Pricing help!

[DerpingDumbo]

Good Evening All!

So I am new to the forums but I have spent some time looking around here and am still struggling a little bit with the pricing. This is going to be my first brand new car, and we are pretty sold on the ST.

The breakdown is as follows:
0% for 72 months

MSRP: 60,510

Sell price: 57,300

OTD (NJ taxes/DMV): $62,000

This st has been on the lot since October of 19. I am having a hard time believing this is the best price, and that I am actually getting a decent deal. They sent us the invoice, and it says $58xxx

I have already tried looking at auto loans and comparing the interest paid with incentives off vs 0%. It's really hard to get a realistic interest rate without doing a full credit check. If anyone would be willing help me out that would be awesome!

 

[Back2Ford]

I paid considerably less than that and mine has all options but the track pack or whatever it is called and the rear seat entertainment. I took all rebates and got my own financing which was a better deal than 0% due to the rebates I would have lost. I believe my build date was 7/19 and was purchased 2/20 so it had been on the lot a while. Obviously supply, demand and location makes a big difference. I purchased in a large market (DFW). When dealing I always approach purchasing a vehicle as 3 separate transactions. The purchase price of the vehicle you want, the value of your trade in if you have one and the financing. Unfortunately car buying is not always an easy or fun process but if you take your emotions out of the buying process it will probably serve you well and be prepared to walk away if it does not feel right. I am sure many people will have different ideas or thoughts, but this is how I have bought many new vehicles for several decades. Good luck to you.

 

[LorenzoGarbanzo]

Trust your instincts, check financing with your bank, and keep shopping around. If they want to sell it bad enough they'll come through with a deal that feels right.

 

[DerpingDumbo]

I paid considerably less than that and mine has all options but the track pack or whatever it is called and the rear seat entertainment. I took all rebates and got my own financing which was a better deal than 0% due to the rebates I would have lost. I believe my build date was 7/19 and was purchased 2/20 so it had been on the lot a while. Obviously supply, demand and location makes a big difference. I purchased in a large market (DFW). When dealing I always approach purchasing a vehicle as 3 separate transactions. The purchase price of the vehicle you want, the value of your trade in if you have one and the financing. Unfortunately car buying is not always an easy or fun process but if you take your emotions out of the buying process it will probably serve you well and be prepared to walk away if it does not feel right. I am sure many people will have different ideas or thoughts, but this is how I have bought many new vehicles for several decades. Good luck to you.

So from the calculations I have been doing, the lowest loan I have been able to find without doing a hard credit check was 2.5% and the rebates would about to $2,500. (Retail bonus cash, customer cash, medical professional). We would be borrowing around $45k. So the interest paid already passes the rebates. It seems in order to make the rebates worth it I would need a loan lower than 2%.

Is there anyway you would be willing to break yours down for me?

The market it is in is mostly retired people, which is probably why this has sat there for 9 months.

 

[blwnsmoke]

There is about $2k from MSRP to invoice and $2k from invoice to holdback (their cost). They have already exhausted their Floorplan assistance (covers 3 months of interest to Ford) so they are paying monthly on that vehicle sitting there. They are in the red right now on it being there since October.

I got about $5k off sticker before rebates which was basically a little below their true cost. And that doesn't even go into what they get on the back end for volume selling.

 

[kars85]

Just pulled the trigger myself. I only focus on one number when negotiating. The easiest way for me to do that is run numbers on my trade-in vehicle in Edmunds, KBB, and NADA. That'll give me a rough ballpark.

Then, I'll act as if I'm buying my used car from a local used car dealer online. Obviously, there's some overhead on dealers in prepping your used car to ready it for sale, etc... but somewhere in that KBB, Edmunds, NADA vs used retail price is my sweet spot. Just my 2 centavos.

 

[Rick369]

I would stay away from the Explorer with a build date of 7/19. Ford had a lot of problems with the early built Explorers. I believe production started on the 2020 in late May or early June. Ford had to send most of them from Chicago (where they are built) to a plant in Michigan for repairs. I would look for one with a build date of November 2019 or later and best if built in 2020. When I was looking for mine, I found a couple Limited’s I liked but passed on them because they were built in July 2019 and still sitting on dealer lots 10 months later. My Limited was built in December 2019 and I have had zero problems so far.

 

[DerpingDumbo]

I would stay away from the Explorer with a build date of 7/19. Ford had a lot of problems with the early built Explorers. I believe production started on the 2020 in late May or early June. Ford had to send most of them from Chicago (where they are built) to a plant in Michigan for repairs. I would look for one with a build date of November 2019 or later and best if built in 2020. When I was looking for mine, I found a couple Limited’s I liked but passed on them because they were built in July 2019 and still sitting on dealer lots 10 months later. My Limited was built in December 2019 and I have had zero problems so far.

Thank you for this!! I actually made the decision this morning to not go forward with a deal because of the production date. I appreciate your help

 

[Back2Ford]

I can confirm the issues with those build date which is why mine has been approved for a buy back.

 

[Explorinum]

When we were getting our ST, the dealer had sent me the VIN of the one they wanted to sell. It had a build date of Oct 2019. I went on their website and found the exact same specs of what we wanted with a build date of Mar 2020. I told them that I would only take that one and they obliged.

Ironically, for the exact same vehicle the price was a very tad bit lower.

 

[DerpingDumbo]

Thank you for your help everyone! I now know what I should be able to get for a price and to stay away from 2019 production dates just in case. I am still leaning toward the ST. Just need to find a good dealer and the specs we want. I appreciate all your help!

 

[peterk9]

Thank you for your help everyone! I now know what I should be able to get for a price and to stay away from 2019 production dates just in case. I am still leaning toward the ST. Just need to find a good dealer and the specs we want. I appreciate all your help!

Welcome to the Forum.
Happy hunting!

Peter

 

[bcarlson]

Some suggestions.
- Trade-in - If you have a CarMax Auto Nation or other large used car dealer near you, go to them and find out what they would pay you for your current vehicle. This is the “floor” for your trade-in value at a dealer. However, just remember that most of these offers are only good for about a week, so you might wait until you are closer to the actual trade-in time before you get a price.

- Separate the out-the-door price into must pay vs. dealer controlled costs. For example, you have to pay sales tax and licensing, so these costs are a wash between dealers, but you don’t have to pay dealer fees,and the dealer can decide how much you pay for the actual vehicle and any dealer-added options.

- Understanding true dealer cost and markup is challenging, so don’t get too wrapped up in all the details. Invoice price is a start, but then you have to know the hold-back value, volume incentive, carry-over allowances, and all the other factors that might affect the true dealer “cost.” What you want to focus on is comparing your out the door must-pay cost from each dealer.

- Comparing financing incentives vs. rebates is like comparing investment alternatives. A rebate is cash right now, while financing incentives are a promise of lower cost in the future. And you only get those benefits if you keep it the full length of the financing. I prefer to join a credit union or other place that offers good financing, take the lowest rate I can get, and apply the cash rebate to the vehicle.

- One choice you have is to act like a car buying service. It makes it even easier to justify now, since many folks don’t want to visit a dealer anyway.
Determine what vehicle you want and identify dealers with cars that meet your needs. Fax (or email) a request for quote to the internet sales rep for each dealer and ask them to provide a written quote. State your buying timeline, and that you want a quote in X number of days and you will make a purchase NLT a specific date. Do not discuss it with them on the phone - you want written information and written quotes!
Once you pick the dealer that has the right vehicle and the right price, tell them you do not want any in-person contact for the paperwork. They must send it all to you and it will all be completed in a no-contact transaction. This prevents the finance manager or sales closer from coming in at the last moment with an added charge or one-time good deal on financing or dealer options (don’t you want to add our special paint protection!!) . You want to make it a business transaction, not a last minute, feel-good change to your negotiated deal. Car buying services work this way all the time when negotiating with a dealer, so you are not asking for something impossible.

Bruce

 

[dejen3303]

Good Evening All!

So I am new to the forums but I have spent some time looking around here and am still struggling a little bit with the pricing. This is going to be my first brand new car, and we are pretty sold on the ST.

The breakdown is as follows:
0% for 72 months

MSRP: 60,510

Sell price: 57,300

OTD (NJ taxes/DMV): $62,000

This st has been on the lot since October of 19. I am having a hard time believing this is the best price, and that I am actually getting a decent deal. They sent us the invoice, and it says $58xxx

I have already tried looking at auto loans and comparing the interest paid with incentives off vs 0%. It's really hard to get a realistic interest rate without doing a full credit check. If anyone would be willing help me out that would be awesome!

I was told years ago by my fleet buyer to aim for 7.5% off MSRP, so the sell price is right about there. I did slightly better with my 2018 I purchased in October of that year. I took the papers from one dealer to another one that is a customer of mine. They did a couple of hundred better on the car price and the trade in.
Of course that all depends on the popularity of the vehicle. If someone will pay over MSRP, then that is what the car is worth.
I wish you well, purchasing a new car can be nerve racking and you don't want to wake up the next day and feel like you've been had. And be ready to spend at least few hours at the dealership.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I was told years ago by my fleet buyer to aim for 7.5% off MSRP, so the sell price is right about there. I did slightly better with my 2018 I purchased in October of that year. I took the papers from one dealer to another one that is a customer of mine. They did a couple of hundred better on the car price and the trade in.
Of course that all depends on the popularity of the vehicle. If someone will pay over MSRP, then that is what the car is worth.
I wish you well, purchasing a new car can be nerve racking and you don't want to wake up the next day and feel like you've been had. And be ready to spend at least few hours at the dealership.

7.5% is a good percentage if that is before rebates/financing.

 

[dejen3303]

7.5% is a good percentage if that is before rebates/financing.

My dealer got me there with rebates and some sort of "coupon". I didn't care how it got there and I didn't have to dicker. Actually it was a pretty good experience except we were there for over 4 hours. What I hate is the BS second sticker where you end up paying full price and think it's a deal. We went to those dealerships and did test drives with no intention of purchasing.

 

[peterk9]

Over 4 hours! I don't think any of mine took more than 30 minutes.

Peter

 

[jerraz]

My dealer got me there with rebates and some sort of "coupon". I didn't care how it got there and I didn't have to dicker. Actually it was a pretty good experience except we were there for over 4 hours. What I hate is the BS second sticker where you end up paying full price and think it's a deal. We went to those dealerships and did test drives with no intention of purchasing.

I’ve also never gotten out of a dealer in under 4 hours, I think Peter is a Ford employee

 

[peterk9]

I’ve also never gotten out of a dealer in under 4 hours, I think Peter is a Ford employee

Nope. Never have been. I retired 18 years ago at 55. I just don't get into haggling. If the deal is acceptable to me, I take it. Been dealing with the same salesperson for the last 4 vehicles. Small family owned dealership for more than 65 years.

Peter

 

[dejen3303]

I’ve also never gotten out of a dealer in under 4 hours, I think Peter is a Ford employee

Let's see if I can recall all of them. All the new cars.
1978 Datsun 200SX. Lived in Lawton OK (stationed at Ft Sill) Bought the car in Wichita Falls off the showroom floor, no test drive. All day affair with financing and getting the down payment, not to mention the 2+ hours RT. Great salesman and a great deal. Wouldn't let us leave the lot, stopped us when we were walking over to Mazda.
1986 Ford Escort, Galpin Ford. Financed. Ran late on the trade in value and amount owed to GMAC. 2 day affair. Salesman recommended by a personal friend. OK deal.
1991 Saturn. #1792 off the production line. San Jose CA. The sales guy pointed to the MSRP and said "That's the price" wrote a check for $14,000 and change. Took them a week to cash it. I asked them about a perk for paying cash and the sales manager told me to pick out some Saturn Merch. I used that gym bag for years. That was about 2 hours. Best new car buying experience. I was sad to see them go.
1998 Dodge Ram 150. Plain Jane truck with a tow package. Financed no trade. My friend and neighbor was a salesman at the dealership in Hollister Ca. "$500. over invoice" we had to drive to Salinas and pick it up. Most of a day.
2001 Dodge Intrepid R/T. Financed, no trade. Same deal as the pickup but the car was in stock, about 3 hours
2011 GMC Acadia Denali. Paid cash, no trade. About 4 hours. What a piece of junk that car was. If it was not such a POS I would still own it, It was in the shop more than the fore mentioned cars put together. I did love that car and sometimes miss it. Smoother than the Explorer and quieter.
2018 Ford Explorer. Financed with trade. Had all my ducks in a row and an appointment. Still took forever.