Hello, first time poster here. I have been reading this forum for a few weeks now and it is fantastic. Love being around fellow Ford truck lovers.

I own a 2001 F150 SuperCrew XLT 4x4 bright red. I have enjoyed every day with this truck. It has never been to a mechanic except for brakes. About 105,000 miles. Before that I owned a 1990 full size Bronco (not nearly as good of luck with that vehicle although I liked it) and before that a 1978 full sized Bronco, great vehicle.

I have begun thinking about my next truck even though there isn't a thing wrong with mine. Looking at 3 options, an F150 (probably King Ranch), an F250 diesel, or....waiting for the 17 Raptor. The last option gives me plenty of time to save for a big down payment.

Anyway, I would like to hear some advice on what to say to the salesman. I am not trying to get the best deal ever, just a good deal so I can be happy with my purchase.

When I bought my 01 I made the deal over the phone in 5 or 10 minutes with the sales manager at Hayward Ford, CA. He asked me what I was willing to pay for the truck and I gave him a low number. He responded with an excellent price a little higher and the deal was done. I am not expecting the deal to be so easy this time. Here in south Louisiana they are real proud of their vehicles. Many of my friends buy in Texas because they get deals for thousands less. I would love to buy local!

So tell me specificaly what you say and how you get a nice price on a truck.

 

Find a friend to give you Xplan or join the mustang club of America to qualify for Xplan ($50 and a certain period of time)

Request brochures when you're ready to buy off the ford site. Be prepared to wait for multiple rounds of brochures to get as $750 private cash offer.

Once you get it, you'll have 4-6 wks before it expires. Having already looked around online, call dealerships and see if they will do a little below Xplan (which is usually $150-200 above invoice). Some will, and won't ever ask for your Xplan pin "since technically they can't put Xplan on the paperwork and go below it).

Browse local credit unions for best rate to refinance. Take fords best financing to get the 1-2k rebate depending on what you buy and immediately refinance.

Boom. You'll get 1500-2k below invoice in the end. About as good as you'll get and minimal negotiations.

 

Ok, so the $1-2k rebate is different than the $750 private cash offer. Got it.

For refinancing:
1) Get the lowest rate from CU.
- Tell CU that you will refinance after you have gotten the $1-2k rebate when signed up with Ford? Do they need to know this? Any downside to telling them?

2) Finance through Ford to get the $1-$2k rebate.
- Tell them that you'll refinance? Do they need to know this? Any downside to telling them?

3) Go to CU and refinance.
- How soon to refinance? does it matter?


Still earning all these steps...

Thank you !

 

You'll probably get around invoice from dealer. If you negotiate around, you can get a few hundred below invoice. For example, I negotiated $500 below Xplan. Which was $350 below invoice.

Xplan should have a $100 flat admin fee but my dealer charged $300. Pissed me off but I wasn't about to lose the car over it. They ended up throwing in some special detail products but in the end put me NET 1-200$ below invoice.

Yes tell the credit union it's a refinance. But you will still get the "new car rate if you do it within the first few months." No harm in telling the dealer you plan to refinance. They may try to feed you BS like " you have to wait 3 months"...not true. just make sure they won't charge you an early payoff fee (IE when the refinance company pays them off) - there shouldn't be a penalty but confirm.

When I told Ford my refinance eate of 1.5, they magically came down to 2% from 6.5. My refinance was 48 months for the 1.5 and Ford offered me 2% for 72. Now I might just end up keeping that since it'll help with monthly payments. Besides, I could put the extra cash towards student loans with much higher rates.

Also some of the coupons say "not applicable with Xplan". Yet another reason to negotiate the paperwork so it doesn't say "Xplan".

 

Definitely use X plan as the most You will pay, but like others say, You can sometimes even beat X plan prices.It's definitely worth it to join the Mustang Club of America for $50 to be eligible for X plan

https://www.fordpartner.com/partnerw...tner_rules.htm

Also get prices and research from buying services like Truecar and Costco , which price out at more than X plan, but will give You lots of info .

 

I'm thinking that there is no reason to talk to a salesman until you decide which truck you want to buy.

 

Use Truecar.com to find the going prices and price quotes from dealers.

 

Ditto, or just bi pass the salesperson entirely by dealing with the fleet manager , or Internet manager.
I did Truecar , which gave Me prices that local dealers were willing to sell the truck at, I picked the cheapest offer , then contacted their internet manager and asked if they would do X plan.

 

Good, my thought exactly.

Also, I've been emailing diff dealerships q's but all they want to do is for me to stop by.
I just want them to answer my specific questions (rebates/xplan/truecar price etc..) before/if I even step inside their dealership. I'm in no hurry. I recently paid off my car and not in a rush. I can wait....wait......and wait....Haha

 

I agree with the dealers in South La. I haven't had good luck with them. I went to Texas and bought mine. Did everything through email, and telephone. When I went to pick it up, I was in and out of there within a hour, and also saved 3k... That's what made the decision a no brainier. Good Luck!