Alright, heres the scoop, I was trying to keep it a secret, but I need some opinions.

I've been talking to the internet sales general manager about some new fx4's and xlts (4x4 manuals). He's got the price down a GREAT chunk. I didn't even bargain with him and he's throwing the msrp of the level 2 down to 23,xxx. Normally it is 27 fully loaded. He said they are just trying to move vehicles...he's the GM and said basically, come in, tell us what YOU want, and we will go from there.

I'm thinking about trading my truck in for a 07 xlt or level 2. The only reason i don't want the level 2 is that there isn't much difference in the truck IMO. Shocks (replaced after superlift :) ) torsen-out the door b/c of locker, tbars are the same (i asked the parts manager to check), no manual 4x4 anymore, two tone paint isn't that great (IMO), alcolas are getting replaced by alloys (b/c of lift)

So basically when I get done super/body lifting the truck nothing will be worth getting a level 2. I don't want to spend the extra money.

I can get a xlt for 20k msrp, he said we can automatically take 3k off that price. So thats only 17k. My loan right now is for 14k, that would be like 50 dollars more a month!!!! For a brand new 4x4!


Whats your opinion? I still have a lot of aftermarket stuff on my truck that I can not take out. (i.e. lift/efan/pullies/expo stuff). But I'm not really worried about that.

Then, comes my wheels/tires. I CAN throw my stock ones on, but I don't know if it will hurt the resale value, should I just do it the right way? (i.e. either leave it lifted, or drop it down).

I'm really not too worried about all my parts b/c I am definetly double lifting this 4x4 (so nothing will work anyway) and my expo console won't work (manual), and my pullies won't work.

Let me know your opinion.

 

I say go for the 4x4 and your expo console will work with the manual trans. Put your stock wheels and tires on there. You will have a better chance of selling your aftermarket wheels/tires than stock.(If you just wanna give your 33's away I am here). Just make sure you get the 4.0, NO MORE 3.SL0W!!!

 

i voted keep the old one but if you do trade it in get the xlt or sport ranger if you are gonna do all those mods

 

how much are they giving you for the trade in?
and is 14 what you still owe

 

Im getting rid of my truck because the ranger is just too small...

Im getting a full size something, expedition or explorer....or f150..

Rocky

 

definately consider trade in............that isn't a bad deal.......if you plan on lifing the new truck, dont get the lvl2.....wont be worth the extra 2-3K for stuff you are going to replace.........other than the shocks, wheels, and torsion, the level II has got the skid plates, but if a dealership wanted to sell a XLT 4x4, they could put the skid plates on there for you!........

if you owe more than they are going to give you for trade then dont do it and just keep your truck,

 

remove the lift and wheels and tires on the truck put it back to stock sell all the aftermarket stuff if your not gonna need it. trade it in. and personally the level II to me is worth it for the black interor and the nice shifter. also FYI ever drive a level II with the torsion rear end? you honistly dont need to replace it for locker for a long time it works veryvery well. only thing i would recommed IF your gonna do alot of offroading is put a locker in the front diff....also your forgetting your get a 31 spline rear end with a level II and that will hold up to over size tires WAY better then the 28 spline axle. also you can buy the Ford racing rear disc conversion for the 31 spline when your drums where out...

 

another thing to consider is the 31 spline. i wish i had that all the time, if i did you can easily convert to rear disc brakes, heck Bill made a how-to

if you are going to run 35s you need better brakes and discs in the rear help.

the 28 spline can be converted but takes more money.

another thing with the lvl 2 is the skid plates.

all in all go with the interior you like, remember you sit your but in it every day, the interior is harder to change factory parts than the outside imo.

the outside you can always add skid plates, disc brakes, shocks...

the torsion diff is a good diff tho, idk that you would need to upgrade to a locker. and if you are going to pull the locker you might as well regear.

 

stop taking words from my mouth

 

Haha the Zachs hit the nail right on the head. Besides the fact that it takes time and money to make all those changes, so you wont automatically be changing stuff. You'd be surprised how capable a Level II is right out of the box! I've seen Ex. consoles work with manual transmissions too, so don't rule that one out. I love my Level II and wouldn't trade it for the world! The black interior is soooo nice and I get lots of compliments on it also. In the end it's your choice and what you feel is the best value or decision. That Level II package will up the resale value too if you do ever decide to sell it.

 

the black interior is worth atleast a 1000 imo, i know i would go the next package up if i could.

 

I know, I just got off the phone with Steve Gulfman (or something like that) he is the sales GM and he told me that he has 3 level 2's they want gone. he's talking low 20's now...he hasn't even seen my truck.

I think I'm going to put my stock wheels/tires back on though, I'm not going to de-lift it.

So far, I owe about 14k, I'm not exactly sure, I have to call today to check.
My truck is worth, lets say 9k. If they can make up that difference, I'll make the deal. If they can't, no way...I refuse to be upside down.

All in all I'm looking at about 100 more dollars/month, which isn't bad.

I'm leaning towards a Level 2, I wasn't even thinking about the interior and 31 spline (for rear disks!!!).



From what it seems like, the way Steve was talking to me, he told me not to worry about my trade in at all. They use auction sites, KBB, and some other thing...he said he will work with me to get the max out of my truck. Also, I told him my truck was modified and he just said "Even better, you'll get more money. Looks like it will be sent to the auction company". So what I"m thinking I'll do is just take my aftermarket wheels/tires, sell em. Take out my HU, I'll buy a cheapo crappy one (b/c I am getting a flipout in the next couple days) and be rollin an 06 level 2.

BTW, anyone want my rims/tires? I'll sell em cheap...I bought the tires for 600 and I"ll probably let the whole package go for a little less than that!!! (thats if I sell this truck)


Any ideas for cleaning? I'm going to wash wax and clean engine bay and underbody. I'm going to get my old tires rebalanced, throw them on, take off all my stickers, clean the interior.

All I really care about are my wheels/tires. The lift was a PITA so I'm going to leave it.





If they can work this deal, the truck is theirs!!!

 

I would love to have the Black interior if I could, I would also love to have 4wd, but that is another story all together. That would be a big reason for going with the better pkg.

 

Don't bother waxing the truck, that wont get you a better price, but wash it real good inside and out, they don't like to see mud underneith the truck. Save the wax for the LII!

 

haha, I will wash her real good.

Sad thing is I'm going offroading tommorow

Anyway, looks like the ball is rolling...I gotta see if I can talk my mom into co-signing (only for the better interest rate) and if she doesn't, oh well!!!!

 

haha, they just tack that onto the price of the truck or incorporate it into your loan. You're upside down on it either way.

 

Ha, I know that!

I think i typed it wrong...

Basically, he is stating 23,xxx for a fully loaded level2. I owe 14k, so if he can make the truck 23 out the door...we are great. If it is 26 or so (to make up the difference) there is no way.

And, I'm not 100% sure I'm doin it too...I really want a quad, and that may come first...I dunno...my payment of 350/month is not too great!!!

 

if you sell the wheels and tires i might be interested... are they 15x8 with 3 3/4 backspacng?

 

Just beware, once you go level II you can't go back! It's like seeing the promised lans and then going to the arcade to play Pacman instead, It just doesn't work!

Good Luck, I will be looking for another Level II in January or Febuary, Maybe a used one, but I will cave and order a new one I know it.

~HJ

 

Negotiate with more than one dealership... with the power of the phone and email you should easily, easily negotiate with 10 different dealerships. Can save you some bucks.

 

Oh yea, I did that already, this guy is a lot better with prices so far, we will see though.









I dunno if this is for sure or not, I'm just more or less hoping for the sky and if they give me the sky, we are good!

 

15x8 w/ 4" B/S

They need to be balanced though, I just used dynabeads, but they could use a good balance, they are steel wheels...so they aren't always perfect too! BTW, Mike contacted me about em first, so I dunno if he still wants em, but if they do go, he's got first, you'll be 2nd. I dunno if he even wants em though!

BTW, tires were 600 and wheels were 200, dynabeads 100, I'll let em go for probably the price of the tires, and they got maybe an oil change on em...not even.

 

I have one thing to add 0% for 72 mo

 

why would you finance a vehicle for 6 years? get that dude paid off as fast as you can...........that 0% is also if he qualifies through ford motor credit

 

I heard about that, I was just on ford.com and saw that...thats heaven!!!

My mom has that and even after 2 years she was positive on her expo...she actually could have made money on selling it! It helps so much.