I've been diligently shopping for my new Lariat. Is there a special time of the year when the previous year model has incentives/deals from Ford?

It's my hope or imagination that once the 2017 drops, dealers will try a bit harder to get the 2016's off the lot. Any tips/tricks/advice is appreciated.

 

I've been shopping for a Lariat too, and the incentives are pretty good right now. My dealer has 4 Lariats on the lot right now that with the incentives, are taking $10,000 off of the MSRP. Too bad they aren't the color or engine combo I want, or I'd ****** one of them up in a hurry. They are trying to locate one for me now. If you are ready to buy, I would suggest going to look now.

 

My friend in Texas found several Lariats for $16,000 off MSRP. I'm in California, easily got $9,000 off MSRP (including the $4,750 in incentives) for my XLT. And it's a 2016. Didn't see much difference in incentives between 2015 and 2016 models, no more than a thousand bucks.

 

I just bought last week in the San Diego area. XLTs had an additional $2500 in customer cash not available on higher trims. I saw ads for $14,000 of MSRP on XLTs but I doubt anyone qualifies for all of the incentives (military, first responder, lease conquest, etc.) needed to get to that price point. On my Lariat, the dealer discounted the price by $5400 off MSRP. Ford was offering $2000 or 0% for 72 months. I financed the entire purchase price (no trade in) at 0% as that saved me $3000 over the 1.88% rate offered by my credit union. I shopped 5 dealers in the area and everyone was right in the same ballpark. Less than $500 separated the highest offer from the lowest. Maybe the discounts will be deeper for Labor Day weekend.

 

2016 x-plan pricing and incentives:

Trim MSRP X-Plan Incentives Net Plan Price
XL $26,540 $25,466 $3,000 $23,661
XLT $31,905 $29,907 $4,250 $26,852
LARIAT $40,065 $37,467 $2,300 $36,362
King Ranch $50,050 $46,717 $1,500 $46,412
Platinum $52,515 $48,997 $1,500 $48,692
Limited $58,885 $54,900 $1,000 $55,095


You can use these numbers as a negotiating starting point for base models.

 

Looking at an amount off is a sure why to think you got a better deal than you did, especially between different states. But I've ranted about that plenty.

Your specific question is actually flawed. Dealers themselves make about as much money on a truck the day it comes out to the last day it's offered. That can change if one truly lingers, but generally the F150 does sit too long. Either way, the only thing time of year really affects is the incentives from Ford. Getting 0% on a 100% financed vehicle will nearly always be your best option, which is available now. If you're a cash customer, or have significant equity, or simply will pay it off shorter then the rebates matter.

The best way to find pricing these days is too easy so people don't always believe it. Any of the buying services online are set up as an offset from invoice to the dealers, and generally it's under invoice. Other than any extra products you may purchase, its a few hundred buck profit for us. Again, it can appear to vary by state, but I'll wager that 9/10 times (or more) the actually figures balance out once various fees and other rebates are accounted for. You can generally get an idea where you should be on a unit and go to your local shop that you like regardless if they participate in the program, because we all buy the trucks for the same price. If you really wanna feel comfortable you can shop around (in person is most effective) and I still suggest simply going into your preferred shop last, show em what you got, and let them sell you a truck. Folks seem to like to hold information, but it's not like they are going to get scared and show you less than the first place you visited, unless the first place didn't try to actually earn your business. When competing we typically vary by less than $500. That's real money, but hardly enough to be worth not just saying "I got a great deal, I like you guys more, beat it and I'll buy from you guys again!" It really works better than most folks would imagine and you have a dealership you like working with who will be more likely to be on your side settling any issues that may come up.

 

I got mine in San Diego too.. $9,000 off MSRP for my XLT 4x4 Screw with 302A. $49k to $40k. I don't understand the X-Plan thing.. I don't even think I have it. I know it's well under invoice and that Ford does offer money to dealers for selling an F-150. The buying service.. CarsDirect and others.. weren't that good, only $7,000 off (including $4,250 discount). Oh, yes, I bumped up my trade-in to $23k instead of the $19k they originally offered so I am content with the deal. They will try to find ways to recoup their money.. trade-in, selling you a Karr alarm (I got hoodwinked on that, they told me my truck didn't come with an alarm so I wasn't too happy with that).

 

X plan is higher than invoice, not lower. Still an good deal, but almost every time a customer thinks they found a better than normal deal, they just got explained the same deal differently.

Example: I have a 302A SCREW with MSRP of $49565, invoice $46204, X plan $46295>
General rebates $4750 (that everyone gets, including the labor day one that just came out). Discount from MSRP to X plan is $3270, plus $4750 rebates, that's $8020

How does one make this look like more? Easy! There is a package discount on the truck of $1840! So the true high MSRP is $51405. It's not just a made up number, as it is the number used for residual leasing (always try to lease vehicles with these discounts). But it's also generally accepted to add that number to the total discounts. Bam, I just made a conservative $8020 discount into $9860 without losing a dime! And you the confused customer shows up there first rather than the local shop down the street. If he's quick to realize what happened, well, "these guys already have what I want and I'm sure the local shop did the same thing, so this is still a better deal", or something along those lines. And that's just one of many ways to fluff numbers! Even if you find a better deal online, for your own good, find a LOCAL shop you like and do business with them. Share what you find. Let them work backwards to make the deal work or explain the funny business (often it's not hard to show). and you'll get a great deal from people you want to do business with.

 

Yes, I agree here. A lot of web prices were not based on MSRP, just prices without discounts.

I always looked at the window sticker. My $9,000 was off the MSRP of $49,000. I could say I got $11k off the price (not the MSRP) which included the $2,000 "XLT Lux Chrome" discount.

I refuse to deal with dealers who do it that way. That's unethical and dishonest.

 

I have had my eye on a green supercab 2.7 4x4 with 302A, FX4, off road, BLISS, tow with integrated controller, step, 20s, chrome, ramps, wheel well liners and 36 gallon tank. It's a 2015 with a sticker of $49660, and the current internet listing is $37445. I can't figure why this hasn't sold. I'm thinking it's all loaded up to tow but people want the 3.5 EB to tow.....

Steal or just another standard deal?

 

The best discounts don't always come after a new model drops. They usually happen before it drops when the inventory of the old model is the highest....basically now. As that inventory drops, and with the new model running without discounts, they are less motivated. I've seen this a couple of times now. Inventory is the key.

 

E-mail them and tell them you're not a college student or in the army. And you weren't involved in emergency response to 9/11... A lot of the "amazing" deals evaporated right away when I e-mailed some dealers. Also, the MSRP.. a lot of times, they don't factor in the factory discounts such as chrome discount of $2,000.

My truck is $51,000 without the package discount, the MSRP shows $49,000, but a lot of the dishonest dealers claim MSRP is $51,000 instead.

Lots of factors here.

 

I want to agree with you here, but they have to be competitive with the guy down the street and keep the customer happy. Additionally, it's the number banks use for leasing. The bigger concern I see is when folks add the nitrogen tires, striping, ++++ and make it thousands more still. Smart shoppers can see though it, but it's effective against the masses, and it's probably a good portion of those folks here who claim better than normal deals. That's why I stopped responding to "what are you paying for this" type post. My honest answers from the sales side make me look bad next to consumer perceptions of funny numbers.

 

I didn't know that it was the number used for leasing, I always thought it was just the final MSRP price. The web prices I see in cargurus.com should reflect the final MSRP because I was a cash customer. I had to keep looking at window sticker at each one of them and removed dealers who used the "lease numbers"

 

The week before Veterans Day I was quoted $9000 off of a regular cab with a msrp of $33,600. Percentage wise, that is 26.7%. This was the local San Diego dealer. It sounds like I might need to fly to Texas to get the really big discount! Jag