I am going to and check out this ex tomorrow
2005 Ford Excursion Limited 4WD 4dr SUV In Newton NC - Swanny's Auto Sales

I am trying to determine a fair price to negotiate for this ex provided it is in the advertised condition and a mechanic finds no issues. I have looked at Kelley, NADA, Edmunds, & Black Book but they are kinda all over the place. I am thinking $11,000 - $12,000. Do you think that's accurate or am I off? Any advice is appreciated.

I'm really good at sales and negotiations when I have all my ducks in a row.... But I HATE the car buying process.

 

Offer $9763.48 and don't go a dime over $10,000.

 

Lol I like random number offer but you really think $10k flat is FMV? Is that based off anything specific or just what you see on Craigslist?

 

IMPO, a little high for a gasser with 146,xxx miles the highest retail value I ascertained was $12,800. Clean, all maintenance records, no accidents.

The truck in question has (what looks to be) 20" wheels with spacers, some consider that to be an upgrade, others don't.

What matters is, how much it is worth to you?

 

They likely bought it at auction Around 7k maybe have $1000 into getting it sell ready. Kbb list 12k as private party value. Me thinks 13,500 is their number.

That said, I'm with mecdac, FMV to me would be 10k

 

My guess is if you offer 10k for it they'll laugh you out of the place. If gas was expensive and the country was in a depression they'd entertain the offer perhaps. A truck like that will find a buyer, and the dealer will probably sit on it for a bit to get the right buyer in the door.

Although something tells me that truck will be sold for Mid 12k to mid/high 13k, and the former will probably be padded with a high interest rate(regardless of good credit score) for the buyer if he's financing, so the dealer can scrape some money back that way.

Sharp looking truck, if it had around 100~105k miles it would be worth close to what they're asking IMO. Would I ever pay that? NO lol. I am a fan of the wheels though, they fit the color scheme, and the Toyos look nice and beefy.

 

I don't care about the wheels, they'd be getting replaced with a different size and tire either way. I don't believe "upgrades" add value to the vehicle just make it sell faster really. I would love to get it for 10k but I think if it meets all my marks if be ok with 11k. I don't mind paying FMV and I don't care how much profit they do or do not make off me. I just want to feel that I got a good deal and didn't overpay.

 

I always use the trade in value when looking at used trucks. Fair market is a bit subjective based on location and demand. This should give you a ball park of what the dealer paid if it was a trade, auction vehicles tend to go for less. 2005 Ford Excursion XLS What's it Worth?
A car fax should tell you if it was an auction vehicle.

 

The only thing that I see wrong is that. it's not diesel

 

I purchased my "new to me Ex" on August 1st 2016. I bought it from a Ford dealer where it had been serviced since new, I am in southeast Alabama and I drove about 5 1/2 hours down to near Tampa, FL. It is/was a one owner Florida truck, clean car fax, and Oasis. 2005 4X4 Limited, Pueblo Gold, 147K miles, looks like the same options as the one you are looking at. I got under it, no rust, it does have a dent in drivers quarter panel and a few scratches here and there. It was listed for $13K, I paid $11,500 out the door, $10 and change was for the truck the rest was for taxes and fees. I don't feel like I got a great deal, but I did get what I wanted. I've been watching for a decent 05 4X4 6.8 with lower miles. Two years ago I said under 100K miles and $10K, but that seemed to be pretty elusive. I don't know how NC is for salt, and has it always been in NC? Awhile back I thought I found the perfect truck in Mobile, AL it turned out it was a recent transplant from NJ, with the war wounds to prove it. Oh yeah I did have a 2000 2wd XLT for the past few years, so I did have a good idea of what I was looking at. Good Luck in the Hunt.

 

Man that doesn't get old... lol. I've heard that from every redneck friend of mine! Well since I put less than 3,000 miles per year on my current vehicle for the past 10 years and since the only thing I tow right now is a 16.5ft bass boat (I do planing on a TT next year), I chose the gas over the diesel.


Carfax shows no accidents reported, car started off in Washington state for 3 years, went to Florida for 3 years where it was repossessed and sent to auction, ended up in NC for the remainder until this past June when it was traded in. So there are not going to be any maintenance records from the beginning.

the area of NC it has spent it's life has probably seen 2 winters where they ever used salt on the roads for a week at a time. Dealer says there is no rust and I don't doubt it, but I will verify for sure. Also I will have a ford certified mechanic fully inspect anything before ink is put to paper.

Do you guys suggest negotiating the price before taking to a mechanic? I was thinking it would be best to negotiate a fair price based on the market as if the vehicle was in the condition the dealer states it is, then take it for inspection and if there are any discrepancies the dealer can either lower the price for me to have the repairs done or he can have the repairs done before I put ink on paper. This way I don't spend $130 on an inspection for a vehicle that I won't buy because we cant agree to a price.

 

Since I'm paying cash, one of my friends suggested taking a cashiers check in for the amount I would love to get it for out the door. Tell them take it or leave it lol, wonder how well that would work?

 

Spend plenty of time investigating the added wiring, try to see what all was added and most importantly how it was done. I see the new red wiring and fuse at the battery and the 4 LED strobes mounted on the grille (looks like 8 holes in the painted grille ) along with the hole for the switch on the left lower dash.
Inspect the exhaust manifold studs, all 20 of them. If there are any missing use that as a negotiating tool, shop rates vary from $400 to $800 to replace them. (but we can walk you through a driveway change out here, I did it on my 6.8). Also make sure the exhaust hangers are all fully intact, at that mileage/age they may be starting to fail. Verify if that coolant tank is red from the wrong coolant or rust. What is going on at the front of the trans hump with those 2 strips and snaps? Defend your low offer based on the need to get rid of the spacers and rims, small mirrors and a gear swap (assuming it a 3.73).
If it's clean and correct, hit them with the 10k offer along with your list of itemized issues, then be very stubborn and difficult to slowly move up to a max of $12k if it's exactly (or at least the solid base for what you eventually want it to be ) what you want.
Good luck!

 

Anyone got an idea what this is?

 

With a place like that I would negotiate a price contingent on it passing your mechanics inspection. This leaves you an easy out. If your mechanic finds it needs repairs it is likely they will want their "turn and burn mechanic" to fix it cheap rather then discount the purchase price the quoted amount from a ford dealer because they know they can fix it on the cheap. Of course this all hinges on how much to are agreeing to pay vs how much they have into it but these types of dealers are pretty sharp on this stuff.

( reality is, if it needs any mechanical work they would probably prefer you just leave and they will sell it as is to the next guy )