OT: Best pricing on a new Ford

biggest rebates then

even bigger if they are discontinuing the model

I just paid $18,500 + tax for a $26,500 Jeep Patriot

Im assuming you aren't considering the "bigger" comment, but don't get an automatic Focus or Fiesta. Their transmissions are absolute shit and Ford just got hammered by a class action lawsuit because of it.

Be careful with taxes.  Not sure about tax law in michigan and georgia, but Virginia tax laws hit a lot of people with additional taxes for a situation you describe.  Basically, VA will charge you sales tax for all vehicles purchased while a resident, regardless of where you purchased the vehicle.  For example, if I purchase a vehicle in NC (close tax price) or DE (no taxes), VA will still charge me sales tax for the vehicle I purchased in the other states. This means, I would effectively be paying double the taxes if purchased in NC, or the same amount if purchased in DE (but now I have to get the vehicle back to VA). 

I work in the industry.  Manufacturers offer the biggest discounts at the end of a model year.  The 2018 models should be rolling out soon and dealers will be itching to get rid of the 2017 models to make room.  The discounts go up when the car has been sitting for a bit.  That said, search the dealer inventories on their websites; most all of them post their entire inventory online.  If you can find the rare 2016 that has been sitting but with no miles, you can usually negotiate a very nice price.  Make sure they do a full Pre-Delivery Inspection right before you take delivery so you don't get stuck with a bad battery or tires that have flat spots from sitting on the lot for a year.  

As far as the whole "lie to the dealer" thing above, the dealers know you are doing it.  Most of them don't care, because they either are able to absorb the additional cost or they have a program from their manufacturer that makes them whole.  The dealers make nearly all of their money on service, so the gross profit up front doesn't matter much.

I'm a new father but am already in the planning phase of buying my next car, which will be a Nissan 370Z.

a car leasing/sales agent to lease 6 cars for my employer. Got talking to them about cars and possibly looking for something for myself and if I should go new or get something a couple of years old because of depreciation.

He told me if you want something a couple of years old get a Ford/Chevy or GM product as he could get incredible deals on those. Always buy Honda and Toyota new because they hold their value better and you won't pay much more for a new one then you would for one a couple of years old.....

1. Personally I never finance vehicles and I never will. I always save up and pay cash for them. That means going without for a long time. In my opinion, financing something over 36 or 60 months which is already almost fully depreciated (no value) by month 6 is just dumb.   Unless there are safety issues, drive that mother into ground first.

2. Have your specs down. Know what you absolutely want and will not compromise on. Model, make, color, feature sets. With a set vehicle spec at front of mind, you've effectively commoditized your car and the only question now is who to buy it from (lowest price).

They (dealers) will then bullshit their way through extra services, better support and add-ons that you don't want and then they will smirk and scoff if you say "no". Ignore it.  Dealers change ownership and staff regularly. Their promises are nothing that you can rely upon.

3. Know your budget.  If budget is an issue, then consider buying used cars with low miles >10,000. They are out there in all makes and models.  Carmax offers an interesting value proposition for this, but there are others.  Download the Carmax app to check it out. Easy to filter for Fords and models you want.  I have sold used cars to them for quick cash in the past.  I am also in the market for a used Jeep and will likely go this route.

4.  When buying new model cars,  I get 3 or 4 quotes for identical make, model and feature sets from different dealers, some several miles away.  You can submit requests online easily across multiple dealers. Then I let them bash each other over the head on lowest price to get the sale.  You have to double check their quote and specs because dealers are staffed by morons sometimes who leave off your specifically stated specs and then try to rope you into paying more with full court press at the dealer. They have a limit in how low they will go.  You can then try to low ball them even further, but always be ready to walk away.

5. Understand that right now there is a huge oversupply of vehicles on dealer lots and incentives to sell them off are NOT WORKING. There is also apparently a $1 trillion vehicle loan bubble in place (since 2008/2009) cash for clunkers, which will never be paid off.  So  I suspect most automakers and their dealers right now are pretty much shitting bricks and will be very happy to see you.

Not going to read through all the comments to see if this has already been suggested, but pitting dealerships against each other is a sure-fire way to improve deals. I work for an automotive finance company, and I can say that dealers make a ton of cash on fees tacked onto the price of the car, not the financing. Dealers negotiate a lot of these fees independently with other companies, so the amount of room they have to give can vary considerably.

Because of this, your best bet is to:

1. Determine what car you want, and which featuresyou consider optional
2. Find every car within driving distance of your house that you'd be willing to buy, regardless of how much its price varies from other options you have
3. Have quick, high-level discussions with a salesperson for every vehicle to prove your interest - and make sure you get their email
4. When you're done vetting out options, compile a master list of all vehicles, prices, and emails associated with the salesperson for every car
5. Send out ONE email to all of them (yes, they'll all be able to see who they're competing with), and tell them what your current best offer is. Make it clear that you want someone to beat this deal - say it explicitly if you'd like
6. More offers will come in, and they'll typically only respond to you, not the other dealers. Add the other dealers back onto the chain with every offer. This is my new best offer - beat this new offer
7. After going through the email process for a bit, accept the best offer

At the end, you'll most likely end up with one of the larger dealers in your area, as their sheer volume of car sales allows them more flexibility on cost. Still, this process leads you to the absolute best offer and at least gives all dealers the chance to compete on price.

thats a little tougher to come by these days, since dealers dont let as many sales people drive cars off the lot as they used to, but its a good startegy if you can find a demo that is the car you want, and you aren't super picky about color and options (im not saying you have to take puke green and crank windows, but Im saying if you dont "absoluttely have to have" the moon, if youre ok with it maybe not having one or two things you thought you might want)

Last Escape we bought for my wife, they were trying to coax her into getting one that didnt have everything she wanted because it was the only one they had in her color. The I asked if they had any demos, and as it turned out, the salesman we were dealing with was using one as his personal demo, and it had more options than she was looking for, and I got it for 4k beow sticker, all because it had 500 miles on it.

It may be a needle in a haystack, but its worth asking