What should I offer?

[Venomous98Cobra]

Look for imperfections in the vehicle and use that as your ability to knock off the price. A really good way of bargaining prices is by saying you want the tax/title/tags/processing fee all included into the price. By making the dealership eat this, it can be a good way of getting anywhere between 600-1000 off.

Most people forget about that additional cost. So make the dealership eat it.

17,900 wouldn't be a bad price if your willing to afford it...based on the blue book price. Possibly go for something like, you want to go out the door with 18K and a warranty...something like a 4 year. A 4 year could run you around 2k so if you can get them to do the warranty and the tax, title, etc. then you could honestly have around 3k taken off.

I've done plenty of dealings with dealerships and just as of last week, I taught my sister and a co-worker how to bargain and dos and donts. My sister bought a 06 Jeep Cherokee for 11k that was priced at 11.9k. Out of that deal she got the tax, etc. and a 4 year - 48,000 warranty atop the lowered price.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is showing too much interest in a vehicle the first go round. I just hope you haven't do so already.

 

[Venomous98Cobra]

And to add on top of that, find a lesser experienced...usually younger person (if there is one) to deal with. Its usually easier to break someone that has less experience. Once you break them...you get the finance manager. These guys can be very stubborn and sometimes just flat out won't move until time passes. You can't break everyone to the point you want.

When I bought my 06 F-150 brand new...I was at the dealership for 3 hours and walked out with 3k added to my trade-in, 8,000 off the sticker and a low interest rate. They had a deal for 0% interest or 8k off...i got the best of both worlds...

 

[Quik Z06]

Lol always start low, but obviously not something ridiculous. I have bought numerous cars over the past few year's. no way in hell am I giving them anywhere near what they want. For example, when I bought my 03 Evo most stealerships were asking $10-15K over msrp. My Evo actually still had a $10K markup sticker on the window. I told them what I wanted to pay $30K OTD and they said no way, they were wanting in the $35K OTD range, so I said here's my # and left. Next day I got a call and they said we'll knock $1500 off, I said make it $30K otd and i'll come pick it up and hung up. Lol next day they said come get your car, got it for my price..

Point is, never give them what they want ESPECIALLY now, no way. There are plenty of dealerships and with as bad as their hurting, let them know your serious, but dont give in. I also noticed they tend to listen a bit more if you walk in pre-approved with a check in your hand or cash, whatever you prefer.

 

[Juruense]

The real trick to making a good deal is to not care and not fall in love with what you are trying to buy.

 

[matab14]

def somewhere in the 14 - 15 range.....There are a lot of good deals out there right now. I'd for sure stay with the 5.4....I speak from experience. It pulls so much better than the 4.6....

and 60k for mileage aint nothing! I got an 06 with 40k on it already. Never had a prob out of it!

 

[mysicman]

A friend who owns a reputable body/restoration shop once told me that the usual mark-up after buying cars at auction is $4-6k depending on vehicle. These would be lease buy-backs not pos. Granted this is in Canadian dollars and therefore prices but there is quite a mark-up. So when they say they can't budge take that with a grain of salt.

 

[svtsmo]

lol @ all these "experts" at getting their deals. remember one thing when you go. you can have all the confidence in the world, but these "clueless" car dealers play this game against other self proclaimed "negotiating experts" several dozen times a day, everyday

trust me, the worst job i ever had was the year and i half i spent selling at a local ford dealership. i've seen all the games. remember, the salesman wants to sell you the car because thats how they make money, its sale managers that try to make the biggest gross.
also, many of you don't realize this, but the part where you get raped the most is in the finance office. when you go to sign the papers and the finance manager tries to sell you warranties and extra stuff. my finance managers averaged $1700 in after-sales (that means n top of what they sold the car for) they will hold points on loans, sell warranties for $1500 when the cost is sometimes $700, etc... they are the real people you have to be weary of

but like someone said before, don't fall in love with one. but at the same time, the dealership, if they have any interest in making money, won't even begin the negotiations unless they land you on a car. but when you do, trust me, offering 4-5k under the asking price won't get you anywhere

 

[VENOM1]

lol @ all these "experts" at getting their deals. remember one thing when you go. you can have all the confidence in the world, but these "clueless" car dealers play this game against other self proclaimed "negotiating experts" several dozen times a day, everyday

trust me, the worst job i ever had was the year and i half i spent selling at a local ford dealership. i've seen all the games. remember, the salesman wants to sell you the car because thats how they make money, its sale managers that try to make the biggest gross.
also, many of you don't realize this, but the part where you get raped the most is in the finance office. when you go to sign the papers and the finance manager tries to sell you warranties and extra stuff. my finance managers averaged $1700 in after-sales (that means n top of what they sold the car for) they will hold points on loans, sell warranties for $1500 when the cost is sometimes $700, etc... they are the real people you have to be weary of

but like someone said before, don't fall in love with one. but at the same time, the dealership, if they have any interest in making money, won't even begin the negotiations unless they land you on a car. but when you do, trust me, offering 4-5k under the asking price won't get you anywhere

I couldn't agree more. I also was in the car business but I was a Sales Manager for a little over 6 years so let me try to help you as well.

You need to be educated before you go in and offer a number. I could show you all the numbers you want to see but still make A TON of money. Decide on what you want your payment to be. Once you have that decide on how long you would like to finance the vehicle for. Also try to get pre-qualified at your bank. Once you know the payment you want to be at, along with the term of the loan and what interest rate your bank has offered, do the math and figure out what the total out the door price will be including tax. Once you have this information use it to your advantage. Tell them that you are pre-qualified with your bank and the only way that you will finance the vehicle through them is if they beat your rate. Lie to them, tell them your rate is 1 point less then what it really is. Make your offer so that you're at least $2,000 below the out the door price that you initially calculated. When they present the numbers ask them to provide the same information that you figured out. Have them break down all the number, Selling price, Documentation Fee, Tax, Title, License, Term, and Interest Rate. Compare them to your numbers, now it's possible for you to make an educated decision.

Also, the only thing that I would ever suggest anyone ever buy in the finance office is GAP Insurance. The rest of the stuff that is sold in that office, is crap.

 

[Quik Z06]

lol @ all these "experts" at getting their deals. remember one thing when you go. you can have all the confidence in the world, but these "clueless" car dealers play this game against other self proclaimed "negotiating experts" several dozen times a day, everyday

trust me, the worst job i ever had was the year and i half i spent selling at a local ford dealership. i've seen all the games. remember, the salesman wants to sell you the car because thats how they make money, its sale managers that try to make the biggest gross.
also, many of you don't realize this, but the part where you get raped the most is in the finance office. when you go to sign the papers and the finance manager tries to sell you warranties and extra stuff. my finance managers averaged $1700 in after-sales (that means n top of what they sold the car for) they will hold points on loans, sell warranties for $1500 when the cost is sometimes $700, etc... they are the real people you have to be weary of

but like someone said before, don't fall in love with one. but at the same time, the dealership, if they have any interest in making money, won't even begin the negotiations unless they land you on a car. but when you do, trust me, offering 4-5k under the asking price won't get you anywhere

So this year and a half you spent selling car's was that recent? If not I dont think it really comes into play here. Look at the freakin economy, look at how bad the dealers and manufacturers are hurting, you think they dont want to sell a car. Obviously it wont be at any expense, but if there was ever a time to buy a car it's now. No way in hell I would put up with some salesman's bs. I would give him my price and walk across the street to the next dealer. Believe me, Ive bought at least 10 cars in the last couple years, so I think I would know a thing or two about negotiating. I have never paid what they are asking never.

As I mentioned before and so did Venom1 if possible get pre-approved. I know when I would walk in with a pre-approved check or cash, they would follow me around like little puppies. That let's them know your serious, and ready to buy. Again, do not pay anywhere near the $17K they are asking.

 

[rexisme]

So this year and a half you spent selling car's was that recent? If not I dont think it really comes into play here. Look at the freakin economy, look at how bad the dealers and manufacturers are hurting, you think they dont want to sell a car. Obviously it wont be at any expense, but if there was ever a time to buy a car it's now. No way in hell I would put up with some salesman's bs. I would give him my price and walk across the street to the next dealer. Believe me, Ive bought at least 10 cars in the last couple years, so I think I would know a thing or two about negotiating. I have never paid what they are asking never.

As I mentioned before and so did Venom1 if possible get pre-approved. I know when I would walk in with a pre-approved check or cash, they would follow me around like little puppies. That let's them know your serious, and ready to buy. Again, do not pay anywhere near the $17K they are asking.

Even better, they were asking $17,900. The OTD with the ford premium care warranty and taxes, they will not take less than $21k for the truck. The search continues.

 

[Coiled03]

To the OP:

Just for a data point, I bought an '07 F150 with 33K on it, not quite as fully optioned as what you're looking at, although still very nice, and got it out the door for just under 20K. I felt it was a good deal, considering the actual purchase price was about $18400, and suggested retail was $19100.