So I was pretty set on finding an '06 LBZ and went to see one at a local dealer. Turns out, they don't actually have it (apparently, it was stolen off of their lot). So I drive an '06 F350 - nice enough, but I'm afraid of the 6.0...

I wander over to the new truck folks, and end up talking with a salesman there. They had a $55K MSRP LTZ (incld NAV) and a $50K MSRP LT2. Thinking these are way outside my price range, I tell that to the salesman. He almost immediately offers $41K on the LT2. I assume I could get him down further with a little pressure, probably into the $39K's

So, would you rather have a brand new '08 (DAMN I love that interior!) with full bumper to bumper warranty and no unknowns, or an '06 with all the power and none of the emissions crap?

ahm

So I was pretty set on finding an '06 LBZ and went to see one at a local dealer. Turns out, they don't actually have it (apparently, it was stolen off of their lot). So I drive an '06 F350 - nice enough, but I'm afraid of the 6.0...

I wander over to the new truck folks, and end up talking with a salesman there. They had a $55K MSRP LTZ (incld NAV) and a $50K MSRP LT2. Thinking these are way outside my price range, I tell that to the salesman. He almost immediately offers $41K on the LT2. I assume I could get him down further with a little pressure, probably into the $39K's

So, would you rather have a brand new '08 (DAMN I love that interior!) with full bumper to bumper warranty and no unknowns, or an '06 with all the power and none of the emissions crap?

ahm
You can see how much they are willing to deal on new, if you can find an 06 LBZ, you can really get them down on a pre-owned diesel right now with fuel costs. Book values on used Trucks and SUV's have dropped significantly in the past couple months.

LT2 at 50k MSRP. Dealer Holdback is $1500. Invoice is probably about $45k (give or take a bit, you can find this at Edmunds.com right down to each option on the truck). Chevy has $3250 in rebates on 08 LMM's right now. Approx invoice, less holdback, less rebate, is about $40,250. $41k puts a little money in their pocket, but if they have alot of these sitting in inventory, my bet is that you could get them below $40k.

Good Luck.

Thanks. The more I think about it, the more I'm convincing myself to spring for the LMM. I guess money-wise its probably not the best move, but the interior is SO much nicer... One of the primary reasons for the new vehicle is noise / comfort. I'm currently towing with an E350 7.3 PSD cargo van. No noise insulation, vinyl seats, and effectively no interior. Its a WORK truck, and its done the job for a few years, but I'm regularly pulling for 8 hours at a time now, and I get out of the van with my ears ringing... If comfort is important to me, it seems the LMM is a vast improvement over the LBZ. I think noise-wise, they are probably pretty similar (QUIET).

ahm

Pulled the trigger :) Liked the equipment on the LT2 I noted above, but really didn't like the color (dark cherry? aka purple). went home and looked at inventory for every dealer in a 100 miles. found an lt1 optioned up to an lt2 minus power passenger seat in graystone metallic about 40 miles away. went and took it for a drive, and made the deal. it was ~$49.5K sticker, but had dealer-installed running boards. ended up in he low $39's. the interior really was the big sell for me. the OBS interior is a nice truck interior. the NBS is simply nice. its like the c5 vette interior vs the c6 - just no comparison.

loving the ride!

ahm