2023 Lariat vs 2024 Flash - $50K-ish budget - Help me decide?

[strahanjen]

Help me decide which angle to pursue. Hunting on cars and autotrader is making me go blind. There seem to be few deals locally but if I can decide on the direction I want to go I can maybe hammer dealers all over within 500 miles or so.

I want to buy soon - Now to March sometime. I am debating between a new 2024 Flash which I see advertised deals for around $55K, and a few barely (under 20K mi) used 2023 Lariats that I have seen for around $48-50K. I could probably lease if I wanted since I only drive about 15K a year now. I believe I understand the major differences are:

- "leather" in the lariat, cooled seats in the lariat, rear slider in the lariat, tailgate lightbar, PAAK in the lariat. What else am I missing?
- New Flash will probably be able to get better financing rate than used.
- I need pro power (the 30A plug) for camping (see below) regardless of trim.
- I live in a cold state (Its 10F right now), not sure if the new heat pump is a plus or minus (I have read kinda both sides).
- I will be installing 40A home charging, outdoors, would not be able to afford more than 60A service to the location, so 80A charging ('23) does not matter to me.

I really like RED color, and the only ones I have found are the 23 Lariats. But I would settle for Carbonized Granite, or maybe silver or black and there are lots of those of both years. If I could find a super sweet deal on a new Lariat I'd do that too.

I have only ever bought one NEW vehicle (the Jeep) and it was "pandemic pricing" so - I had little choice and no wiggle room. Lucky to even get a car. So I don't really know where to even start. Oh, I do have a X-Plan PIN, and at least income-wise I would qualify for the federal rebate. I have about 12K equity in the Jeep.

Background:
I drive a 2021 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. I have decided that my next vehicle will be a Lightning or possibly (but less likey) a powerboost F150.

I WFH 95% now, I drive ~15K miles a year (40K on Jeep in 36 months but covid lockdown is in there too).

I tow a 5500lb (loaded) camper 3-4 times a summer, less usually around 50-60 miles each way. Plan to use the F150 for campsite power a bit, and maybe even run the AC in the evening a few times on super hot humid days. (We sometimes do this with our 2500w inverter gen now). Most times we have no campsite AC power. I was considering the PB instead, but the (lack of) reliability on those, and the FRUNK really has me pretty firmly in the Lightning camp.

I also do a fair amount of "truck things" in and around town, own rental properties, help my son with remodeling, own a boat, etc. and having a truck with a bed again will be nice.

With the X plan pin, I had an out of state dealer (Currie Motors of Frankfort) offer me a 2024 Flash with Pro Power 9.6 and Max Tow for $49,500, 0% financing for 75 months and 0 down. I took their offer to my local dealer and they matched it. With taxes and fees, I was closer to $55k out the door. This was the end of November. Currie had even offered to pay my airfare to Chicago and pick me up from the airport. I felt bad about getting our truck locally instead, but it saved us a 7 hour drive. Maybe consider buying from Currie? Btw, I’m in MN with very cold temps sometimes and the Flash has been great so far. We lose range when it is super cold and we are not able to have the truck plugged in to precondition the battery before departure. But, the other day it was 2 degrees and we still got 2.1 miles per kwh because we had preconditioned. I might not have had the heater on the entire time. With the seat warmer and heated steering wheel, the heater is only necessary for keeping the windows defrosted.

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[SSNutz]

Be Careful when looking at 2023 Lariats. They came either with Standard Battery or Extended Battery. Low prices may be standard battery versions. Even towing 5500 Trailer 50-60 miles one way and occasionally running the RV AC, I wouldn't recommend a standard battery

The other thing is all 2024s have heat pumps vs resistive heat on a 2023. Not an issue for me in Florida.

You can probably find a used 23 Lariat with Extended range, Max Trailer Tow, etc for about the same price as a new 2024 Flash after the tax credits and rebates on a Flash.

Plus off the top of my head the main differences between the 24 Flash and 23 Lariat are the Flash has

NO Phone as a Key
Side Mirrors - Manual Folding NO Memory
Power Glass with Heat, Turn Signal NO AUTO DIMMING
NO LED Security Approach Light
NO Moonroof
NO Sliding Rear Window
NO Power Tilt/Telescoping Steering Column and NO Memory
NON Adjustable Pedals
90 day Blue Cruise vs 3 yr Blue Cruise
Seat, Front — Leather vs Cloth NO Memory driver’s seat or ventilated on a Flash

24 Flash has adjustable pedals.

 

[flyct]

24 Flash has adjustable pedals.

Good to know

For our family, memory seats, memory pedals, memory mirrors and memory telescopic/tilt steering wheel are mandatory. Without these features I wouldn’t be able to even get into a vehicle after my wife drove it. I’m 100 lbs heavier and about one foot taller than the wife.

 

[22legit2quit]

Help me decide which angle to pursue. Hunting on cars and autotrader is making me go blind. There seem to be few deals locally but if I can decide on the direction I want to go I can maybe hammer dealers all over within 500 miles or so.

I want to buy soon - Now to March sometime. I am debating between a new 2024 Flash which I see advertised deals for around $55K, and a few barely (under 20K mi) used 2023 Lariats that I have seen for around $48-50K. I could probably lease if I wanted since I only drive about 15K a year now. I believe I understand the major differences are:

- "leather" in the lariat, cooled seats in the lariat, rear slider in the lariat, tailgate lightbar, PAAK in the lariat. What else am I missing?
- New Flash will probably be able to get better financing rate than used.
- I need pro power (the 30A plug) for camping (see below) regardless of trim.
- I live in a cold state (Its 10F right now), not sure if the new heat pump is a plus or minus (I have read kinda both sides).
- I will be installing 40A home charging, outdoors, would not be able to afford more than 60A service to the location, so 80A charging ('23) does not matter to me.

I really like RED color, and the only ones I have found are the 23 Lariats. But I would settle for Carbonized Granite, or maybe silver or black and there are lots of those of both years. If I could find a super sweet deal on a new Lariat I'd do that too.

I have only ever bought one NEW vehicle (the Jeep) and it was "pandemic pricing" so - I had little choice and no wiggle room. Lucky to even get a car. So I don't really know where to even start. Oh, I do have a X-Plan PIN, and at least income-wise I would qualify for the federal rebate. I have about 12K equity in the Jeep.

Background:
I drive a 2021 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. I have decided that my next vehicle will be a Lightning or possibly (but less likey) a powerboost F150.

I WFH 95% now, I drive ~15K miles a year (40K on Jeep in 36 months but covid lockdown is in there too).

I tow a 5500lb (loaded) camper 3-4 times a summer, less usually around 50-60 miles each way. Plan to use the F150 for campsite power a bit, and maybe even run the AC in the evening a few times on super hot humid days. (We sometimes do this with our 2500w inverter gen now). Most times we have no campsite AC power. I was considering the PB instead, but the (lack of) reliability on those, and the FRUNK really has me pretty firmly in the Lightning camp.

I also do a fair amount of "truck things" in and around town, own rental properties, help my son with remodeling, own a boat, etc. and having a truck with a bed again will be nice.

might be a little biased but the flash is what I have and would recommend. Additionally, whatever incentives like tax credit, home charger or whatever tends to only convey with the new ones. Lastly, the peace of mind of being the only owner, warranty, charging history is likely worth any perks of the lariat model you’ve found.
Depending on where you are buying the depreciation on a used ev would or should be pretty massive so that would save you in the short term but if you are heading into this with decent to good credit, and no negative equity with certain creative movements of incentives I’m sure you could get the out the door price of the flash to mid to high 50s with little effort.

 

[flyct]

With the X plan pin, I had an out of state dealer (Currie Motors of Frankfort) offer me a 2024 Flash with Pro Power 9.6 and Max Tow for $49,500, 0% financing for 75 months and 0 down. I took their offer to my local dealer and they matched it. With taxes and fees, I was closer to $55k out the door. This was the end of November…….

Thats a great deal. I wonder if the same deal is available now.

Around Thanksgiving last year through the end of the year there were multiple holiday incentives and special X-Plan incentives in addition to X-Plan discount that could be stacked with X-Plan. Plus the 0% for 75 months with zero down is a killer rate.

 

[RustleT]

I had to make a similar decision when upgrading from a '23 Lightning XLT. Part of me wanted the heat pump's added efficiency. The heat pumps sound the same as the AC in summer because they're essentially the AC in reverse: loud at first as it brings everything up to temperature. I only notice the AC noise when walking to the truck when I've had it preconditioning the cab's climate.

In the end, I upgraded to a '23 Lightning Platinum because bells and whistles matter to me. I LOVE it and don't mind the hit on efficiency when considering my driving patterns. ! I'll also be the voice of dissent in that my passengers and I love the sunroof/moonroof, which can be shaded during a hot summer day.

 

[broncoaz]

Good to know

For our family, memory seats, memory pedals, memory mirrors and memory telescopic/tilt steering wheel are mandatory. Without these features I wouldn’t be able to even get into a vehicle after my wife drove it. I’m 100 lbs heavier and about one foot taller than the wife.

I’m in the same boat except 14”taller and about 150 lbs heavier. I love the memory functions on the Tesla, the seats are fast enough I don’t have to wait at all. She doesn’t drive my truck that much, so no major loss. My seating position is easy to replicate, all the way back and down. Her Tacoma before the Tesla was awful due to the world’s slowest seats. If it was raining I was soaked by the time I could get in the truck.

 

[roddiaz1]

80 Amp level 2 charging: 2023 Lariat would be my vote.

 

[flyct]

about

I’m in the same boat except 14”taller and about 150 lbs heavier. I love the memory functions on the Tesla, the seats are fast enough I don’t have to wait at all. She doesn’t drive my truck that much, so no major loss. My seating position is easy to replicate, all the way back and down. Her Tacoma before the Tesla was awful due to the world’s slowest seats. If it was raining I was soaked by the time I could get in the truck.

Same here with our Teslas. BUT occasionally it senses my wife's cell phone first instead of mine when we both get in and the car tries to bury the steering wheel into my ample belly.

The Easy exit feature works well in both vehicles where the seats are moved back when exiting.

 

[jbrinker]

Thank you all for the updates, clarifications, information and opinions. I can't say I'm totally clear on which way to go yet, but I am getting there. A few other questions:

Does anyone know if you can add the auto dimming outside mirror to the flash? I'd really hate to give up that functionality, and it does have the dimming inside mirror, so at least part of the system is there. (I realize you miss power fold etc still).

Also, in regards to some of the '23 Lariats - many have the "Steering heat removal" item on the sticker. I think I read that on the regular F150's it easy to re-add that. Just adding the new steering wheel clock spring and a change in forescan? Can anyone confirm that this is also easy to add/fix to a '22 or '23 that had it deleted? I see deletes for the hitch scales and autohitch and other things too, not sure if any of those features can be added back after the fact.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Also, in regards to some of the '23 Lariats - many have the "Steering heat removal" item on the sticker. I think I read that on the regular F150's it easy to re-add that. Just adding the new steering wheel clock spring and a change in forescan? Can anyone confirm that this is also easy to add/fix to a '22 or '23 that had it deleted? I see deletes for the hitch scales and autohitch and other things too, not sure if any of those features can be added back after the fact.

The 23's that had DELETED heated steering wheel were assigned a CSP to have the missing parts installed when they became available, I'm not sure if that has aged out yet. If you're looking a t new old stock, confirm with the dealers that the heated wheel fix was applied, if a used 22/23 see if the former owner had the fix applied.

Note certain you can install the scales or autohitch features, hardware and software adjustments are needed, I don't recall seeing many threads on that topic.


EDIT

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/heated-steering-wheel-retrofit-pu-22g06.16703/

 

[RustleT]

Thank you all for the updates, clarifications, information and opinions. I can't say I'm totally clear on which way to go yet, but I am getting there. A few other questions:

Does anyone know if you can add the auto dimming outside mirror to the flash? I'd really hate to give up that functionality, and it does have the dimming inside mirror, so at least part of the system is there. (I realize you miss power fold etc still).

Also, in regards to some of the '23 Lariats - many have the "Steering heat removal" item on the sticker. I think I read that on the regular F150's it easy to re-add that. Just adding the new steering wheel clock spring and a change in forescan? Can anyone confirm that this is also easy to add/fix to a '22 or '23 that had it deleted? I see deletes for the hitch scales and autohitch and other things too, not sure if any of those features can be added back after the fact.

It's an easy fix for the heated steering wheel, but you might want to have a dealer handle it for you through the Customer Satisfaction Program 22G06. This program was originally intended for those who didn't receive the $140 credit, but my dealer is allowing me to utilize it.

 

[bmwhitetx]

Thank you all for the updates, clarifications, information and opinions. I can't say I'm totally clear on which way to go yet, but I am getting there. A few other questions:

Does anyone know if you can add the auto dimming outside mirror to the flash? I'd really hate to give up that functionality, and it does have the dimming inside mirror, so at least part of the system is there. (I realize you miss power fold etc still).

Also, in regards to some of the '23 Lariats - many have the "Steering heat removal" item on the sticker. I think I read that on the regular F150's it easy to re-add that. Just adding the new steering wheel clock spring and a change in forescan? Can anyone confirm that this is also easy to add/fix to a '22 or '23 that had it deleted? I see deletes for the hitch scales and autohitch and other things too, not sure if any of those features can be added back after the fact.

The '23 had onboard scales and smart hitch removed and can't be added back. Auto-hitch is a different thing altogether and was actually added sometime in 2023, not available on a 2022 (maybe with FORScan?). It's real name is Pro Trailer Hitch Assist but is called Auto-Hitch in FORScan. Auto-hitch uses cameras and AI to automatically back up your truck so the the hitch ball is under the trailer coupler.

 

[jbrinker]

Another side question - as I search, I occasionally find BRAND NEW 2022's still sitting on a lot at some dealership. Just found a 22 Lariat, with max tow, listed at $70K! Like, who is buying a brand new 3 year old truck for the same price as I can get a new one for (almost)?

Anyone have any insight as to these anomolies? Like, I would totally buy this one, if the price were the same or close as a '22 with say 5000 miles on it (about 50-55K). Mostly because the warranty would start the day I drove it off the lot. But that is NOT worth 20K.

 

[jbrinker]

The '23 had onboard scales and smart hitch removed and can't be added back. Auto-hitch is a different thing altogether and was actually added sometime in 2023, not available on a 2022 (maybe with FORScan?). It's real name is Pro Trailer Hitch Assist but is called Auto-Hitch in FORScan. Auto-hitch uses cameras and AI to automatically back up your truck so the the hitch ball is under the trailer coupler.

Thanks for the clarification. The "auto hitch" would be cool I guess, but as long as we have a decent camera view of the ball I am pretty good at that myself so no loss there. The onboard scales - I assume these are used by the software as well to calculate range etc? I can live without those probably (I guess it would be nice/neat to know if I have my trailer loaded right).

The more I look, the more I think a loaded '22 vs a new 24 is kinda the comparison. Most of the '23's seem to have been gimped in one way or another. All I am giving up with a 22 is time/warranty right? Is there a FORD extended warranty for these (that actually covers all the stuff the factory would?)

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