OK all, I know i'm gonna get flamed for this. But today I went to drive a Titan LE, loaded, with every intention of buying (this is ay Smithtown Nissan, Long Island, NY). Drove the truck maybe 4 miles, down bumpy roads, a fast bit, and was impressed at how nimble it was.
What was I not impressed with? The interior. What crap on a 40K truck. The buttons on the dash were so cheap, they put better ones on a 50 dollar boom box from Korea. The stitching on the thin leather seats looked crude, and the cloth seats had this weird plasticky feel, like Motley Crue's spandex pants were made out of the same material in 1987. The Nav screen looked blurry, and the DVD screen popped down without damping and seemed really easy to break. Between these two options (with the sunroof you're forced to buy and side airbags) you're talking like 4 grand and the quality is just not there.
The truck itself felt kind of "put together" and there is no way that 5 years from now this will be anything other than rattling and worn, no matter how much you take care of it. Then, the dealer wanted to sell the $41,980.00 truck for $39,999. Gee, what a great deal! I told him I still wanted to see the F150 before I decided, and you could see him just crap his pants. He told me he wanted me to give him a deposit on the truck before I left so I could show them I was a "serious buyer". I said, so if I come back to buy it in a day, a week, a month, you won't take me seriously? The he gave me the whole "my manager will be really mad if I don't sell you this truck" routine, and went and got him. He gave me a 2 for 1 dinner coupon and told me to think about it, that they'd match any dealer price on the Titan. All in all, they seemed desperate to sell me one, and used all the cliched dealer stories to do it. All in all, I knew a lot more about his product than the sales rep did too. Yuck.
Then I went to Ford. Now, I don't own American cars, I own an Audi and a Porsche and I fell generally that US auto products are behind the times both design wise and technically. I've read all the comparos and nothing drew me to the F150. My brother has an old one, and he dragged me to the dealer, which is a block away from Nissan.
The Ford dealership was crappy carpet, yellowed posters of old mustangs, a truly spirit breaking place. The salespeople were a bit old school, laid back, didn't move too fast, I figured, OK just what I thought, American cars, not on the ball.
The sales guy then reappeared with a new FX4 F150. Now, the pictures I have seen of this truck do not do it justice. It looks mean, sporty, and sophisticated at the same time. The interior is stunning on the FX4 - real hotrod, with a quality feel to all switches, doors, etc. Now I must repeat that I went out today intending to buy a Titan, and got lots of great info from this site which helped educate me. I have no investment in portraying either truck as good or bad. But I cannot imagine how anyone with eyes could look at the F150 and the Titan and not see immediately how much better the F150 is, not even close. Nissan really screwed the pooch on the interior.
The i took her out for a drive. OK, maybe a tad less power than the Nissan, but it might be down to weight. In any case, it was no dog, and the steering was so solid - it steered nicely and seemed to have a much tighter turning circle with less body roll than the Titan. This truck feels like it will last for 20 years. It felt bulletproof. Most important, it felt like a 40 grand truck (actual MSRP, like 39K.)
BUT - it isn't a 40K truck! The initial offer from the dealer was about 35K. OK, this is without Nav or the DVD. But apples to apples, the F150 is still less money, a lot less money. And that's what I'm gonna buy. Do yourself a favor, potential Titan drivers - drive the F150. There is a very good reason why the dealer was afraid for me to visit Ford - he knew I'd see a better truck is less money. And from what I can see here, a lot of guys are already talking about mystery rattles, valve train noise, malfunctioning radios, etc etc etc. Not for 40 grand, not me sorry.
Again, I really appreciate everyone's posts which helped me learn enough to haggle with the Nissan dealer. Don't mean to p*ss in your cornflakes, just wanted to share my experience. Thanks and sorry I offended anyone.
What was I not impressed with? The interior. What crap on a 40K truck. The buttons on the dash were so cheap, they put better ones on a 50 dollar boom box from Korea. The stitching on the thin leather seats looked crude, and the cloth seats had this weird plasticky feel, like Motley Crue's spandex pants were made out of the same material in 1987. The Nav screen looked blurry, and the DVD screen popped down without damping and seemed really easy to break. Between these two options (with the sunroof you're forced to buy and side airbags) you're talking like 4 grand and the quality is just not there.
The truck itself felt kind of "put together" and there is no way that 5 years from now this will be anything other than rattling and worn, no matter how much you take care of it. Then, the dealer wanted to sell the $41,980.00 truck for $39,999. Gee, what a great deal! I told him I still wanted to see the F150 before I decided, and you could see him just crap his pants. He told me he wanted me to give him a deposit on the truck before I left so I could show them I was a "serious buyer". I said, so if I come back to buy it in a day, a week, a month, you won't take me seriously? The he gave me the whole "my manager will be really mad if I don't sell you this truck" routine, and went and got him. He gave me a 2 for 1 dinner coupon and told me to think about it, that they'd match any dealer price on the Titan. All in all, they seemed desperate to sell me one, and used all the cliched dealer stories to do it. All in all, I knew a lot more about his product than the sales rep did too. Yuck.
Then I went to Ford. Now, I don't own American cars, I own an Audi and a Porsche and I fell generally that US auto products are behind the times both design wise and technically. I've read all the comparos and nothing drew me to the F150. My brother has an old one, and he dragged me to the dealer, which is a block away from Nissan.
The Ford dealership was crappy carpet, yellowed posters of old mustangs, a truly spirit breaking place. The salespeople were a bit old school, laid back, didn't move too fast, I figured, OK just what I thought, American cars, not on the ball.
The sales guy then reappeared with a new FX4 F150. Now, the pictures I have seen of this truck do not do it justice. It looks mean, sporty, and sophisticated at the same time. The interior is stunning on the FX4 - real hotrod, with a quality feel to all switches, doors, etc. Now I must repeat that I went out today intending to buy a Titan, and got lots of great info from this site which helped educate me. I have no investment in portraying either truck as good or bad. But I cannot imagine how anyone with eyes could look at the F150 and the Titan and not see immediately how much better the F150 is, not even close. Nissan really screwed the pooch on the interior.
The i took her out for a drive. OK, maybe a tad less power than the Nissan, but it might be down to weight. In any case, it was no dog, and the steering was so solid - it steered nicely and seemed to have a much tighter turning circle with less body roll than the Titan. This truck feels like it will last for 20 years. It felt bulletproof. Most important, it felt like a 40 grand truck (actual MSRP, like 39K.)
BUT - it isn't a 40K truck! The initial offer from the dealer was about 35K. OK, this is without Nav or the DVD. But apples to apples, the F150 is still less money, a lot less money. And that's what I'm gonna buy. Do yourself a favor, potential Titan drivers - drive the F150. There is a very good reason why the dealer was afraid for me to visit Ford - he knew I'd see a better truck is less money. And from what I can see here, a lot of guys are already talking about mystery rattles, valve train noise, malfunctioning radios, etc etc etc. Not for 40 grand, not me sorry.
Again, I really appreciate everyone's posts which helped me learn enough to haggle with the Nissan dealer. Don't mean to p*ss in your cornflakes, just wanted to share my experience. Thanks and sorry I offended anyone.
