Do you regret buying a base model truck?

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
A better way to phrase this question might be "did you regret buying a vehicle that didn't have the options you wanted?"

I was in that exact situation last year. Tons of low-mileage F-150's close to me in my price range. But it was darn near impossible to find the specific features I wanted: 36 gallon tank, E-locker, trailer brake controller, and heated (cloth) seats. And could not be black or dark blue.

Personally I could do without the heated seats - IMO heated seats are a real benefit on a vehicle with leather seats because leather gets very cold in winter and the heat is a nice way to offset that. But the wife insisted on the heated seats so I had to specify those as well. Happy wife, happy life etc.

Almost everything I wanted COULD have been added aftermarket (even the big tank, which several people on the F-150 forums have done.) But for what I was spending I figured I had the time to wait for exactly the right one to come along and I'm glad I did.
 

MTVR

Well-known member
Well that's a cute little truck.

Thanks! :)

The visual proportions of the truck are deceiving- with nothing else next to it, it could easily be mistaken for a 5-ton truck, or even a deuce and a half. The MTVR's cab is so large, that my wife can stand straight up inside, as long as she's not wearing high heels. In order to use the machinegun hatch (one of her favorite features), she has to fold down the passenger seatback and stand on it.

For perspective, here is a pic of an MTVR towing a 5-ton:20200531_113101.jpg
 
Last edited:

MTVR

Well-known member
My wife named the truck "Grace", after the female Terminatrix "Grace" portrayed by MacKenzie Davis in the movie "Terminator: Dark Fate".

 
Last edited:

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
For what its worth, pretty much every vehicle that is CANBUS makes it very easy to add options that the truck was not purchased with.

I added things like remote start, puddle lights, steering wheel head unit controls, etc... to my bare bones XLT Superduty for very little money.

Only option we dont have that Id still like it the power folding mirrors, to be able to fold them in while driving.
Just the mirrors though are big $$, so its a feature Ill live without. :ROFLMAO:
 

blackdmax15

Observer
To hopefully be somewhat of value, I Custom ordered a 2018 Ram 3500 with a few specific options. Got the Cummins/Aisin for the power, dual 440A alternators and the HD vinyl seats due to the kids. Had Dennis Dillon Dodge add all the suspension and mods I wanted. My thought was get the chassis I wanted, save money not buying a Laramie or higher trim and use that for mods. I ended up about the same price a Laramie would have costed, but already built (Phase 1).

Fastforward almost two years and I have added bed LED lights, upgraded the headlights and just recently put a factory fog light bumper on to add BD SAE fogs and their squadron Pros. I have added a ton of 2-300 dollar mods along the way. I still want a better radio and the seats are mega uncomfortable and not super adjustable. I have some back issues from my time flying the plane in my avatar and I’m about to go with the Scheel-man seats or nice Recaro’s that are cooled and heated. I hear everyone’s point, but by the time I’m done with mods I would be in the price of that Laramie. All of my desired mods aren’t “required”, but Annoyances I could have avoided by buying the nicer truck from the start.

I do believe one can save coin by buying a stripped truck and modify it to your needs, but it will take a while to get there. I’m keeping the truck as of now and when I’m done it will be a better truck. I enjoy modifying my vehicles so it was my reason for going the route I did. I say buy as much truck as your wallet or wife will let you justify.
 

Redheddedwonder

Active member
To hopefully be somewhat of value, I Custom ordered a 2018 Ram 3500 with a few specific options. Got the Cummins/Aisin for the power, dual 440A alternators and the HD vinyl seats due to the kids. Had Dennis Dillon Dodge add all the suspension and mods I wanted. My thought was get the chassis I wanted, save money not buying a Laramie or higher trim and use that for mods. I ended up about the same price a Laramie would have costed, but already built (Phase 1).

Fastforward almost two years and I have added bed LED lights, upgraded the headlights and just recently put a factory fog light bumper on to add BD SAE fogs and their squadron Pros. I have added a ton of 2-300 dollar mods along the way. I still want a better radio and the seats are mega uncomfortable and not super adjustable. I have some back issues from my time flying the plane in my avatar and I’m about to go with the Scheel-man seats or nice Recaro’s that are cooled and heated. I hear everyone’s point, but by the time I’m done with mods I would be in the price of that Laramie. All of my desired mods aren’t “required”, but Annoyances I could have avoided by buying the nicer truck from the start.

I do believe one can save coin by buying a stripped truck and modify it to your needs, but it will take a while to get there. I’m keeping the truck as of now and when I’m done it will be a better truck. I enjoy modifying my vehicles so it was my reason for going the route I did. I say buy as much truck as your wallet or wife will let you justify.

One take away I take from this though is you can put aftermarket parts towards a lower level truck and end up with a nicer truck than some of the higher level trucks. Seats for example I believe are way nicer aftermarket. If you save $10,000 on a truck you can build up with aftermarket exactly the way you like over time.
Sweet jet btw! Do you still fly?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,539
Messages
2,875,661
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top