I'm an "automotive enthusiast" and I've purchased a bunch of cars, both new and used. I will only talk "out the door" pricing. I figure out what I want to pay, add tax, title, and registration and work to get below that number OTD. That way the dealer can do whatever they want with "doc fees" and other nonsense and I don't have to care.
Who can afford a new truck anymore?
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I'm an "automotive enthusiast" and I've purchased a bunch of cars, both new and used. I will only talk "out the door" pricing. I figure out what I want to pay, add tax, title, and registration and work to get below that number OTD. That way the dealer can do whatever they want with "doc fees" and other nonsense and I don't have to care.
Yep, I did the same. When pricing my new Ram, the first dealer tried to come up with all of these "extra" costs not on the OEM sticker. And then to price options I wanted but not on their in-stock truck, such as $1100 for factory wheel - wheel side steps which sticker for ~ $710, among other things. We came to an agreement pretty quickly that I did not care what their shop charges were and that that issue was on their side to resolve. The price is the price as far as I was concerned, and they can tally it up and distribute any way they please. But in the end, I was only concerned about out the door pricing.
So we came to a tentative deal to order a new truck from the factory for a price that was a little higher than I wanted to pay, but was the lowest the sales manager was able to get agreement on with his management. But he still had to confirm with the factory the following morning that there were no restrictions on anything I wanted. In the end, they refused to go through with the deal since there was not enough headroom in the pricing- which I took to mean not enough profit margin for them.
So I went to a different dealer who surprisingly found me a truck with all of my options (some not very common) just delivered to a dealer's stock in neighboring NC, including body and interior colors except it had a Nav unit I did not want. I paid a bit more, percentage wise, but it was less expensive than ordering a 2016 without the $2500 rebate on the 2015s.
I would like to have saved a couple more percentage points off the price, but I got the best deal available for this truck.
Plus they're selling overpriced junk to begin with; and charging high interest to boot.
Bird
Rest in Peace
Don't we have that same thing everywhere?:laughing:
Dealing with car dealers, whether new or used, can be quite an educational experience, but sometimes fun, too. I bought a new 1964 Dodge Dart convertible when the '64 models first came out; slant 6, automatic transmission, etc. It was nearly a year old, 30k miles on it, tires about due for replacement when a van stopped in front of me one day to let oncoming traffic clear so he could turn left into an apartment parking lot. Naturally, I stopped behind him, then a 17 year old kid in a big car rammed me from behind so hard that he not only knocked me into the back of that van, but broke the back of my seat off so I was lying with my head in the back seat, in spite of the seat belt. That collision broke every light on both ends of my car, but it was still drivable otherwise. Fortunately, the kid's parents did have insurance so I took the car to the dealer from whom I had bought it. When they called to say it was ready and I went after it, the guy at the counter said someone would bring it around front. In the meantime I was looking at a new one (sedan instead of convertible) on the showroom floor with A/C, V-8, manual transmission. I asked a salesman how they'd trade and pointed outside at mine that had just been parked out front. So he went and looked at my convertible, talked to his boss, and came back with a figure to trade. At that point I told him there was no way I'd pay that much difference and I made him an offer. He assured me there was no way they could take my offer, and said, "The paint doesn't match on the trunk of your car, and the driver's seat back is broken." I told him, "Well, you're going to have to fix those things anyway, since I just came to get it from your body shop and haven't even gone out to look at it yet." Away he went to the boss and came back in a few minutes to accept my offer.:laughing:
Shortly after the first (1968) Plymouth Roadrunners hit the market, I noticed one on a dealer's lot south of downtown Dallas, stopped and went in and asked a salesman how they'd trade for that Roadrunner. He asked, "Well, how much will you give?" I told him, "That's not the way it works. You tell me what you want for it and I'll tell you whether I'll take it." He said, "Well, if you don't know how much you'd give, I'd just be wasting my time." So I left, went to a dealer on the north side of town and asked how they trade for a new Roadrunner equipped as I wanted." They said they didn't have one and didn't think there were yet any in Dallas. I told him I knew where there was exactly what I wanted. He said he didn't think any dealer who had one would be willing to dealer trade it, but he called and they agreed to let him have it, we agreed on a price and the salesman and I went to the first dealer to get it.:laughing: He did ask if I'd not go in and let them see who was buying it, and since he'd been nice, I agreed. I don't know whether the idiot salesman ever knew what he'd done.
kenmac
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They charge high interest for a reason... These buyer's can't get financed anywhere else ,but a buy here pay here lot.. This is where credit will get you ,if you aren't careful using it
Clint S
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We just got a 2015 2500HD regular cab , 8 foot bed. It is a WT but has the convenience package . It came with an 8 foot stainless trip edge plow by Boss. It was 40k out the door, tax and tag included. The window sticker was just under 40. The plow stickers for 6k. It is a ton of $$$ but I think we got a good deal.
KennyG
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Just saw an article that the average selling price of F-150's is $44,000 and the factories are running at capacity. So apparently a lot of people can afford a new truck.
kenmac
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Get the payment low enough ,and they will buy them.. Does that mean they can afford them ??? I see people with new vehicles, at the pay day loan places all the time..Probably getting a pay day loan to pay the power , water, grocery bill,etc, so they can drive their new vehicle...
TomSeller
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Good point, the fact that more people in the US can afford a new truck than an afford a standard car is amazing. So would the
check
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Yup. Just about the same as the annual average depreciation on my last truck (including 13% sales tax), which I kept for five years and sold just before the warranty was up.
The problem is that 5years down the road they're still upside down on what they owe and the vehicle is starting to need repairs (because they couldn't afford to keel up with the maintenance), so they go back to the same dealer who says "Sure, I can give you what you owe on it... We'll just extend your new payments out another year."
Despite what I said earlier-and there was a time when I should have been buying new instead of used- one thing I can never understand is why anybody would borrow money for a vehicle which is more than they need. (Or put Christmas and vacations on a credit card when they don't have the money to pay it off.)
check
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They advertise LOW lease payments all the time around here, which is what brings the customers in. The advantage is that after the lease is up, the customer owes nothing.
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That isn't quite accurate. The way that I understand it, the lease payment is only an estimate of use with mileage limitations among other things. When the lease is up the consumer owes a per-mile cost over what they were asked; us they pay for anything over "normal wear and tear."
check
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Absolutely true. You have to be able to estimate your mileage usage, and you can't abuse the truck. But of course those same factors apply to the value of your used truck if you purchase it and then sell it later (in my case with my previous truck, 5 years later).
Actually, although I have now leased a total of four F150 trucks, I would probably never lease a different vehicle, simply because Ford seems to be the only company that offers such amazing lease deals (although not every year). Like I mentioned elsewhere, I leased my 2014 F150 Supercrew XLT with the XTR option and a "302A" package with a whack of lovely options (like a rear camera), when it was advertised for $238 per month with $1300 down and $1700 freight, and 12,500 miles per year mileage allowance. (I actually negotiated a slightly different deal.) I had to move fast when the ads came out, because the trucks were flying out the door!
You knew what you were getting into. Too many people just see that monthly payment and don't read the fine print. I've never considered it because I'd be over my 3 year mileage allocation in 9 months... and tend to run them until they're junk. (Or longer 
)
)
NoTrespassing
Elite Member
IF I were in the market for a truck I'd buy something like this; 2012 Ford f150 regular cab, 20K miles for $16,400, and I'd pay cash. Would that be a good buy? What is the least expensive new f150 available today?
When I buy a truck it's only for hauling things that won't fit in my car or suv. I don't care if it has power window, locks or any other frills beside AC.
Kevin
When I buy a truck it's only for hauling things that won't fit in my car or suv. I don't care if it has power window, locks or any other frills beside AC.
Kevin
buickanddeere
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People who live in the arid south west telling us about 10-15 year old vehicles . They keep forgetting about the rest of us following trucks spreading salt on the roads from November to April.
downsizingnow48
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Interesting article on F150 today. Link below. Quote from Ford CFO: "We’re not done plumbing every dollar of revenue we can out of that product. "
How America?s truck, the Ford F-150, became a plaything for the rich - The Washington Post
How America?s truck, the Ford F-150, became a plaything for the rich - The Washington Post
When I was looking at GM and Ford HD halfs early this year, I could not get a F150 3.5 Ecoboost with max towing, etc within 5 percentage points of what I could get on a Chevy or GMC. Ford was just not willing to deal much and this article tells why. I have watched trucks move very quickly from the GM and Ford new car lots. I do not live close to a Ram dealership, but they also appeared to be moving a lot of trucks. I think this climate made it more difficult for me to get the deal I was looking for and I was willing to wait until this fall for a new truck.
ultrarunner
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It's not just the arid southwest... Northern California has plenty too.
The SF Bay Area has a lot of old, rust free iron... cars are sent to the crusher/wrecking yards for two reasons... cost to pass strict emission requirements is prohibitive or "Voluntary" retirement where the vehicle is sold through the State program that can put $1500 or more in your pocket for "Volunteering" to send your vehicle to the crusher...
