pre pre sales

[rfruth]

Monday (6-1) I have an 'appointment' with a vulture (er salesman) its been all e-mail to this point - like most people I want a car (FFH in my case) with as little BS as possible. I don't expect a big discount on a 2010 & yes I know the lojack ESP etc pitch is coming , I don't have a problem walking if gut feeling is wrong and am in no big hurry (my hopefully trade in runs fine) but any questions you wished any of you had asked up front ?

[asperities]

I ordered my FFH right before the 4/1 deadline for the 3400 credit. I sent out emails to 5 dealers, pointing out that this was an unallocated order, and offereing 750 above invoice. The dealer I ordered from accepted my offer and only half-heartedly tried the various packs and add ons.

 

Mistakes -- yes. I wanted leather and my wife wanted a sun roof. We ordered the full 502 package rather than the 501 and leather. Based on discounts available, the nav portion wound up costing only 900 or so. Not worth it. The new upgrade to the Sync for directions, news, weather, etc does not apply to cars with the Nav. We get to to pay more for less in the way of features. The nav itself is fine, the POI database is useless. This was the only waste in ordering the car from my perspective.

 

 

 

 

Monday (6-1) I have an 'appointment' with a vulture (er salesman) its been all e-mail to this point - like most people I want a car (FFH in my case) with as little BS as possible. I don't expect a big discount on a 2010 & yes I know the lojack ESP etc pitch is coming , I don't have a problem walking if gut feeling is wrong and am in no big hurry (my hopefully trade in runs fine) but any questions you wished any of you had asked up front ?

[maxpower220]

If the car is not at the dealer, go straight to the new car manager. Don't bother with a salesman. Know exactly what you want on the car. Have a realistic view on what you trade in is worth. Be prepared on exactly what you want to pay and what you want for your trade-in.

If the new car manager wants you to work through a salesman, go to another dealer.

 

I checked the websites for my cars trade-in value. I deducted that from MSRP for a price that I was comfortable with. I went to the dealer, told the new car manager exactly what I wanted and what I wanted to pay and that was the only deal that I would do; no counter offers. If he could do it fine, if not I would go to another dealer. If takes about 15-20 minutes. If you order a car or get it transferred from another dealer, you usually don't get the "undercoating, pinstripes,etc" fees attempt to add on to the price.

[robm15]

Monday (6-1) I have an 'appointment' with a vulture (er salesman) its been all e-mail to this point - like most people I want a car (FFH in my case) with as little BS as possible. I don't expect a big discount on a 2010 & yes I know the lojack ESP etc pitch is coming , I don't have a problem walking if gut feeling is wrong and am in no big hurry (my hopefully trade in runs fine) but any questions you wished any of you had asked up front ?

 

Before you go, get a good idea what your trade in is worth. Check Kelley Blue Book. Check craigslist to get an idea what others are asking in terms of price for models similar to your car. If you do order, try to sell your trade in your self, you'll have several months to wait, and lots of time to sell it. You can get several thousand more selling it your self.

[NewNole2001]

Before you go, get a good idea what your trade in is worth. Check Kelley Blue Book. Check craigslist to get an idea what others are asking in terms of price for models similar to your car. If you do order, try to sell your trade in your self, you'll have several months to wait, and lots of time to sell it. You can get several thousand more selling it your self.

I actually have a really good story about my trade in value. None of my friends believe me till they see the paperwork.

 

I ordered a 502A FFH at 30,800 which isn't an amazing deal, so I decided I would push on the trade-in. Blue book on my trade-in was $1,200 in perfect condition being sold by a dealer and $700 for a trade-in. At the age and miles of the car (312k), the condition of the car didn't really effect trade-in blue book value, which is good, since the car had multiple dents. There were no mechanical issues with the car; however.

 

I went in to get a quote on the car, with a goal of getting about $500 and free window tinting. I was quoted $2,000 and still pressed andn got free window tinting.

 

I was ecstatic but didn't let on to the dealer at all and when my car finally came in, I noticed on the paper that the trade-in value had actually increased to $2,300. I look at the ridiculously high trade-in as helping sweeten the purchase price by about $1,300, so I figure I now got the car for $29,500 w/a $1k trade-in, which is $350 above invoice.

 

I won't say the dealer, but if you look around the 'Net for my posts you will know. I was extremely happy with them, and will definitely be back to them if I decide to buy another Ford.