hello everyone, i'm brand new to the site...i stumbled across it as i was looking for reviews on the new 04 F150. i've been a ford guy ever since i got into cars a few years ago. i have a 1965 mustang that i'm working on and it used to be my daily driver. but since our office recently relocated, i need to buy a reliable automobile. i've wanted a truck for the longest time, so what better than an 04 F150?! anyway...this will be my first purchase of a new car. so i have no idea what i'm getting myself into when i get to the dealership.

i've read that many have ordered their truck for a couple hundred over invoice...but how exactly do i do that?

how do i know what the invoice price is for the particular truck that i want with the options that i want?

once i know, do i just go to the dealer and tell them that i want to pay 100 over invoice?

i live close to and used to work for Galpin Ford, the largest volume dealer in the US. they have outsold every dealship in the US for years. will this make it easier for me to get the price i want?

thanks for the help everyone

 

For invoice pricing, go to Edmunds.com, CarsDirect.com, or even Ford's own website. You'll be able to build the truck the way you want it, and it will show you the retail price and "invoice" price. You can then take that pricing around to the different dealers and see what they're willing to do. Some will be happy to give you a price, others will get ticked off that you know invoice cost. As for where you should buy it, a large dealer is not necessarily going to give you a better price just because they're a BIG volume dealer. All us dealers pay the same price for the same truck; there are no volume discounts (at least not on 2004 F-150s, anyways). The only advantage the bigger dealer has is allocation: they'll get more trucks than the smaller dealers. If you're ordering the truck, then the bigger dealer may be able to get you the truck in as little as 6 weeks; the small dealer might not have it for 6 months. It all depends on how many trucks they've been allocated and how many they have on order already. Just because a dealer orders a truck doesn't mean he will absolutely get it.

 

good to know, mark. thank you VERY much for taking the time

 

and be aware of any "after negotiated price" charges that may be excessive such as clerical and/or messenger fees (for tag/reg).

 

I keep forgetting these because, here in New York, they're regulated by law to a maximum of $20. Most people are happy to pay us 20 bucks so they don't have to stand in line at motor vehicles. Our gap coverage insurance is held to a maximum of $80; I've heard some dealers elsewhere gets hundreds of dollars for this. Hard to believe there are some advantages to living in New York!

 

wow...in Texas there isn't a limit...some of the dealer here sell GAP for $250 - $350 on a REGULAR basis...and the doc fee is a standard $50......the worst though....is by far the extended warranty.... some will sell them for as much as $1000 - $1500 over their cost.

 

thanks for the tips guys...i'm doing lots of reasearch before i buy the truck. but i havent come across a GAP fee. ehat is that?

 

GAP is guarenteed auto protection insurance....It basically covers the difference in what the insurance company pays and what you may still owe on the balance of the loan if the vehicle is deemed a total loss by the insurance company. If your upside down in the loan and wreck the vehicle...you could still owe a large sum of money and be without a vehicle..... i guess it could be a good thing, but also just another way for somebody to make some more $$$.

 

you might want to wait until dec 1 when the 2004 nissan titan hits the dealers,305hp 375trq v8,comes in king cab or 4 door only and should come in at about 25,000,and the best thing about it is its american made,i own a 02 ford truck and had a nissan frontier wich I traded for the ford...I must have been smoking crack that day because the ford is junk

 

When a new body style comes out often dealers wont deal much below sticker price until they see whats happening with sales. I am not sure that a dealer will let a 2004 F150 go that cheap. They are in business take make money and they will try to get top dollar for the new ford. You may find a dealer that has a large lease/fleet department, when You do ask to talk to the head of the department and tell him/her that You are willing to pay $100 over invoice. They will tell You no and then tell You what they will take over invoice. I usually pay between $300 and $500 over invoice. However I am in southern California where You cant swing a dead cat without hitting a car dealer, so they usually will sell for invoice + $300-$500

 

I felt the same way about it until the car my daughter was driving that I co-signed for had an incident with a deer and lost. The $175 it cost saved me $6100. Sometimes it has to happen to you to really appreciate it, definitely get the insurance!

 

Here's what I did while living in Alabama last year. I bought my wife a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I went to just about every nissan dealer in Alabama. None of them wanted to sell me what I wanted or they tried to rip me off. The lowest price I got in person was about $1500 over invoice. It went up from there. They really must have thought I was a fool. They tried to charge me $900 to "find" my vehicle at another dealer or in another state.

I then went to carsdirect.com and and built the thing and printed it out. They would deliver it to me in 1 week for $200 BELOW invoice. The local dealers still told me "I couldn't buy it for that price". I then searched the inventory of dealer in NC where I used to live and found the exact vehicle I wanted. I called up the "internet sales department" guy listed on the webpage. I told him about the SUV and what I could get it for from carsdirect.com. Within 10 minutes he called me back and offered it to me for $600 below invoice. They delivered it to me in AL from NC for $100 3 days later.

I'll never buy another car/truck in person again. I argued for hours with dealers. Walked out... dealer chases me..... ask me to reconsider...... "I'll make you deal"..... an hour later he's still lying to me. Internet.... done in 30 min, no hassle, better price.

 

Is the "invoice" price listed on FordDirect.com really the dealer's true invoice cost or is it something that's still inflated above what the dealer would pay.

How does the holdback factor into this?

Is dealer cost = invoice - holdback?

Ford holdback is 3% of the MSRP, right?

 

this is how I understand it ........ ford holdback=3% of total msrp ..... blue oval certified=an extra 1.25% of total msrp....which equates to :
invoice - 3% -1.25% (if applicable ) - destination charge-any factory to dealer incentives-floor plan interest = the actual cost to dealership
you must add back the destination charge to your cost , and in N.Y. state that is taxable .... this was just to show how to determine the exact cost of the vehicle to determine what % profit you would offer above their true cost...

if
i'm wrong on any of this please correct me .........