Hello over there in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

I'm working over here in Abu Dhabi (where's that???) on the Persian Gulf. Sure wish I could have an L. here as gas is $.75 a gallon, and they don't bother to enforce the speed limits. (I regularly do 100mph on city streets, and 130+ on the highway in my humble Honda, and am always gettin' passed by locals with Mercedes and BMWs). Unfortunately, foreigners aren't allowed to have pick-ups and they only import riceburners anyway.

I plan to return to Tucson, Arizona sooner or later and will go from the airport to the Ford dealer to get my very own L.
Question is, do I really have to pay MSRP for this puppy. I used to work in the auto business (sales and F&I) and nobody pays full boat. I figure I'll be ordering it in advance, so the dealer won't have to floorplan it, so he can give up all the holdback, (are you all following me?).
Do any of you, especially in the Southwest or northeast have any suggestions or recommendations?
BTW, this is great site, with lots of activity, looking forward to reading the last 25 pages to get as much info on the L as possible. Hey, what's an LS1 ?

 

Welcome! See my post "want a deal on new Lightning" Good luck.

 

LS1 is chevinese for "little slow one". You generally don't bring it up around them as they are "little sensitive one's" about it.

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Red '00 Lightning,
Adopted 4/19/00,
PSP Filter,
Sound effects provided by Flowmaster,
Track time pending...

 

I always thought LS1 stood for "little short one", which was the anatomical deficiency which caused young males to buy them as compensation.

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Regards,
Gordon

99.5 Red Lightning
Only driven on Sundays (1/4 mile at a time)

 

not an L but a BOLT ! : ^ )

 

mrrick,

To answer your question.... since the Lightning is a "few of a kind" yes most dealers are asking MSRP plus more. My dealer wanted MSRP + $2500(needless to say I bought it). Others in the Houston, Texas area have/were charging an additional $5000 over MSRP.

Generally the options is pay what they ask or don't buy. If you don't somebody else will.

Seems hard core, but the facts. Others may have different stories in their local area if they ever get to your question.

Regardless..... the Lightnings are fun, my second one.

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John Armstrong
2000 Red Lightning




[This message has been edited by jarmstro (edited 05-23-2000).]

 

mrrick,
In Arizona you will be lucky to get one for full list. Most of the dealers want $5K over and they are successfully getting it. Your thinking is correct about ordering one and then the dealer doesn't have to floorplan it, however, you have missed the key factor: This is a very limited build vehicle, therefore the dealers can easily fill the allocation, so there is no reason for them to discount the price. In my search for a Lightning, I couldn't even get dealers to call me about one, I had to be the aggressor and drive to a dealer to show that I was a serious buyer. I bought mine at Five Star Ford in Scottsdale. I ordered it and paid full MSRP.
What's an LS1? Well, it's a nice motor that GM puts in the Trans Am, Z28 and the Vette.

 

MRRICK,it seesm to be the consensus of opinion on this board that the prices paid and the obvious demand seem to be regional.

Here is Maryland, outside Wash. DC, there is a Ford/SVT dealer that apparently sells everything below MSRP. The dealer recently had a black 00 "L" for $500 below MSRP. Had a used, red 99 with only 2000 miles which the dealer was asking 30K for when the Kelly Blue Book value on the Internet is almost $38K. I bought mine from this dealer last year for $28K. And, I have read of other non-Ford employees paying this amount or a little more. The truck I bought must have sat on the dealer lot for at least a month before I bought it. The black 00 Lightning must of sat in front of the Dealer's store for over a week before it disappeared. I am assuming it was bought and not stolen.

The dealer is Sheehy Ford, and they say they are the largest Ford dealer in the Washington DC area.

By the way, I do believe the LS1 in the Vettes is a 5.7L and produces 345 HP. The same basic engine is in Firebird and Camaros and it is either 305 or 320 HP (Ram Air @ 345lb torque). I think I got this right. I do not follow this stuff too close anymore.

Popular Mechanics mag tested a LS1 Formula Firebird last year and it ran the 1/4 mile in 13.15 @ 108.27 MPH. Maybe the fastest stock Firebird ever. They where shocked.

 

mrrick, how's the swarma? mmm. I remember well.

 

mrrick,

I think you got the message that it depends on where you live. I live in the Cleveland Ohio area and paid $27,700 for a 2000 L. Another dealer offered me one for $27,800. You can call 1-800 fordsvt and get a list of SVT dealers near where you want to buy. If no one close wants to deal, you can order in another area (like Ohio) and have it "dropped shipped" to a dealer in your state. The guy I bought from said he would sell another one for $29,500. I know you can do better than that around here now, so he may come down even more if he hasn't sold his allotment yet. Let me know if you want his phone number - tomgraham1@msn.com

Tom

 

Thanks everyone for the info.
Jim Click ford in Tucson, and a couple of other AZ dealer had 00Ls on their websites for MSRP, which is a starting bargaining point as far as I'm concerned. Maybe,they're just lowballing.
In any case, I'd be willing to go just about anywhere in the lower 48 for my L. It'd be a nice "get to know you" drive back to Tucson, or the drop shipping idea also sounds good. I'd like to see the look on the local dealer when I show him a bill for under MSRP.

Tom G thanks for the hotline info.

Shorty, the swarma is ok, but you know life in the "raghead republic" has its drawbacks.
Were you here to see Saddam?