Not sure about that. I'm an Z-plan customer due to my father-in-law retiring from Ford. My question is: If you qualify for the A or Z plan, why would you bother with a third party? Qualified people already get the lowest price allowed by Ford directly, as a benefit to it's employees and families, with no haggle or hassle. It's a calculated price. I Just walked into the Dealer, gave my salesman all the order codes, my current Z-plan pin number, and went home. He sent me a print out of the price, and a few weeks later, I went and picked it up. Same as I've done three times before. Couldn't possibly be any easier. By the way, with the Z plan, I got my 2000 for $4800 under sticker, which was $1200 under invoice.

 

I read an article on this, and some dealers actually said they do not sell cheaper on the internet. It's good if you don't like the "salesman pressure". There are many good books at the book store on ways to lower your cost. If you can negotiate well, and know a few tricks, car buying gets easier. Do your homework on dealer cost, rebates,and make several dealerships compete for your business. I've also had good luck with always leaving to return another day, never giving in until you've exhausted all negotiations and they are mad.

------------------
2000 F-150 XL,RC,LB,5.4,4R70W,3.55LS,
4-wheel disc/ABS,Chestnut/Parchment,
Ford bedliner & gas/wheel/spare locks,
3" cold air box modification,Superchip,
Dynomax ultra-flow welded 3" cat-back.

 

Keep in mind that you can not really purchase a vehicle from an internet company. In the end your new vehicle will come from a dealer.

I shopped at many of the usual sites and received best assistance from a dealership site ( http://www.razzari.com or scottb@razzari.com )

In the end you either shop using you feet or your fingures... just my .02

[This message has been edited by thenextidea (edited 01-20-2001).]

 

I used www.CarsDirect.com to build and get prices, then I went shopping on local lots. Found better than what I was looking for originally.
I went to AutoWay Ford of St. Petersburg, FL.
The Fleet dept was full of people I used to work with at a different Ford dealership I used to work for. They hooked me up. t ended up being $4300 under MSRP, about $1800 under the "AutoWay No-Haggle" price out the door. Not bad considering that it wasn't exactly a "hard-to-sell" truck. All in all, I would recommend them.

------------------
--Lariat4WD--

2000 Ford F-150 Extended Cab Flareside 4x4 Lariat
5.4L;auto;3.55LS;Black/Silver;ORP;remote keyless;floor-shift 4wd;Class III;AM/FM/SingleCD
Mods so far:
Lund X-Terminator bug shield; Vent Shade Vent Visors; GTS headlight blackouts; Westin Black step bars; Pendaliner bedliner; Genuine Steel Products (Longtek Engineering) black Safari Grille Guard; GTS Tail Blazer II Slotted taillight covers; Clear corner lenses; under hitch backup lights; 2 KC Hilites Daylighter 6" 150W black round off-road lights; Cranked torsion bars to level truck; Removed lower factory striping; Replaced factory gold & maroon ORP decals with silver; 2 Polk Audio EX10 10" subs under rear seat; Sony XM754HX amp; Viper 300ESP alarm
Pending
Replacing factory gold/maroon Lariat decals & upper stripes with silver & black
Wish list:
More lights; Flowmaster 40 Series single to dual exhaust w/ 18" SS tips out back; Optima red top battery; Remote starter & Prox. sensor; In-dash TV/CD/DVD/AM/FM head unit; Build house w/ huge garage with a drain and a lift.

Please Visit My Web Site (Updated Daily) and Sign My Guest Book

 

I used ford.com to "build" the truck I wanted and submited it to a local dealer. Using the options info was a great help but the dealer was awful. They made it clear they wanted to sell the trucks on their lot and anything different would cost a lot more. I ended up taking a printout to a dealer a litle farther away and ordering the truck I wanted. I guess the moral is if you want a new truck you're going to have to go through a dealer anyway.

------------------
2000 XL 4.6 5spd 2WD reg-cab long-box 3.55 LS 235/70/16 Chestnut (not 2-tone) Raven-Cap (and a '66 GTO with a '73 455, both combined cost less than a Lightning )

 

I highly recommend doing it. In July when I started wanting a new truck I pulled up Carpoint on Msn.com. I put everything I wanted down and selected the dealerships I wanted to contact me! I had a 93' to sell so was in no hurry. I started an e-mail with the local dealer who told me what she could get and how much.(50 bucks over invoice!) I told her I would hold out for exactly what I wanted and you know what she does?, she orders my truck as a lot restocker down to the last option I want, cool! A couple months later the truck comes in, I sell my truck, and in less than an hour, I'm driving my new truck away for $25 under invoice! The most painfree deal I have ever done!

------------------
Badd Andy

2001 Toreador
F-150 Supercab XLT
7700lb, 5.4L, 4R100
Tow Packg, 3.73
Foglite mod
Headlites Relayed
A/C cutout switch
RS 9000's all around
Bug & Wind deflectors
Short rubber antena
98 ANGLER 8.6 Camper
95 Windstar w/replaced head gasket
97 Susuki Bandit 1200
87 Yamaha XT-350

 

I leased my 2001 f-150 in 4 steps and I learned a ton in the process.

1) Go to the Ford website and build EXACTLY the vehicle that you want. Make sure that every option is included.

2) Go to one of the search engines (yahoo, lycos, etc.) and do what's necessary to get the email addresses of the local dealeships.

3) Send a detailed email to each dealership asking for their best price on the vehicle you want. Be nice. Keep each price private and don't use it as a hedge against the other dealers--just wait for the lowest price. I usually received a 'handshake' type of email asking how much I wanted my payments to be and how much I wanted to put down. I simply replied to each with a courteous request for a price or I would have to move on. I received a price.

The most important lesson I learned is 'best price is posted' dealerships are not. I received prices from those dealers lower than what they had posted on the windshields of their vehicles. I personally believe 'best price' dealerships are nothing but price fixing agreements between dealerships. My experience substantiates that belief.

This worked out real well for me as far as price goes (the dealership I ultimately chose was as dishonest as the come but who cares--I did my homework). The funniest thing was the contradicting information some of the dealers provided in their emails. Some were saying now is the worst time to lease while others were saying this is the best time to lease etc.

Something kinda funny--whenever there was a snow storm I would get emails from several of the dealers asking if I was "..ready to get a real truck for the winter." I was in a Ford Ranger lease at the time trying to lease a 2001 F-150 4x4 so they may have been right...

The treatment I received after the sale was incredibly bad by this dealership but I'm tired of posting it. If you are in Minnesota and plan on buying an F-150 email me and I'll tell you what happened.