I noticed that there was a new option on the Ford Build & Price tool on their website. It is called "Wheel Well Liner - Front (Only)", I saw it on the F-450 XLT. It is probably on all of the other Super Duty configurations, but I don't plan to go looking.

I did get the impression when I was deciding what configuration I wanted to order and I was playing around with the build tool in December and January that it was something updated as time went along. In Ford's Super Duty brochure there is not an option in the table for a front wheel well liner that I see, at least the version of the file I downloaded back in December... possibly they have updated that PDF on their website also.

I remember seeing a post on here, this forum in particular I think, that someone discovered the Ford part number for the rear wheel well liner for the 2017 dual rear wheel configurations.

Why are wheel well liners not a standard feature?

 

FoMoCo Finance probably did their research and saw that they could save a few bucks if they excluded it.

Those who cared enough would pay for it and they'd make a few bucks extra.

We used to do this sort of project all the time at another major manufacturer. It sounds cheap but you can easily save the company $1M and make the company an extra $1M simultaneously.

Those projects help make great performance reviews and if you do enough of them as a company, the shareholders get happier.

 

It's a sign of the (awful) times we live in. EVERY company is watching what the AIRLINES are doing:

OFFERING THE MOST BASIC PRODUCT/SERVICE AND CHARGING FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.

Don't be surprised in the future if the auto companies' build and price webpages start with chassis and let you build it from the cab/compartment all the way on up charging for EVERY ITEM as you build it.

If they did this now these $60-$80,000 trucks would easily cost $80-$100,000 or more.

It's coming. It's just a matter of time.

 

It shows the options that way for the Lariat SRW trim too. Front only ($174), Rear only ($180) and Front/Rear ($325).

 

I've seen many Super Duty trucks with the heavy duty springs.
Would the wheel well cover hide that?

What exactly is the purpose for the wheel well covers?
My impression has always been to protect that part of the body from chips and to keep the components from having larger items that get run over from getting lodge in the components. It seems to me that on the Super Duty trucks, being that they are a much larger vehicle, it serves to smooth out the appearance since the wheel well exposes so much of the underside components.

 

I went through it last night. I noticed that you now get options forr snow plow, camper and FX4 package before selecting your axle ratio. And, on the XLT, the XLT Premium package photo now showes the Power Scope mirror instead of the 8" productivity screen. The prices seemed higher too, but that could just be me. I didn't write down $ last time I did a build and price but it seems like every time I do one the $ goes up.

 

Prices do go up throughout the year as manufacturers see fit. Though that is just my observation. I ran into something similar the last time I ordered a vehicle (not a Ford) in year 2000, that by the time I decided what options I wanted (a couple weeks) and finished bargaining (over a number of days) the manufacturer added an advertisement fee because they kicked off a campaign. It wasn't a dealer issue, cause I called the manufacturer and they confirmed it was how they paid for their advertising campaigns. -- I don't know if Ford does that, but at the time I was surprised because I did not realize that could be a line item on the sales order. It wasn't a negative, I just don't like surprises.

 

I think half of my problem is every time I use the build and price I talk myself into another option (or one trim level up).

 

My truck has went up in price by about 2k since purchasing in October. I was on there playing around building a truck identical to mine and was surprised

 

I get that! I studied the brochure, cause I am keen on buyer's remorse. I did not want to pay that kind of money for a vehicle only to find I missed an option that can only be gotten during the build. I did find two items in the brochure that were not on the build/price tool. I talked to the representative and they said those were logged issues, I presume that meant the developers would add those options at a later time. I don't recall what those two options are now, but they were in the brochure thats how I knew to look for them.

 

I am assuming you are talking about a 2017 model?
Or did you buy a 2016 and the 2017 is $2K more for the same configuration?