Sorry - guess this is just a little bit of a rant guys....

Had my '08 XLT at the dealer for for an issue, and while there, I made the big mistake of taking an '09 FX4 for a ride. This one was loaded up pretty good with the luxury package, moon roof, nav, etc.

Just an awesome truck from the roominess of the interior, to the ride, to the beautiful smooth 6-speed trans - My wife and I really liked it.

So, asked my salesman (same one who sold me my '08 last Aug - great deal with all the incentives at the time) for a price.

Sticker is $43,xxx

Came back to me with $40,xxx - all he did was take off the Ford $3K cash back. To me, he is basically trying to sell me the truck at sticker price!

Yes, I did include the trade - I am only slightly upside down with my '08 which I said I would make up for in cash (offered $19,300 so it would be a wash).

Guess there are no deals around where I live -

This is my closest dealer, which already is 60 miles away - I just hate to go any further in case of future problems.

If he would sell it for $36 - $37, I would probably have bought it. I didn't think I was that far out of line....

I did do a search on the Ford site for 7 other dealers within 150 mile radius, and none of them have a white FX4......

Oh well - guess I'll just keep my junky old '08 for a while

[/rant]

 

Join a Costco or Sam's Club. Just for joining you get a member price which is Invoice plus the rebates. That should get you your price if the dealer's are really being that stingy and not haggling. My truck stickered at $49,5XX. My sale price was $39,4XX. I got it after taxes, tags, license, rebates, and 7 year/100,000 PremiumCare warranty for $43,411.

That should give you some idea of what to expect. Roughly 20% off. You mentioned a price between 14% and 17% off. You should definitely be able to get that.

 

You should be able to buy that truck for 35-36K + TTL (or cheaper). I would shoot for 20% off sticker. Start e-mailing the next closest dealers and get your truck; they will find it for you.

 

Thanks for the tip, but there are no such things as Costco or Sams Club anywhere near me.

Yeah, I thought I was being sensible at ~17% off sticker - have bought quite a few new vehicles over the years.

I really don't like playing too many games, but I wonder if I emailed another dealer with a request for an white FX4 with luxury package, if they would give me a price on the one I drove from the other dealer (wow - that sounds like it didn't come out right.....)

Anyway, I thought a sweet deal would be 20% off, with a reality check at 17%.

 

This past Friday I traded my 05' F150 STX RegCab for a 09' F150 Lariat 4x4 CrewCab, the sticker for the new one was the same $43k. I opened the deal up with $2.5k down just to get them thinking. They came back with an offer of $39.9k, which includes the current rebates and military discount. I then asked my salesman if I could see the manufacturer's invoice, he informed me that they can't do that any longer. The salesman is a long time family friend so I didn't doubt him at all, so I asked to speak with his sales manager. The manager came out and I asked him the same question, again "sorry man we're not allowed" I called BS and sent an email out to two other local dealer's that I'd been in contact with. Both replied within minutes with a scanned copy of the manufacturers invoice on comparible trucks. I showed those to the sales manager and he quickly agreed to show the invoice. I pulled my salesman/friend to the side and told him to try his heart out to get employee pricing. After a long and hard fought battle with his sales manager we finally agreed on a price of $38.9k. I then asked what it would take to bring the price down to $37k they talked it over for a few minutes and they came back with "if you put down $5k we'll take the price down to $38k" I said make it $37.5k and I'll write out a check for $7k right now. They agreed and I walked away at a price $500 lower than my goal. The best thing you can do is put at least 3 dealers in a cage and have them fight over your business. Two of the dealers can be over the internet and the other one needs to be in person. If you're able to try and take your laptop with you so you can work them against each other on the spot. Keep everyone thinking you're gonna take your business elsewhere. They will eventually begin to fall off and you should get to the price point you want to be at. Just remember with these trucks Ford isn't offering huge discounts, in an attempt to maintain as a government independent company they are keeping their profit levels higher than others. As a die-hard fan of Ford trucks I'd say the extra cost for a Ford is well worth the price when compared to the other makers. Ford has shown it's independence and will continue to carry on without bailouts. Also factor in the fact that if Ford can sell these new trucks without tossing around huge rebates and incentives we should see a better outcome with regards to maintaining value. The other makers have killed any and all resale and trade-in value for their vehicles by offering these crazy incentives which has inevitably led to there failures. Ford trucks all the way even if we got to pay a little more in the end. Good luck and enjoy!

P.S. also apart of the deal was a free/no additional cost 5 yr./75,000 mile bumper to bumper to warranty.

 

good tips and post SFssft1911

 

Thanks for sharing your deal with us SFssft1911

You've given me the drive to go at this again. For me, this is a want, not a need right now. The same thing happened when I bought my '08 - didn't "need" that truck, but if the deal is sweet enough, I did it and will do it again. You've given me the faith that indeed a good deal can be had with some persistence and home work.

And I agree with you with your comments about Ford. I am proud to drive a Ford right now, and do believe as you do that through all this we will hopefully be on top with holding the value of our trucks.

I really want to buy from my regular dealer - their after sales support has been fantastic with the couple small problems I've had with my '08, and I want to stick with them. And above all, they have almost the exact truck I would want even if I ordered it, and there are no other white FX4's that I know of (with the luxury package) anywhere within 7 different dealers that I have checked.

I like the idea of the Costco or Sams Club deal. I did a location search for both, and found a Sams Club 105 miles away.
Can someone give me the details on this deal? I'd be willing to drive to that Sams Club to join if it would mean I could get a discount certificate to get the invoice price less the $3K cash back.

 

I did the Costco thing and it doesn't matter if there is one near you. You just need to be a member or sign up to be. You can do the whole thing online through their auto program. Just enter your zip, and the model you want. They'll contact 2-3 local dealers who participate in their program and the dealers email you . The member price is invoice, and the program requires they provide it to you. Then you can add current incentives. No nonsense. Costco gives you a $50 gift certificate for parts/service at your dealer just for participating too. My loaded Fx4 sticker was 44k and invoice was near 40. I got 1k off and another 1k competitive owner discount with 0%/36mo financing. It all went very smooth.

 

Shop the other dealers, get a price. Call up the offending dealer, offer $3k below best price from other dealers, see where it goes. Best of luck.

 

Guys, I looked at a 4x4 XLT crew cab that had a MSRP of $37,310. Using the X-Plan price I was offered a price of $27,829 plus tax, title, license with a drive-out price of $29,814.

That is $9,481 off sticker, or 25.4%. I am not making this up. I see in the Houston Chronicle on weekends that several dealerships offer 25% off MSRP right out of the gate.

I didn't even try to negotiate and know that I probably can't negotiate on the x-plan price. The break down of the money was the x-plan took the price down $4,481. Then there were $5K in rebates - $3K manufacturer rebate, $1K for using Ford financing and $1K for some kind of x-plan incentive rebate.

The x-plan price is very close to invoice price - within $200 or so. Even if you can't get the x-plan incentive rebate you would still be able to get $8,481 off of this deal which would be 22.7%. Go at it again!

 

When I bought mine I had been stringing along a salesman for 2 weeks waiting on my insurance check from my totaled car. By chance, the day that my old loan was paid off the salesman called ME and offered 10k off the top of a loaded Lariet and it was the first day of the Assurance plan. I was there at the lot 4 hours later and drove home.

note: the truck stickered for $48k and I got it for 38k +TTT and only 4k of the discount was rebates.

 

Not sure whats up with some Ford dealers...I recently had one do me the same way...barely gave me $3K discount and I asked him if that was the very best he could do and he said yes at $41,300 on an 09 Supercrew Lariat 4X4. He doesn't want to sell very badly.

The best thing they can do now days is give all discounts and deal to keep trucks moving out the doors and hope they don't fold before the economy turns.

 

I really appreciate all your input folks - and thanks for sharing your deals.
At least I know that it can be done.

I have a call in to my salesman now - going to offer 36K which is roughly 17% off sticker.

Will update later.

 

Man, I have been reading this thread and the amount of money you guys are shelling out seems insane! Don't get me wrong, I love the new car smell just as much as the next guy, and my wife and I, with our 5 yr. old son do our best to live within the means of our modest 6 figure income. This January she picked up a 2005 BMW X3 3.0L loaded with 33k miles for $20,000 and I picked up a 2007 Lariat super crew loaded with 33k for $18,900. I see you guys shelling out $40K for these rides and I am like DAMN! Admittedly we have about $20k in debt left to pay off (credit cards and student loans) and with our decent credit scores our notes combined are about $800 a month. I have not driven the 09 and maybe I am out of touch, but for $45k I want a corvette or a bad *** boat you know?
What the hell are all these people talking about recession for?!
This post was kind of pointless, but congrats to you guys that are swinging those notes. The truck is a damn fine ride if I ever saw one!

 

Even if you go to a dealer further away and get a better deal, you don't have to go that far for service. you can go to the closer one if they are any good.