Or an opportunity to get a different 2011 F-150, would you?

Why? Let's all be honest, no shame here and all opinions / facts matter.

I'll start.

I toiled and researched for a couple of years before making my choice. My choice wasn't even close to what I had originally spec'd out for my dream truck.

Originally I wanted a 5.0L 4x4 Scab XLT with the 3.73 LSD. I always wanted black and I was one of the original naysayers of any non N/A engine, so the 5.0L was my choice.

I drove a 5.0L in the cab config that I wanted but it had the 3.55 LSD and I decided that the 3.55 would meet my needs after I put about 20 screaming hard miles on it. My poor daughter left finger imprints in the dash.

Then righter after I had driven the 5.0L truck, I was called by Ford and asked if I wanted to take advantage of an ecoboost drive that I had signed up for. Well hell ya! I had the truck for 90 minutes and as long as I could get home in 90 minutes, I could go anywhere I wanted.

I pounded the hell out of this truck up and down the interstate and secondary roads. This truck did have the max tow and 3.73 axles. I then began to think there is something to this EB thing but I wasn't willing to shell out $750 more for an engine.

The 6.2L has always intrigued me but to this day, I've yet to see one in an F-150. They are rare.

Then the stars lined up and I made contact with my dealer.

He had two trucks in the price range that I wanted to stay with in.

1. White 5.0L 4x4 Scab XLT 3.55 LSD. I loved it except for the white.

2. Black 3.5L 4x4 Scab XLT 3.31 open diff.

I made some phone calls to some diesel buddies as I was really concerned about the 3.31 axles. They assured me that for my intended purposes, the 3.31's would be just fine. So I pulled the trigger and I'm still tickled to death that I did.

A couple of things that I wish the truck had come with is a sat radio and a rear window defroster. Those are my only two grievances inside the cab.

Once I pop the hood, the engine bay is as strange to me as a Greek road map. A little more room under the bonnet, the lack of a man step on the front bumper and easier access to checking the oil are my gripes under the hood.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the package that I chose and I've yet to accumulate enough reasons to regret buying this particular truck.

 

Honestly I can't say I would change a thing about my truck. My only complaint is that It didn't come outta the factory with all season tires ''Now I have to wait for my street tires to wear out before I can put BFG A/T's on it''

But one advantage I had when buying my truck was that I ordered it from the factory vs just taking something that suited me from the lot. I didn't have to make a single compromise because I ordered it excatly the way I dreamed of having it. ''Other than the tires''. As soon as the 2011's hit the lot in 2010 I went and test drove them all from the 3.7L all the way to the 6.2L and I deemed my perfect truck as follows.

2011
F-150
Super Cab
Blue Flame
FX4
5.0L V8
3.73 Rear End

And loving every minute of it.

 

Its stories like this that have made me swear off buying off the dealers lot. If I'm going to drop the money on vehicle I will spend an extra $1000 in destination charges to get the exact truck I want instead of compromising.

 

There shouldn't be any additional charges for ordering... you pay the destination fees either way. I *always* order my trucks.

 

If I could do it all over again, I would have bought another XLT instead of a Lariat. I don't care for the 20" tires and the navigation package does not impress me at all. My truck has been in the shop a few times now for problems with the electronics package. I don't really like the console shifter either. I was happier with my XLT. I will say that I have been pleased with the Ecoboost. I researched for a couple of years and thought I wanted a truck with all the bells and whistles, but as it turns out, I would rather not have all of that. For my next truck, I'll be going back to an XLT.

 

I got the HD payload package. If I had known it came with 7 lug wheels, I probably wouldn't have picked it. Not much aftermarket available.

 

I really wanted a Lariat Supercab, with a 5 .5 box and 5.0. Was told you can't get S cabs with 5.5 boxes.. Was I lied too? That combo was not on the lot. I test drove the EB Screw and was able to get a pretty good deal. The other combo might have saved me $3000 more dollars. I'm happy, no real complaints, but I wish I could have the same truck about 10" or 12" shorter. Tight garage.

BTW If Ford would ever put the EB in a 3/4 size PU about the size of a Honda Ridgeline, I'd buy one in a minute. Love my several Ford F150's, but I'm getting older and seem to wanting to downsize everything. Never gonna happen, but would that thing run.

 

If I could do it over, I would buy a Raptor. I didn't because I didn't think I could justify the cost. Now, I wish I would have just taken the higher payments. Life's too short to compromise. Still love my truck, though.

 

Initially, if I could have done it over again I thought I should have waited at least one more year and bought an F150 with an Ecoboost. After recently driving a 6.2 Limited I possibly could have waited longer and got a nicer truck with factory navigation. Oh hell! I can't make up my mind. Anyone want to loan me $10k for a down payment?

 

No complaints so far...love my truck.

I probably would have skipped the factory FX4 side steps - the design actually makes sense for the model, but if I went aftermarket, i probably could have gotten ones that were a tad lower. Thats the only decision I question.

Also, got the 3.73s. Its not that I am unhappy. I like the response and am also happy with the mileage. But 3.55's would have done the job just fine. I guess its fun to feel like you've been fired out of a slingshot though...

I ordered my truck and its worth the wait. I was going to comprimise on color at one point and I'm glad I didnt. When you have payments, its nice to get into the truck you really wanted.

 

My truck was pretty much perfect as I found it. The only other F-150 I drove before mine was a left over '10 at another Ford lot that sat for almost two years because it was a rare package, 4.6L, Reg-Cab, long bed, tan interior, XL, tailgate-step etc.. It had 20 miles still on it and they told me $16K would take it home. Everything was good until I drove it, I thought the 4.6L was an absolute dog.

That said I started looking at 2011's, a local dealer to me had this pretty loaded XLT, 5.0L, Sync, Bluetooth, Sat Radio, 3.55 + LSD. I took it out on the highway and put my foot into it. I know you EB guys love your motor, but this 5.0L sounded like a NASCAR at WOT stock and while I was coming from a 2.3L '11 Ranger the 5.0L felt like a rocket to me. After Owning other turbocharged vehicles in the past, I was not willing to buy something that had two, even if it made 5,000 hp for an extra $25 bill at purchase time.

I would have got 4WD if I had to go a second round, but not too big of a deal here in Nor Cal for us, plus we have an '11 Subaru Outback if we really need to go anywere that demands AWD.

I think I would have got just the standard XLT instead of the Chrome pkg, I don't care for the low & chrome running board or the super bling-bling grille, or the Wal-Mart-esq chrome tailpipe extension to be honest. I also didn't know the wheels were plastic-chrome or whatever they were called until I got it home, would have rather had the standard XLT alloys. I hate to see what this chrome-clad looks like in 3-4 years.

I also wish I got a rear slider, had one on my Ranger and loved it.

What I like the most so far...

The burly stock exhaust sound ( 5.0L )
The seats are more comfy than my couch
I love the design of the truck overall (But hate how high the bed-sides are) I'm 5'6'' so putting anything over the sides has me standing on the tire.
I love the steering, so tight for a truck, and makes parking this beats easy in tight areas.
I love the dash and guage cluster and info screen, probably the best and most intuitive I've experienced in any truck.

Wish I would have been driving a 2009+ sooner, but glad I waited to get one of the new motors. I honestly didn't care for the 4.6L or 5.4L despite the awesome truck around them.

 

I don't know what I would want different if I had it to do over again. Maybe a crew cab but then at the loss of the longer bed.

To the OP.....I'm really surprised yours came without a sat radio. All the 2011s I looked at when I bought mine had them.

 

The only option mine didn't have that I would have liked to have was the sunroof (but, I will admit to not being heartbroken by the thought of saving the extra $$$ that the sunroof would have added to the pricetag so, it's not really that much of an issue...). Otherwise, this truck is pretty much spec'd out exactly the way I came up with every time I started playing around with the "build your own" page on the Ford website.

 

Would have kept the truck I traded in. Ordered mine, so I have the options I want not what the dealer had available. Overall the quality isn't there compared to the past. Old truck ('01) had 180k, still had original coolant, rotors, plugs, etc. etc.

To name a few dislikes, open the door when it snowed and the seats get covered. Open the window at a drive through during the rain and the water comes in. mic on the sync is useless and I won't let them put the fix in as I think it looks terrible. windshield washers won't spary on the entire window at highway speeds. Probably not a problem in the south, but drive in the snow/salt/slush it is. Bumpers and interior all feel inferior when compared to the past. Try to clean the inside of the rear windows, those headrests are a pain as you can't just slide them out. Oh, and who in there right mind would have you push a radiator hose aside to get a new oil filter on?

 

180k on the original plugs and coolant? Wow. Not much for PM huh? Anyway, I wish mine had 3.73's instead of 3.55's (since I'm running bigger tires), wish I had tow mirrors but not a huge deal, and I miss my sunroof I had in the King Ranch. Thats it. It looks good and is dependable, and thats all that matters to me.