OT: Best pricing on a new Ford

Submitted by MgoHillbilly on
With the new addition to the family, the MgoWife will be getting a bigger vehicle. We test drove a lot of vehicles and have decided on a Ford. With regard to pricing, I assume many of you may know the best way to get a good deal. As far as Michigan ties, I'm an alum, but not a member of the alumni association. Vehicle would be registered in Georgia and I don't mind flying out to get it and driving it cross country to get it home. Any advice?

ryanfourmayor

August 18th, 2017 at 3:20 PM ^

i had a lot of luck pitting two dealerships against eachother. then telling one dealership the other offered a price $1000 less than they did until i got a price i felt fair. i also made it seem like it was less convenient to go to that dealership but would for a better deal.

BassDude138

August 18th, 2017 at 4:00 PM ^

Being in sales myself, I would not hand over a written offer so that someone can shop me. A car salesman especially doesn't want you walking away without closing the deal, if at all possible. A strong sales person would overcome that objection on the spot and used to their advantage the info that "it is an inconvenience to go down the street." Buyers are liars.

However, it is always smart to use that type of leverage as a buyer, even if it is fabricated.

WolverBean

August 18th, 2017 at 3:20 PM ^

If you can wait another 4 months, buy it at the end of December. No one buys cars in December, so it's slow and dealers will be willing to cut a deal. More importantly, new models come out in September, and by December the dealers are itching to get the last of the past year's models off the lot. (This does mean selection of previous models will be poor, so if you're picky about certain options (or paint color!) then this may not be the best approach for you.) And they're extra motivated to do this before January 1st, because there are various license taxes they may have to pay otherwise (though this detail may be heavily dependent on details in your state).

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 18th, 2017 at 5:32 PM ^

This is hella incorrect.  December is always one of the biggest months for car sales, sometimes the biggest of the year.  Are there deals in December?  Yes, Christmas deals, ones which they're happy to offer but won't walk down from because someone else will take it.

If you think you can get a better deal by waiting for a slow month, January is the one to wait for.

Source: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2012/10/usa-auto-industry-total-sales-figu…

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 18th, 2017 at 5:45 PM ^

To add to this: I have a friend who is a manager at a dealership.  I once asked, do people really buy cars for Christmas? Those ads with bows on the cars don't reflect a lot of reality, do they?  Oh yes they do, he said.  All.  The.  Time.  And dealerships, or his at least, honor a lot of requests to do things like hide the car til December 25, or stick a bow on it, or whatever the customer wants in order to keep it a surprise.  They're busy little bees in December, absolutely.

zh2oson

August 18th, 2017 at 5:35 PM ^

My own personal experience has been different.

Living in Los Angeles, the end of the year is bonkers with people buying new cars.  Dealers have told me that people are trying to squeeze purchases in before New Years in order to take advantage of tax writeoffs - either as a business expense or the sales tax writeoff for individual filing.  I think you get to count the depreciation as well...although I am not a tax expert!  

Yes, dealers are also trying to meet year-end sales goals, but out here, shopping for a car is high-stress in the week between Christmas and January 1st.

Perhaps things are different when it is -20 degrees in late December.

 

EDIT: Agree with Wahoo.

thespacepope

August 18th, 2017 at 7:02 PM ^

You need to wait until one hour before closing when it is raining on the last day of the month (it helps if the last day of the month is on a Saturday.) You should be wearing a Nickleback concert t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. It also helps when Jupiter is rising in Pisces. Bring a styrofoam cooler with some bottled waters and baloney sandwiches because you don't want to lose the deal to the grind because you got hungry and left the dealership for a sandwich.



Tell them you are not going to trade in your car. Then after you reach agreement, BAM you tell them you have a trade in and then you make them pay bluebook retail for your trade in.



If you are able to do this, you will basically get the car for free because they need to meet their quota for the month but at the same time the want to get home to their families before the rain gets worse.

Blue_42

August 19th, 2017 at 10:57 AM ^

As someone that has worked in the retail auto business for 14 yrs, I can tell you that if you come in an hour before close that 9 times out of 10 we are going to make money on you. We've already worked 9 hours at that point and aren't going to work another 3 hrs without getting paid.

Also nobody is going to sell you a new car at wholesale and pay you retail for yours. Doesn't work that way. If you want retail for yours then you are going to pay retail for mine.

MotownGoBlue

August 18th, 2017 at 3:48 PM ^

Checking on "MGoThief" availability.

I worked at a Ford/Audi dealership in between my sophomore and junior year of college. I had a master key to all of the lock boxes, and it was very tempting to take a few of those brand new Audis for a test drive at 2am on a Friday or Saturday night...

WestQuad

August 18th, 2017 at 3:25 PM ^

Buy a used car with a clean carfax with like 15,000 miles on it and just about 2 years old.  You'll save about 25% to 33% off what a new one would cost.  

 

...or you could passively agressively troll Mgoblog for a Ford Friends and Family discount.  Jusk ask for one man.

VikingDiet

August 18th, 2017 at 3:34 PM ^

Oigh. The depreciation charge makes me sad on new vehicles. My 15yr old BMW with a little TLC has a stupid low cost per mile and is a great ride.

Learning to work on a car is the best thing I ever did. Saves tons of money and I never feel cheated by people I always feel cheated by (right or wrong).

VikingDiet

August 18th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^

Good point.

I bought the car knowing it needed a lot of work and I did spend a considerable amount of time upfront working on it. Anyone with knowledge would have spent a quarter of the time, but I was learning. It's actually become now a fin hobby for me, so the cost of my time is negative (at least until I start having kids, no doubt).

Of course, as you get more skilled the amount of time required decreases.

MgoHillbilly

August 18th, 2017 at 3:46 PM ^

I've already got an xplan pin through my brother in law of needed to get close to invoice. I'm not asking for that, but if there's any dealerships there that are known for high volume and discounts, alumni incentives (which weren't viewable online unless I joined), Ford specific insider info, that kind of stuff, I'd love to know.

BJNavarre

August 18th, 2017 at 4:27 PM ^

This is great advice. Even with the A-Plan, it may be better to buy a used but newish model. Many Ford models depreciate rapidly, so you can get a great deal on a vehicle that is either Certified Pre-Owned or still under the original warranty.

thisisme08

August 18th, 2017 at 9:20 PM ^

Buy the car you can afford and all that but 0%//72mo is pretty hard to argue with.

I'm assuming more so since OP said they are looking for a larger vehicle which in todays parlance means crossover/SUV.  Have you looked at the prices of used Escape/Edge/Explorers lately? If you can find the right deal then buying new makes sense in a lot of cases with rates where they are at.    

VikingDiet

August 19th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^

Except that is SIX YEARS. I get it, free money yada yada yada, but who actually takes advantage of that and does something with that extra money to make it grow? Pretty much no one. The payment thing is a slow drip to poverty... All of your present money owed to past debts. Not a fun way to live. I decided to get out of that game. Paid of my nicer car, bought a cheap car, let the fiancee drive the nice car and sold her car (she was upside down on.... 72mo, got the gap insurance which only put her further in the hole).

I am on the "Dave Ramsey plan". I will admit, it is not for everyone (and I don't always agree with his investment advice and usage of a credit card), but outside of utility bills and mortgage every month, zero payments is pretty sweet.