Good day FRF,
I recently joined the forum, and the proud ownership ranks. The story starts with a 2004 F250 SuperDuty Powerstroke Harley Edition which was on the verge of being the nightmare from hell, and before she became an issue "she had to go". If you are not familiar with the 6.0L diesel potential nightmares, well lets say that I was educated in a minute and a half and opted to put my hard earned money in something else, rather than costly repairs.
After visiting our local dealership I have to say that I was not overly impressed by the "cookie cutter" trucks on the lot, so opted to go visit the largest dealership in the area (to see if they had something more). As wifey and I were making the drive, she called the dealership and asked if they had a Raptor on the lot. They had ONE!~ I had never feasted my eyes on the actual beast and was looking to take a lateral move into the "unusual" vehicle, so I thought the Raptor would be a great fit. To make the story short we visited a non-Ford dealership on our way up (because the GM is a personal friend) and got the "deal of the century" on anything they had on the lot. I wasn't overly thrilled with the prospect of going with anything but a Ford so despite the prospect of HUGE savings (I mean getting a car at owner cost), we decided to continue our escapade to the Ford dealership. Obviously, the lingering thought was that we were going to the "stealership" so did not burn our bridges with the non-Ford dealership and made a tentative selection.
Upon our arrival they did have ONE!, a Terrain colored 2013 Raptor was perched nice and pretty on the "show hill". First thoughts were "What a beast!!", "Exactly what the doctor ordered!", "Not my color"..... bummer
Now get this, on a Saturday afternoon, 2pm, only 2 salesperson..... in one of the largest (if not the largest) Ford dealership in the Louisiana!?!?!. Well wifey and son in tow we walked the 10+ acres of cars and trucks, and were getting increasingly frustrated (they all looked the same!). We finally made it back to the main office and grabbed the first available sales guy. Having walked what it felt like 2 miles already it was a welcomed sight when he pointed to the golf carts. We traveled up and down, and up and down, and up and down every single aisle and all the while I was expressing my frustrations with the fact that all the trucks looked the same. I did describe to the sales guy that I was looking for a blacked out truck, so he proposed that we go see the new arrivals on the back lot. He brought me straight to a nice looking 2013 FX4 fully loaded. I did crawl all over and asked a bunch of questions regarding the sticker price and all the incentive difference between it and the 2012 and could see that my sales guy realized that he was not going to "make me happy". On our way out, we took a short trip to the commercial vehicle section (you know, the one with all the white barebone trucks/cars). As we make the corner, amidst all the "ugly trucks" sat a 2013 Tux Black Raptor with all the plastic still on. I mean plastic on seats, plastic on the wheels, white plastic protector on the fenders.... Take it off the transport and park it there BRAND NEW! I turned to my guy and I said THIS IS IT!!!! He looked at me with a scared look on his face and said:"Normally when a truck is way back here, it is SOLD!", "Actually it is extremely rare that we have Raptors that make it to the lot unsold". So I inquired about the Terrain colored one. Low and behold, it is SOLD! So being unfamiliar with this particular Raptor, and trying not to disapoint me too much, we went back to the main office to see. He called the New Truck Manager, can't get a hold of him. He finds the invoice and no name attached. He looks through the sales log and nothing! So we agreed to make a tentative sale on the truck, pending him finding out more information on the truck and left a deposit. I basically left the dealership Saturday without knowing if I had a truck or not. Monday could not come fast enough!! By 10am he calls me to ask if I was paying cash or financing. My reply to him was that before I tell him he had to confirm that the truck was mine.... and it was! He had been rushing all morning to get his ducks lined up, and forgot to call me to tell me that she was mine! The main reason he was rushing was that 4 other salesman heard about the black Raptor and had a sale for it and they were battling it out between their customers to see who would come up with the most money (not knowing that I was already locked in). I finally made it to the dealership that afternoon to trade in my F250 and take possession of the Raptor and was greeted by 2 other sales guy who told me that I had "stole that truck". By the time those guys were done battling, the winner amongst those 4 salesman had a firm offer WELL OVER the MSRP. I can only imagine how disappointed the guy was when he received the call that she was sold. In any case, I was in the showroom 2 minutes when 2 separate guys inquired about that Raptor parked outside. She was MINE!!!! (My precious!!)
I bought the truck without ever going inside or test driving it (soooooo unlike me!) I knew I had to have her, but what sold me was my string of blessings:
1) It is a blessing that I was able to find an UNSOLD Raptor, period!
2) Even more of a blessing to find an UNSOLD Raptor in the color I wanted
3) Exponentially more blessed to have found an UNSOLD Raptor, in the color I wanted, and with all the bells and whistles I wanted
4) Almost unfathomable to find an UNSOLD Raptor, in the color I wanted, with all the bells and whistles I wanted, with the decal package I wanted.
5) ....and the final nail in the coffin.... to find an UNSOLD Raptor, in the right color, with all the bells and whistles, with the decal package..... that my wife said without even blinking an eye BUY THE TRUCK!!! without even inquiring as to how much it cost, or having been inside, or having test driven it
What are the odds!!??!!
Let me tell you, I was literally giggling like a school girl on my first drive! I imagined the drive and boys was I wrong, it was BETTER! much, much better!!! Having worked hard all my life for all the things I own, I normally have a sense of accomplishment when I make those kinds of purchases. This time, I am not kidding you, my initial feeling was that I did not deserve it! Enjoyed every mile since.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
I recently joined the forum, and the proud ownership ranks. The story starts with a 2004 F250 SuperDuty Powerstroke Harley Edition which was on the verge of being the nightmare from hell, and before she became an issue "she had to go". If you are not familiar with the 6.0L diesel potential nightmares, well lets say that I was educated in a minute and a half and opted to put my hard earned money in something else, rather than costly repairs.
After visiting our local dealership I have to say that I was not overly impressed by the "cookie cutter" trucks on the lot, so opted to go visit the largest dealership in the area (to see if they had something more). As wifey and I were making the drive, she called the dealership and asked if they had a Raptor on the lot. They had ONE!~ I had never feasted my eyes on the actual beast and was looking to take a lateral move into the "unusual" vehicle, so I thought the Raptor would be a great fit. To make the story short we visited a non-Ford dealership on our way up (because the GM is a personal friend) and got the "deal of the century" on anything they had on the lot. I wasn't overly thrilled with the prospect of going with anything but a Ford so despite the prospect of HUGE savings (I mean getting a car at owner cost), we decided to continue our escapade to the Ford dealership. Obviously, the lingering thought was that we were going to the "stealership" so did not burn our bridges with the non-Ford dealership and made a tentative selection.
Upon our arrival they did have ONE!, a Terrain colored 2013 Raptor was perched nice and pretty on the "show hill". First thoughts were "What a beast!!", "Exactly what the doctor ordered!", "Not my color"..... bummer
Now get this, on a Saturday afternoon, 2pm, only 2 salesperson..... in one of the largest (if not the largest) Ford dealership in the Louisiana!?!?!. Well wifey and son in tow we walked the 10+ acres of cars and trucks, and were getting increasingly frustrated (they all looked the same!). We finally made it back to the main office and grabbed the first available sales guy. Having walked what it felt like 2 miles already it was a welcomed sight when he pointed to the golf carts. We traveled up and down, and up and down, and up and down every single aisle and all the while I was expressing my frustrations with the fact that all the trucks looked the same. I did describe to the sales guy that I was looking for a blacked out truck, so he proposed that we go see the new arrivals on the back lot. He brought me straight to a nice looking 2013 FX4 fully loaded. I did crawl all over and asked a bunch of questions regarding the sticker price and all the incentive difference between it and the 2012 and could see that my sales guy realized that he was not going to "make me happy". On our way out, we took a short trip to the commercial vehicle section (you know, the one with all the white barebone trucks/cars). As we make the corner, amidst all the "ugly trucks" sat a 2013 Tux Black Raptor with all the plastic still on. I mean plastic on seats, plastic on the wheels, white plastic protector on the fenders.... Take it off the transport and park it there BRAND NEW! I turned to my guy and I said THIS IS IT!!!! He looked at me with a scared look on his face and said:"Normally when a truck is way back here, it is SOLD!", "Actually it is extremely rare that we have Raptors that make it to the lot unsold". So I inquired about the Terrain colored one. Low and behold, it is SOLD! So being unfamiliar with this particular Raptor, and trying not to disapoint me too much, we went back to the main office to see. He called the New Truck Manager, can't get a hold of him. He finds the invoice and no name attached. He looks through the sales log and nothing! So we agreed to make a tentative sale on the truck, pending him finding out more information on the truck and left a deposit. I basically left the dealership Saturday without knowing if I had a truck or not. Monday could not come fast enough!! By 10am he calls me to ask if I was paying cash or financing. My reply to him was that before I tell him he had to confirm that the truck was mine.... and it was! He had been rushing all morning to get his ducks lined up, and forgot to call me to tell me that she was mine! The main reason he was rushing was that 4 other salesman heard about the black Raptor and had a sale for it and they were battling it out between their customers to see who would come up with the most money (not knowing that I was already locked in). I finally made it to the dealership that afternoon to trade in my F250 and take possession of the Raptor and was greeted by 2 other sales guy who told me that I had "stole that truck". By the time those guys were done battling, the winner amongst those 4 salesman had a firm offer WELL OVER the MSRP. I can only imagine how disappointed the guy was when he received the call that she was sold. In any case, I was in the showroom 2 minutes when 2 separate guys inquired about that Raptor parked outside. She was MINE!!!! (My precious!!)I bought the truck without ever going inside or test driving it (soooooo unlike me!) I knew I had to have her, but what sold me was my string of blessings:
1) It is a blessing that I was able to find an UNSOLD Raptor, period!
2) Even more of a blessing to find an UNSOLD Raptor in the color I wanted
3) Exponentially more blessed to have found an UNSOLD Raptor, in the color I wanted, and with all the bells and whistles I wanted
4) Almost unfathomable to find an UNSOLD Raptor, in the color I wanted, with all the bells and whistles I wanted, with the decal package I wanted.
5) ....and the final nail in the coffin.... to find an UNSOLD Raptor, in the right color, with all the bells and whistles, with the decal package..... that my wife said without even blinking an eye BUY THE TRUCK!!! without even inquiring as to how much it cost, or having been inside, or having test driven it
What are the odds!!??!!
Let me tell you, I was literally giggling like a school girl on my first drive! I imagined the drive and boys was I wrong, it was BETTER! much, much better!!! Having worked hard all my life for all the things I own, I normally have a sense of accomplishment when I make those kinds of purchases. This time, I am not kidding you, my initial feeling was that I did not deserve it! Enjoyed every mile since.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
and CONGRATS!
