All,
Picked up the (specially ordered) '04 F350 last night...It's a 6.o/5spd auto 2wd LB Crewcab XLT with some comfort extras (power seats both sides, adj. pedals, chrome tube steps, fogs, heated, integrated tow mirrors). Truck had 9.2mi on odo when we left the lot in Irvine.

sold my '01 - which was the exact same truck, except for the 7.3/4spd engine trans combo - to do this.

Everything seems to be ok, except for a harsh shifting issue, noticed immediately (after I was hours away from dealer, natch...) so I need to get that resolved, I understand there's a TSB on this...speaking of which; where do I get TSBs? from Alldata? or is there another source?

Also, are we still playing russian roulette with these ongoing flash updates? this is a Dec 03 build truck. Do I need to be assertive and tell the dealer NOT to flash, or will they leave it alone now? I'd appreciate some input here...

FYI - I bought on x-plan, had a huge down, my second truck transaction w/this same dealer. I was in and out of there in about an hour. smooth...

wow...what a truck.

Cheers
Thom Kuby
w 6.0/5sp setup...for better or worse.

 

Do not mean to belittle you, but is the Tow/haul mode ON? It shifts real real hard in this mode

 

Or is the tranny still in it's learning phase?

 

I would never complain about hard shifting...thats just me...the harder the better IMHO

 

What is the X-Plan?

poco

 

Hey, POCO...(and anyone else who might be curious)

The X-Plan is a pre-negotiated discount with Ford, based on invoice (vs MSRP). The deal is that you don't buy a unit from dealer inventory/off the lot, but rather from ford's inventory (i.e. order something). At least this has been my experience; having done two X-plan deals so far (with the same dealer)... This discount is a fixed, no-haggle, take-it-or-leave it situation...In my case this has amounted to a couple hundred bucks below invoice plus whatever rebates can be had.

X-Plans are partnerships between ford and various member organizations. In my case it is The Experimental Aircraft Association.

The reason you don't/can't buy something from dealer inventory is that the dealer has been paying whatever it is they're obligated to pay on the unit sitting on their lot (floor charges, taxes, insurance...all that schtuff, and they really need to get at least some of those expenses back... and no, I'm not in the car business. this was explained to me once by a ford dealer a long time ago.) Now, I have no idea how TRUE all that is, but I ordered this new truck, and before that, a "dealer-trade" was done on my '01, thereby working within the X-Plan parameters.


What's nice about the X-Plan is that SO MUCH TIME is saved, along with the better pricing. Both times, I was "in and out" in no time at all.

If anyone has a better answer than this, please chip in...help Poco out. Or if I'm begging more questions, please ping me and I'll attempt to clarify...

Cheers
Thom Kuby

 

All,
Meant to include this in my last post - but thought it better to make this a separate answer:

I was whining about harsh shifting: This isn't entirely accurate...what's bothering me is the actual shift-selection from park to reverse (and back). It seems to be a lot harsher than it should be...like the idle (stall?) speed is too high. It just "whumps" into gear and jerks the truck a little more than I would like or what would seem "normal" given selecting a gear on an automatic transmission. Of course I do this right, with my foot on the brake and all that. I'm actually real easy on my equipment...

Anyone? Any ideas?
I plan on taking it back to the Dealer to let them look at it here pretty quick. Just wanted to know if anyone here has dealt with this same anomaly...Thanks for any insight: I appreciate your collective time.

Cheers
Thom Kuby

 

I was able to purchase my truck right off the dealers lot at invoice plus rebates on Xplan.

 

All,
Per LasVegas F250's comment...I obviously don't have the full story on x-plan parameters/rules.

Can anyone explain what the real deal is on "X-Plan" ?

Between myself and "lasvegas", it's apparent x-plan buyers have more latitude regarding available choices (off the lot or special order...)

I'm looking forward to hearing this one...

Cheers
Thom Kuby

 

 

Uncle works for Ford got my 6.0L at cost. MSRP was 43,995 and got it for 31,681 I believe................

 

Now thats a DEAL!!!!! Was that on the Xplan?

 

Is this the same thing as the "Partner" program... as in www.fordpartner.com ??

I am a "Ford Partner" now because I am a Sears employee since we use Ford vehicles for our service vans, and for Budget rent-a-car (Sears still the largest shareholder/operator)

 

There is a large discussion of x-plan in the "New Truck Buyer" under the general section of the forum. Check it out and do a search for past posts. 1956MarkII has done a great job explaining the x-plan and other ford plans. In addition he is a Ford Dealer.

He is very imformative on purchase matters.

Hope this helps.