Buy lower trim and modify to upper trim?

[BigFootie]

Like @EvilJim1971, my original plan was a 2 door BaseManSquatch. but I wanted a manual more than a v6 and when it came time to order, I had to change to a Badlands High. Since Ford wasn’t even close to building enough to satisfy the reservations the first year, I got caught in the allocation hell hole. 21 got bumped to a 22. 22 got bumped to a 23, but changed from a Badlands High to a Heritage Edition. Was a win win for me. I really didn’t want the vinyl seats, the 360 cameras would have been nice. The mod top turned out to be a godsend, and the 8 inch screen works just fine for me compared to the 12 inch. The added bonus, Ford still gave me the price protection for the Badlands, Granger held to the 2k below invoice, and the Race Red and white is exactly perfect for me. I would have been perfectly happy with a BaseManSquatch as having lockers and the M210 and 4A were all I really needed. But, I feel like I won the lottery with my Heritage Edition for 42k.

Sponsored

 

[Bugkillah]

It had a front locker.

Fixed (swaybar disco), thanks

 

[crzyhawk]

If you don't buy a higher trim, you can't flex on the peasants who don't have the vag badge

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Like @EvilJim1971, my original plan was a 2 door BaseManSquatch. but I wanted a manual more than a v6 and when it came time to order, I had to change to a Badlands High. Since Ford wasn’t even close to building enough to satisfy the reservations the first year, I got caught in the allocation hell hole. 21 got bumped to a 22. 22 got bumped to a 23, but changed from a Badlands High to a Heritage Edition. Was a win win for me. I really didn’t want the vinyl seats, the 360 cameras would have been nice. The mod top turned out to be a godsend, and the 8 inch screen works just fine for me compared to the 12 inch. The added bonus, Ford still gave me the price protection for the Badlands, Granger held to the 2k below invoice, and the Race Red and white is exactly perfect for me. I would have been perfectly happy with a BaseManSquatch as having lockers and the M210 and 4A were all I really needed. But, I feel like I won the lottery with my Heritage Edition for 42k.

BaseManSquatch.
My only regret isn't even mine to own ... I received my 2021 at the expense of not being able to BaseManSquatch.
DAMN YOU FORD ... and your shitty option packages!

BUT ... I got my manual, taught my daughter how to drive that manual as she was at licensing age at that point and I created those life long memories that will be re-told for decades.

Mission accomplished.

I've considered trading it in on a new one built my way ... but the price of these currently just pushes me away ... even though I'd kill it on my trade in value.

 

[JBlanco]

I bought a Base 2 door for my wife's but added the options that would make financial sense to me. The SAS package for $6k and the V6 for $1,800 were no brainers as there was no way I could do those upgrades for less. I added more modes and will eventually upgrade the screen when a better one hits the market. It honestly doesn't need much else.

 

[c_walters]

I bought mine with intentions to upgrade to what I want. I wanted the stripped down version without anything and everything. I bought a 25 base SAS manual 2 door. I didn’t want the sway bar disco, the factory skid plates (minus gas tank), factory leather, all the tech (25 comes with the nice screens).

The only option I’d like to have is the live rear view mirror, and I’ll figure out how to add it (oem, not aftermarket).

Ive added a OEM mod bumper, RCI skids, Antirock swaybar, leather steering wheel cover (far superior to factory feeling).

I will be adding leather seats, but I don’t like the factory leather so katzkins will be what I do. I am planing to build as I see fit off of just what I wanted from the factory.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

The lightning in a bottle comment is excellent. The first couple of years had crazy optional build paths. Stuff you could get excited about.

I went to the B&P just last night and eventually closed it out due to disgust.
There really are no kickass build paths to go down right now.... and the available colors suck ass.

Want the heavier duty driveline, or just a rear locker for that matter?
In the end, you always end up just a few hundred from a Badlands.

The original Black Diamond ... I would love to drive one of the v6 versions with 4.46 gears and 32" tires. Probably a snappy little rig.

These new ones are just not worth the ask.
Not to me.
But I already have one, so my opinion is probably skewed. I'd rather have a Super Duty for the equivalent $$$$.


My daughter just now pointed out ... "would you rather have a 60th Anniversary package Bronco ... or a new Sting Ray Corvette?"

Do I get to keep my 2021 2dr in AMB? LOL?

Yeah I got disappointed in the '25 Build and Price, and the '26 is worse. In '25, you couldn't configure a V6 2-door unless you got the Stroppe, but at least there were plentiful options for a 2-door. Now there are only 3 options for a 2-door, and only the Stroppe gets the V6.

Which means that if we ever needed to replace our '24 (BD SAS V6 2-door)...we can't. At least not for the money we spent on it, we'd have to add another $20k+ to the cost...for really not much extra goodies that we would want or use. I enjoy driving ours with the 2.7 and the 4.7 gears...it's really peppy for what it is, and someone on here managed to get one to pick the front tires off the ground.

I think that, when the refresh comes for the Bronco, you probably will see the trim levels cut back, and the 2-door will likely disappear. I know many don't want to hear that, but the fact that one was offered at ALL during the run is impressive.

 

[JBlanco]

Yeah I got disappointed in the '25 Build and Price, and the '26 is worse. In '25, you couldn't configure a V6 2-door unless you got the Stroppe, but at least there were plentiful options for a 2-door. Now there are only 3 options for a 2-door, and only the Stroppe gets the V6.

Which means that if we ever needed to replace our '24 (BD SAS V6 2-door)...we can't. At least not for the money we spent on it, we'd have to add another $20k+ to the cost...for really not much extra goodies that we would want or use. I enjoy driving ours with the 2.7 and the 4.7 gears...it's really peppy for what it is, and someone on here managed to get one to pick the front tires off the ground.

I think that, when the refresh comes for the Bronco, you probably will see the trim levels cut back, and the 2-door will likely disappear. I know many don't want to hear that, but the fact that one was offered at ALL during the run is impressive.

The lack of 2 door options is not a consequence of a lack of demand, it's ford artificially restricting the available options to create a false sense of uniqueness and charge more money. There is no way a Stroppe cost twice as much to build than my 2 door BaseSquatch with a V6...

 

[BroncoChallenger]

The lack of 2 door options is not a consequence of a lack of demand, it's ford artificially restricting the available options to create a false sense of uniqueness and charge more money. There is no way a Stroppe cost twice as much to build than my 2 door BaseSquatch with a V6...

I don't have the numbers available to me to tell you if you're right or wrong, but all one has to do is look at the overall vehicle market - how many 2 door vehicles, of any make or model, do you see anymore? Very, VERY few that aren't sports cars, and usually high-end ones at that.

2-door vehicles are simply not popular today, and whether that is from years of market manipulation or just the convenience of having easy access to the rear seat, I can't say. But with an estimated 10-25% of Bronco sales being 2-doors, but the tooling costs between 2 doors and 4 doors being roughly the same, the ROI on a 2-door for Ford is not very good because of the lower sales figures. This is basic business strategy - if a product's ROI is low, its likelihood of being cut is high.

Even assuming the 25% sales figure is correct, that still means that it takes 3x longer to pay off the tooling for a 2 door than it does a 4 door. Sure, there are some common parts, but the body tooling, frame tooling, etc. are costly - a single stamping die can cost several million dollars just to MAKE it. Why make a tool that needs to run 6-7 years to pay for it, over a tool that costs roughly the same but is paid for in 2 years?

And 2 door models sit on dealer lots. The dealer we bought ours from had an identical Bronco on the lot at the time, but it was red. That thing just sold THIS SUMMER, and I know that because it was posted about on this forum. Another dealer near me had about a dozen Broncos sitting on the lot this summer...they still have all their 2-doors. The 4-doors move off lots.

From a strictly business perspective, the costs related to having a 2-door and a 4-door model don't really make sense. On the sales side, 4-doors sell to almost everyone, 2-doors sell to a niche market that is probably pretty saturated by now. So not only did the tooling cost more up front, but the sales of the model isn't increasing - it's falling off. Looking at it like this, it just makes business sense to drop the 2-door lineup.

Again, this is all just from analyzing the situation and market history - I have zero numbers from Ford, but really, I don't need them. Historical trends absolutely show that 2-door models, unless they're a high-priced top-end model, don't sell, and don't do a good job covering their up-front costs in a timely fashion.

Do I like the 2-door Bronco (or really, MOST 2-door models of anything) better than a 4-door? Aesthetically, yes. Practically? No, not really, I need to be able to access the back seat rather quickly most of the time.

So I still maintain that I don't expect Ford to continue offering a 2-door model when the refresh comes. The fact that we got a 2-door option at all for the 6th gen models is great...they could have just as easily not offered it at all.

 

[MNBigfoot]

Yeah I got disappointed in the '25 Build and Price, and the '26 is worse. In '25, you couldn't configure a V6 2-door unless you got the Stroppe, but at least there were plentiful options for a 2-door. Now there are only 3 options for a 2-door, and only the Stroppe gets the V6.

Which means that if we ever needed to replace our '24 (BD SAS V6 2-door)...we can't. At least not for the money we spent on it, we'd have to add another $20k+ to the cost...for really not much extra goodies that we would want or use. I enjoy driving ours with the 2.7 and the 4.7 gears...it's really peppy for what it is, and someone on here managed to get one to pick the front tires off the ground.

I think that, when the refresh comes for the Bronco, you probably will see the trim levels cut back, and the 2-door will likely disappear. I know many don't want to hear that, but the fact that one was offered at ALL during the run is impressive.

The 2 door Stroppe is gone for 26, so zero v6's

 

[BroncoChallenger]

The 2 door Stroppe is gone for 26, so zero v6's

You're right, I was looking at the '25 build and price. They made the Stroppe a 4-door.

Just adds more fuel to my theory that there will NOT be a 2-door offered with the next refresh.

 

[dgorsett]

So, I bought my 25 badlands in July and of course love it. I have spent most of my life buying the cheapest of anything and driving it till its dead as thats what I could afford.

I see the most common threads online about how to make your base model a raptor and the second most popular would be how to put bigger tires on it. Thats fine but I did research and found that it doesnt pay to buy a lower trim and build up to black diamond, badlands or raptor. Its just cheaper in the first two instances to just buy what you want out of the gate.

Im not going for a look, I was wanting iffroad capability and the biggest things I wanted were front/rear lockers. Trying to swap out axles on a base model is insane cost to get this on your own, I researched and frankly the black diamond is a STEAL at 5k uncharge for what you get.

I kinda went all out and got lux, leather etc making the sticker barely shy of 70 but, I wasn't interested in making a failed attempt at what I wanted.

In retrospect, a big bend black diamond would have sufficed as most of its running time is getting me to the office and back

Your points are all valid. The Badlands is the best bang for the buck, it's just quite a few bucks. A couple years of the Heritage 2 door where good value too.

When building mine in '21 the Black Diamond had the mechanical features I wanted, but the Big Bend had the carpet, cloth, wheels and grille I wanted (carpet, yeah blasphemy I know). So I got the Big Bend with a locker and added the other bits to make it a Black Diamond equivalent for maybe just a little less money, so all good. Now my only regret is there is not a front locker available in 4.27, if I'd gotten the Black Diamond take off or aftermarket 4.46 M210s are all over the place.

 

[dgorsett]

Do you have other pieces of recent technology that are 100% irritation free? I don't think I do.

I mean that's kinda the point. Tech for techs sake just complicates life for little benefit.

 

[Marc L]

You can make a good case going either way on this honestly - and most of it ends up being situational so may not apply to everyone.

I would guess 70% of Broncos are pavement princesses including ours. If my wife liked some "look" of a higher trim we would add it, but other 7MT hard top with heated seats is all she wanted. We would've considered the painted top had it been available in '24.

If you are an off roader I would guess you should spec what is not easy to modify, but otherwise go "best of breed" with the stuff that can be replaced.

With bicycles everything is a mishmash of components where you upgrade the important things(to you) and ignore the others. I bought a super nice carbon frame, but didn't max out on drivetrain for a few ounces of saved weight. With bicycle wheels it can be $200 to $2000, which is pretty extreme. I did modify gearing as my front chainring is very non-standard 58/50 designed for how I pedal.

 

[Brian_B]

So I still maintain that I don't expect Ford to continue offering a 2-door model when the refresh comes. The fact that we got a 2-door option at all for the 6th gen models is great...they could have just as easily not offered it at all.

Hmm...

Everything you say makes total sense. But the Mustang is still 2-door, and the only car they kept around in North America - pretty much just for legacy purposes.

So I think Ford will keep the 2D Bronco around too - at least as long as the Wrangler has it as an option too (I was gonna put FJ in there as well, but it went 4D with it's re-release)

Sponsored