Ford plans to pump up incentives
In new twist, it will target regions and older vehicles, and will give dealers more say.

Ford Motor Co. will sharply increase incentive spending this year to counter aggressive pricing by competitors and ensure that demand for older vehicles like the Ford F-150 and Mercury Milan remains strong as the automaker prepares to launch newer versions later this year.

Senior Ford executives told key dealers about the plan during a meeting in Dearborn earlier this month, according to people who attended the session. Many dealers have chafed at Ford's push to reduce profit-sapping incentive spending, even at the expense of market share.

The exact cost of the new incentives is not clear, but dealers said it would amount to several hundred million dollars.

 

So should I wait to buy my Expedition EL? They got $3,500 or 0.0% (what I really want) right now. When do you think it's gonna get better?

 

According to the article they seem to focus on various REGIONS and the F-150 in particular. Sounds to me that the incentives and who gets them will be determined by the DEALERS not Ford.

 

Where is this article?? Could you post a link so I could take a look at it.

Thanks

 

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Ford Motor Co. (F) will sharply increase incentive spending this year to counter aggressive pricing by competitors and ensure demand for older vehicles like the Ford F-150 and Mercury Milan remains strong as it prepares to launch newer versions later this year, The Detroit News reported on its Web site Thursday.
Senior Ford executives told key dealers about the plan during a meeting earlier this month, according to people who attended the session, The Detroit News reported.
The exact cost of the new incentives isn't clear, but dealers said it would amount to several hundred million dollars, according to the report.
Cutting Ford's reliance on discounts and deals has been an important part of Chief Executive Alan Mulally's turnaround strategy, the report said.
The decision to increase incentive spending doesn't represent a shift in that strategy, Ford sources said, according to The Detroit News.
Ford will use the money selectively to support specific models in specific markets, and local dealer organizations will have more say in where and how it is spent, sources familiar with the plan said, according to The Detroit News.
Ford wouldn't confirm the plan, according to the report. "Conversations between Ford and our dealers are private," company spokesman Jim Cain said Wednesday, according to The Detroit News. "We're not going to give anyone insight into our marketing strategies."

Newspaper Web Site: http://www.detroitnews.com

 

Thanks, might be the right time to consider buying then.

 

Agree. Was going to wait until the 09's come out but NOT if a good deal is in the works incentive-wise. I think my F-150 of choice, FX4 flareside might be hard to locate however.

 

Sorry im not very knowledgeable about the spark plug problem - but do the 5.4' have the spark plug issue worked out? If so then an 08' is for me when the lease is up on my old truck

 

Yeah, the plug issue has been fixed for quite a while now.
Get one while you can, the paper today says that they will be doing away with these incentives in a move to keep from over making vehicles and losing money on them. 08 or bust on the deals!!.

 

I'm not sure how this works. If they add incentives, all that does is drive the used value of that vehicle down in a few years. That must mean they intend on pounding incentives now, and then pulling them sharply off in a month or two and decreasing production. That will drive demand up on new ones because of lack of supply, while sending people out to look for used ones because the new ones are so much more (higher) priced with no incentives. How else can you make sure the demand is strong on a USED vehicle?

 

Rebates and incentives do drive down the price of used ones. It also drives down the price of used other brands in the same market. The only reason I bought a new truck was because I paid less for it than I could buy a two year old low mileage for. But also keep in mind that if you paid less for it new, the amount of depreciation will still be less because you paid a lot less for the truck up front. You kinda get new for the price of used.

My truck was a left over 2004 that I bought for invoice less $5,000 in rebates (almost $9,000 under MSRP). NADA retail for my truck was $4,000 more than I paid new.

 

My truck was a left over 2004 that I bought for invoice less $5,000 in rebates (almost $9,000 under MSRP). NADA retail for my truck was $4,000 more than I paid new.[/QUOTE]


And people wonder why the dealerships don't want to give you nada value on your trade. Nada works great for loans but real world is way off. Its to bad that we the public don't have access to the manheim auctions because that is what vehicles bring real world and what most dealerships use as a guide to determine what they are willing to give you for a trade.

 

And people wonder why the dealerships don't want to give you nada value on your trade. Nada works great for loans but real world is way off. Its to bad that we the public don't have access to the manheim auctions because that is what vehicles bring real world and what most dealerships use as a guide to determine what they are willing to give you for a trade.[/QUOTE]

Most dealers use the Black Book. It doesn't have a retail column. It has rough, average, clean and extra clean wholesale prices. NADA wholesale is around Black Book clean. Average and rough are far less.

 

You are correct. The Black Book is basically a report card of what the online auctions are doing ie manheim. You will notice at the auctions, the experienced buyers always have the latest Black Book with them when they are bidding. Manheim works great because it up to the day averages. Black Book works great cause it is easily referenced and gives basically the same info.

 

Manheim auction prices data CAN be bought. The weekly subscription was about $100/year way back. Now? Don't know what the price is.