Hey guys, just joined the site after lurking the last few weeks. I've really enjoyed reading all of the discussions on here. I'm in the early stages of hunting a new F-150. My dad had a few growing up and after driving an '04 mustang the last 11 years, I'm ready to sit a little higher on the roads.

It's going to be for daily commuter use as well as light weekend farm duty. After a lot of looking and dealership browsing, I'm pretty set on a supercrew XLT 4x4 sport appearance package in race red with the 2.7L EB, 302a equipment package, and the trailer tow package. There are a few other options such as BLIS and the spray-in Bedliner that I want too.

It looks like to get what I want without paying for extras like on some dealer lot models, I'll have to order from the factory. If I build it on the Ford website, it shows a total MSRP of $48,595 which includes the $1,200 destination fee. With the current incentives for Truck month which supposedly expire 4/4, the website lists the net price as $45,755.

With limited car negotiation experience, I'm just trying to find an OTD number that's reasonable. I submitted a request on Truecar with the same options and it spit out a MSRP close to $50,000. One of the dealers shows a Truecar price of $44,000 that includes a $599 customer service fee and a $59 electronic filing fee. Here in NC, I don't believe there any legal caps on those fees.

With a lot of the current incentives expiring 4/4, I was just curious what's a reasonable dealer discount. I realize that they can move the numbers around to inflate the discount so I should probably focus on the OTD price. Any advice you guys have on the numbers or process is much appreciated.

 

Customer service fee = BS.

Go to the Ford site and build your truck. Print that, including option codes. Go to a site like Edmunds.com and build the same vehicle... make sure the MSRP matches. That gives you invoice (plus holdback). A fair price is that invoice price, plus TT&L, plus doc fees (X-plan caps doc fees at $75... anything above this is negotiable).

Make it clear when you order it that you want no dealer-adds. Otherwise, they'll put some VIN stickers on it, maybe some cheap window tint, and tell you "oh, it's already there, you have to pay it." They get really pissy when you tell them no... you didn't request that stuff on your ordered truck, you ain't paying.

Keep in mind that, if you're trading a vehicle in, they can play games there. Get the trade-in value IN WRITING prior to getting down to details.

At the end of the day, there should be an official state sales document that shows every little piece of the transaction. All the prices, tax calculations, etc. That's the only document that matters. Whatever they show you on their fancy computer may or may not be right.

In my case, I had a great sales experience... F&I guy was a *worm*. Customer service fee, doc fee in excess of X-plan allowance, some dealer-adds that I didn't ask for on my ordered truck, and miscalculation of tax. Their electronic system did a great job of hiding these various fees... but it all shows up on that sales doc.

 

A dealer in my area is advertising new Ford trucks at a 20% discount from MSRP. That's a real simple way to advertise and shouldn't mislead anyone into believing that they can get $12K off of an XL truck. Simply not possible. Granted, this sale applies to in stock units.

20% is a decent base line to start. You get a fairly decent price, they make a little profit and everyone benefits.

Perhaps one of the best car buying programs in the country is through COSTCO. If you're a member, check it out.

 

I'm not sure of your location, but there are many dealers who post their sale prices upfront on their website. I bought mine from this one, and the price they list is the lowest they will go:

New and Used Ford Dealer Apple Valley | Apple Ford Lincoln Apple Valley

Not saying you should buy from a dealer like that, but you can see their pricing and use that as a guide for your negotiations. Sale price varies hugely based on factory incentives, and those can vary.

 

What does F&I stand for?

 

My nephew can get X-Plan pricing on his new vehicle purchases. On his last purchase Costco had a better price than X-Plan. If you have a Costco in your area it might be worth checking it out. I've found some times you can get a better vehicle if you are willing to dealer trade versus ordering.

 

Finance and Insurance.

 

*****ery and irritation.

 

Not NC, but some states do have set doc fees that are not negotiable by law (for equality sake). The general guidelines above are pretty decent. As you've seen, NC has some high doc fees, but that generally means they advertise lower truck prices. It really is the out the door, or monthly payment to compare between prices. TrueCar/Edmunds allow you to get prices for vehicles that don't exist, which sounds like what you want. You don't have to enter ANY personal information (other than zip code) to get these prices. It will show an offset from invoice. Frankly in PA most dealerships (including the one I work at) do $500 below invoice before rebates for TrueCar. A state with higher doc fees you may see more, all the way down to net cost (invoice - holdback). Of course they're making money somewhere else. If you're looking at doc fees of $599 then I would want between $500-$1000 off of the invoice before rebates come off. Even if they have an extra fee here or there that will generally put you in the ball park of a very good deal. You can stress about every last dollar, but IMO, it's not even close to worth it (not just because I work here, I just have better things to do with my time).