I have an 04 2WD SREW 5.4, 3.73 R.E. and had the vibration problem for almost a year. A new aluminum driveshaft, new front brake rotors, 4 new Michelins (road forced balanced of course). Now I have a very good truck. In fact it is the best vehicle I have ever owned, now that the vibration is gone.

Despite my problem, I will be the first to point out that I personally know 7 other owners of the same vehicle (04 SCREWs with same engine and rear-end) and none of them have the vibration problem. However, one did have a clutch-pack problem with the limited slip (fixed under warranty).

 

Reforder,

I am from just south of boston and am getting a good deal from a ford dealer in Raynam MA, at Metro ford. I asked for a quote from the internet manager and he emailed me back with in a day and gave me a quote of invoice minus rebates on the truck without any haggling. The guys name is Joe and the website is www.metrofordma.com they have a good selection of trucks.

Keep us informed of whats going on

Brian

 

The Lariats do have the center seat option, I know I have one. BTW the Lariats have better sound proofing and are more solid than our F150 brothers. And a higher grade suspension. So you get far more than just some aftermarket mods.

 

Brian,

What model are you looking at and what round-about price did he hit you with? This sounds almost too easy, but the Herald today had an add for an 05 Lariat Supercrew with $8500 off in rebates from Waltham Ford. Seems kind of odd, are they not selling these things?

Thanks.

Tony

 

Tony i was looking at a supercab xlt 4x4 with 5.4l MSRP 32740, invoice 29050, quoted me over the internet 25995. and he is giving me decent money on the trade in. Did you check out the website ? and give him an email or a call

His name is Joe Stack

P.S. he has 61 F-150's in stock

i also thought it was to easy and that there was a catch but there was not

 

Hi Brian,

Usually the invoice is a lot lower then 3690.00 Under MSRP. I've seen it 5000.00. Ford is giving some good incentives right now. The dealer is still getting the incentives from ford.

If you paid 25995 Plus tax, tags, doc fee. You are looking at 27904.70 out the door, they didn't even try and hit you with the extended warranty yet, if you go with that it would probably be around 29 or 30, which really is about right for an XLT, supercab. Its the options that will bring a price down or up. Does it have the towing package, does it have rear slider, Power front seats, running boards, two tone paint, single cd? Small ugly rims and tires, fender flares?? If it doesn't have any of the things I just listed, that price is reasonable, especially for the dealer. Get him to throw some options on, the deal will look good towards the consumer.

Remember, You can get an O4, about 3000.00 Cheaper. I am just looking out for you Brian, dealers have a way about them. Usually if it seems you are getting a great deal for a trade-in, the dealer still has some room to go on the new vehicle, because dealers don't give you anything on a trade-in, ever.
Dealers are also making money if you finance through Ford or one of their banks.
If you are taking the real low interest rate, they won't give you the cash back. The best way is to take the cash back from ford and walk in with a blank check from Capital One Auto, they have a good system, good interest rate, in the high 4's I believe right now.

Good Luck!!!

 

always

Thanks for the input. I have not yet signed any papers on the truck. I am waiting until it comes in. I will try to get a little more for the money if i can.

I do believe that i am getting a decent deal on the trade in because the truck was in an accident this past december with a good amount of damage that i havnt fixed. Plus it has other things wrong with it. That is why i want to get rid of it, i dont think that it is worth fixing.

Thanks
Brian

 

This is exactly what i was planning on doing. I go through Capital One right now and planned on bringing $12k of my own money and a check from Capital One to the Ford dealer. Think they'll talk better deals with that kind of "incentive".

No way i would ever trade in my volvo, worth MUCH more on the street, thanks to a crapload of engine mods and custom suspension mods. Plus, most of the rebates from FMCC are either $500 or $1,000 back. And after doing some calculations, the lower interest rate seems to give less benefits over the loan's life than taking the cash rebates upfront.

Tony

 

Tony,

Exactly. But when negotiating, don't let them know you are paying cash, they may give you a better deal thinking you are financing with them, then when its time to sign hit them with, "Yeah know what, I think I am going to pay cash instead!"

I would never pay more then 5,000 under MSRP. The dealer would still make a good deal and so will you. I believe the dealer pays 10-12 thousand under MSRP, their tissue.

Another tip, I would walk out at least once before making the deal, say you are going to shop a little, the dealer knows that if you walk out the chances of you buying from him are slim, he might even knock a little more off.

Also, do it alone, don't bring the wife. The dealership knows they have you if the wife really wants the vehicle. They make plenty of money off Young adults and Seniors for them not to give a great deal to someone on an occassion.

Just one more tip, I know many people want brand new, and thats great. I have never bought a vehicle Brand new. Get one with 3000 miles on it. My 04 supercrew had 21000 miles on it. I bought a tahoe with 3500 miles on it. You still have a full warranty from ford or Chevrolet, 3 yr, 36,000 miles in case something happens. If buying brand new, the vehicle depreciates 15-20 percent when you drive it off the lot. Most of the things are going to go wrong will happen within the first 10000 miles. Plus, people can't believe the vehicles I have are used. They still have the new car smell and everything. Your vehicle is only brand new for a year anyways, Is that worth 10-15 thousand dollars? To a lot of people it is, to me, no way.

Try autotrader.com. Put in Used O4 Ford f150, and what you want in it, There are some nice vehicles out there. You can even put new in if you want just to see ball park where vehicles are at.

Good Luck Guys!!

 

My wife would not let me buy her used. She had to have the brand new 05 freestar limited, geesh. Depends on the individual.

 

Are you kidding me? If I brought my wife the dealer would give me the truck for $10. with the constant, "we don't really need this thing, do we?" and "why is it so big?", the dealer would feel sorry for me. Kidding, she's not THAT bad.

Thanks for the tips. I agree on the walking out a few times, I'm gonna shop around approach. This will be my 8th "real" car purchase (my 76 Ford Granada didn't count), so i'm quite used to dealing with car dealers in their swindling glory. I myself hate buying brand new, due to the depreciation. I have been looking into 04's a lot, hence why i started this topic. My only concern is why someone would turn in a brand new truck with low miles. Is it the dreaded vibration or other problems that made the dealer buy it back? Hmmmm..................

 

ReForder, Just buy the one you like best!They are all GREAT!!!!! Good Luck!

 

Thats one of the reasons I bought an 04 w/21000 miles on it. 21000 miles in one year, thats a lot of miles, it was proven to me. Good Luck! Go w/ the 5.4 engine. My brother has one w/ 78,000 miles on it, My dad 75000 miles, both 5.4 tritons, at least the engine is proven.

 

Tony, I bought a new 04 Lariat Scab in Dec. I feel I got a good deal and I think if you want the most truck for your money, a Lariat is hard to beat. Look for a late build 04 (06/04-08/04). Lariats offer the most standard equipment and 4x4s are still out there. Some may disagree with the idea of an 04 verses an 05, but mine has been excellent so far at 6,400 mi.
My deal- 32,390 MSRP / 27,000 starting point, -3,000 reb. - 1,500 FoMocredit, -500 trade-in (old junk S-10), = 22,000 + TTL = 23,550. I am not a great negotiator, the deals are out there. Any good dealer can do a search for color, equipment, build date, and location of any in your area. Also, there is no early payoff penalty on the Ford credit so you can take the cash and then pay it off after a few payments. Good luck.

 

Thats a great buy if you got it. It is the supercab and not the crew cab. I am just a bit skeptical because they usually tax before the discounts. So you would have been taxed before the discounts, then they add the discounts. Unless they do it differently in your state compared to the other 49. If starting price before discounts was 27000, then you should have payed 1620.00 in taxes before doc and tags. say 300.00 for doc and tags. 28920-3000-1500-500=23920. Still an awesome deal, out the door. I don't see many lariat 4x4's brand new(04) for that price out the door. If you get one let me know, maybe I will get one and sell it for 26000.00