Why are used F150 Raptors so much money?

The little lady told me how much she likes the F150 Raptor yesterday and gave me her blessing to go get one (talk about an awesome Valentine's day!).  I was all set to sell off my 2002 F250 Powerstroke (worth high teens if I get lucky) and my 03 WRX ($4k approx) and kick in some sock drawer money and buy one.  I looked at them 3 years ago when a used one was in the high 20s, figured they would be at low 20s now.  Turns out they are all $35k plus, even a 2010 with a boatload of miles and the short cab.

Why is a 7 year old useless truck still bringing 3/4 of new price?  At least the worn out Powerstrokes and Duramaxes trading hands for half of new have some utility, the Raptor is just for mall crawling and flatbrimming.  

Maybe I should just go buy a new one, they are only $50k or so brand new, I think they start at $47k.  

Higher performance trim levels always cost more, both new and used. Shelby Mustangs cost more than Mustang GTs, which cost more than v6s. BMW 1 series M's cost a gillion times more than a similar 135. Pontiac G8 GXPs are worth  more than G8 GTs. There's supply and demand at work as well as the increased initial purchase price lifting resale values. With truck values so high in general, it makes sense that the sought after models that cost more to begin with would have higher resale values.

For what it's worth, Autotrader has 3 of them between $22k-$26k, so they do exist albeit in short supply.

New ones don't have a V-8 herp derp yurp! You can't be 'Merican without those extra 2 cylinders.

Supply vs Demand... Everyone still wants them and people are still willing to pay big $$ to get a Raptor.  Wait until the Ranger and Bronco Raptor come out and finally prices on the older F-150 Raptors will drop

Just like divorce, they are expensive because they are worth it.  

I have been seeing them in the high 20s local, but it seems like everywere I go I see 3 of them. 

Bro tax. Gotta pay the bro tax.

Around here I don't think you could touch a new for $50k.  They had one on the showroom of our local dealer for $78k, and another on the lot for $72k.  

yes.. bro tax

Did price one out, basey base model is $51k on Ferd's web page, but thats with cloth, no sunroof, etc.

The way I want it is gonna be $68-72k depending.  

Don't think I can swing $70k just to burn it up running it in the salt for 5 years.  Guess I have to move further south or west first.  

Mentioning salt is an interesting point...  The new F-150s are aluminum bodied, so provided you can keep the frame and such from rusting, it should be fairly salt resistant. 

What he said..  new ones are 3.5 ecoboost.  Everybody love v8.

93gsxturbo said:

 

Maybe I should just go buy a new one, they are only $50k or so brand new, I think they start at $47k.  

 

New ones are like 65K+ I thought on the lot. That is if you can even get one. They are all setup with SYNC 3 at a minimum with is a 9K option with all the other stuff that comes with it.  

Even 150K mile beat up short cabs are 30K here still and we do not have the ridiculous truck market that the midwest has.  

I guess the answer to your question of why they still go for so much is that guys like you want them, even though they are a "useless truck" with limited utility for "mall crawling and flatbrimming" by your words. So if they suck at being pickups, I guess you're paying for......the flatbrim look?. I see 3 or 4 Raptors each day....doing the beltway commute into DC and not a speck of dirt on 'em, so they must have some kind of bro appeal.

Meh.  Be a bit more original.  The Power Wagon is more of a "truck" and you don't see them at every mall.

Because member enlargement surgery cost even more?

In reply to irish44j :

Yeah I see them here too quite frequently.  We got money around these parts.  Other peoples money admittedly.  In fairness a lot of the Uber rides I've been in lately have been really harsh.  Worse than my E36 M3 boxes.  So maybe a Raptor is a necessity. 

Well new ones are $74k....

A 401 CJ said:

Meh.  Be a bit more original.  The Power Wagon is more of a "truck" and you don't see them at every mall.

Except he said SWMBO likes the Raptor.  Total crap-shoot if a picture of a Power Wagon will receive a scowl. BTDT for that sort of thing.

"But they're damn near the same thing??" 

"No... the other one is ugly."

You can't win sometimes... 

Granted, the Power Wagon isn't exactly cheap - starting at around $52K.  Although maybe used ones don't hold their value like the Raptor.  I see a few locally in the 30's for models a couple of years old. 20's for for older examples.

Have you also considered the Colorado ZR2? Comes with all sorts of cool offroad goodies like multimatic DSSV shocks and electronic locking front and rear shocks, plus the "DuraMini"2.8L turbo diesel or 3.6L V6 and a different exterior bits. Motor Trend just tested one and was blown away by how well the chassis handles offroad.

The difference between the Power Wagon and the Raptor is that the Raptor is a toy and the Power Wagon is a tool. 

We had a Power Wagon at BangShift last year as a tester. It was AWESOME. 

If I had the money to buy one or the other, it would be the Power Wagon every single time. We took the thing everywhere: on trails, in mud, on sand, and through the woods. It didn't care. We tried getting it stuck. It wouldn't, and even if it did, it has its own winch built in to get you un-stuck. We took it off sweet jumps. It didn't care. And as a truck, it will do all the truck stuff you can think of. As a real, everyday truck, it is just amazing.

That said, if I had a daily commute that consisted of blasting around in the desert and sand at 80mph, I'd consider the Raptor. It's more nimble than the Power Wagon, and probably faster. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

I just can't get past the Power Wagon not being available with an 8' bed. Being a fan of the 70's version, the short bed bugs me.

rslifkin said:

Mentioning salt is an interesting point...  The new F-150s are aluminum bodied, so provided you can keep the frame and such from rusting, it should be fairly salt resistant. 

I am guarded about this.  I have seen what happens to Insights, and Ford fuel pump control modules.

In reply to Ian F :

I am a HUGE fan of the 1972-1993 Dodge trucks, especially the Power Wagon, so I hear you. While this one has the 6ft bed, it also had the Ram Box storage which was actually useful. Most of the small stuff that I would toss in a bed fits in those bins, which can free up the bed for other stuff.  

Another thing: we had 3 adults and 2 kids in the truck, and all of us were comfortable. I'm a big dude and I sat in the back seat with plenty of room. It was downright luxurious!

STM317 said:

Higher performance trim levels always cost more, both new and used. Shelby Mustangs cost more than Mustang GTs, which cost more than v6s. BMW 1 series M's cost a gillion times more than a similar 135. Pontiac G8 GXPs are worth  more than G8 GTs. There's supply and demand at work as well as the increased initial purchase price lifting resale values.

Only if the hi po trim is hi desirable.  Part of the reason I bought the S60R is that they are about the same or even cheaper than a regular all wheel drive S60.  And they run almost HALF of what an all wheel drive S40 ru s for.  

For some marques/models, the desirability is in having NEW.  For others it is in the model itself.  Porsches keep their value, Mercedes don't.  Fullsize pickups keep their value, high end SUVs on the same platform don't.

One of my customers runs his contractor business out of an Escalade because it was a lot cheaper than a pickup.