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Ask a Ford salesman anything (Incentives, Inventory, etc)

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Discussion starter · #1,621 ·
suss6052 said:
I'm not a salesman but that meant that they were deducting the cost of the sync system from the MSRP. It amounted to a $395 dollar reduction in the sticker price of the car after ford decided to include sync as standard on the SE and above.
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any Focus with syn has been reduced $395 so that is correct.
 
#1,623 ·
Hi guys,

I'm on the verge of purchasing a 2012 Focus and just wanted to fill in any gaps I missed in doing my hw in buying this car.

I'm interested in a 2012 red SE HB auto with no other options. I'm going to finance with $0 down (unless there is an incentive to finance through Ford credit) and will talk to a credit union soon. I've been using truecar.com per the recommendations from some other posts I've seen on this forum already and found the following prices:

MSRP: 20,190
Invoice: 19,466
Average Price Paid in my area: 17,318 (After $2k rebates)

So other than the $2k rebate, I think I'm also eligible for the $500 student discount (I'm a full time grad student). I've read that there is also a down payment matching, where Ford will match your down payment amount up to $500? Also, are there any extra incentives for financing through ford credit, a $500 credit I read somewhere? Not military. Any other incentives I may be eligible for that I'm missing?

I've been quoted $15,715 (including destination and the $1500 rebate, but not TTL or any of the other incentives) for the Focus S so that gave me a number to play around in my head. After doing some more research since I got the quote, I found out about the extra $500 rebate on SE's and decided I'm going to try my hardest to get a SE HB on my limited student budget during this clearance event.

So MSRP is telling me there is ~$2k difference between the SE hatch and S. Add in the extra $500 you get from the SE rebate and that's a $1.5k difference. Based on this, I'm thinking the dealership that quoted me $15,715 for the Focus S will be willing to settle on $17,200 on a SE HB; take off another $500 for the student discount = $16,700.

After all is said and done I'm hoping for OTD price of ~$18k, though I'm going to offer $17 - 17.5 to see which dealerships will bite first.

The ultimate question is: did I miss anything? Is my rationale and math correct? Should I offer any lower or am I lowballing too hard already? Is any $ over the invoice price basically the only profit for the dealer?

Thanks in advance!
 
Discussion starter · #1,624 ·
slvelocity said:
Hi guys,

I'm on the verge of purchasing a 2012 Focus and just wanted to fill in any gaps I missed in doing my hw in buying this car.

I'm interested in a 2012 red SE HB auto with no other options. I'm going to finance with $0 down (unless there is an incentive to finance through Ford credit) and will talk to a credit union soon. I've been using truecar.com per the recommendations from some other posts I've seen on this forum already and found the following prices:

MSRP: 20,190
Invoice: 19,466
Average Price Paid in my area: 17,318 (After $2k rebates)

So other than the $2k rebate, I think I'm also eligible for the $500 student discount (I'm a full time grad student). I've read that there is also a down payment matching, where Ford will match your down payment amount up to $500? Also, are there any extra incentives for financing through ford credit, a $500 credit I read somewhere? Not military. Any other incentives I may be eligible for that I'm missing?

I've been quoted $15,715 (including destination and the $1500 rebate, but not TTL or any of the other incentives) for the Focus S so that gave me a number to play around in my head. After doing some more research since I got the quote, I found out about the extra $500 rebate on SE's and decided I'm going to try my hardest to get a SE HB on my limited student budget during this clearance event.

So MSRP is telling me there is ~$2k difference between the SE hatch and S. Add in the extra $500 you get from the SE rebate and that's a $1.5k difference. Based on this, I'm thinking the dealership that quoted me $15,715 for the Focus S will be willing to settle on $17,200 on a SE HB; take off another $500 for the student discount = $16,700.

After all is said and done I'm hoping for OTD price of ~$18k, though I'm going to offer $17 - 17.5 to see which dealerships will bite first.

The ultimate question is: did I miss anything? Is my rationale and math correct? Should I offer any lower or am I lowballing too hard already? Is any $ over the invoice price basically the only profit for the dealer?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I can't find the MSRP of the vehicle you're looking at but found a 203A SE sport pkg manual for $20,075 which is close enough for comparision.

Invoice is $19,113 less the $2,000 rebate and $500 for college student and you're at $16,613 plus tax and fees. If I remember right California has pretty high tax so you might be able to get to $18,000 OTD but it's hard to say without knowing all the info. I think your offer is right at invoice if not slightly below, most dealers would take it but $17,000 I would pass personally.
 
#1,625 ·
Hey Ira,

Thanks for the quick response. If you don't mind, can you explain a bit how your margins and profits are counted as a dealer? Is it anything above invoice? Just trying to understand why 17k otd may work for some dealers but not yourself.

Oh and tax is 8.35 here. I estimated 1.5k to be TTL.
 
Discussion starter · #1,626 ·
slvelocity said:
Hey Ira,

Thanks for the quick response. If you don't mind, can you explain a bit how your margins and profits are counted as a dealer? Is it anything above invoice? Just trying to understand why 17k otd may work for some dealers but not yourself.

Oh and tax is 8.35 here. I estimated 1.5k to be TTL.
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Most dealers will take invoice less holdback and if they are below that number more than likely they will not take the deal. Same can be said for if they have to trade for it from another dealer. Sometimes they cannot trade they have to buy it and we lose holdback so we are in it for invoice plus shipping.
I get paid off anything above invoice, not holdback so you buy it for invoice I get a slap on the back and $100 and I move onto the next deal. Don't get me wrong we do deals like this all the time but we are a 'for profit' company so no goodwill here.
 
#1,627 ·
Thanks Ira, that clears things up a bit. So if salesman only get paid for any difference above invoice, whats their incentive to sell it at invoice less holdback? Is the holdback for the focus I mentioned ~$600? (I used MSRP x 3%, but didn't include destination fee).

Also, are you aware of any leasing incentives or down payment matching from dealerships right now? I punched my zip code in the ford website but I don't see anything like that popping up, though I see people mentioning it here.
 
#1,628 · (Edited)
Hey imccrea;
I'm trying to play how low can I go with these two Focuses: SEL 5 door with 301A, no other cost options and a SEL 5 door with 303A and the cargo management package,no other cost options.
The offers I got are $21,512 for the former and $22,095 for the latter(different dealerships).

I'm planning to finance via FMC, my family has a lease with Hyundai, i'm a first time buyer,I'm military but I haven't graduated college yet[?|]. I'm in california, Los Angeles county.
So my questions are:
How much lower can I go for both cars? Build dates show that they've been sitting around for 2-3 months...
The dealer told me that I can't combine competitive lease and down payment match,is that true?
If I go for the 303A equipped model, do you think I would be able to convince the dealer to keep the cargo management package(yeah it's $115 but I would rather not pay that much for a bunch of cubbies)?
 
Discussion starter · #1,629 ·
bakedpatato said:
Hey imccrea;
I'm trying to play how low can I go with these two Focuses: SEL 5 door with 301A, no other cost options and a SEL 5 door with 303A and the cargo management package,no other cost options.
The offers I got are $21,512 for the former and $22,095 for the latter(different dealerships).

I'm planning to finance via FMC, my family has a lease with Hyundai, i'm a first time buyer,I'm military but I haven't graduated college yet[?|]. I'm in california, Los Angeles county.
So my questions are:
How much lower can I go for both cars? Build dates show that they've been sitting around for 2-3 months...
The dealer told me that I can't combine competitive lease and down payment match,is that true?
If I go for the 303A equipped model, do you think I would be able to convince the dealer to keep the cargo management package(yeah it's $115 but I would rather not pay that much for a bunch of cubbies)?
Click to expand...
a 301A has a MSRP of $21,700 if you have the $2,000 rebate the most you can combine in rebates would add up to $2,500 (pick either military, comp lease, college). You can't remove options on a vehicle that is already built, I would think the 301A could be purchased for $20,700 before incentives and the 303A would be $23,100 before the incentives.
 
Discussion starter · #1,630 ·
slvelocity said:
Thanks Ira, that clears things up a bit. So if salesman only get paid for any difference above invoice, whats their incentive to sell it at invoice less holdback? Is the holdback for the focus I mentioned ~$600? (I used MSRP x 3%, but didn't include destination fee).

Also, are you aware of any leasing incentives or down payment matching from dealerships right now? I punched my zip code in the ford website but I don't see anything like that popping up, though I see people mentioning it here.
Click to expand...
Just to sell a car, I rather sell a car and get a unit count than they buy from my competition. Lease incentives are $250 currently, no payment matching or anything unless you are a first time buyer.
 
#1,631 ·
imccrea said:
a 301A has a MSRP of $21,700 if you have the $2,000 rebate the most you can combine in rebates would add up to $2,500 (pick either military, comp lease, college). You can't remove options on a vehicle that is already built, I would think the 301A could be purchased for $20,700 before incentives and the 303A would be $23,100 before the incentives.
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Eh, I was hoping I would get at least $3K in incentives. Oh well. I was hoping to be under $20k OTD for the 301A(I guess I could if I could convince him to part with it for $20,600 or so...this guy has 3 of these 301A 5doors!). Thanks though!

And the sticker shows the MSRP at $21,300, perhaps prices are a bit different in CO? ($21,300+$1170 for 301A +$795 dest -$570 for sync/equip =$22,695 MSRP)
 
Discussion starter · #1,632 ·
bakedpatato said:
Eh, I was hoping I would get at least $3K in incentives. Oh well. I was hoping to be under $20k OTD for the 301A(I guess I could if I could convince him to part with it for $20,600 or so...this guy has 3 of these 301A 5doors!). Thanks though!

And the sticker shows the MSRP at $21,300, perhaps prices are a bit different in CO? ($21,300+$1170 for 301A +$795 dest -$570 for sync/equip =$22,695 MSRP)
Click to expand...
that is base MSRP before any options, $21,700 is what I consider a happy deal based on invoice. Pricing is consistant unless it's an old build car.

Top line MSRP is $23,265
factory discounts are $570 bringing it down to $22,695 for a base 301A.
 
#1,633 ·
Hi Ira,

What would be the invoice for these 2 cars ( need vin's? ):

2012 Sedan + 203A + auto+ sport + dest($795) = $20570 MSRP

2012 HB + 203A + auto + sport + winter pkg + dest($795) = $21,740 MSRP

thx ... believe it or not it's pretty hard to figure out because the numbers don't jive with the major web sites
 
#1,634 ·
Gotta question. Phil Long Ford in Motor City Colorado Springs has marked up the Focus ST2 $5,000. They have also added almost $1,000 in dealer installed stuff like undercoating and a moonroof. Would any dealer cut into an ST2 for a moonroof? That almost seems like it would be standard. They were also telling me that they were going to install the "euro AWD" for an additional $7,500. My understanding is that there has not been an OEM Focus with AWD, ever. This is the only dealer in town who has an ST, but I don't think that I will buy from them, they seem like a "shady-rip-off" company to do business with. I am really considering the ST, however there is not a reputable place in town where I would buy one from. Phil Long Ford needs a kick in the ass
 
#1,636 ·
I'm sure this has been asked but can't find the answer.

Is the ST eligible for the A-plan? and if so, what could I expect from that discount for an ST with an msrp on the window of $28,460?
 
#1,640 ·
pyroinsa said:
Gotta question. Phil Long Ford in Motor City Colorado Springs has marked up the Focus ST2 $5,000. They have also added almost $1,000 in dealer installed stuff like undercoating and a moonroof. Would any dealer cut into an ST2 for a moonroof? That almost seems like it would be standard. They were also telling me that they were going to install the "euro AWD" for an additional $7,500. My understanding is that there has not been an OEM Focus with AWD, ever. This is the only dealer in town who has an ST, but I don't think that I will buy from them, they seem like a "shady-rip-off" company to do business with. I am really considering the ST, however there is not a reputable place in town where I would buy one from. Phil Long Ford needs a kick in the ass
Click to expand...

THIS is ridiculous. I'd ban them from the forum, sponsor or not. They can do what they want with their car, but WTF.
 
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