Virtually non existent right now vs GM. Dodge really backed off on theirs too. This will all change big time in the next few months.

Stock market meltdown and consumer confidence in the toilet bodes well for future auto buyers.

 

Ive never understood why they can't just price them right in the first place.

If they could get thier prices down where the average guy could afford to buy one, they wouln't need incentives at the end of the year because they would have sold them all with no carry-over.

I understand that there are many factors that play into the price of a new car, but as a buisness they should do what they can to keep the final price in line with what the average income is in america.

just my opinion.

FWIW, GM is offering 5K over Kelly Blue Book value for your trade on a new truck. I'd look for Ford to come up with something soon.

 

Ford and the other aotomakers are virtually forced by the consumers and the banks to keep raising the price of the new cars and trucks thus raising the values of our trade-ins and then also giving them room to give us rebates so that we can be traded out of our negative equity positions on our current vehicles. If you worked selling new cars and trucks you would know that over half of the people that show up at dealerships wanting to trade up to new simply cannot for another 12 to 36 months. Of the just less than half of the consumers that come in and can trade less than half of them would be able to trade if it was not for the ever rising prices and the available rebates. It is a never ending cycle. If Ford was to lower the price of the F-150's by an average of $6,000. and offer no rebates the dealers would have no room to play with the numbers and get our deals bought by a lending institution. We the consumers would all be going around saying that the local Ford dealership would not work with us and both Ford and the Ford dealerships would be out of business very quickly.

 

this is a vicious cycle that need to end.

banks should not be lending on terms in which the consumer ends up owing more than the vehicle is worth.

Dealerships should not be rolling negative equity into new vehicles.

If over half the people wanting to trade cannot due to negative equity and "false rebates" then they should simply be told "no"

because of this practice, there is a large segment of people who are simply being "priced out" of buying. I'm one of them.

If everything you've said is true, and i do belive you, then if a bunch of people who shouldn't be buying a new car are not allowed to, but prices go down to where people like me can afford to purchase new, then I don't have a problem with changing the way loans are made and vehicles are financed.

just my opinion ... that's all.

 

Just out of curiosity, when you buy a used truck, how old is it normally? A 2011 4x4 XL SCAB can be had for well under 30K. No, it's not loaded to the hilt and all fancy looking, it's still a damned good truck.

Typically a lender is willing to lend the amount up to the MSRP. So, if a person rolls negative equity into a deal and it doesn't exceed MSRP, then a deal can be struck. Ford is offering 0% and 1.9% financing rates. I financed both of my new ones for 1.9% saving thousands in interest over the terms of the loans. These rates are unlikely to be had on a used truck.

I'm not defending the price of new vehicles. I too agree that they are way too high.

 

meborders and tseekins you have both made some excellent points. In the end Ford and all of the other manufacturers are only doing what it takes to meet customer demands. It is actually we the masses who have collectively forced this on them. As long as we the people continue to run our households based on debt none of this will ever change. At my house real estate is all that we finance and if I could start all over I would not have financed real estate either.

 

The Big 3 always wanted to shy away from rebates because it costs them $. However, the average car buyer is used to these incentives and WON'T buy it they're non existent. In essence, it's a way of life now in the auto world. This is all a result of prices continuing to rise. Sticker shock on a new truck is incredible. $53.000 truck? Are you kidding me or what?

 

Honda and Toyota have the lowest rebates int he industry but they still sell like crazy. It's Detroit's big three that have spoiled us with huge rebates and incentives.

All I can say is that if a car builder, any car builder wants me to pay the actual asking price, then the vehicle would have to be flawless for the life cycle of the vehicle. I'm not paying this ridiculous without a better warranty, better quality or some other form of bribe.

 

The large rebate/incentives do NOT increaes the value of your trade vehicle, wether it is through the negotiation or the "apraised" value. In fact, they often times do the opposite. Don't believe me, I just purchased a new f150, and have been in the market for several months. everything that was selling (big difference than for sale) was 15-20% back of book. In fact, most vehicle that were selling were retailing for less than wholesale. The reason: cheaper money for new vehicles, and the large incentives that significantly narrow the gap between a new vehicle and one that is 1-2 years old.

I think what Ford Fred was suggesting, was that the incentives, along with the trade are used for the dealer to manipulate the deal, in order to sell the vehicle to the financer to get a certain interest rate. Absolutely correct. Nearly all financing sources will go to MSRP + fees (T.T.&L.). What most people dont know, is that once someone is approved for financing, there is a range of rates that the lenders will go with. The seller tries to sell the buyer the highest rate that he can, because he gets more on the back end from the lender for the higher rates.

6-7 years ago, $500 was a big factory incentive. When the auto maker went into the toilet, and when fuel went through the roof, the huge incentives were offered. In 2007 I bought a GM product that had $7k worth of incentives! That truck had an msrp of $25k. Last year, my friend purchased a new 2010 gm truck, and the vehicle is 99% the same as the truck that I purchased, with an msrp of $31.5k. Incentives were around $5k iirc. What neccessitated the near 25% increase in price? In my opinion, the consumer. We got accustomed to getting deep discounts from the manufacturers, and will not consider purchasing for anything less than $2.5k. Otherwise, we run to the foriegn manufacturers because we "feel" like we are getting more for our money. The solution, jack up the cost to help offset the incentives. Obviously there is inflation, technology, and manufacturing costs to pass along in pricing as well, but not 25%.

The biggest problem: prices are now set. They are what they are, and the buyer has to decide how much he is willing to let it "cost" him. I know it is a hard pill to swallow, but if you are going to have a vehicle, it is going to "cost" you, they are not investments.

 

I agree, however when the cost of buying a new vehicle approaches what one makes in a year, it pushes guys like me out of the market.

someone mentioned buying an XL package, and that is what i'm looking at. however, around here the choices for XL's are either 3.7v6's, or if you want a V8, you can have a white one. that's it.

sure I could order one, and get anything i want. and i may end up doing just that. but if i'm going to spend half a year's salary on a vehicle, it wont be white.

that being said, if they make a deal similer to the GM dealer around here, and offer 5k over book on trade, i'll be driving a new ford pickup .... trade my exploder for 7k .. yeah, i'd do that considering i bought it 3 years ago for 6k. but that hinges on the price you could buy it for now.

we'll see what the model years end brings i guess.

 

I'd recommend going in and ordering one.

Thats what I did because it would seem a lot of the dealer inventory had stuff I didnt want, like chrome packages and 20" wheels.
Don't get me wrong, some people love that stuff - I just didnt want to pay for something that I didnt want...and I agree with you - when spending so much cash, it may as well be exactly what you want.

Only drawback is you have to wait