I was playing around on the Ford & GM websites this evening trying to validate what I've both heard from others and have read on other forums. Some will say that the Ford SD is one of the most expensive trucks on the market, so I thought I'd test it. I priced an '11 350 Lariat against an '11 GMC 3500 (non-Denali). I chose as close to identical features as I could (both just about fully loaded, SRW, LB, CC, Diesel).

The MSRPs came out to $59,285 for the 350 & $60,910 for the 3500. I added the camper package to the 350 which removes $1200 or so from the Ford MSRP, but that's the only way to put the equivalent 18" wheels that come on the 3500. The Denali package also adds another $1000 or so, and in my opinion, you need to add this package to come as close to the Lariate Ultimate package as possible. This only widens the gap, so I'm still fairly conservative (I think). Bottom line, even w/o the Denali package, there certainly doesn't seem to be much premium here if any for Ford.

Perhaps GM ultimately offers more incentives or rebates, I don't know. Current rebates seem fairly similar. I'm sure part of the historical arguments for Ford being more expensive relate to service costs for the previous problematic diesels. While it's too soon to tell, the signs are certainly positive and it looks like the 6.7 could level the playing field a little in the overall value category with a strong initial track record.

At the end of the day you buy what you like for various reasons (brand loyalty, features, comfort, capability, etc). However, it left me thinking why you would pay the same or more for a truck that "may" potentially have equal capability (I think Ford & GM are very close here currently with the exception of a few extreme cases), but falls far short on design, technology, creature comforts, overall fit & finish, etc.

Is there something I'm missing or overlooking, or is the pricing really this close? For me, this is just one more quick check mark in the Ford column....

 

I found the same as well when I decided to get back into a pick-up. I had good experiences with my Fords but went into the search with an open mind. I actually found the Ford was easier to order than the GM products. GM seemed to have some weird combinations of options and I found myself digging through the details to understand what the package or option included.

The bottom line is both of these products are EXPENSIVE. I found the sticker to a F150 I ordered in the 80s. Granted, it did not have all the creature comforts of today and it is 25 years later, but $15k sounded like a good price to pay for a full bed pickup!