If the rebates go away, the family plan is probably not as good a deal as the rebates were last month. I bought my 04 under the A plan and with rebates, it ended up almost $10K under factory sticker; real deals only happen when there are big rebates. With all three now offering basically the same deal, the rebates may come back strong to move vehicles in this more competitive environment.

 

Interesting take.
I think you have it surrounded.
Chris

 

I have had the GM Employee discount for years and it was almost always cheaper to use the discount. Have to remember that invoice is not the true dealer cost.

The GM emplyee discount used to be better than it is now. In the old days you had two options. One was to order the vehicle. Trucks had a straight 18% discount plus shipping. The second was to make your best deal for a car off the lot and then GM would send you a check for 5% of the sticker price.

These days, GMS discount is around 16% or so on trucks. They use a certain percentage for the base price and a certain percentage for options.

 

Which means, the truck I bought which had a sticker of 23,400 at that discount would have been 19,656 less the 5000 in rebates to 14.656 or 1,661 more expensive... Still not bad, but guess what? the Rebates are down to about 3,000 so it would have come in at 16,656 or 3,661 more than I paid.

I think this is a better deal for guys who want to special order, or guys who want just a certain package. For the bargain hunter, or guy who is not too picky, it's a worse deal.
Chris

 

I bought my 2005 FX4 SuperCrew on monday. The truck total MSRP was $39,220. The Ford Family Discount price was $32,861. I then got the $2500 Cash Back to bring the price to $30,361.00. I then received an additional $500 for the Home Depot promotion. So $3000 in incentives bought the price (before my trade in) to $29,861. I'm happy with the deal. Almost $9500 off MSRP I feel is a decent saving.

 

10,000 range off is the normal sale price. If you got a non-leader truck, setup the way you wanted, you done good.

What options? Color? Not comparing prices, just curious.
Chris

 

That Stinks..!

 

The GM employee discount is still a good deal if you pick your model, options and colors carefully with an eye towards resale. Some GM employees still have the killer deal, which is a slightly used company car at a lot less than GMS.

 

Black w/Black interior and Flint seats.

Options included:
Eq. package 505A
P275/65RX18 OWL BFG ALL-TERRAIN tires
3.73 Ratio Limited Slip
Audiophile
AM/FM w/ 6 CD Changer and MP3 capability
Power Adjustable Pedals
Black Tubular Running Boards
Sliding Rear Window
Trailer Tow Pkg.
18" Cast Aluminum Wheels
Sport Cloth Capt. Chairs
Power Driver's seat

 

I don't get your math. Are you saying you bought a $23,400 truck for $13,000? I'd like to know how. I've watched the rebates on these trucks since they came out, and there's never been $5K on them...unless maybe yours is a "Heritage" or pre-'04 (I never looked at those because I wasn't interested). Even still, what kind of dealer would take $5K off a $23K truck that already had $5K in rebates? Lemme know so I can get a killer deal on our next vehicle.

 

This is Chris Adams' question, but allow me to add to Chris' anticipated reply.

When I shopped for my '04 XLT, RCab I noted the newspaper advertisements would vary according to the vehicle model (F-150), time of the month, and the dealer. Some advertising special had full F-150's down into the 19K's. Even at 19K this is an attractive buy for a vehicle under normal circumstances would usually sell for 24K. I am located in Central Calif.

 

Wait stop whoa. The GM discounts were guidelines- not written in stone, since some models carry a much lower discount structure (Silverados are on a three-tier deal right now). GM used to have a GMO/GMS deal (order/stock), with prices on the invoice. Recently they just reverted to GMS only. I've done hundreds of employee deals over the years- they were good, but not that good (those numbers imply almost a 50% discount, and it flat ain't possible).

 

I purchased my sons new 2004 regular cab 4x4 XLT for $22,000. This came to $9000.00 off a $31,000. sticker.

The purchase was made on February 28, 2005. I feel like I got a great deal.

I had purchased a new 2004 EB 4X4 diesel EXCURSION from the same dealer in September 2004. That purchase was just a little over $10,000. off sticker.

It pays to take your time and shop around. You tend to do a little better the middle of the last week of the month.

 

2004 STX 22,170
Carpet 145
SLR 125
Fog lamps 140
destination and delivery 795
MSRP 23,375.00

Sale price 17,995 (newspaper sale)
Rebates (2) deferred down (means got it off at purchase) 5000
Net 12,995.
See pics in my gallery. Not a Heritage, but I would have bought one for that price, properly equipped.

In May I was looking at a new truck for someone else. We could get 2005 Reg cab V6 automatic for 13,899 Supercab XLT for 19,000 and Supercrews XLT 22,900.
These are after rebate, before tax, etc.
You pay a lot more for just the right truck.
In any big city they run these about every weekend.

My choice was Red, White, or Black STX. When they ran out of the sale trucks, they offered me the Silver one I bought, with 410 dollars in extras for the same price. I took it.
Great truck.
Chris

 

Jeepers! I did not know there was another color except Oxford White. I had to buy white as I still had some Oxford White touch up paint left over from my last rig.