Wow that's low. I probably wouldn't have taken it either. Did they give any explanation on why so low?

 

No. It is a Canadian truck and I have only had it 5 months so my bet is they thought I wanted to dump it due to problems. They asked me why I wanted to trade it in and I told them that the low prices on the new F150 were too good to pass up.

 

The Canadian imports I've seen listed up here are going for less than domestic ones, so that may have something to do with it. Everyone looks at history reports nowadays, and with you being the second owner of an imported truck I can see them thinking it would be tougher to sell. Not $6K under book value tough though.

 

If I could find the right one at a local dealer for $32k I'd buy it yesterday......maybe cause I'm in Arizona ( extreme truck country) they don't go so cheap

 

Cash price is typically higher, all things being equal. I make a bunch less money so I have less to work with the truck, though since I don't sell my units at a loss the difference is minimal. Between the lowball trade as well as the other ways they can bring the money back in after selling the truck so cheap, I feel like my points are still quite helpful to someone in the market, while looking for $10k off before rebates is just asking to get "scammed" somewhere along the transaction. (I put scammed in quotes because depending on the market you're in, such activity may well be the only way to be competitive. It's sad, but when customers assume we all lie the same, the guy with the biggest lie gets your business even if he deserves it least. I much prefer being in a small city/suburb)

 

Hey Frantz, I appreciate all your advice / input on this thread. Does the advice in this discussion still apply when ordering a new truck, custom to my specs from the plant vs driving one of their lot? I know dealers would rather sell what they have then order one in since I am not really helping decrease their inventory much.

Do you still have negotiating power when custom ordering?

 

It depends somewhat on the dealer and aged inventory, but generally its the same.

In stock dealer pro's are: unit sold today, trade value won't depreciate over the order process, moved a unit that had interest being paid on it

Order dealer pro's are: Secure a future deal and keep stock units for a different "right now deal", no interest paid on unit, generally happy customer who got exactly what they want (easier survey).

It does get different with aged units, and some places do it different, but where I work we take $100 out of the gross of every single vehicle and put it as discounts for our oldest few units. As has been said, they are often old for a reason, but sometimes it just happens to work out really well for you.

Generally speaking, I'll sell you a car as though its in stock if we order it. I just need you to be patient with Ford putting it together. The only time I charge more is if I have to locate it from another dealership, then I have other cost involved and the potential to lose the "holdback" money depending on what the other dealership wants in return. At the end of the day, the difference between any of these deals and a volume/customer service sales process will be within $1000, and IMO, when talking about a 40k investment you'll keep for 10 years, I like the idea of getting what I want, to some degree, regardless of price. Companies often wait for a bad shop bill and then they need it now, but that truck will be earning money faster than the premium paid for some of the extra legwork sometimes involved.

For the most part talk of "in stock sale" is just lip service to reinforce consumer perceptions. Our number one goal is to sell a car, then to try and make money from the point a customer says yes to buying (verbally or non-verbally). Most Americans are easier to sell the wrong truck today than the right truck in three months for whatever reason.