In November I was looking into buying a new truck. I thought I could get a good Black Friday/ end of the model year deal and the truck I had was still pretty valuable for a trade in. I had been doing research since August and knew exactly what features I wanted on a new truck. I also knew that my 2010 F-150 with 43,000 miles was in good enough shape to last a lot longer if I didn’t get a good trade in quote.
I took my truck to Jerry Taylor Ford in my hometown of Grove City. They said that they would give me $17,000 on a trade in. They mentioned the accident that I was involved in in 2013 as a reason their quote was slightly lower than the average Kelly Blue Book trade in value for that vehicle. I went inside and started pricing a new 2015 F-150 with one of the sales representatives. He was very nice and seemed helpful. He answered all my questions and was able to find a couple of trucks on lots in the region that fit the description of what I wanted. The end of the year/Black Friday deals and incentives were great. The salesman even told be that I could get an extra $1,000 if I shared the title with my dad because he had a private offer direct from Ford. I left the dealership telling them I would think about it and talk to my parents. I was pretty happy with the incentives but not with the trade in quote.
My dad suggested to me that since all the incentives were direct from Ford and not the individual dealerships that I should try another dealership to see if I could get a better trade in deal. They next day I went to Phil Fitts Ford in New Castle. They looked at my truck and said they would give me $18,700 (I don’t think they knew about the accident) for a trade and also found the same trucks that Jerry Taylor did.
That afternoon, I called Jerry Taylor Ford and told them I had been offered $1,700 more buy another dealership. I then asked if they would consider matching it. The salesman I had been working with surprised me by immediately saying that they “would be happy to match that offer.” I was happy with that response and told him to order the new truck. I was happy that I was getting a five year newer truck with a higher sticker price than my old one for over $100 less per month on 60 months financing. The salesman was also kind enough to suggest that I refinance with Grove City Area Federal Credit Union after a month of Ford financing to get a better Interest rate. I did this and it will save me about $900 in interest over the next five years.
I’m glad that I didn’t meet the stereotypical car salesman in this process. If I had I would probably still be driving my old truck and be very cautious about shopping for vehicles in the future.
BoweryJE22
Wow – I’m in the process of looking for a new car myself. My parents have always provided a vehicle to use, so this is my first experience. It sounds like being patient and generating competing bids can help drive the cost down significantly. Have you always done financing through major dealerships like Ford? I’m thinking I’ll end up going with an accord – but not sure if the financing route is optimal or not. I guess it depends on the quality/price of a used car.
Automotive sales is the first thing I think of when I think of a typical “salesman”. this is a very interesting to see how there are different buying methods salesman can push for.
I can definitely relate to this… I had to sell my truck last year and very similar. I learned a lot through it and how to manage selling a car in the future!