Newby here - I'm looking to factory order a 2011 XLT or Lariat. I've never factory ordered a truck, and want to know how do I get the best deal. I was at the dealership the other day to test drive the EB and 5.0, and when I mentioned that I might want to order one that will have the options I want, the salesman said that it would take 8 weeks to deliver, and that I couldn't get any of the incentives they're offering now, only the ones that are being offered when the truck is delivered. Do all the dealerships work this way? I'm looking for any advice/tips/do's and don'ts that anyone who has done this could share! Thanks in advance!

 

The salesman is telling the truth about incentives...but he is also trying to get you to purchase a truck that is currently in stock. I'm in kind of a unique situation in that my Wife works for our local dealership...so we get the "D" plan, which is dealer invoice plus $100. No haggling, except that we will get whatever incentives are in place when our new rig comes in.
This was the first time in our nearly 30 years of marriage that we have purchase a new vehicle, much less ordered one, so the whole process was new to me. To give you an idea, we ordered and XLT, 4x4, Ecoboost with the following option packages:
-XLT chrome package
-Off Road package
-XLT Plus Package
-XLT Convenience Package
-Trailer Tow Package

With the "D" plan and before whatever incentives will be there when it arrives, it's going to be just under $33k. Last week my Mrs. told me that March is going to be "Ford Truck Month" and when I spoke with the Finance guy at the dealership he told me that there should be "significant" incentives. As far as the due date for our new truck? We ordered it on 18 Jan, and were told to expect it "sometime in early April."
I spent about 5 months doing my "homework" on the new trucks, and spent a lot of time at the dealership asking questions. I found that much depends on the salesperson you work with. Even though my Mrs. works at the dealership, the first salesman we approached was a butthead...only interested in the fact that "I don't make any money off employee sales". So I went to the next one. He has been nothing short of fantastic! My advice is do your homework, ask a lot of questions, and make sure that you are totally comfortable with EVERYTHING BEFORE you place the actual order.

 

One good thing about ordering now, is if you order the right truck it will take a bit to get it in. With the unrest in the middle east gas prices are going to go up. This will have a dampening effect on truck sales, if it hasn't already. With fewer people buying trucks, there will be more incentives offered to those in the market.

 

Depends on the dealer, some will honor the better of the two incentives. My dealer will give me whichever incentives are best, when I order or when it comes in. Check other dealers if you have more in the area.

 

It would seem odd that the dealer can control incentives being that ford sets the dates.. Are they going to backdate a purchase?

 

I was told the same thing by my dealer. I would get the better of the 2 incentives. When the order was placed or when the truck comes in but nothing in between. I have also read this in a few other posts as well.
I'm in Canada maybe that's the difference.

 

On my tenth ordered vehicle, and this is the way it has always been done.

 

Thanks for all the tips - appreciate your advice! I'll try going to different dealerships and see how the incentive process works elsewhere her in southern Colorado.