You can find some great deals though. Last year at work, we bought a brand new F250 Super Duty for about $16k. It was a hold-over that didn't sell because it's basic white and stripped of every option except AC. Your typical utility type truck. I thought that was a pretty decent deal, considering. But I still have a better truck, and for less money
That's part of the problem here - Our 2004 F150 Crew was just like I like - bench seats, cloth, AC, cruise/window package, 5.4L and that's it. Out here in west Texas you'd think there would be a big market for "utility" trucks - farm/ranch, oil field, wind farm and such. Well, from walking the lots you'd apparently be wrong. Out of maybe 200 trucks we've looked at over the last year or so I found 2 (two) "stripper" vinyl seat type configurations under $45,000. Everybody including the old farmers wants Texas Edition, leather seats w/buckets and console, nav, Sync, aluminum wheels, stainless gee-gaws, etc, etc because that's what the dealers stock. The Ford dealer in Weatherford had maybe 80~100 trucks on their huge lot and I think we found 3 or 4 under $50K. There are "used" but except for maybe one they all look beat to hell because that's what people do - buy a Cadillac equipped pickup and proceed to drive it like it's a rental. I-20 here is posted at 75 MPH. We spend 35 miles a day on it and I run 80~85. Daily I'm tailgated by F250, 350, C2500, Dodge Ram DRW, service trucks, etc. Between cities, not out in the middle of nowhere.