I understand that A plan is employee discount. Does it mean that one has to be an employee of if a friend of yours is an employee and if he has gotton a code, you could use it ? DOes it have to be a printed paper or something ?

Also, do the dealers hate you for bringing it in ?

 

It's for employees and their immediate family only. You cannot give one to a friend. The are very strict about tracking the ownership and if an employee is caught dealing their A plan cars to 3rd parties they lose their A plan privileges. It's way to valuable of a benefit to risk losing it that way.

You can get very close to the A plan price on your own if you shop price enough. The internet and e-mail are your friend. Don't waste your time driving around to local dealers to negotiate. Be willing to drive 1-2 hours to buy and do everything by e-mail and phone until you've finalized the deal.

Dealers love A plan customers.

 

They really aren't that strict. If you come in with an A plan pin, they will almost never question you. The dealer doesn't know go you are, or who the person is who gave you the pin. You could be their step-sibling, which is an actual selection in the a plan program. All the a plan eligible person needs is your name, bday, address and Ssn.

I will tell you this, I had access to a plan, but did not disclose that to the dealer. I ended up negotiating for a very short time and when all was said and done, including 2 personal cash offers(first responder and 1k private cash) I was over 3k below what a plan price was. Don't always think a plan is as low as you can go.

 

They may not be strict on the purchase side, but we employees sometimes get audited. If you're found to have given a PIN to a person that doesn't deserve it you lose plan privileges.

 

This is a ploy by dealers. You fell for it.

Yes you can get below a-plan price without a-plan through private cash and incentive offers. What you will never get below is a-plan price - incentives.

So yes negotiated price - private cash - incentives can be < a-plan price. But not < aplan - incentives.

 

See this thread for the relations a-plan applies to: https://www.f150forum.com/f118/plan-348421/

There is a document you can print and take in to the dealer. Otherwise just the pin, as stated earlier, and your information.

To the dealer this is no different than any other incentive. When a dealer orders a vehicle, they pay invoice price for it. Anything they sell that vehicle for above invoice is profit for them. (Some will sell for invoice to make it up on F&I (finance kickbacks and insurance (GAP, life, etc)). They can also make it up on selling warranties, maintenance packages, etc.

On rebates, they get those reimbursed directly from Ford. After the sale they submit paperwork and get reimbursement for the incentives Ford offers. A-plan works similar. It is roughly ~4% below invoice. After the sale the dealer submits paperwork for the rebates (as mentioned previously) and a-plan. They get reimbursed from Ford for invoice-aplan price + rebates and incentives. Dealers do not lose money on a-plan, and can make money if you buy warranties, insurance, maintenance, accessories etc.

Ford does audit the a-plan program. And if an employee abuses it (gives pins to people they don't know or aren't related to) then they will lose the privilege. Further, employees are limited to 4 pins per year. So an employee with a large family will be more selective about whom they provide pins to, even if they are an aplannable relative!

Hope this helps.

 

Not a ploy buddy. I'm not some sucker that thinks they got a killer deal bc a dealer told me. I did 3 months of research on the EXACT truck I was going to purchase, including nationwide prices and local price trends. I know EXACTLY what a plan minus incentives was for the EXACT truck I purchased. Obviously I know what my truck minus incentives minus private offers was as well, because that's what I paid for it. I went in, made a deal, and walked out owning a new truck in 1:15 from start to paperwork being signed. It was transferred from their out of state sister store and I was on my way 2 days later. Don't believe that a plan is always the best price. It may be in most cases, but in mine it was not.

 

So you are suggesting that the dealership sold you a brand new vehicle at a loss?

Even dealership employees will only get a-plan + $100 - rebates and incentives.

I will admit that private cash can get you close, but if you really got $3k less than a-plan and incentives, then I am willing to bet that salesperson (and probably sales manager) are no longer employed at that dealership.

 

I misrepresented the number below a plan. I added when I should have subtracted. The a plan-incentives price on my particular truck came to 34,678 OTD. My price, negotiated-incentives-private offers came to 33,046, OTD. That including the(excessive) $599 processing fee(which a plan does not allow for.). According to my trusty iPhone calculator, that equals 1632 BELOW a-plan. Nobody was fired, everybody was happy. They have gotten many customers off of me in the past, and have gotten two more sales off coworkers of mine in the weeks after the sale. I bought my truck on a wed evening, and my salesman alone had sold 6 150's that week already, and that's not including other vehicles he'd sold. They move vehicles faster than they can get them. They're making their money, even if they dip into losses every once in a while.

Oh yeah, that also includes all scheduled oil changes, dent removal for 3/36 through dealership, and engine guaranteed for life as long as services there(which is included.)

 

Could you tell us about your trk and the deal got ?