[IXFE]

So I took delivery of my new 2022 F-350 today and posted a teaser pic in the “recent purchase” thread. @UWSkier asked a fair question… just how much did you pay for that beast?  I could just answer the question or I could tell a story; I chose the latter… 

I think I might have mentioned this last fall, but the guy who bought my 2021 24 MXZ asked if I was interested in selling my truck along with it. I impulsively said, “sure!” thinking I could capitalize on the crazy high resale value, then hopeful buy low by ordering a new one. After all, I don’t really need a truck except during the summer. So I gave him a number for the truck, he agreed, and a few days later they were BOTH gone!

I knew I’d have to order the new one, but I figured I had a bit of time since new boats don’t typically arrive until early Spring.

While researching my new build on the Super Duty forum, I stumbled upon a thread about Granger Ford in Iowa who was offering forum members 2% below invoice on any Super Duty order. Jackpot! That translates to about $6,500 below MSRP. On top of that Ford had sent me a private cash offer worth $2,000 but I had to place my order by the end of Sept to qualify… 

As often happens, time went fast and before I knew it I was staring at 9/30/21 on the calendar. It was go time!  But before placing my order with Granger, I tried to see if a few local dealers would even come close on an order… nope, they demanded full msrp even on an order. So I submitted my build to Granger with minutes to spare. They told me to expect 4-6 months. Here are the details:

 

This is actually the window sticker as it appears on the truck today. When I placed the order back in September 2021 the MSRP was $2,300 cheaper! The good news, my $73,500 price was documented and price protected. So my $8500 off deal is now $10,800 off! 

That’s where the good news ends. As we all know, in this market you either pay with time -or- money for these trucks. Pick your poison. Either is excruciating. You can have a deal or you can have it now. But you can’t have both.  Why?

Well to begin with, the Super Duty plant in Louisville, KY isn’t exactly operating at full capacity. Plus, for about a year they have ONLY been building custom order trucks. This explains why dealers have ZERO inventory. Once in a while they get lucky and a customer gives up on his build. Or some dealers are just buying (overpaying) slightly used 2022’s at auction. In either case, here in Dallas they’re fetching $20k over msrp. Don’t like it? Tough, you can’t even order one now as Ford stopped taking orders months ago. 

Fun little side story that makes the point.  A few weeks ago I got so frustrated with my long wait (timeline below) that I almost cracked and bought this 2022 off a local lot… $115k for a Platinum with a Carli lift (similar but a notch below @Stevo’s build). My plan was to sell them back my 2022 when it eventually came. They offered me $95k on the spot, with nothing more than that window sticker above.  Why didn’t it happen? Cuz I said I needed a few hours to think it over… the truck was sold for full asking price before I even got home. Yup, people are paying these prices!

 

Turns out… It was a good thing I didn’t pull that trigger, because last Wednesday (about a week later) I finally got the call. My truck had arrived in Granger, Iowa. Here’s my timeline:

9/30/21 order placed
3/18/22 production date 
3/19/22 shipped to Shelbyville, KY (truck)
5/19/22 shipped to Kansas City, MO (rail)
6/01/22 shipped to Granger Ford (truck)
6/09/22 DELIVERY DAY!!

total time = 8 months, 9 days… which is child’s play compared to my Bronco wait (697 days, but who’s counting?)

The two months in the rail yard in Shelbyville are what destroyed my timeline. People say rail cars are in short supply, but I am convinced they are not loading these trucks in any kind of order. It’s just random. I know of several trucks that arrived there after mine but got on a train to KC way before mine. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Just ask @Slayer how long his F-250 took from build day to delivery day… 

Anyway, the truck drove great on the 650 mile trip home. I averaged 19.5 MPG going 70-80 most of the day. The folks at Granger were so nice (Iowa nice is a thing!). Highlight of the day was lunch in KC with @hethj7. 

I still can’t believe how long I waited for this thing; so frustrating what we’ve done to our world that this is what’s required to buy a truck; so relieved it’s over now; almost ruined my boat season! 

I guess the moral of the story is… 

* Buying cool stuff is hard in this dumb world we’ve made for ourselves. 

* FoMoCo is a dumpster fire of an operation, but damn they design a nice truck!

* oh, and just like dad used to say… there’s no free lunch. 

Here are some pics from today…

[ahopkins22LSV]

 

Anyone who has tried or purchased a new vehicle in the last year or so knows your pain. Glad you finally got it and that is one nice looking truck! It’s amazing how many issues these car companies have with communication, timelines and transport were covered up by having inventory on dealer lots. 

[tjklein]

Nice and a good story! Luckily I won't have to replace my Super Duty for another year or so. 

I picked up a Jeep Wrangler for our lake place from Granger about 3 months ago. Great people there for sure and very easy. They do a TON of TRX trucks and a lot of Jeeps as well. People come from California and when I picked my Jeep up there was a guy there from Hawaii picking up a TRX. (driving to CA and then shipping it back to HI)

But seriously, terrible that this is what car buying is right now. The car dealers down here in Texas/DFW are the worst I've ever dealt with and that's not some crazy exaggeration. To your point of dealer pricing here, we just picked up an Escalade Sport. In DFW it was +$25k...in Grand Forks, ND, which is about 90min from my lake place, it was $1,000 below sticker. And on top of that there weren't any crazy dealer add-on or doc fees. $200 doc fee was it.

Crazy world right now!

[stags79]

Ford is a total junk show right now.  I ordered at an awd transit T350 15 passenger in mid January, the only communication I have from Ford so far was an email confirming the order and another in April saying it has been delayed.  

To make matters worse my F250 got hit last week.  I'm trying to get the insurance company to get me a 3/4 ton rental but they can't find any around me.  I can't even find anything to buy while I wait.  The body shops up here looking at mid September before they can even start looking at it to see if the frame is bent.

[hethj7]

It was great to meet @IXFE in person!  
 

Ironically, after that lunch a coworker came buy to talk about my F250 as he is in the market to buy.   He found a new 2022 that was a commercial order someone walked away from and he was on the fence about buying it.  I don’t have details on it but it is Lariat trim and priced below MSRP.  I just read this thread and then text him back - he better jump on anything he can find and he may have stumbled into a deal and he doesn’t even know it yet. 

Also, my local dealer usually prices at invoice.  When looking with my coworker they actually have a sharp F250 in stock - but it looks like they are now priced at what I assume is MSRP, at least in their online ad.  And looking again at all the fine print, it may just be in transit vs in stock.  
 

 

[pauley71]

4 hours ago, IXFE said:

So I took delivery of my new 2022 F-350 today.

9/30/21 order placed
3/18/22 production date 
3/19/22 shipped to Shelbyville, KY (truck)
5/19/22 shipped to Kansas City, MO (rail)
6/01/22 shipped to Granger Ford (truck)
6/09/22 DELIVERY DAY!!

 

@IXFE Oh wow .. looks like we are twins!  Except mine is an F250 which does have the updated rear axle and leaf pack so not sure what the differences are really, do you?  My experience was different (and honestly surprising) but maybe its the volume of the IA dealer and number of build slots?  I'm currently stuck in a 'railcar delay'.  Appreciate a look at what to expect   Around here all I see are carbonized grey.

 

[IXFE]

2 hours ago, tjklein said:

Nice and a good story! Luckily I won't have to replace my Super Duty for another year or so. 

I picked up a Jeep Wrangler for our lake place from Granger about 3 months ago. Great people there for sure and very easy. They do a TON of TRX trucks and a lot of Jeeps as well. People come from California and when I picked my Jeep up there was a guy there from Hawaii picking up a TRX. (driving to CA and then shipping it back to HI)

But seriously, terrible that this is what car buying is right now. The car dealers down here in Texas/DFW are the worst I've ever dealt with and that's not some crazy exaggeration. To your point of dealer pricing here, we just picked up an Escalade Sport. In DFW it was +$25k...in Grand Forks, ND, which is about 90min from my lake place, it was $1,000 below sticker. And on top of that there weren't any crazy dealer add-on or doc fees. $200 doc fee was it.

Crazy world right now!

Yesterday I saw no less than 10 TRX’s line up on their lot. I’ve never seen so many in one place. It’s kinda funny seeing all these high trim Super Duties, Raptors, TRX’s, and Jeep Wrangler 392’s on their lot, surrounded by open fields (it’s a small remote dealership).

My sales woman (who doesn’t handle the Ram orders) said she believes the TRX deal was something like $9k below sticker, which would put a really well equipped one in the high $70’s. Here in DFW you can’t touch one for less than $100k. 

Granger clearly has a business model where they’re trying to become a destination dealership. They are pretty active on various forums. I’d say they are VERY well known on the Bronco forum, which is where I first heard of them. However, my Bronco order is not with them so I won’t be going back to Iowa anytime soon. 

[pauley71]

1 hour ago, hethj7 said:

 

That doesn't look like MSRP.  I got the tremor (posted above) and that is close to my sticker fairly loaded.  Tremor package is almost 5k.  I didn't do as well as IXFE but got 4500 off MSRP in VA.  Now that they closed Super Duty orders for 2022 it is going to get very interesting.  My understanding is 2023 orders do not open up until October 7th! (according to my dealer)

 

[IXFE]

2 hours ago, stags79 said:

To make matters worse my F250 got hit last week.  I'm trying to get the insurance company to get me a 3/4 ton rental but they can't find any around me.  I can't even find anything to buy while I wait.  The body shops up here looking at mid September before they can even start looking at it to see if the frame is bent.

Order banks for the 2023 don’t open until October 17th. And as I already mentioned, ordering for 2022’s closed months ago. 

Enterprise Truck Rental (not car) has F-250’s. They are $175 day and you only get 300 free miles. After that it’s $0.25/mile which racks up fast!

[IXFE]

2 hours ago, hethj7 said:

It was great to meet @IXFE in person!  
 

Ironically, after that lunch a coworker came buy to talk about my F250 as he is in the market to buy.   He found a new 2022 that was a commercial order someone walked away from and he was on the fence about buying it.  I don’t have details on it but it is Lariat trim and priced below MSRP.  I just read this thread and then text him back - he better jump on anything he can find and he may have stumbled into a deal and he doesn’t even know it yet. 

Also, my local dealer usually prices at invoice.  When looking with my coworker they actually have a sharp F250 in stock - but it looks like they are now priced at what I assume is MSRP, at least in their online ad.  And looking again at all the fine print, it may just be in transit vs in stock.  
 

 

Nice truck, very similar to mine, only without Tremor pkg. As you say, probably not in stock (yet) with that fake pic. And the price is listed is the MSRP (in the ad you’ll actually find a link to the window sticker). But that doesn’t mean that’s what the dealers are charging. I don’t think they can advertise ADM’s, or maybe they are just shy to. I wonder what the real price is. 

[IXFE]

21 minutes ago, pauley71 said:

@IXFE Oh wow .. looks like we are twins!  Except mine is an F250 which does have the updated rear axle and leaf pack so not sure what the differences are really, do you?  My experience was different (and honestly surprising) but maybe its the volume of the IA dealer and number of build slots?  I'm currently stuck in a 'railcar delay'.  Appreciate a look at what to expect   Around here all I see are carbonized grey.

 

Oh wow!  Nice rig!  With the upgraded rear leaf springs and axle I don’t think there’s a difference between 250 and 350. You must have the “ultimate tow pkg” or something. And I agree with you… I see a lot of white, black, and carbonized here. Not many Iconic Silver. Although I thought long and hard about a star white platinum… our Lariats have a Platinum price tag.  I really like those white plats… so classy. In the end, I just really wanted that black appearance package. This is my third alumiduty (prior two were black). 

[stags79]

38 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Order banks for the 2023 don’t open until October 17th. And as I already mentioned, ordering for 2022’s closed months ago. 

Enterprise Truck Rental (not car) has F-250’s. They are $175 day and you only get 300 free miles. After that it’s $0.25/mile which racks up fast!

I'm working with Geico, the other drivers insurance, to get a bigger truck from Enterprise truck rentals.  The bummer is the truck location is 3 hours each way from me and they are trying to fight me on the daily cost compared to the baby ram 1500 rental that I have for now.  

I have found a few new super duty's on lots within a couple hundred miles, just not sure if I will need to buy one yet.  But if I don't have a better rental in a couple weeks than I will have to buy something.

I need another truck anyway, but was hoping to wait a year or two.

[Brandonloos21]

1 hour ago, IXFE said:

Yesterday I saw no less than 10 TRX’s line up on their lot. I’ve never seen so many in one place. It’s kinda funny seeing all these high trim Super Duties, Raptors, TRX’s, and Jeep Wrangler 392’s on their lot, surrounded by open fields (it’s a small remote dealership).

My sales woman (who doesn’t handle the Ram orders) said she believes the TRX deal was something like $9k below sticker, which would put a really well equipped one in the high $70’s. Here in DFW you can’t touch one for less than $100k. 

Granger clearly has a business model where they’re trying to become a destination dealership. They are pretty active on various forums. I’d say they are VERY well known on the Bronco forum, which is where I first heard of them. However, my Bronco order is not with them so I won’t be going back to Iowa anytime soon. 

Purchased a ram new from Granger, traveled all the way from Pittsburgh PA. Could not beat the price.

[UWSkier]

So it's Laura for GMC, Granger for Ford and RAM.  Good to know for if/when this crap ever settles down.  I'm in the market for a heavier truck but can limp the 2016 Denali 1500 along until things get a little more reasonable.

[IXFE]

1 hour ago, UWSkier said:

So it's Laura for GMC, Granger for Ford and RAM.  Good to know for if/when this crap ever settles down.  I'm in the market for a heavier truck but can limp the 2016 Denali 1500 along until things get a little more reasonable.

Well that’s the nice thing about these deals, if you have the luxury of time, you can get pre-Covid pricing. You just have to anticipate the wait and get in line early. Also the drive is kinda fun. I saw some cool stuff yesterday and added three new states to my list!

[IXFE]

First and most important truck project is complete… 

[UWSkier]

6 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Well that’s the nice thing about these deals, if you have the luxury of time, you can get pre-Covid pricing. You just have to anticipate the wait and get in line early. Also the drive is kinda fun. I saw some cool stuff yesterday and added three new states to my list!

Well... not pre-covid pricing.  In 2016, my truck was just shy of $13k off MSRP without an inflation bump during the transaction...  I suspect those days are over.

Edited June 10, 2022 by UWSkier

[IXFE]

7 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Well... not pre-covid pricing.  In 2016, my truck was just shy of $13k off MSRP...  I suspect those days are over.

That is a good deal, but not unheard of for a 1/2 ton. I used to consider $10k off the baseline deal on a 1/2 ton. 

Getting $10k off a high trim Super Duty was always tough, although I managed to on my 2019. $6k - $8k was more normal, at least in my experience. 

But I think you’re right, those days may be over. The Grander deal certainly felt like pre-Covid pricing to me, but the $2k PCO is hard to replicate. I got lucky there. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by IXFE

[oldjeep]

I would agree.  My last 1/2 ton (2018) cost 36K on a 52K sticker and that was the pricing that they just mark on the window for anyone.

Edited June 10, 2022 by oldjeep

[REHinH20]

Ordered my 250 on March 30 (just before they shut orders down)  I'm not even trying to figure out where it is in production.  If I get it before year end, I'll be pleased.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by REHinH20

[Slayer]

7 hours ago, hethj7 said:

It was great to meet @IXFE in person!  
 

Ironically, after that lunch a coworker came buy to talk about my F250 as he is in the market to buy.   He found a new 2022 that was a commercial order someone walked away from and he was on the fence about buying it.  I don’t have details on it but it is Lariat trim and priced below MSRP.  I just read this thread and then text him back - he better jump on anything he can find and he may have stumbled into a deal and he doesn’t even know it yet. 

Also, my local dealer usually prices at invoice.  When looking with my coworker they actually have a sharp F250 in stock - but it looks like they are now priced at what I assume is MSRP, at least in their online ad.  And looking again at all the fine print, it may just be in transit vs in stock.  
 

 

Glad you had the pleasure to formally meet @IXFE!  He's an awesome dude!!!

[Slayer]

Like @IXFE, @Stevo, and @pauley71, I ordered an F-250.  My order was placed on 11/16/2021.  It arrived at the dealer on Monday June 6, 2022 after having been built on Friday June 3, 2022.  Unfortunately, I've been traveling since the day it arrived at the dealer and have yet to see it.  If i was in town, it would be in my driveway. 

 

Here she is....I didn't go full bad a** and get the diesel.

 

 

Should have it Monday.

[hethj7]

@Slayer Godzilla?   A co-worker has it and loves it!  I may have went that route if it wasn’t so new in 2020 when I ordered.  

[hethj7]

20 minutes ago, Slayer said:

Glad you had the pleasure to formally meet @IXFE!  He's an awesome dude!!!

I had a Diet Coke waiting for him, so in terms of first dates I thought I got off to a good start.  

[ahopkins22LSV]

7 hours ago, hethj7 said:

I had a Diet Coke waiting for him, so in terms of first dates I thought I got off to a good start.  

With or without lime?