Dealing with dealers
 

I'm getting ready to trade in my Highlander on a new Escape. I want a Titanium with "safe and smart" and tow package(but no sunroof or 19" wheels). This seems to be a rare combination, so I am resigned to a special order. I have a subtotal of MSRP added up, and the current factory incentives. Edmund says my old car has a trade-in value between 8k and 12k. I am thinking of printing out a spreadsheet of this list and taking it to three large dealers in the Tampa area and let them bid for my business. Does this work any more?

Welcome to the site..

Good to go to the Dealer prepared, and ready to grind :)

I had my 05 F250 CC 6.0 built, loaded with options, and my trade was a very low mileage 03 S/C 6.0.
Trade in values rarely work out for the owner, but the dealers have some room to work if the trade is lower mileage, clean In/Out no body issues, tires good etc. Meaning if they can run it through their shop and not have to absorb any related costs before putting it on their lot. Generally,, if they give you a higher price north of trade in, closer to what you want, the end price your paying for the new vehicle is either too high or offset to accommodate your trade in demand. Private sales are much more fair to the the seller...

When I purchased my new F250 I had in mind what I wanted for the 05. It was ‘extremely clean’ and truly not a scratch, ran/ drove like new, mileage was at 174k. I looked it up in Kelley, NADA etc and they fell short of what I though the value should be given its condition and option level and what I wanted for it. I had to adjust s bit and be realistic..

I was dealing with 3 dealers. Two offered me very low book right about 9k,, and the dance was it was too high of mileage to put on their lot and would be sold off to a wholesaler. Reasonable,, but there had to meat on the bone for all. They did offer a better trade in to try and make a sale, but the price paid would reflect the higher trade.

Ok, next dealer said they’d love to have the truck on their lot, thought it would sell very quick to the local ranchers and such. Trade, was now about 11k.. This was the dealer i bought my new truck from, but like the others the truck would have to be run through the shop for inspection, and in honesty could have used some tires to make it lot worthy. But already clean enough it would have looked right at home sitting on the line with other detailed up rigs.. Had they bumped the offer up 1 maybe 2k probably would have closed the deal..

In fact, one of the dealers tried to sell me (on dealer trade) the very truck I eventually bought for 4K more than the dealer I bought it from. They would have made big money on my trade, and more on the sale of the new 250. The dealer I ended up buying from, worked hard to get me the best deal they could from the get go,, and did move a bit more under pressure... :)
But, still not will to take the gouge for such a georgous truck, I put it up for sale locally. The truck ‘sold itself in 4 days’ for 15,500.00. Asking was 16k, and we took off 500 for tires... I have no doubt it would have made the dealers a big return, weather it sold wholesale, or otherwise.. Understandable risk on their part since even though their used most are sold ‘as is’, but they do have some liability.. But, they missed an opertunity to be more fair, and lost....
Selling to private parties can be some work, take time, and the dealers hedge on that bet and a trade in is just easier. Not that it can’t benifit both parties. If the dealer your working with is decent, the car being traded is sound and represents well, they should be able to meet you at a price fair for both.....

A nice thing about ordering a vehicle is that you get a vehicle the way you want it, not the way some Dealer thinks you want it to give them a higher profit. Then you're stuck with a vehicle that you either spend a lot of $$$ trying to put on what you could have ordered hoping what you add will play nice with todays electronics. Or spend the rest of the time you own the vehicle despising it with you would have just spent the extra to get it the way you wanted it.

If you order a vehicle, you will be locked into any incentive(s) available at the time you do the contract to order the vehicle. At the time of delivery, if there are better incentives, you can re-write the contract to take advantage of the better incentive(s).

As an example: I ordered my 2015 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew and was locked into $5500 worth of incentives. At the time of delivery, Ford had a 0% interest that was a better deal, so I took that. The Dealer tried to steer me into taking the $5500 trying to tout how that was a better deal because I would be financing less then if I went with the 0%. I said "Right, take the $5500 and pay $7200 in interest...No thanks, I'll stick with the 0% and pay less overall".

I ordered mine with what I wanted:

3.5L Ecoboost
2WD as it would be living in Arizona
3.15 Gears w/E-Lock rear axle
36 Gallon Fuel tank
Earth grey interior w/Bucket seats
Bronze Fire exterior
Sony 700 Watt sound system w/NAV

Anything else was just extra to me.

The only aftermarket items I added was a color matched fiberglass tonneau cover, Bed Rug, S&B Intake, UPR Dual Catch Can System and an AMSOIL Dual Remote By-Pass oil filter system.

Ordering deadline
 

I've now been to four dealers and gotten five different stories on ordering deadline(Around April 18th):
- "You have to order a 2018 by next Tuesday."
- "Deadline is already past, but I can pull in some favors and squeeze yours in, but you have to do it today."
- "Deadline?! I never hard of any !"
- " . . . this Thursday." (This from the same dealer that told me Tuesday!)
Sounds lik e a sleazy ploy to rush me into buying. Is there any real deadline?

Late response due to playing in Hawaii & Arizona...:)

Sounds like it,

I ordered my 2015 Lariat the 3rd week of August 2015 and it just made the ordering deadline for 2015 orders.

I would call some different Dealers, even in another state just to see what they say the ordering cut-off date is.

Wish it didn't have to be that way dealing with dealers, but unfortunately it is :S

And they wonder why people show via the internet...

Dealing with dealers is one tough game, not everyone is intended to win, sorry bro it's the truth. However, if you are lucky, you still can get a good trade-off price for your vehicle. Good Luck.