BroncoAZ
Full Access Member
So this week was an emotional rollercoaster, I was working in Albuquerque Sunday to Thursday. Monday evening I was at a brewery getting a beer and a Leadfood Screw parked close to my table on the patio, I can’t say I loved the color that day. Tuesday morning I received an email that my 2020 Scab 802A Leadfoot was cancelled (supposedly by Ford due to Covid) and that my Diamondback HD was being delivered that day by UPS freight without warning. My wife handled the freight delivery and I was on the hunt for another truck. My dad, who is always trying to be Mr. helpful, went online to look for Raptors for me, to my surprise he found three that I wasn’t aware of. One of them was a 2020 Scab 802A in Velocity Blue with an MSRP about $5K higher than the cancelled truck I ordered, it was in Albuquerque so I figured I’d check it out.
I went to the dealer after work Tuesday and found the truck with beadlocks, bedliner, and full decals hood and bedside. The Velocity Blue was probably my third or fourth choice behind Leadfoot and Race Red or white, upon first glance I liked the VB but wasn’t in love with it. I proceeded to tell the sales guy about my cancelled truck and exactly what I didn’t like about this truck, basically the $4500 worth of extra crap I didn’t want to pay for. We went back to talk numbers and his sales manager had gone for the day, the other sales manager was having a battle royale with an angry customer, so the sales guy called the other manager and let me speak to him. I told that guy the same story about how it wasn’t the truck I wanted but I might be a buyer if they would deal. I offered $500 over invoice and ended the call, there was no discussion about add ons, he called back and told the sales guy to do it. It was closing time so I left figuring I would probably buy something else. I had narrowed my options down to about four trucks scattered around the country, with a Scab 802A or a Scab 801A in white both in transit to AZ. I made a game plan to call on other trucks the next day.
Wednesday I called on the AZ trucks and there was no room to deal, the dealer was sticking at MSRP plus $3K in crap add ons (tint, “desert protection package”, and some other snake oil dealer profit mechanisms). The next closest trucks were in Michigan and Florida, neither dealer was budging off MSRP. I decided to go look at the blue truck again. When I got to the dealer I knew immediately that I was buying the blue truck. The sales guy and the sales manager from the previous day were both gone. I spoke to a new sales guy and told him I was there to buy the truck for the $500 deal with zero add ons as discussed with the other manager by phone the previous day. The sales guy came back and said they would do the deal as specified. I already had financing from Navy Federal at 2.29% for 72 months that they couldn’t beat. The numbers came back correct with no hidden junk and I went off to finance to finish the deal. There were a couple issues miscommunicated between the dealer, my bank, my sales guy, and me, so when I went to pick up the truck Thursday I couldn’t, I had to stay in ABQ for another night to get another loan check. I went back Friday with a new loan check and finished the deal.
The delivery on Friday went smooth, and the dealer agreed to hold my sedan until I return to Albuquerque for work in a couple weeks. I checked the oil on the Raptor and found it to be half a quart low (thanks for those who suggested to check) and the tires were at 35 psi. I had them add the 1/2 quart and adjust the tires to 38 front 36 rear.
I went across to the Home Depot and got some much needed supplies for the 320 mile trip home across I-40. I went to town with the delicate surface masking tape and the duct tape to prevent rock chips on the busy highway. The truck looked ridiculous, but it’s function first on this trip. I made the trip home with several stops to adjust or reapply tape and filled up with fuel in Gallop just in case. Lots more duct tape was added along the way, and the tape on the A pillars was a lost cause so it got removed about 50 miles into the trip. I varied the speed and gearing on the way home to help with break in, going between 70-80 with a few jaunts to 85-90. From Gallop to Flagstaff the computer showed 18.3 mpg average for most of the way then dropped to 17.5 mpg on the climb into Flagstaff.
When I arrived home a couple of neighbors ooohed and ahhhed at the truck, my wife made a tasty dinner, and I unpacked/inspected my Diamondback cover for install tomorrow.
The best thing about the drive home was no back pain, normally after 3+ hours in the seat of my sedan my back is hurting, I was in the Raptor for at least 6 hours today with no issues. Other things of note, the lane departure works well, the Bluetooth phone is the best I’ve ever had, and I love this truck. Most importantly you can see it isn’t a Prius, unlike what @911 Crazy is suspected to drive daily...
I went to the dealer after work Tuesday and found the truck with beadlocks, bedliner, and full decals hood and bedside. The Velocity Blue was probably my third or fourth choice behind Leadfoot and Race Red or white, upon first glance I liked the VB but wasn’t in love with it. I proceeded to tell the sales guy about my cancelled truck and exactly what I didn’t like about this truck, basically the $4500 worth of extra crap I didn’t want to pay for. We went back to talk numbers and his sales manager had gone for the day, the other sales manager was having a battle royale with an angry customer, so the sales guy called the other manager and let me speak to him. I told that guy the same story about how it wasn’t the truck I wanted but I might be a buyer if they would deal. I offered $500 over invoice and ended the call, there was no discussion about add ons, he called back and told the sales guy to do it. It was closing time so I left figuring I would probably buy something else. I had narrowed my options down to about four trucks scattered around the country, with a Scab 802A or a Scab 801A in white both in transit to AZ. I made a game plan to call on other trucks the next day.
Wednesday I called on the AZ trucks and there was no room to deal, the dealer was sticking at MSRP plus $3K in crap add ons (tint, “desert protection package”, and some other snake oil dealer profit mechanisms). The next closest trucks were in Michigan and Florida, neither dealer was budging off MSRP. I decided to go look at the blue truck again. When I got to the dealer I knew immediately that I was buying the blue truck. The sales guy and the sales manager from the previous day were both gone. I spoke to a new sales guy and told him I was there to buy the truck for the $500 deal with zero add ons as discussed with the other manager by phone the previous day. The sales guy came back and said they would do the deal as specified. I already had financing from Navy Federal at 2.29% for 72 months that they couldn’t beat. The numbers came back correct with no hidden junk and I went off to finance to finish the deal. There were a couple issues miscommunicated between the dealer, my bank, my sales guy, and me, so when I went to pick up the truck Thursday I couldn’t, I had to stay in ABQ for another night to get another loan check. I went back Friday with a new loan check and finished the deal.
The delivery on Friday went smooth, and the dealer agreed to hold my sedan until I return to Albuquerque for work in a couple weeks. I checked the oil on the Raptor and found it to be half a quart low (thanks for those who suggested to check) and the tires were at 35 psi. I had them add the 1/2 quart and adjust the tires to 38 front 36 rear.
I went across to the Home Depot and got some much needed supplies for the 320 mile trip home across I-40. I went to town with the delicate surface masking tape and the duct tape to prevent rock chips on the busy highway. The truck looked ridiculous, but it’s function first on this trip. I made the trip home with several stops to adjust or reapply tape and filled up with fuel in Gallop just in case. Lots more duct tape was added along the way, and the tape on the A pillars was a lost cause so it got removed about 50 miles into the trip. I varied the speed and gearing on the way home to help with break in, going between 70-80 with a few jaunts to 85-90. From Gallop to Flagstaff the computer showed 18.3 mpg average for most of the way then dropped to 17.5 mpg on the climb into Flagstaff.
When I arrived home a couple of neighbors ooohed and ahhhed at the truck, my wife made a tasty dinner, and I unpacked/inspected my Diamondback cover for install tomorrow.
The best thing about the drive home was no back pain, normally after 3+ hours in the seat of my sedan my back is hurting, I was in the Raptor for at least 6 hours today with no issues. Other things of note, the lane departure works well, the Bluetooth phone is the best I’ve ever had, and I love this truck. Most importantly you can see it isn’t a Prius, unlike what @911 Crazy is suspected to drive daily...
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