Magnum72576

When i priced out trucks on nada the invoice price has been about $700 less than what two different dealers are showing me for invoive. I was told the difference is a ford advertising fee that doesnt show up on nada. Is this true or are they trying to sell me the truck $700 over invoice?

ODucksFan

A Ford advertising fee is actually legit. Nada should have a disclaimer on their site because many manufactures have an advertising fee on their invoice. With Ford, it will show on the invoice as "ADV ASSESMENT" You can negotiate to not pay it or have the dealership throw in things like free oil changes to offset the cost of the advertising fee. The fee differs between regions.

Curmudgeon

Right on ODucks! There are so many 'invoices' and definitions of invoices floating around online and for public viewing that the buyer is continually kept in a state of confusion, all to the buyer's disadvantage. Some dealers will readily display the manufacturer's invoice to a buyer-it can be recognized by inclusion of Ford's various pricing plans, e.g. X-plan, etc.-other dealers will post or display a pseudo-invoice of their own making for public purposes. When Googling the subject, conflicting discussions of the Ad Fee topic are infuriating and only add to the confusion.

Boosted2015

Dealers also get incentives, rebates and hold backs that aren't on the invoice. That's how they can sell it for dealer invoice or just above and still make money.

crew man

Especially big volume dealers that can move a lot of iron (err aluminum) off the lot

WTF150

^this. Although it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, from what I have seen, dealer hold back is usually around $800 give or take. So when a stealership sells you a vehicle at invoice and gives you their line of "were not making any money on thia deal, we just want to move the unit off the lot," they are still getting their hold back from the manufacturer.

mjf6175

Dealer holdback for Ford is 3% of the Total MSRP (but NOT including destination)

Curmudgeon

Reminder to assist buyers in recognizing an AUTHENTIC FORD MANUFACTURER'S INVOICE (instead of a dealer's in-house version); the real Ford invoice will have the dealer's holdback listed on the invoice.


There are occasions when the manufacturer (Ford) will increase the holdback a small additional % to a specific dealer as a reward/recognition, e.g. outstanding sales numbers & service awards. These are special one-time fiscal instances that may not appear on any invoice documents since they are not vehicle specific.

Boosted2015

It's always fun to mention hold back to a dealer. Honestly most buyers don't know about it. As soon as you mention it you can see the dealer's facial expression change. They instantly know you've done your research and they aren't landing a sucker. All my research has shown that a dealer will sell something for 3-4% profit total. They aren't happy about it but they'll do it. Exclusions apply to hot moving models, but for the most part they'll do 3-4%. You just have to figure out what their true cost is, calculate from there and explain it to them. Don't play the 4 squares game, it's a psychological trap!

Mattthecat

Good advice. Plus what the dealer looses on one sale they find a sucker who pays sticker without asking for a better deal.