Pickup/SUV incentives these days....

[RollingsFarms]

I bought a 2008 SD powerstroke last Nov. Didnt need it but my 04 had almost 50k on it and well you know the rest..... Dealer 2 was going to give me 18k for my 04 that I paid 33K 4 years earlier. Dealer 1 gave me 24K for the SAME dealer . Dealer 1 had the truck I wanted and dealer 2 would have gotten the truck from dealer 1,no I didnt need a new truck but what the h..l Oh I forgot to mention 9 months later and dealer 1 still has my old 04 on the lot Its just not a good time to be selling trucks. V

maybe its just me and my remote area, but i cant find a diesel truck around here to save my life! not that i'm looking for one, but if i were, i'd be having a difficult time right now finding one. i've only ran across a few, but they didnt sit that long.

 

[JoeinTX]

"But there's just one fly in the ointment. Their prices are down on what they're selling, which also means that the value of any trade-in is also down. So you might be shocked to learn how little they can allow you for your existing vehicle. Naturally you might be able to sell it yourself instead of trading...."

Oh, Bird, don't I know it. No doubt the more they come of off sticker the less my "old" pickup is worth.

"but you indicated 0% for 60 month....

walking away with 10-15K off sticker means one or both things.

1) the sticker is inflated 10-15K
2) the resale of the truck when you drive off the lot, is lower by 10-15k

this means, in a year-2,3 etc if you look at tradeing up again, youll find yourself upside down, owing 28K on something no one will buy for more than 22K


Shure you can sit there and tell yourself "this is the last truck i will ever buy" but hear you are second guessing a truck only a year old..."


And you, schism, are also 100% on the money.


So it comes down to, as I alluded to in my first post, what happens at the salesman's desk. I tried to pull a few rough, random (and very rough and very random they are) trade-in values for mine off the internet. I know full well they don't mean much at the dealership but they give me some kind of reference point to work with. I id'd a particular vehicle from this dealer's stock and ran the numbers using it......and they tick toward the trade.


I'm thinking an '08, equivalent to my '06, that I can deal for at or less than the total price I purchased my current one is a go. Obviously, any more than what I purchased this one for is a no go.

 

[Dargo]

Ya know, it doesn't hurt to just see what deal they will make you. All you have to do is have the "bottom line" figure in mind ahead of time and not vary from that number. If your "bottom line" figure turns out to be off in reality, trust me, they will still work with you just fine later. It is actually a good buying technique to "walk" from the dealership at least once before you buy. We've all heard about getting that phone call from the salesman later that night after he spoke to his manager.

I've worked in and around the auto business for decades now. If you have the patience and are not afraid to say "no" and walk out a few times, you can get a great deal on a pickup or SUV right now. Since I know the inside workings of dealerships in detail and can read a dealer statement from any manufacturer, I could write a heck of a book on how to buy a vehicle. The only problem is that I'd have to go into some sort of "witness protection" program to keep from getting picked off.

 

[JoeinTX]

"Ya know, it doesn't hurt to just see what deal they will make you. All you have to do is have the "bottom line" figure in mind ahead of time and not vary from that number. If your "bottom line" figure turns out to be off in reality, trust me, they will still work with you just fine later. It is actually a good buying technique to "walk" from the dealership at least once before you buy. We've all heard about getting that phone call from the salesman later that night after he spoke to his manager....."



My little crazy secret is that I too worked in the car business years ago. I worked for a Ford dealer and the system was tought us......grab 'em.....make sure they drive it......get 'em in the door..........get somewhere close to them on price and send it to finance for details. Score! At that point they'll almost always do the deal.

I remember making the initial offer......getting rejected........checking "again" on their trade-in......going to my unit manager and getting a tweaked offer....returning with the extra info.......gigging......."checking with the manager".....going back with some nominal movement.....and trying to send to the Finance guy/girl. I know the deal but understand it.

I know that "wallking from a deal" can get a later call but it also can get a "no call" if it was out of control. I dealt with "agents" who would bring a vehicle that they did not own in for assessment just for a price that they would take back to the real owner who would then come back and try to nail you with. Weird. Got me out of it. I'm a brass tacks kind of guy.

 

[Renze]

We've all heard about getting that phone call from the salesman later that night after he spoke to his manager.....

I allways make sure i speak to the manager who decides about what's priced to sell, instead of the salesman...
sometimes with older Ag equipment, the salesman is bound to a certain list price, but if you speak to the boss, he'll price it to make room for new trade in his yard...
The real steal deals on used cars, equipment, etcetera, are made with the boss, not with the salesman.

 

[Dargo]

Joe, that's all true, but I'm talking about your trade value. The appraisal on your trade in is a truly subjective value. That is your only variable. When a factory sets the price such as an employee price, legally they will always give you the exact same price (assuming the exact same unit) at every dealership. The used car managers can vary by thousands on the actual cash value they put on your trade.

 

[Ryan03]

My father just retired from the General Motors Parma Ohio metal stamping plant after 44 years of service, through out those years my immediate family was eligable for the GM employee discount, and utilized it to buy more new vehicles over the years than I can accurately recall at this time. The two vehicles that I have purchased using it are my 03 Silverado, and my wifes 03 Trailblazer. Once given my dads employee number and several other pieces of info, the dealership computer spit out a "no haggle price". Before I ever went into the dealership, it was drilled into my head by my father and uncle[also a GM 35 year + empoyee retired] not to disclose my eligibility for GM employee pricing until after my trade in price was negotiated, as the dealers will only give from one end or the other, [trade in price or new vehicle price] and since they are committed to the no haggle new vehicle price, will normaly not pay as much for your trade. We found this to be true at one local dealer when my wife let it slip and we were offered a firm 2k less for our trade than at the other 2 dealers we were shopping at. As far as the current incentives, there are some pretty good deals out there right now, however, we just mailed our last payments this month, and that extra $1100 dollars positive cash flow every month far out weighs the pleasure of a new vehicle , at least for now. My advice, if your current truck is pleasing you and in good condition, keep it, you are already 2 years into your current 0% loan, and if you buy the new truck, before you know it, it will be 2 years old and have door dings and wash scratches. I would be willing to bet that if you keep your current truck a couple few more years until payed off, you will be very glad you resisted temptation and kept it when you still have a decent vehicle and an extra 400 to 1k a month to buy more cold beverages and toys for your tractor

 

[RollingsFarms]

"Ya know, it doesn't hurt to just see what deal they will make you. All you have to do is have the "bottom line" figure in mind ahead of time and not vary from that number. If your "bottom line" figure turns out to be off in reality, trust me, they will still work with you just fine later. It is actually a good buying technique to "walk" from the dealership at least once before you buy. We've all heard about getting that phone call from the salesman later that night after he spoke to his manager....."



My little crazy secret is that I too worked in the car business years ago. I worked for a Ford dealer and the system was tought us......grab 'em.....make sure they drive it......get 'em in the door..........get somewhere close to them on price and send it to finance for details. Score! At that point they'll almost always do the deal.

I remember making the initial offer......getting rejected........checking "again" on their trade-in......going to my unit manager and getting a tweaked offer....returning with the extra info.......gigging......."checking with the manager".....going back with some nominal movement.....and trying to send to the Finance guy/girl. I know the deal but understand it.

I know that "wallking from a deal" can get a later call but it also can get a "no call" if it was out of control. I dealt with "agents" who would bring a vehicle that they did not own in for assessment just for a price that they would take back to the real owner who would then come back and try to nail you with. Weird. Got me out of it. I'm a brass tacks kind of guy.

no offense to you or any other car salesman, but all that running back and forth back and forth, would make me walk....no, RUN out the door. i'm upfront with my salesman when i buy a truck and let them know that i want their BEST price the FIRST time. no threats or anything, just try to be firm about it and stick to my word. if i don't like the offer they give me, i stand up and shake their hand and tell them no thanks and have a nice day. i never buy the first day. i ask them to put that offer in writing and ill go home and think it over. after a day or so of thinking it over, then ill come back if i like it.

 

[JoeinTX]

"My advice, if your current truck is pleasing you and in good condition, keep it, you are already 2 years into your current 0% loan, and if you buy the new truck, before you know it, it will be 2 years old and have door dings and wash scratches. I would be willing to bet that if you keep your current truck a couple few more years until payed off, you will be very glad you resisted temptation and kept it when you still have a decent vehicle and an extra 400 to 1k a month to buy more cold beverages and toys for your tractor..."


Yep, I think that's where my head is right now. I stopped by the dealer today for a little bit to scope out the lot, but, I didn't really see anything that grabbed me. I learned that Ford no longer offers the 8' bed on the Super Crew (which I have now and was looking forward to again.) The biggest surprise to me was the 60th Anniversary addition F-150 they have on the lots have the biggest employee discount right now.....almost $10k before all the other is added according to the salesman I talked to. Not really my bag.....22" tires and all kinds of stuff that I never look for in a vehicle...but that is something.


"no offense to you or any other car salesman, but all that running back and forth back and forth, would make me walk....no, RUN out the door. i'm upfront with my salesman when i buy a truck and let them know that i want their BEST price the FIRST time. no threats or anything, just try to be firm about it and stick to my word. if i don't like the offer they give me, i stand up and shake their hand and tell them no thanks and have a nice day. i never buy the first day. i ask them to put that offer in writing and ill go home and think it over. after a day or so of thinking it over, then ill come back if i like it..."


No offense taken at all..........in fact I ran me off too after 6 months of being on the selling end When/where/how I was taught to do it was with this method and haggling the name of the day. The dealer's "best" price was usually about three offers/counter-offers in after some frustration, back-and-forth, and, some tempers. It wore me down but some people take to it and do very well at it. All of that being said, certainly not all dealers are like that. My dad trades every few years and his salesman at his small-town dealer will call him periodically with the latest offers and give the bottom dollar....sometimes he trades sometimes he doesn't but it's all good and they know he's a loyal regular customer to them who'll be in eventually.

Where I stopped today (Bankston Ford in Ft. Worth @I20) is a place we've dealt with before. I wanted to eye the inventory for a minute but a salesguy tracked me down and I thought "oh no." I told him I had an appointment tomorrow and that I was just popping-in for minute to see what they had and he gave me a little info, his card, and then told me to look all I wanted and then left me alone and no one else approached me. Nice. I'll still keep that appointment but don't think anything will come of it right now.

 

[dmccarty]

We have been thinking about getting a new use SUV for years and this thread got the CFO and I looking online this past weekend. We looked at a Odessy minivan which got 20mpg which I think is not all that good. But since its not and Evil SUV then its ok to drive one. We really want a 2003 Excursion with the 7.3L diesel.

But we started checking the price on a 2007 Expedition.

These numbers are from Kelly Blue Book.
Retail - 30.7K
Trade in - 17.2K
Private Party - 23.8K.

The dealership has a 13.5K margin over trade in.

With incentives it looks like we could buy a new 2008 for about 30K. Not sure I trust KBB.

We are having to take our so called reliable Honda to be repaired. Reading up on the problem that Old Reliable is having, it could be any number of things.

Later,
Dan