I've done my research since Sept of 2002. Knowing that the 6.0L were due out, I put $500 deposit & ordered my truck on Jan 10, 2003. Now I had to call the dealership a few times for order confirmation that I was "in the system" at FoMoCo. But I had my VIN# within about 7 weeks. In the meantime, I continued my research reading books & internet voraciously while ordering aftermarket products.

My truck was to be built Mon March 3, & scheduled to be delivered by the 24th. It arrived about a week early which put me behind a paycheck for the down.. but I was finally a Ford-man!

Here are a few links I found indispensible in my quest:

http://www3.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/
http://www.edmunds.com/
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

I basically built the options into my truck through FordDirect & obtained a rough estimate of the dealer-invoice at Edmunds.
Reading the vast site at CarBuyingTips, I readied myself for my inevitable purchase at the dealership. No longer I'll spend hours in a dealership stoking free coffee painfully negotiating.

I KNEW what I wanted, my credit was outstanding, I procured my financing in advance, & actually pitted 3 dealers against each other. MY dealer came in a few hundred dollars under what I thought I could get the truck for. After posing their offer to the other high-volume dealerships, they wouldn't touch the deal which indicated that I had my best price.

I dropped $19,000 down & financed about $26k on an MSRP of $49k. Thus, I negotiated UP from the dealer-invoice while knocking about $8k off. Now, they STILL made their HOLDBACK plus a few hundred dollars but I walked away feeling I made the best deal of my life! My goal now is to pay off the remaining $26k by May 2004 which will save me an additional $3,000.

The truck I ordered & received has all the bells & whistles save for the PTO:

2003 Ford Super Duty F-350 1-Ton Crew-Cab
Lariat 172" WB Styleside 6.0L V8 Power-Stroke
Turbo-Diesel 4x4 SRW 5-speed Automatic
Toreador Red/Silver metallic two-tone

You can check my Ford webpage at:

http://gamefreaks.net/defrag/personal/vehicles.html

I hope a few of the links above are new & helpful to you all.
I'm glad I stumbled across this forum & am happy to be here with all you men sharing what we love most.. our TRUCKS!

The ride is sweet nectar & I hope we don't have any problems with the new 6.0L combo. Now I must go buy another stick 'cause the one I used to keep the babes at bay has been whittled down to the nub! hehe

Skip "DeFrag" Downey
defrag@tscnet.com

Ford on...

 

Nice truck. I agree you did make a fairly good deal, I don't think that I could have gotten the same here. I also see that you have all of the toys. NIce.