I am getting extremely frustrated with my ongoing experience trying to work a dealer trade no a new F150.

I'm currently working with dealer A to locate and purchase a 2019 F150. We have found around 10 or so trucks within a few hundred miles that fit my configuration, options, etc. About two weeks ago we agreed upon a price and I paid $500 for them to go get one of the vehicles that they located at Dealer B. Dealer B had already responded to them before I put down my deposit that the vehicle was available and they had agreed to do a dealer trade on it. Then, when it came time for the driver from Dealer A to go get the truck from dealer B, dealer B put a hold on the transaction. 2 days later they said the truck was no longer available as it had been sold and delivered (It's still sitting on their lot 2 weeks later BTW).

We moved on to the next truck down the list. Dealer A sent a request sent out at the end of the day on Friday of last week to Dealer C about the truck they had that matched my requirements. Dealer C has not responded at all over about a 6 day time period, with multiple attempts by dealer A. My salesman said that he was able to contact the service manager last night at this dealer, and the service manager was pleasant to talk to and said to contact the GM at 9:30 this morning. That's what they tried to do, but still no response 2.5-3 hours later.

Dealer A has started to adopt a shotgun approach and they have about 5 more trucks that they are asking on availability from all the various dealers that have those, but still no response after 2-3 days.

I'm getting frustrated that this process can't move along. I've got the money ready to go on my end, I've got a PCO that expires at the end of the month for $2500 off. I know that dealer A is doing all they can to work the process for me. I'm not frustrated with them. I'm talking to my sales guy at least twice a day, and I know him and the fleet manager there are getting extremely frustrated at the complete lack of response by these other dealers. They still have my deposit, so if a dealer responds they can just move on that without having to wait on me. I'm sure I wanted to, I could probably get my non-refundable deposit back from them because of the first truck fell through, but best case scenario is that one of these other ones responds and agrees to do the trade and we can just finish this.

The dealer I'm working with says they do dealer trades all the time. That's the primary reason I'm working with them, as they are about an hour and a half from where I live. My local dealers are smaller and aren't so interested in doing dealer trades, or they are crappy dealers that I don't want to engage with. This dealer I'm working with even has their own flatbed so they can execute trades without putting miles on the vehicles, so they are willing to go out long distances to get vehicles. The prices they've quoted me for locating trucks are lower than what would spend travelling myself to get them.

It's getting to the point where I might just have to start calling these dealers as a potential customer and seeing if they will sell the trucks to me. If this goes on into the middle of next week, I'll need to start doing that or I'll run out of time available for me to travel to go get something before my PCO expires. This is just turning into a big mess, and is frustrating for all of us involved.

 

That would be my suggestion...you know who the dealers are...deal with them directly. Some stores are very busy...especially the larger ones...and...they order trucks that they can sell...not for other dealers to sell. Your dealership has made the attempt...but has been unsuccessful...give them a time ultimatum and then move on if they can't get it done. It sounds like someone has spent quite a bit of time on it...don't forget to thank them for their time and efforts.

 

Don't do a dealer transfer if you can avoid it. Go to the dealer with the truck, get a internet price first on the trucks. If you do a dealer transfer only the original dealer gets the hold back and your deal may suffer.

 

If they trade, wouldn't they both get hold back when they sell the truck they end up with?

 

Good points on the "Hold Back"...many of the larger dealers consider selling cars to other dealers as one of their best deals of the month as they get the "Hold Back"...and the dealer buying the car gets nothing. If the dealers do swap...they try to swap vehicles of approximately the same value in order to even out the "Hold Back" So...you're both right. I used to handle swaps for the dealership I worked for...we were a Ford/Toyota Dual. The Ford dealers were always trying to take advantage of one another on swaps...the Toyota dealers did a net deal not involving the "Hold Back".

 

The dealer I'm working with typically does dealer trades at net zero (their terminology) where they get the full holdback from the other dealer. That's what they told me, and based on the price they are offering that makes sense. They were offering me the truck at invoice minus holdback plus transportation plus salesman commission. That ends up being about $830 below invoice on the STX truck that I'm going after that has a holdback of about $1409. I did the math, they told me the transportation cost and the salesman commission, and there was only about $8 bucks left over for them. The salesman I am working with was a former sales manager, retired, and is now back to selling just for something to do, so he hasn't treated me like typical car salesman. ​​​​​​The way this dealership explained it to me is they are selling me the truck at cost for them to make it worthwhile for me to drive an hour and a half to do business with them. They get a number on their quota for the month which counts to their back end payout from Ford for hitting their sales targets. They said Ford is really pushing for dealers to sell at cost and make their money by hitting sales targets. Plus it seems like the market area that I'm in is pretty competitive, where dealers will list trucks for less than X-plan pricing as their "normal" starting price online.

In my frustration last friday, I actually called the dealership that physically had the truck to see if they would sell it to me for the price that the dealer in working with was offering. It would have left them with about $560 of the holdback, which is more profit than what the dealer I'm working with was going to make off of the dealer trade. They weren't budging at all on the price. They wouldn't make any concessions below x-plan so I told them to call me back if they changed their mind and moved on. I thought that would have been the end of it, and that I would have to move on from that truck. However, about 4 hours later the dealer I had been working with said they got a reply from the dealer with the truck. They were agreeing to do the dealer trade. So in the end, it seems like it is working out for me to get that truck after all.

​It was just extremely frustrating to go for nearly a week with no response, especially since this is the second round of attempted dealer trades with the first truck dealer backing out of the trade as the delivery driver was getting ready to leave to pick it up. We had 7 other trucks lined up as backups if this one fell through, and I was getting to the point of reaching out myself. I don't know if that put a little pressure on the fleet manager to pull out all the stops to make the deal happen. I know he was leaving 5-6 emails and voicemails a day with the dealer that had this truck, that dealer just wasn't responding. Not a whole lot more that you can do in that situation. Maybe me calling them on that truck and mentioning that another dealer was trying to trade for that truck for me somehow triggered them to follow up. Who knows, but now they've agreed on the trade. Once the truck arrives at my dealer lot, I'll feel a lot more comfortable.
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The specific deal I had already worked out on this new truck changed slightly once the two dealers started talking. The truck had a few dealer installed extras that weren't on the listing (bed liner and wheel locks) and they also didn't want to swap, which means that my dealer had to go get the truck with their flatbed rather than just sending a driver with a vehicle. That combo added just under $600 to the out the door price, but I don't think that's too bad. I'm still paying a few hundred under invoice, which is better than what the other dealer was willing to do, and buying in state means I don't have to spend more on the back end to get plates and registration taken care of.

 

Nope, the hold back goes to the original destination dealer only. So once each dealer does the transfer they won't get their hold back until the trucks are sold. The money will eventually come back to the dealerships but it won't be on your deal.