Hi everyone - first post, but please don't hold back! Unfiltered feedback and biased/unbiased opinions are more than welcome.
A bit of background....I'm located in Houston, TX, where the streets are nearly identical to many third world countries. Ever since the launch of the Raptor, I've been quite intrigued by the concept/approach from Ford...the ultimate daily driver in my mind (maybe why they're so prevalent in Houston?).
I'm a lifelong GM owner; grew up around them, first driving experiences were always GM, dad always drove GM, and I've never known anything else. My daily driving duties are handled by a Tahoe PPV, very functional and a great pavement pounder. Aside from the daily driver, I've always had a huge interest in Corvettes, and currently have a 2011 ZR1. Regardless of what others think, I consider it to be hands-down one of the best 2-3 cars in the world dollar-for-dollar, and wanted one the second GM rumored the ZR1 development years ago.
Although the ZR1 is perfect in every way, Houston street/highway quality and vast amount of traffic seldom let me fully enjoy the car. When you want a total rush, it fills the need every time, but the other 98% of the time where it's almost too much of a hassle to take out of the garage, it just sits and looks good in the garage.
The 2nd gen Raptor has really garnered my attention the past few months. I loved the first gen, but cannot stop looking at the latest and greatest. I'm a bit torn on Ford's move into a V6/turbo setup as I've always been in the camp of "trucks need a V8, period", but have kept up with the development of the 10-speed trans co-developed with GM for the ZL1 (also an incredible car).
I've never purchased a new vehicle in my life, but am in a position to sell off the fleet and "downsize" to just one primary vehicle. Assuming it's a Raptor, would function as a daily as well as a weekend warrior when time allows.
I'm just looking for some input from the Raptor community, especially those of you with some of the second gen setups. I'm also interested in any points of contact within this community regarding a purchase, assuming I eventually move in that direction. Many dealerships I've looked at tend to kick prices way above MSRP; I don't intend to pay a dime over MSRP. I have a feeling the input on here will be a little biased towards the Raptor, but wanted to gather high level insight from the folks actually driving them.
Sorry for the long post, and I look forward to some feedback.
Thanks all!
Russell
A bit of background....I'm located in Houston, TX, where the streets are nearly identical to many third world countries. Ever since the launch of the Raptor, I've been quite intrigued by the concept/approach from Ford...the ultimate daily driver in my mind (maybe why they're so prevalent in Houston?).
I'm a lifelong GM owner; grew up around them, first driving experiences were always GM, dad always drove GM, and I've never known anything else. My daily driving duties are handled by a Tahoe PPV, very functional and a great pavement pounder. Aside from the daily driver, I've always had a huge interest in Corvettes, and currently have a 2011 ZR1. Regardless of what others think, I consider it to be hands-down one of the best 2-3 cars in the world dollar-for-dollar, and wanted one the second GM rumored the ZR1 development years ago.
Although the ZR1 is perfect in every way, Houston street/highway quality and vast amount of traffic seldom let me fully enjoy the car. When you want a total rush, it fills the need every time, but the other 98% of the time where it's almost too much of a hassle to take out of the garage, it just sits and looks good in the garage.
The 2nd gen Raptor has really garnered my attention the past few months. I loved the first gen, but cannot stop looking at the latest and greatest. I'm a bit torn on Ford's move into a V6/turbo setup as I've always been in the camp of "trucks need a V8, period", but have kept up with the development of the 10-speed trans co-developed with GM for the ZL1 (also an incredible car).
I've never purchased a new vehicle in my life, but am in a position to sell off the fleet and "downsize" to just one primary vehicle. Assuming it's a Raptor, would function as a daily as well as a weekend warrior when time allows.
I'm just looking for some input from the Raptor community, especially those of you with some of the second gen setups. I'm also interested in any points of contact within this community regarding a purchase, assuming I eventually move in that direction. Many dealerships I've looked at tend to kick prices way above MSRP; I don't intend to pay a dime over MSRP. I have a feeling the input on here will be a little biased towards the Raptor, but wanted to gather high level insight from the folks actually driving them.
Sorry for the long post, and I look forward to some feedback.
Thanks all!
Russell
