Being advertised up to May 1. Cash bonus, finance bonus," and customer loyalty bonus. Anyone who has delved into all of this hype have any concrete numbers as to what this all means? THANKS.

 

It means some dealer thinks he can sell more trucks for more money by advertising the "8 Day Promotion Blitz."

 

At least it sounds more legitimate than some Ive heard on the radio, like the "We'll pay off your car" one. My favorite one though was when a dealer here advertised they would give MSRP for your trade. I still rack my brain to this day trying to figure out how the salesman could talk their way out of that one when someone confronted them.

 

Through May 1, Ford is offering $3k in rebates OR $1k + special financing.
What this means:

Dealers by me are also significantly discounting ($3-3.5k off MSRP) their prices. So - you can get somewhere up in the area of $6500 off list and get in a new F150.
That's how I may well end up buying one tomorrow.

Per my other post - I'm looking at a $33.2k truck that the dealer told me I can get for under $27k. I just have to find out what the finance rate is with the rebate.

Rick

 

If you take the Ford Motor Credit rebate, Ford usually sticks you with a pretty high rate and locks you into the financing for a mandatory 120 day period. This may vary by region. You may be better off forfeiting the FMC rebate and finance through a third party... this worked out better for me.

 

Gotta watch those newspaper deals. They include every rebate under the sun to get you in the door. Student rebate, veteran rebate, Rouge Plant rebate....

 

I bought my truck with the finance rebate. The salesman, the finance lady, probably the lot boys knew I was going to pay it off right away. No problem, and Ford finance could not have had more class.
Chris

 

If you were to pay cash at the dealer, you would not be eligible for the finance rebate (obviously). If you payoff the financing immediately, that's basically the same as paying cash... so Ford needs to ensure that you retain the financing for at least 90-120 days, otherwise it would be a loss for them. I'm not sure if/how Ford enforces this (if at all).

I've purchase two Fords in 2005, both offered the FMC rebate with the 120 day restriction. Again, maybe this is regional, I'm in Massachusetts.

 

I called FM Credit when I bought my truck and they said I could pay it off when ever I wanted. It was a simple intrest loan with no penalty for early payoff. Made one payment to them then dropped it on home equity. Got the $1k and the intrest write off.

My friend saw a newspaper ad and called the dealer-they confirmed the price. He asked me how they could sell the trucks at such a good deal. I pointed out the Student and Veteran rebate in the very fine print. He was steamed and grabbed the phone and called the salesman back. I said, "Be sure the Rouge Plant rebate is in there too!" He asked the guy about all the rebates separately and every time he told the sales man he wasn't a... or didn't belong to... the salesman said, "Oh, then the price will be this much more...". Needless to say, a serious hide chewin' commenced

 

What is a "rogue plant" rebate? A rebate for Ford factories that are out of control?

 

F_1_Fitty, there is no such requirement. Look at the contract, it says you can pay it anytime, with no penalty. None. I paid it off on the first payment, and they had no problem at all. I got the rebate, which comes off the price at the sale, (you still have to pay tax on the amount rebated (5k off from two rebates, but 400 bucks tax is still a 4600 dollar saving).
I asked about it paying it off within 60 days, or less, and they told me it would be OK. It was.
Who ever told you that you had to wait would have given you an exact time you had to wait before you paid it off. Not 90-120 days. There may be some variation in credit laws from one state to another, but Ford Credit is national.

Also, on credit ratings, early payoffs don't hurt your credit in most cases. It might if you have very little credit history. Most people who have the resources to pay off a truck, are not on marginal credit.


On the rebates, it is annoying that they have student rebates, etc. On the other hand, to get a student rebate on a truck he wanted, one of my nephews dropped by the local JC and signed up for a free class, getting a student ID in about twenty minutes. That made him a student. I think he did go to the class, though. It was on making swords, and he does that as a hobby... student, huh?
Chris

 

I bought mine last month. The dealer was offering $7000 off of MSRP ($4000 discount and $3000 from Ford Finance). Now they are offering $7280 (I figured with the recent increase in gas prices the discounts would increase). All in all it was an easy purchase, and the Ford interest rates beat the local banks.

 

Chris - The Ford dealerships I contacted (6 in person and a few via phone/email) all quoted the 120 day restriction. I stated "90-120" days in my post as a generalization, but "120 days" was what I was actually told from the dealerships.

But I think you're right... I found an interesting thread on F150online titled "any bankers? got a question.". It was a recent discussion around the Finance rebate (aka FMCC Bonus Cash) and the fact that Ford does not impose any restrictions or penalties if the loan is paid off immediately.

But I think I understand why I was being told this... One poster in the thread stated:
"Heres a news flash, the dealer loses money also. If you go thru FMCC and the dealer makes a point of rate on you and you pay it off right away they get that point charged back!"

From what I can tell, there must be no charge back to the dealer if the financing is held for at least 120 days.

Sorry for the confusion. Now if only I knew this two months ago - I could have taken advantage of the Bonus Cash on both of my new Fords and then refinanced! Live and Learn!!

 

The Rouge (pronounced Roo'-sh, same as the makeup) is the flexible manufacturing plant in Michigan where the F150 is built http://www.hfmgv.org/rouge/default.asp. Evidently there is an additional discount for those plant employees.

 

The big print giveth.....The small print taketh away..... Good Luck!