What discount to expect on special-ordered truck?

[RoyF]

I am hoping to trade my 2008 F350 diesel for a new truck in 2021. My wife's hip problem makes it very difficult for her to climb up into a four-wheel drive. All the trucks on local dealer's lots are four-wheel drive. Getting a two-wheel drive truck means placing a special order.

I want to be able to talk (more or less) intelligently about price with a dealer.

Does anyone have a idea about what kind of discount off the sticker price I might expect? (I know to start by asking or more than I expect.)

Buying a new $70,000+ truck is not something that I do every day.

[Dave_H_M]

to me it is how many bucks out the door (OTD).

I never mess around with all that book cooking.

Oh a good thought on the X Plan. Got mine that way, no book cooking and the price will be the same where ever you order.

[BB_TX]

Something else to try. Many dealer web sites have a “value my trade” icon. Click on it and let them give you an estimated trade in value. They will likely give a good number to draw you in. Print it out and take it with you.
When I bought my last truck I did that. They were already quoting $14,000 off MSRP so the question was how much they would give for my trade. They gave me a number much lower than what they did on line. I showed him the printout from their own web site of the value they quoted and they started making excuses for the lower number. Headed for the door and they bumped up the offer but still low. Headed for door again and they bumped up the number again. Headed for door again and they offered me within a few dollars of on line number. Debated whether to walk again, but it was close enough not to. Let them feel like they won a little.

[Michelle_S]

It's all a Numbers Game, % off MSRP, more for your trade than it's actually worth. The bottom line: If it a deal you can live with. Use internet sources such as Edmunds and work up a Dealer cost, then the MRF's site and work up what the list would be, figure out what you need for your trade and work the numbers to get a fair value. If you go into a Dealer and say I want that Truck, you're at their mercy. Do your research first.

[wing_zealot]

BB_TX wrote:

wing_zealot wrote:

bgum wrote:
Any time $10,000 off msrp. Certain times of year $15,000 off msrp.

Good Luck with that (unless your ordering a $80,000 truck).

I got my 2012 F350 FX4 CC LB, MSRP $62,000, for $14,000 off MSRP at the end of July 2012; end of model year and just as new 2013 trucks were arriving. Dealer was advertising $14,000 off MSRP off ANY superduty, even lower priced ones. I am sure there were both rebates and manufacturer/dealer incentives involved to clear the 2012’s.

That was 2012, today is a new reality; 6 months from now who knows.

[Old-Biscuit]

Itakethe5th2011 wrote:
You might want to do a little research as to the height of a RWD to a 4 wheel drive. My 2020 Chevrolet 2500HD is the same height as a 4 wheel drive. I had lower my last 2008 Chevrolet 2500HD 2" in the rear. The top of my bed rail is 5" higher than my old truck. My leafsprings on my 5th wheel already set on top of my axles, so I went to Trailerblocks.com and bought 3" blocks to raise my trailer up so it sits more level when pulling with new truck. My buddy has a 2010 F350 with a 3 1/2" lift kit, my bed rail is 1" higher than his bed rail.

Trailer shackles are weak point to begin with
Adding 3" blocks puts more stress on shackles/leaf sparing eyes especially when tight maneuvering and side torque on tires/suspension components.

Sub-frame lift is better method

[Mike134]

BB_TX wrote:
Always off invoice and never from MSRP. You can find MSRP and invoice pricing on web sites such as nada.com, edmunds.com. kbb.com, etc. Go on one of these and build the truck you want, print that out, with the MSRP and invoice pricing shown, and show that to your dealer. The dealer can sell for the invoice price and still make some profit as there is a thing called dealer holdback that is money the manufacturer gives to the dealer. Some dealers will order one for you for the invoice price. Some for a few hundred over. And check to see if the manufacturer is offering any rebates. That should come off the negotiated price above. Shop around. Different dealers will make different offers.

And the best times to buy are the last day of a month, the last day of a quarter, and best of all, the last day of the year. Dealer is trying to make monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales quotas for extra compensation from the manufacturer.

X2 this guy has good information for you. If your buying a Ford have the dealer run a program called Vincent, it will printout all the factory incentives you can use. If they act like they haven't heard of it tightly take hold of your wallet and leave. Holdback for Ford is 3% so even if sold at "invoice" that 50,000 truck gives them a $1500 profit, not counting other factory incentives the general public never learns about. I factory ordered my truck for $100 over "invoice" but then got a $3000 private offer from Ford in the mail which I used when the truck arrived so I guess you could say I paid $2900 under invoice.

[BB_TX]

wing_zealot wrote:

bgum wrote:
Any time $10,000 off msrp. Certain times of year $15,000 off msrp.

Good Luck with that (unless your ordering a $80,000 truck).

I got my 2012 F350 FX4 CC LB, MSRP $62,000, for $14,000 off MSRP at the end of July 2012; end of model year and just as new 2013 trucks were arriving. Dealer was advertising $14,000 off MSRP off ANY superduty, even lower priced ones. I am sure there were both rebates and manufacturer/dealer incentives involved to clear the 2012’s.

[Hammerboy]

bgum wrote:
Any time $10,000 off msrp. Certain times of year $15,000 off msrp.

I got about 13k off msrp my 2019 Silverado last fall when the 2020's where hitting the lot. As another poster said check the net for existing trucks. I traveled to another state 2 hrs away to find mine and it was practically the exact truck I was looking for.

Dan

[Cummins12V98]

4wd 2wd not much difference any longer. My RAM with factory rear air ride sets much lower than other trucks without.

Invoice minus incentives at time of arrival.

[wing_zealot]

bgum wrote:
Any time $10,000 off msrp. Certain times of year $15,000 off msrp.

Good Luck with that (unless your ordering a $80,000 truck).

[Itakethe5th2011]

You might want to do a little research as to the height of a RWD to a 4 wheel drive. My 2020 Chevrolet 2500HD is the same height as a 4 wheel drive. I had lower my last 2008 Chevrolet 2500HD 2" in the rear. The top of my bed rail is 5" higher than my old truck. My leafsprings on my 5th wheel already set on top of my axles, so I went to Trailerblocks.com and bought 3" blocks to raise my trailer up so it sits more level when pulling with new truck. My buddy has a 2010 F350 with a 3 1/2" lift kit, my bed rail is 1" higher than his bed rail.

[bgum]

Any time $10,000 off msrp. Certain times of year $15,000 off msrp.

[ACZL]

Go to Edmunds and price out/spec the truck you want. They are really good and close to what a dealer will tell you. This will give you a good idea as to what you should pay for it.

[Old-Biscuit]

Last 2 trucks I purchased were via Fleet Sales Internet
Ordered the trucks the way I wanted them and negotiated out the door price with a Fleet Manager......trucks were delivered to local dealer

1st time I walked into the Dealers was after they called and said truck was here.

Both trucks were heavily discounted
1st one was $25K out the door for a $40K 2001 (private party sale after new 2007 was delivered)

2nd one was $39K out the door for a $60K 2007

If I were to purchase new one again....Internet and Fleet Sales