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Why cant Ford Dealers post HONEST Prices

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1turbofocus

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
My Wife wants a new 2012 Focus and with our car burning I started looking on ebay and other places for what she wanted

I got very frustrated very quick when I would see posted prices on new Ford 12/13 Focus and call only to find out that the price they posted you couldnt buy the car for because I didnt qualify for all the rebates but I dont know anyone that could

Dealers are adding up ALL the rebates Ford offers (which no one can get them all ) and posted that as there sale price , I couldnt even get a lower price then advertised with "D" plan and the almost 2900 there is in rebates on the 2012/13 (2013 has a 395.00 more rebate then the 2012) right now

Almost 4 Hrs on the phone and dozens of calls and not one Focus could I buy for the advertised price they had on the net

A few of the dealers wouldnt even give all the rebates that were out there , I was very shocked

Anyone else run into this as well ?

Tom
 
#2 ·
I think this is pretty typical among most dealers, regardless of Ford or not. There is a Dodge dealer close to me that advertises a price, but then you add on their freight cost of $1200 and take away Military (I a not) and College (I graduated a long time ago) and well, you have their sale price plus $2500!
My local Ford dealer is pretty simple, just take invoice minus all rebates and you got your price. Now, I know they get holdback and I am ok with that, they have bills to pay.

For for a 2013 Ford Focus there is $2000 rebate, $395 Sync/Sound rebate, Owner Loyalty or Conquest for $500. Also, I know of a SDI rebate in my area for $300 and then I have a private cash offer of $750. Add them all up and well, that is $3945 in rebates off of Invoice price. Works out pretty good, especially for a "lower" cost vehicle like the Focus. I am trying to decide between a Focus, Escape and Edge at the moment.
 
#3 ·
I ran into this with 'college student' and 'active military' rebates years ago. Not surprising that some of them are still riding that tired old train. They think if they can get you in the door, they've got you. I was a disappointment to them when I walked. Stand by your principles since some dealerships appear to have none.
 
#5 ·
1turbofocus said:
My Wife wants a new 2012 Focus and with our car burning I started looking on ebay and other places for what she wanted

I got very frustrated very quick when I would see posted prices on new Ford 12/13 Focus and call only to find out that the price they posted you couldnt buy the car for because I didnt qualify for all the rebates but I dont know anyone that could

Dealers are adding up ALL the rebates Ford offers (which no one can get them all ) and posted that as there sale price , I couldnt even get a lower price then advertised with "D" plan and the almost 2900 there is in rebates on the 2012/13 (2013 has a 395.00 more rebate then the 2012) right now

Almost 4 Hrs on the phone and dozens of calls and not one Focus could I buy for the advertised price they had on the net

A few of the dealers wouldnt even give all the rebates that were out there , I was very shocked

Anyone else run into this as well ?

Tom
Click to expand...
A local Chevy dealer here in St. Louis is running ads about this very thing - other dealers luring you in with "rebates you don't qualify for." He then gives a price, and says this is without rebates.

Of course, he probably lures you in with a low price on a car that doesn't even have carpeting. [;)]
 
#6 ·
There are companies that can negotiate a price for you, they charge you a flat fee for this service ($400 I believe), but they know all the tricks and rebates available and can most likely get you an awesome price. You should call one of them and find out how it works, how much it costs and if they can't get you the price you want, can you get your fee back.
Do a search for auto brokers in your area and see if it meets your needs.
 
#7 ·
1turbofocus said:
My Wife wants a new 2012 Focus and with our car burning I started looking on ebay and other places for what she wanted

I got very frustrated very quick when I would see posted prices on new Ford 12/13 Focus and call only to find out that the price they posted you couldnt buy the car for because I didnt qualify for all the rebates but I dont know anyone that could

Dealers are adding up ALL the rebates Ford offers (which no one can get them all ) and posted that as there sale price , I couldnt even get a lower price then advertised with "D" plan and the almost 2900 there is in rebates on the 2012/13 (2013 has a 395.00 more rebate then the 2012) right now

Almost 4 Hrs on the phone and dozens of calls and not one Focus could I buy for the advertised price they had on the net

A few of the dealers wouldnt even give all the rebates that were out there , I was very shocked

Anyone else run into this as well ?

Tom
Click to expand...
Edmunds comes up with a pretty accurate local price for your area. Use that figure in your negotiation, and you'll be fine.
 
#8 ·
Dealers are independent businesses. They do not have to do much except please Ford with paying for the cars THEY BUY FROM FORD.
So they can 'do' just about anything they want. Within the law.
Then you have the individual salesman, who may just think the caller is a 'tire kicker' and ignore them, and/or just give them some BS to make them go away. They may consider you not worth the bother. Really.

When I bought my 2012 last year in Aug 2011, I found two dealers salespeople were basically not even interested in showing me a car.
The third was, but then stalled for hours on some trivial thing instead of actually seeing if they could get the car i wanted. (color, and manual tranny)
So I walked out.
I found MY car online, texted the salesman who was available online, and made the appt. and 60 mile trip to buy the car that afternoon. No hassle.
Why the first two dealers did not want to even give me the time of day. Hell do I know.
Dealers are full of idiot salesmen. Maybe the owners cousins?? Who knows.
Some are stupid, some churly, some smarmy some blatant liars.. Only a few decent ones IMO.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Me... I had rather see $23,865.00 on the sticker/advertised then find out I get rebates of 3945.00 making it $19,920.00

Then seeing it advertised for $18,127 only to find out its going to cost me $19,920.00

To get the $18,127.00 I would have to be
Student
Military
Own a Focus or changing over from a Diff brand
Sync/sound rebate
Then O I am sorry sir , your price went from $18,127.00 to $19,920.00 you didnt qualify for all the rebates , I couldnt even buy it for "D" plan and rebates for $18,127.00 its insane


I did find a Ford dealer in Houston Mac Haik that hasnt given me any flack yet , been straight forward and actually acts like they want to sell me a 2013 Tit Focus

Tom
 
#10 ·
What does the car you're interested in sticker for? My 5 speed Candy Blue 203A SE hatch with Winter package, Sport package, and Sunroof stickered for $22350 and I got it for around $18500, which was basically invoice - 2k rebate - $500 private cash. You can't get the full $750 private cash with the Focus. That only applies to more expensive Fords. It says right on the $750 coupon in small print "$500 on Fiesta and Focus."

Most of the military, student, owner loyalty, insurance, etc. rebates are not stackable anyway. You can only use one. The brochure coupon is one of the only ones you can use with X plan, and it's Z and D plan ineligible.

I did a lot of research, and it appears invoice minus rebates is about as good as you can do on a Focus, at least the lower optioned ones. I probably could have saved a little more if I wasn't so picky, but I wanted a 5 speed SE hatch with a sunroof, and they're REALLY hard to find. There was one within 500 miles, so I was pretty happy to get it for invoice, actually.
 
#12 ·
Dealer perception is still stuck in the old-days. One of my friends was a manager of a gas station when he was eighteen; he was able to squirrel away a tad over ten thousand in the few years he ran that location... and then he took his "bank account" to 5-6 local Ford dealers (one of which I was a salesperson at at the time) to order a 2003 SVT Cobra: my managers all told me to "un-ass" that customer and find someone who could buy a car!

I tried all the managers but they all took him for a dumb kid and yelled at me for wasting my time with him... and he came back some weeks later with his Egg Yolk Yellow SVT w/ his name on the window sticker (Built For:). He ended up putting $15k cash down on the build!

It's usually the managers calling those type of shots, though Tom... the salespeople just learn to exist between the managers decisions!
 
#13 ·
I bought my '13 with D-plan + rebates. Out the door for $23,200 after a sticker of $28,600. But I am, at 29 and in college, a full time student and disabled vet. I didn't qualify for either discount with D-plan. [:(] But I was happy with the deal I got at a dealer I can trust.

There were dealers in town that would not honor D-plan plus rebates. Each dealership, by my understanding, works under their own set of morals and conduct business accordingly. If you find a good one, keep them.
 
#14 ·
jdubhack said:
Each dealership, by my understanding, works under their own set of morals and conduct business accordingly.
Click to expand...
True that. My dealer said my X-plan was only good for $1k off the sticker. I printed off what was on the website and was like "Umm... no."

In hindsight, I should have left right then...
 
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#15 ·
Car prices are out of control. I bought my 03 power premium. Fully loaded brand new for 11 even. Now I am a bit of a wheeler dealer, but 11 won't buy you anything now.
 
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#17 ·
Some dealers are stuck in the past, some are not. But that's the advantage to using one of the plan prices. I walked into the dealership with my X-Plan PIN, had the dealer find me the exact Focus I wanted (almost 300 miles away) and they had it at the dealer the next day (Saturday) so I could take it home. $22,375 sticker, $21,830 out the door after tax, title, and license fees. $500 cash incentive at the time (10/28/11).
 
#18 ·
When I bought my '13 SE last month, the MSRP was $22,010 and I got them to give me X plan pricing, which was like $1000 or $1500 off, as well as the $1500 in rebates at the time that was available. I also talked them in to giving me $1,000 over the initial trade in price they was going to give me, which allowed me to get my GAP insurance without increasing my payment any (actually even with GAP, my payment was about $5 cheaper then what they was originally going to have it at without GAP). They also was the only dealer I found in my area that worked to get me financed and did it with no money down. Which was a next to impossible task with my credit score being about 550 (terrible). No other dealer would even try to get me financed even with a co-signer unless I had about $5,000 for a down payment.
 
#19 ·
jdubhack said:
There were dealers in town that would not honor D-plan plus rebates. Each dealership, by my understanding, works under their own set of morals and conduct business accordingly.
Click to expand...
If you find a dealership that will not honor any plan, be it A, D, X or Z report them to Ford. They are under contract with ford to honor all qualified plan customers. If they don't, they can and will be reprimanded.

There was a dealership around the Cleveland area that used to be a huge Ford dealer (Clarke Ford in Hudson) that was caught doing that very thing and ford pulled their franchise license. They now sell Hyundai's and VW's because no american car manufacturer will touch them.
 
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#20 ·
Our local Ford dealer had an advertised internet price that was $4100 off on the Ti hatchback we bought. We went in with the internet prices printed out, drove a couple of the cars, wife picked one, gave them the printed coupon, they wrote it up and we drove home with it.

I like it when they keep it simple.
 
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