jjm1024

I am inching ever closer to my F150, FX4, Screw, Ecoboost purchase. First, I'd like to thank all the people here on the forum for their advice.

Onto the topic:
My dealer is very reluctant to factory order directly through Ford. I am not sure why, as my salesmen would not give a good reason. He just moved on from the topic. I have very specific requirements for options in my new truck: FX4, Screw, Eco, Leather mandatory; prefer moon & nav, tux black (hey, if I'm spending $40k+ I want it right!), which is apparently a hard to come by setup in these parts.

Instead of factory ordering (I know, can't get Nav or Tux Black through Ford right now) the salesmen said the dealership prefers to do what he calls "dealer trades" to get the options I want in the truck. Apparently the salesmen finds a truck with the options I want at another dealership and he contacts them and offers to trade a similarly priced truck to that dealer for the one I want. The dealership is West Herr Ford and has been around forever. One of the more reputable dealers (as much as possible for a car dealer anyways) in the area.

A few questions I have for you knowledgeable F150 fans out there (attention SKMLG!!!!):
1. Is this a common practice?
2. What is the benefit to the dealer? Why wouldn't they want to factory order?
3. Will/should it effect my ability to negotiate? We haven't talked price yet, but the new incentives for me are $3,000 + $750 mail coupon. If I could get close to invoice, I should get a pretty decent deal.
4. Would I be better off contacting the dealer that has the truck I want directly? They are about 2.5 hours away from me.

For myself, it maybe better to dealer trade rather then factory order because there is a dealer right now that has a black FX4 with nav, both of which can't be factory ordered right now.

I also have a minor off-topic question.

I decided on the Ecoboost. Tried to do a back to back test drive of 5.0 vs 3.5 with limited success. The 5.0 was in 'transport mode'. I asked to get it out of the transport mode before the test drive, but the salesmen couldn't (or wouldn't?) find anyone who knew how. He claimed it did not effect engine performance, only kills power to the battery/electronic to save the battery. I told him that I thought he was wrong. He then left me with the truck and paraded out two other salesmen and a mechanic who backed him up. I said, whatever, I think your wrong, but lets go. Who was right? Me or the dealer? The 5.0 felt like a complete dog, but again, it was in transport mode. All that said, I prefer the Eco still due to more lowend torque/better fuel economy. I tow once and a while, so the loss in MPG over the cubs of the 5.0 when towing doesn't bother me. 95% of the time I'll have better MPGs then the 5.0.

Wholly long post!!! Sorry, thanks for the comments!

pappcam

When I bought my truck the salesman told me the same thing. Luckily they had a truck on the lot exactly like I was looking for with all the options I wanted. It had the tailgate step which wasn't on my most needed list but it was only $300 and I decided it was better to have it now than wishing I had it later.

He said he could scour the other dealerships for one without but I decided to take the one off the lot instead.

Scrappy Doo

iTrader: (1)

If the exact truck you want is 2.5 hours and the dealer that you want to buy it through can swap for it, then go get it.

As far as your questions go:

1. yes, dealer trading is fairly common, and some dealers just don't like ordering for a customer. Seems stupid as a sold order is a sold order......

2. Their benefit is they get to sell you a truck tomorrow and not 4 to 12 weeks from now. I would also assume that since your "must haves" arent available to order right now, they want to get you into the same optioned truck faster.

3. The dealer trade won't affect your ability to negotiate. it will cost the dealer a bit of $ to trade though. (send 1 guy with a truck and trailer, or 2 guys to drive it back/ I would insist on it being trailered, but thats just my opinion. As you said, spending upwards of 40k plus, I want it new.) If you order, you are price protected. When the truck comes in after an order, You get the incentives at the time of the order or at the time of delivery, which ever is better. Also the price is negotiated off of the MSRP at time of order and not at delivery. In case there are any MSRP price increases done by ford directly.

4. Only contact the dealer that has the truck you want if you can't work out a good deal with the dealer you want to buy it through. If you go to who has the truck and try to work a deal and it doesn' happen, that dealer may not dealer trade it to your next dealer because they know they have someone interested in it and they may not give it up.


Sorry for the long post, but the points you brought up neede some explanation.


Go to your first dealer and get the deal done! then post up some pics.

jdgmint

Try going to "truecar.com" and price out the truck you want. Most dealers honor the price quotes you will get. Just bought a 2011 Platinum and paid $5300 back of MSRP.
As far as dealer trades are concerned, the dealer wants to put tpgether a deal ASAP. If you can find the exact truck and options you want, why not? I've bought vehicles both ways and found no difference. The botton line is the price. Get that established first and you should have no issues.

egbertnr

If i could have found the truck I wanted somewhere I would have rather done a trade vs ordering. You would get it much quicker that way too!

RKSteel

jjm,

If you can get your truck from another dealer, do it. I'm waiting 3mths for my factory order, waiting $ucks.

I agree w/ scrappy doo, have it brought back on a trailer. Why have some salesman drive your truck 100+ miles.

FordGuy69

As a recently former New Car Sales Manager at a local Ford Dealership, I can assure you that "Dealer Trades" happen all the time. It was always impossible to stock the exact truck that everybody wants.

Scrappy Doo was pretty dead on about the urgency of getting the deal done now instead of 4-8 weeks down the road. As most of you know, dealerships want the deal today, not tomorrow.

You should ask the selling dealer if he is getting "holdback" from the other dealer. This is the money the originating dealer receives from Ford when the truck sells. On an F150 it should be about $1700, ask the dealer for the invoice, if he doesn't give it to you move on.

As far as negotiating a better deal, you will always get a better deal on an in stock unit. Doing a dealer trade costs money. Chances are they won't get the holdback, they have to pay a driver or two (using a trailer to bring it back usually isn't an option unless the dealership owns the trailer). The selling dealer will also want to get in stock truck off of the lot to get it off his books and get something else to replace it.

Order outs usually take way to long and if a mistake was made when ordering it, you might not get the exact truck you wanted. I would much prefer to see the invoice/window sticker first so I knew exactly what I was getting.

As far as the incentives go, you get the incentives at the time of delivery, not at the time of order. All incentives are assiciated with VIN numbers, zip codes and dates and you can't go backwards. Also, your trade in value might not be the same.

Find a truck you want anywhere in your region. You will find the right truck and get it at a great price.

jjm1024

Wow!

Thanks for the quick replys. Just got back from a meeting (work always gets in the way) and unfortunately had this email from my salesmen:
I love great punctuation. . .that's not the point.

Unfortunately of his list of about 20 trucks he sent me, that was the only one that matched my criteria. Apparently he didn't listen well to what was required.

I'm glad to hear that dealer trades are common and he wasn't trying to pull a fast one. Thanks for all the advice.

If anyone knows of a dealer selling an FX4, Eco, Screw, leather, preferably with moonroof, nav and 20" rims, let me know!!!

The search continues. . . .

Oilfieldtrash

Did you call the other dealer to see if it's really sold?

Scrappy Doo

iTrader: (1)

There is a black fx4 screw, eco, luxury about 20 minutes from my house. way up in MN that is. No nav, No roof, no wheels.