How to buy a truck?

[_RaT_]

I am considering the purchase of a new truck. How do you do it and not feel like you could have done better on the price? I have never purchased a new vehicle, this may be the first. A tractor was easy, I get the feeling buying a new vehicle will be tougher. How would you do it? I appreciate any advice. Rat.

 

[Gatorboy]

I typically offer the dealer $100 over invoice. They get $100 + the 3% holdback fee. If one dealer won't jump on the offer, another will.

Also, make your offer during the last week of the month -- and December would be your best bet.

 

[jwstewar]

Just like you did with the tractor. Talk to the dealer, get their best price, and sign on the dotted line. If you are happy w/ the deal that is all that matters. There will always be somebody out there that claims they got a better deal. Take your new truck home and enjoy it. Because it doesn't matter what you paid for it, it will be worth about 1/3 less as soon as you drive it off the lot anyway. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[jwstewar]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I typically offer the dealer $100 over invoice. They get $100 )</font>

I've heard you say that before, but around here there must not be as much competition, that typically doesn't work - or at least not what I've found.

 

[CTyler]

Figure out what you want in a truck, all the options, color etc..
Get a print out from the Mfg web site, hand it to the sales manager and ask them for a bid. Let them know you will be getting bids from several dealers for that exact truck.

Let us know how it goes, my BIL had a 5k price swing.

 

[cp1969]

Go to Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) or Edmunds (edmunds.com) and spec out the truck you want. It will tell you what dealer cost is and any incentives available. Make your offer from that info.

 

[_RaT_]

How come I can never find used ones that are a year or two old that are 1/3 off of the new price? They are always much higher.

 

[TheKid]

When I bought my 2002 F250 I walked into the dealer with a list of the options I wanted and had them key it into their ordering system. When they asked what I wanted to pay of it I told them "dealer invoice" minus rebates, just like the order showed. Wrote them a $500 check for deposit and was out the door in under an hour.

If your local dealers won't come down on their price and your thinking about a Ford, contact Bobby Williams at sunrisefordfleet.com He should be able to get you one for dealer invoice or real close to it. Mention TheDieselStop web site. He sells a lot of trucks to the members there. He's in Fontana CA, but he should be able to have the truck delivered to a dealer near you. It used to cost $50 for the courtesy delivery.

 

[mathey]

Here's what I did...

As suggested, go to Edmunds and Kbb.com and pick out exactly what you want including all options and any colors you want or don't want. Write down the invoice costs on everything and the destination fees and total it up. while on those sites, check to see what rebates or incentives are offered on that vehicle.

Then I went to the manufacturers web site and you can search for dealers by zip code. I picked about 15 who were within about a 75 mile radius and got their email addresses. I then emailed each one with my vehicle request, color choice, if I had a trade or not, if I needed financing or not, and when I wanted to purchase by. I told them I wanted their best price up front, and that I was talking to many dealers.

About half never replied, some were way over MSRP, some were at MSRP and some were between invoice and MSRP. I took the lowest 2 or 3 and sent them another email, saying where they were in the running and if they could do better. In the end, my local dealer said they would beat my best deal by $400, so I went with it. I ended up paying about $200 over invoice, and this was a new model, that at the time was selling most places for MSRP or better.

I went in and put down a deposit, and went back about a month later to pick it up. All-in-all, I spent about 1 hour total in the dealership. The entire email process took about 1 week, from the time the first batch of emails went out till I put down the deposit.

It was by far the easiest car purchase I've ever made, and i'll never buy a car any other way.

 

[DrRod]

After shopping around for a while so you know what you want and the deals that are out there, wait until the last day of the month. The dealer is generally trying to make his numbers for the month -- end of the quarter is even better -- and if they are behind in their goals its even better. Many dealers are in a "program" where the number of units count more than the profit per unit. December, January and February are good months for this because sales are off in the winter -- especially if the weather has been bad.

Then go late in the day and sit there tapping on the desk, shaking your head slowly, and thinking and thinking while the clock ticks off. This has worked several times for me and I've gotten a deal they laughed at two weeks earlier -- while they were turning off the lights. Just be patient, act like Andy Griffith ("wellllll, I just don't know, I mean, I just, I just can't be sure, ehhh..."). They've invested time in you and if they quit now they'll get nothing. And you can always find another unit/deal you like if they hold out.

And the biggest motivation at the dealer is to not let you walk out (and maybe not come back) and compare prices (e.g. "what can I do to get you in this car today"). I once spent an afternoon at a dealer and they kept suggesting I test drive another unit and delaying the appraisal of my trade-in. I had my checkbook out on the table and they still wouldn't give me a price. When I got mad, they explained that they needed to soak up my time so I wouldn't have the rest of the day to go out to other dealers to compare. Needless to say, I just went out and bought something somewhere else. I'd rather they waste my money than my time.