Pricing games???

Not about our beloved trucks, but a F150... A friend who works for our little town and is provided a truck [he is a manager] showed up at the gym with a new F150 Super Crew. It was purchased from a local dealer using the government pricing list. It is white with gray vinyl interior. It has Michelin tires mounted on plain steel rims with little center caps. The engine is the non-turbo V6.

The cost was ~$22,500. By the way, it only has a couple of hundred miles and with our town's stop sign on every corner, the shown average gas mileage was 13.3 mpg!!!!

I would not say that our 35+ year old trucks are comparable, (I'd say they are better!), but it never ceases to amaze me that people will lose their minds if you suggest they are worth more than a couple hundred bucks. Certainly, I have a few examples which are barely worth the scrap price, but I am maintaining a few that are just as serviceable as anything on the dealer's lot. $22,500 for a stripped down new truck? You could be driving a very nice bullnose for that sort of money.

Well, my 2015 F150 Platinum with every bell and whistle cost a bunch more than that.  But, I still really like it.  And it will out-tow any Bullnose, and do it very comfortably and get decent MPG doing it.

For instance, we towed our 25' Sea Ray to Lake Powell and back, including a stop at the South Rim, and got 11.0 MPG for 2500 miles.  Big Blue, which doesn't tow as well as Blue, gets 11.0 MPG with nothing in the bed nor attached to the hitch.  And he rides like a buckboard.  Blue has seating for 5, in absolute comfort, and Big Blue has room for 2.5 as the one in the middle has to contend with the shifter.

In addition, Blue is on his way to Kansas with my daughter and grandtwins.  It is raining, but I'm comfortable knowing that they are driving a vehicle with a 4 star crash rating, anti-lock brakes, air bags, pre-tensioners, etc.

Having said all that, I still like Bullnose trucks.  And you could have a REALLY nice one for what Blue cost.  But it wouldn't have the capabilities of the present trucks.

Knowing what one like yours cost, Gary, I was amazed that the city was able to purchase this 2018 for what they did! Compared to something like a Honda CRV or Civic, or whatever, the F150 price was a bargain.

I agree - that was a good price.