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Tow mirrors can't be added aftermarket on 2018 plus trucks unless you pay the 2k for genuine ford mirrors due to the relocation of the IAT into the passenger mirror. To get max tow you must order 20inch wheels and 157wb. Without it you will not receive spring upgrades.
Good to know. I didn't realize the suspension upgrade was partially dependent on the wheels that come from the factory.
Regarding the mirrors, I thought I had seen where someone swapped over the temp sensor from the passenger mirror into an aftermarket mirror and didn't have any issues. I could be wrong though, I didn't dig into it too much.
I have a high level question, but it's kind of been nagging on me. I don't know that it can be answered without some insider car dealer knowledge, but I thought I should ask anyway.
I'm working with a few dealers, and I've got a few trucks located that I'm just sitting on and watching right now. Of the dealers I've been working with, I've gathered some information.
I'm seeing the invoice sheets on all of the trucks that I'm watching. I've been told by a couple of the dealers that I should look at the invoice price, take away any incentives and then we can negotiate within the holdback amount (that's also listed on the invoice sheets). That all seems very logical.
The thing that has me thinking... As I'm doing the math, if I start at invoice, take away money for the incentives that I'm looking at, I'm looking at dollar values that are only about $7K (STX) to about $10K(XLT) less than MSRP. I've read a lot of forum posts in years past that people indicate they are getting $10-$13K off of MSRP on their trucks. It seems like I should be able to get better than that since these are outgoing model year versions, and dealers are basically being told to clear them out.
There are a couple of things to consider. I'm not looking at incentives that expire at the end of this month (I won't be buying until mid-march). So I could be leaving a little money on the table by ignoring those. Maybe that's where my difference is coming from. I just thought there would be more savings to be had than what the numbers are adding up to. I'm wondering if there is extra money (hidden) on the table that isn't on the invoice sheets. I don't to assume that a dealer isn't going to make anything off the sale of the vehicle (they are a business, and businesses can't stay open if they don't make a profit), but I don't want to settle for a price that is $8K off of MSRP, when I should push for another $2-$4K.
My Dad just retred after selling Ford trucks for decades. There is no hidden money. The holdback is as close as it gets. A dealer that is upfront enough to show you the actual invoice that includes all the plan prices plus the holdback probably deals fairly.
Now. Trucks that are floor planned (where basically the dealer finances the truck for their inventory) are more likely to be sold for a loss of some of the holdback, as interest starts to accrue after 90 days.
Usually a truck that is not sold after 90 days has something odd about it that keeps most buyers from choosing it. They could be heavily optioned XLTs with high sticker prices because of that, A base Lariat without a center console. Odd trial colors that aren’t on an option list. A 2wd King Ranch. No moonroof on an otherwise highly loaded truck, etc
Thanks for the comments. It seems like the couple of dealers that I'm working with that are showing me the paperwork give me every impression that they are dealing with me fairly. I just seem to remember remember people getting more off of MSRP in years past. I wanted to make sure that what my gut was telling me about these dealers was accurate.
Go to cars.com, look for new 2019 trucks, then pick the trim you want (XLT, Lariat, etc.) and then look at the selling price compared to MSRP from new car dealers. Try sorting it by price and pick the stuff you want (4x4, four door, etc.) and you'll see the cheapest ones on top. Scroll down until you get to the one you like and you'll see the MSRP. A lot of times, you'll see a big discount between the selling price and the MSRP.
When I did that three years ago, $10k to $12k off was very common. Now, it seems to be around $6k to $7k at the most. When I saw that several of the XLT trims had $12k off, I knew I could easily get $10k off.
I went to Ford.com and picked the exact one I wanted within a 100-mile radius then sorted it by price. The lowest price with everything I wanted was $51k. Keep in mind Ford.com does not show the discounted price, just the price with incentives, but not the price the dealership is offering.
So I figured.. $10k off $51k.. and e-mailed the dealership. We haggled for a couple hours over the value of my trade-in, e-mailing back and forth, and we settled on $39k for my new XLT with exactly what I wanted and a couple thousand off my trade-in. I didn't care about the color of the new F-150 (turned out to be ingot silver), but I absolutely had to have center console (I love the extra plugs and storage!), 6.5' bed, Sync 3, and a few other things.
My trade-in, a 2012 Ford F-150, was MSRP'd at $39k, bought for $29k, and traded in at $24k. Only $5k to drive it for four years! The ridiculous trade-in value is why I will never consider a used F-150.
I've got one dealer in particular that I'm working with that is willing to go locate a vehicle for me (ones that I find, or ones they they find). They have a flat bed, and said there is no issue with doing a dealer trade on an outgoing 2018. He's sending me pictures of the invoice sheets as well as the list of available rebates and incentives for any of them that I'm looking at, and he is the one that said we can start at invoice price and negotiate over the hold back amount.
I've got about 20-25 trucks within a few hundred miles of me that match my specifications that I'm watching right now. Would love to find an STX that fits my build. There is only one within 600 miles that I've been able to find. The rest are basically all XLT's with 302A, and a lot of them have the sport package. I would love to get under $40K for what I want (6.5' bed, crew cab, 4x4 with max trailer tow). With the prices I'm seeing now, I should be able to get that with the STX, but probably just a hair higher on the XLT versions.
Do you think the low interest rates offered by ford will get carried over into March? The dates on a lot of those low interest rate incentives expire on 2/28.
Just asking in case anyone wants to speculate... Do you think the low interest rates offered by ford will get carried over into March? The dates on a lot of those low interest rate incentives expire on 2/28.
There's always an expiry date on every kind of deal, and the new deals that come out after that date or usually extremely similar. There's no "black friday" type sales on these.
Your local credit union probably could beat Ford's interest rates. I have helped people buy trucks and a lot got better rates at the credit union than Ford. I think I've seen 1.9% for 60 months.
My current credit union is at 3.64% for 60 months. Ford is at 0% for 60, and 1.9% for 72, and 2.9% on 84 months for 2018 F150s. The rate on 2019 f150s is like 4.9% for 60 right now (I think).
If the 0%, 1.9%, or 2.9% goes away at the end of February, then the incentive for me to search for a 2018 that's not quite what I'm looking for goes way down.
I typically pay off vehicles in about 3 years time due to my work bonus, so I tend to go with the longer term period to keep my month to month payment low.
The rebates you give up to get 0% are usually a better value. Do the math with full rebates at 3.6% vs fewer rebates at 0%. It is almost always in favor of taking full rebates and paying more interest.
Giving up rebates also means a high sales price and therefore higher sales taxes (in some states). That higher sales price also means you will have a higher payoff in the event you want or need to trade in a few years.
You also save more interest in the event you pay it off quicker than the term of the loan. At zero percent you have no incentive to pay ahead.
As you can tell, I think zero interest is never a good deal. Others here may have a good reason for taking it.
I've narrowed my search down. I've got a dealer giving me a final quote on that 2019 velocity blue STX truck that I posted back early on in this thread. The 18 STX's in the lower 48 states all dried up. There was one left with my desired configuration out in Utah (I live in Illinois), but that dealer didn't want to play ball on a dealer trade. At the moment, a 2018 XLT 302A Sport (Still a lot of those available) ends up looking like it will be $3000-4000 higher out the door than a 19 STX. I like the STX's better from a looks and capability standpoint. I'm willing to give up the pretty plastic, nav, and heated-powered seats for a a little bit of extra payload and $4000 bucks. Pending the offer that the dealer makes me, I might putting down a deposit today on that blue 2019 STX with the tow mirrors.
Congratulations. I'm glad that it is still available for you now that you are ready to make a deal. I hope it all comes together for you.
I think the STX is a great package and I'm sure you will be happy with it. It would be hard to talk me out of my 302a on a morning like today however when it was 7 degrees and windy. The remote start and heated seats were greatly appreciated.
02-15-2019, 02:21 PM
