ok, so I am about to send a proposal to a bunch of dealers in my area saying "this is what i want and this is what i want to pay." invoice price for the new Scab Lariat F-150 exactly the way i want it is $32,321. how much below invoice price is reasonable? i don't want to send out a proposal to all 30 dealers and have them all tell me i am insane. $200? $500? $1000 below invoice? i will be financing it with the dealer and i will let them know that up front so they might bite on it because of that (little do they know that i will be paying it off completely in January or February). suggestions on how low i should present my price? i will probably have to special order it too (i am picky like that) unless i get super lucky and a dealer has exactly what i want.

i know there are lots of experienced buyers here, and this will be my first vehicle purchase (i am only 24), so any help or suggestions are much appreciated. thanks.

EDIT: just in case it helps, MSRP on this truck is $36,965.

 

Good luck with that kind of pricing. I had to fight tooth and nail just to get any of my dealers down to $750 above invoice.

 

yeah, but i've heard of a lot of people getting it below invoice. in fact, some people seem around here think it is unacceptable to pay invoice or above, from what i've read. so, i am trying to learn from the savvy crowd here. we'll see...

 

$200 to $500 ABOVE Invoice is reasonable. You'd be hard pressed to find any dealer willing to sell below Invoice, unless you know them or you're using one of the A/D Plans etc...

Good Luck!!!

 

My dealer - 700 over invoice for in stock, 100 over invoice for ordered F150. Thats Portland Or area. I'm ok with these numbers.

 

I ordered a 2004 Screw XLT 4X4 and paid $100 over invoice from a dealer in S. Jersey. My understanding is the dealer makes 3% of the invoice price of the truck in addition to anything over the invoice. On a truck that invoices for $30,000, the dealer would make $900 plus anything over the invoice. It's called a 3% dealer hold back and I believe its standard on most vehicles. If any rebates become available, you could actually paid under the invoice price, but the money would be coming out of Ford's pocket and not the dealer. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I believe this to be true. Good luck

 

If you start out on the phone and tell them you are comparing dealers, you can probably get down to invoice. I was able to order mine at 2% below invoice.

As for holdback, different Ford Dealers get different amounts (if mny memory serves me). All of them get 3% of MSRP, plus any dealer who is a "blue oval" dealer gets an additional 1.25% of Invoice. For your truck, this is comfortably over $1400. A couple things to keep in mind though... that hold back is pro-rated, I think on 90 days, so they get that amount day one, on day 45, they get half that, and on day 90 and beyond, they get nothing. So if you take delivery from stock, the dealer will get something less then that, and will likely not give you as good of a deal. If you are willing to order (to get what you want, with a wait) then that whole amount is available to the dealer, and the price can be lower.

You can also dangle the service carrot. Tell the dealers things like "I hate fixing cars and want to know that your shop can handle everything". This implies two things. 1) that you will bring your car in for everything under the sun, which means more money for them. 2) that you feel some need to always bring your car to them.

At then end of the day though.... you're going to pay what everyone else pays, slightly less if you are a careful negotiator. If everyone is willing to pay $50,000 for the truck, then that is what they ill charge. If nobody is willing to pay a dollar over invoice, then that is what they will charge. The dealer is there to make money, and willdo so to the best of their ability. And rightfully so.

Good luck.

 

Here in Arkansas, I ordered a screw 4x4 lariat (msrp = $39275) and I am getting it for about $400 under invoice. The dealer I chose actually started off at MSRP. He called me back about 2-3 days later and said he would sell it to me at invoice. I really had to play hardball to get this price, ie. (telling one dealer what the other was doing and finally what it would take to get my business). If you order, you can always play the card..." you can knock off the full tank of gas charge $44.70 and the advertisment charge $295", because the truck is sold when you put down that deposit. You have to wait for your new truck but I found this to be my cheapest route. Good luck....

 

Post the zip code of the dealer and I'll eheck the X-plan price if you want. They generally are marking the trucks up $4K over what they pay.

 

Are you trading anything in?

I see that you say that this is "your first vehicle purchase", but at 24 surely you have something to trade in.

If you are bare in mind that they will probably go down a little below invoice, but will make it up on the trade in.

In other words they will extremly low ball your trade in.

HTH,
David

 

my dealer usually sells to me at invoice regardless of the vehicle. he quoted me on a new cobra when the S/C ones came out at $100 over invoice.

 

the ZIP code I live in is 90660 but I am willing to buy anywhere around the LA area (LA County, Orange County, Riverside County). can i negotiate X-Plan prices without actually being on X-Plan? and is X-Plan below invoice? who picks up the cost (ie, makes less money) on these deals, the dealer or Ford?

as far as trade in goes, my current car is not mine, mom and dad technically own it, so it is up to them. it is a crappy old 1989 Volvo Station wagon that is beat to all hell. it has served me well. i don't think any dealer would want it anyway. Blue Book value on it for resale (not trade in) is $1000. it is not anywhere near good condition. so after all of this, my answer is no, i have no trade in. (i always thought dealers hated trade ins. maybe i was wrong.)

sounds like I will call the dealer I've talked to and see if he wants to special order for me at invoice. i've only talked to the fleet manager who is easy to deal with. if he won't do it, i'll shop my price.

 

Brew Master :

A / D / X Plan prices are employee discounts. Ford underwrites the cost. If you work for a large corporation that does a lot of work with Ford, you might already be a member. Delta does a lot of Ford travel and has a reciprocal agreement, so I was X-Plan and did not even know it until I bought the truck.

The other advantage to X-Plan is getting rid of all the Dealer's add on fees.

Ask around, you may know someone who can qualify for X-Plan and can assist you - or - you can get several hundred to a thousand dollars over invoice, it ends up about the same in the end. You just have to work harder for the price if you are not X-plan.

Either way the going rate is at least $1,000 over on this truck and it is worth it. If you do better - congrads - if not, your still doing OK.

~~~^~~~

 

I guess we are in similar situations. I am 23 and still drive the same 1990 Ford Escort GT that I bought for $1650 in high school. It just turned 160,000 miles and its condition is declining. I hope to buy a 2004 F150 down the line several months. Never did I even think trading it in would be an option (I may not be able to let go of it that easy anyway, but that's a different story... :o ). However, last night I stopped in at a Ford dealer to basically pacify my excitement until I have the money for one. The sales-woman found me in the lot and, of course, went through her business. I almost fell over when she asked if I would be trading in my Escort. She already knew how many miles were on it, but to make sure, I told her that I was certain she wouldn't want it. However, she replied that she would likely give me a few hundred to trade it in. I doubt that I could sell it to anyone and would even doubt that they could sell it to anyone (for any more than $100 anyway).

Soooooooooooo, the moral of the story is that, much to your surprise, you may actually be able to trade in your old Volvo for a few hundred off your new truck. Also, I would guess that your parents really don't want the car back at this point anyway. Best of luck to you.

 

2004 f150 FX4 reg cab

MSRP $31,280.00
Invoice $27,456.00
X plan $27,708.96
A plan $26,499.00