OT Buying a new truck

The Ford place has a 2011 Ranger XLT I would like to have. The sticker price is 25K. The last car I bought was a 2011 Honda Civic last year when they first came out and I was able to get 2k off its

21K list price.

Ford is giving a 4.5k rebate on the new (but a year old 2011) truck with a sticker price of 25k. Should I expect to try to get the best offer on the truck and then get the rebate or is the rebate usually the best offer?

Reply to
Metspitzer
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I think you're nuts to buy any new vehicle unless it's like buying lunch... or you can't get a loan for used. That's a different story.

New vehicles are for saps. You can get a lot more used rig for less money. I like Ford but I'd bet they're still installing that POS clunky signal/flasher mechanism in my '96. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Not true for most trucks. When I bought mine (ten years ago), the difference between a new truck and a 1-yr old with 20K, was $1K. $6K bought a six-year-old with 90K, and a rebuilt title.

I'm not even sure it's true for cars anymore, either. With the recession, used car prices have gone through the roof.

So what?

Reply to
krw

The rebate has nothing to do with the sticker price. Look up the truck's invoice price, if the dealer won't show it to you, and offer $100 over, *AND* keep the rebate.

Reply to
krw

That only suggests you didn't know shit about buying vehicles, 10 years ago, and it doesn't look like you've enjoyed much improvement.

I only grew up in the car business and worked in it as an adult for 6 years. I've sold and bought thousands of vehicles, and made great money, obviously I couldn't know the first thing about vehicle sales.

I know the news tried to sell that story, don't believe everything you read.

So what, what? -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

te:

There is such a thing as dealer participation wrt to some rebates. Does that apply to his?

You should shut up about things you know so little about. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Best in-depth advice I ever got about buying vehicles came from a book written by a former car salesman, titled Don't Get Taken Every Time. There's a similar website called Beat the Car Salesman.

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Basically a detailed overview of the buying process, including how to do your research, how to negotiate and close the deal (including how to know what's a fair price for the vehicle and when to walk away, if necessary). If you go in with an understanding of the dealer's costs, as well as market demand for that particular make and model, you have a good idea of what's a fair price for the vehicle, and can negotiate accordingly. It also never hurts to ask what else they can do to motivate you to buy that vehicle from _them_ - maybe throw in free oil changes, or putting on a hitch for free, or whatever else you and they may be willing to work out. And this needn't be an ordeal. Keep it civil and they probably will, too.

I walked from one dealership when shopping for my last car. I went in knowing dealer cost and fair market value for the car. The salesman quoted me MSRP. I told him that I was serious about buying, so we'd have to negotiate the price. He arrogantly informed me they didn't negotiate. I mildly asked if he was, you know, actually interested in

*selling* cars, and he repeated that they didn't have to negotiate. I shrugged and drove to the rival dealership where they were happy to negotiate. When the dealer's counter offer came down to $100 less than what I was actually prepared to pay, I closed the deal. I saved thousands, the dealer moved the car, and we were both satisfied.

This works for buying boats and other spendy items, too. My sister and brother-in-law saved thousands on their latest boat just by politely explaining that they were seriously interested, but they needed to see some downward movement on its price. The dealer moved, so they began asking for free accessories, too. They got almost everything they asked for without hassle, just by politely asking the dealer what he could do to close the deal.

Reply to
Hell Toupee

Woo-hoo! Big discount there...

Buying a new car is *never* a financially sound decision, rebate or no. The only thing that makes financial sense is to buy used, at least three or four years old. Let someone else pay the depreciation.

You want to talk about discounts from list price? After our second child was born, in 1991, we bought a 1984 Buick LeSabre for $4200; the original window sticker was still in the glove box, showing a list price of about $14K. The car had 54K miles on it when we bought it, and it was still running when we sold it ten years later at 211K.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Does anyone know (or do any of these buying guides ever say) if when negotiating for a new vehicle, if an offer to outright buy the vehicle (check, bank draft, credit-card, etc) is seen by the dealership as more (or less) desirable vs the typical way most people buy cars (long term payment plan). ?

I mean, if you have the means (and inclination) to fork over the full purchase price for a new vehicle, does that work in your favor when negotiating the price, or would the dealer (or his financing company) rather bleed you for $300 - $700 a month for 5 years?

I negotiated to have my purchase go through 100% on my credit card when I bought my '2000 Chrysler 300m back in the fall of 1999. After I signed the deal, they came back and said that they can't do it because they didn't anticipate the Visa transaction cost of putting such a large purchase through. I balked and said they signed the deal, but eventually settled and met them half way on the transaction cost. I got a shit-load of frequent-flyer miles because of that purchase.

Reply to
Home Guy

Not only that, but it was proven and time tested. New anything is a crap shoot. A used car in mint shape with all service records is a sound bet. Have it professionally inspected, though. Get a 3rd parties expert opinion. A good used car is usually close to indistructable. I bought a Honda with 120K miles on it. Sold it with 120K more (250K) hard commute miles on it. Engine still purred.

nb

Reply to
notbob

Not true. As another poster pointed out, there are times when the price difference between a late-model used vehicle and the same one brand new is so minor, it makes no sense to buy used. That's how I ended up buying my first new car - after shopping around and discovering the difference between my buying the particular model new versus two years old with 25K on it was only a few hundred bucks, I (to my amazement) bought new. Market forces worked in my favor that time. It may apply in some cases now, too. Low demand for new and high demand for used may once again make the used vs. new price difference on certain models negligible - in which case you might as well buy new.

In the example I gave above, the price difference between the vehicle new and two years old with approx 25K on it ended up running between $500-600. So, 25K fewer miles and two more years on the warranty for a few hundred more? Sold.

If the financing on a new vehicle is more favorable than on a used vehicle, and the buyer intends to finance, that's another factor to take into account.

Reply to
Hell Toupee

Thinking you might not have looked at the used vehicle market in some time. Used to be as you described because you could buy a used vehicle for a lot less a year later.

Now if a new vehicle is say $25k you will find 1 year old versions of that vehicle with 20,000 miles are $23,500.

Reply to
George

Just because you know what used to be doesn't mean you know how things are *now*.

Agree, but you can easily verify it for yourself. I have been looking for a vehicle and everything I found over the past year was $1000 ~ $1,500 less for a one year old same version with 20,000 or more miles.

Family member and at least 4 good friends recently bought new for this reason.

Reply to
George

Considering that it was a high demand vehicle because of fuel economy he did well. Often sticker is the best you can get in that situation because if you don't buy it someone is standing behind you who will.

Now if it were some giant stupid fluffed up truck with 16 cup holders and 4 DVD players 50% off wouldn't have been enough.

Looked at used car prices recently? That truism you mentioned is now null and void.

Reply to
George

Last time I was looking at cars I was going to take the advice you offer above. Then I decided against it and bought new.

Sure, you want a fair deal, but sometimes I'm willing to pay more to get what I want. One financial mistake I make is buying the top of the line. My Buick is the Limited, by Sonata is also the Limited. They cost more than the base model and you have more goodies in it. For every dollar the top model costs over the base models, I'm probably getting a 50¢ value.

I looked at one of the "program" cars the local Buick dealer had. It was OK, but the first thing I noticed was the burn hole in the seat. My car never had a lit cigarette in it., never will. Looked at some used cars, but the price seemed high considering the miles already used up.

I also keep cars for a long time (there have been exceptions) but if I'm going to drive a car for 15 years, I want and I'm willing to pay for certain features. I want the color I want, the options I want and I'm willing to pay for them. I also pay $10 a month for XM radio in one car. That works out to about 25¢ an hour to listen to non-commercial radio. Yes, I thought it would be silly to pay for radio that can be had for free, but I was hooked after a week of the free trial. I spend enough time in the car that I am willing to pay for it. At least in my primary vehicle, not the secondary.

If all you want is transportation, buy used, by cheap. If you want some comfort along the way, you have to be willing to pay a bit more. Repair costs are also a consideration. In the past five years, aside from normal maintenance, my total repair costs was $300. Buying cars with 40k miles already on them, that number would probably be higher.

You pays your money, you make your choice.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

On Aug 11, 9:26=A0am, George wrote to gpsman:

I sold ~40 vehicles in the last 4 years

Bullshit. Show us an example of someone's -asking- price in that stratosphere. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Home Guy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@Guy.com:

I bought my last 2 cars on Visa. Both were used but from a new car dealer. The first time they said max $3000, so I started to walk, they went to half and then to the full price. The second car they agreed to Visa right away. You're right about the load of miles, we call then points up here in Canada. Sure there are Visa transaction costs for them but it is just part of the dickering. All the things they bring up may be legit but the final cost to me is all that matters. I think they made good money on both deals.

A couple of days ago I went with my Dad to look at new cars and we said it would go on Visa and they both agreed but we didn't get to the nitty gritty. It seems to be more comonplace now.

Reply to
Reno

Huh? New and old, there is not much difference in price between two. \ New one has few incentives specially with cash in hand. Saving ~2K over the life of vehicle ownership was not worth it for me. I bought new probably last one in my life time. Acura MDX.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Talk to your friends. Friends don't let friends buy Fords.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

So much depends on location and brand. In SFBA, used Hondas are more valuble than used Beemers and Mercedes and hold their value MUCH longer. Where I now live (CO) Hondas are red headed stepchilds. Jeeps and Fords rule and 4x4 depreciate painfully slow. Buicks, OTOH, drop like a rock, despite being in the top 5 fave brands. No across the board rules.

nb

Reply to
notbob

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