So the wife and I will be buying our first new car soon (next 2-3 months). I hear so many horror stories that I thought I would ask all you fine gents ( and ladies) for the do's and don'ts of buying a new car.

If we end up ordering it, what should I look for when I pick it up? Should I spend the extra money on an extended warranty? What should I get for it after we own it, so that I can keep looking new? Do I have to wait to wash and wax?

What else did you wish you knew what you bought your first new car?

Btw it will be a Ford Explorer.

 

No idea on what horror stories your hearing but the beauty of ordering is, you'll get exactly what you want and you'll save a bit of money. (not paying dealer holdback =170$ or so)
If you order during a promotion, you get it when you take delivery or if a better promotion exists, you can take advantage of it.
The only drawback is the waiting....
You can wax a new vehicle right away. Paint is baked on and cured. Having said that...i wait for a couple of month before i wax.
The best thing you can do is make sure you order with all the options you want. Once the vehicle build is "send to plant", it's to late to make changes and the time frame on "orders to build" varies, so i cant tell you that there is any given time frame in which you can change options once your dealer takes your order. Getting it right in the first place is best!.

Lastly...When your EX arrives at the dealer or BEFORE you drive off the lot. take pictures of the entire car and do a CLOSE inspection, especially the front and rear end. Take closeup pics of any concern you might have and have it documented/fixed.
Nice vehicle by the way!

 

The timeframe you state (2-3 months from now) puts you right into the range of where the transition begins from manufacturing one model year of vehicle to the next. This could affect you in several ways:

- There is typically a cut-off date for special ordering a vehicle. My experience has been that it's usually in mid-to-late May depending on the model, so if you want to order a 2012 you'll need to place your order by then.

- If you wait past the cut-off date to special order, you'll typically have to wait significantly longer to receive your vehicle since your car won't be produced until they begin manufacturing the next model year of vehicles.

- At the time of year you will be looking, you will typically be offered much better financial incentives to simply purchase one of the previous year's models that remain on the dealer lot than special ordering a vehicle from the next model year.

- I have ordered vehicles and I have purchased them straight off the dealer lot -- with a car like the Explorer, I might be inclined to just find one that I like on the lot. These vehicles don't have a ton of selectable options, since most of them simply come as part of "packages" that are automatically on the vehicle based on it's trim level. I think your option selections are going to be fairly confined to sound systems, leather seating, and a relatively small number of "bells and whistles" that I would not consider "deal breakers" if the car doesn't have them.

- If a dealer doesn't have a car in inventory that suits your tastes, you can supply him with a list of features you want and he can search Ford's inventory for a suitable vehicle. You can also do this yourself by searching dealer inventories on Ford's internet website.

- I don't know that you're going to find a ton of dealer mark-downs on the Explorer's right now. Because of this, I'd consider getting myself an X-Plan PIN number that will give you a predetermined discount price for the purchase of the vehicle. While a good negotiator may squeeze a few more bucks out of the deal, for the "average bear" X-Plan pricing is pretty damn fair.

- Here's a link from a recent thread over in the "Care & Detailing" section that talks about paint care on a new vehicle: https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...-soon-wax.html

These are just a few things that come to mind -- good luck and enjoy your new ride.....

 

he new Explorer is very comfortable to drive and ride in. All the seats are well made, not just the front. It is extremely quiet on the road and very smooth. When the headlights are on dim it does take a while to get use to the straight cut top line, but on bright the county is illuminated. Gas mileage is good for an SUV, but not quite what Ford said. It might increase as the car is broke in. Love my Ford.

You can use www.carsabi.com to search for a good deal. you get good statistics and dealer prices.

Good luck with your new acquisition.

 

I bought my last car used and traded it in and lost money on it. I got an awesome deal on my truck buying it 3 years old- $20k under original sticker price. I dont think Id ever buy new again- Ill let somebody else take the huge depreciation hit.

I let the dealer talk me into undercoating and window etching. They did a horrible job undercoating. I dont think plastic bumpers need to be undercoated and I couldve done what they did with a $10 can of undercoat from NAPA. The window etching was supposed to save me money on insurance. I spend quite a bit on it and it saved me $10 a year- not worth the cost.

 

PJB4x4
Typical dealer money makers. Some do the edging as soon as they're delivered from the factory. So, they get everybody that buys from them. My dealer wouldn't dream of doing this unless a customer asks for it. Matter of fact, he'll probably talk you out of it....

 

I'm in car sales myself so here a few tips (Mind you I work for Lexus).

Up here in Canada we have a service called Car Cost Canada. Its shows you the dealer invoice. You pay $35 and you get to see what the invoice would be on the car you want to purchase. It says negotiate anywhere between 3 to 6% above invoice.

Car Cost Canada deals are super easy to do there no beating around the bush in pricing and for pricing it is what it is.

Dealers can do a locate no problem for you if they don't have the explorer your looking for. Obviously if you are looking for a particular car and its on the other side of the country you may be asked to spit the cost of shipping if your doing a 3 to 6% over invoice deal.

This may help as well: http://www.kbb.com/

 

I dunno what the margin on a Lexus is at MSRP, but on a Ford it's about 8%. 3 to 6% over invoice is a terrible deal on a Ford down here. You should be able to get any Ford except a Raptor or other limited production model for no more than $100 over invoice. Some dealers are even selling them at invoice less holdback just to move units.

 

So I was at the local dealership today, amd we started looking for the things we wanted and we both realized that it would be best for us to get a explorer ordered just the way we like it. Good thing too because we wanted it in the next couple of months, and didn't realize the wait would be almost that long. They we taking though, if we ordered today, it would be a 2013, does that sound right, seems pretty early for them to not even ask if we wanted a 12 or 13, but whatever, might as well get a newer one if not by jus one year. I doubt the price difference would be that much.

Thank you to all for the advice. I'm getting what x plan pricing. Is there any other program I should look into?

 

Right now I am at invoice plus $100 before discounts and incentives.

 

Sounds like a good deal. As for the extended warranty. I don't think I would ever buy one again. With the way these cars are made and the way the factory warranty is on some models or brands I think it's a waste of money.

The last vehicle I bought extended warranty on was my 05 F150. And the only reason why I bought that was for the famous spark plugs breaking when trying to do a replacement. But then realized that the warranty doesn't cover that.

So I terminated the warranty and got a prorated refund and never had a problem...


James

 

X-plan is a fair deal for both you and the dealer and avoids haggling.

 

good luck, the explorers resale value drops like a brick in the middle of the atlantic ocean after it rolls off the lot.

 

If you haven't already, head over to the Explorer forums - lots of info including 2013 ordering...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/

Personally, I'd never buy another Explorer again... bought a 2002 XLT new for my wife - 80K miles and a valve spring just breaks for no reason... $5k new engine.. rides horrible as well.... (very stiff suspension) - real piece of junk vehicle - owners report all sorts of issues with those model years 2002-2004... perhaps they've improved... perhaps not...