Q & A Session... - Ask a Ford Dealer

[13COBRA]

I get PM's all the time with questions about how to purchase cars, where to find cars, etc etc etc. Previously I've just answered back in a PM and went about my day; well now, the same questions are beginning to come through over and over again so I figured it would be easier to start a thread where questions can be asked and answered for everyone to see.

I've cleared this with Travis. I am not advertising my store or trying to sell vehicles or parts from this thread at all; it's simply a Q&A.

This will not turn in to a bashing thread (dealer or consumer). Please keep all questions respectful. I'll be more than happy to answer about any question you can think of.


Nick

 

[ssj4sadie]

Where can one find invoices on vehicles and how can one use that as bargaining power?

 

[M91196]

Q & A Session... -Ask a deaker

Are monthly sales goals from the Mfg. sweetened with 50-80k kickbacks? Are those goals extremely arbitrary or do they make sense to the dealership management?
Does service absorption pay the bill for you like it does for us in the HD truck world?

 

[ford fanatic]

When is the best time to buy new...end of the month/year? I've also heard in or around September.

 

[13COBRA]

Where can one find invoices on vehicles and how can one use that as bargaining power?

Invoices won't be on any 3rd party sites. You can request the invoice from a dealer; if they won't give it to you, PM me the VIN and I can send it to you.

As far as bargaining power, dealers are typically below invoice anyways, so I'm not sure how you could use it to bargain.

Are monthly sales goals from the Mfg. sweetened with 50-80k kickbacks? Are those goals extremely arbitrary or do they make sense to the dealership management?
Does service absorption pay the bill for you like it does for us in the HD truck world?

Depends on the kick backs. The most I have ever seen personally at my store was $20k, but most of the time it's around $10k. Some manufacturers kick out a lot more money than others.

Our goals are 120% of the previous year's same month + X% of forecast increased sales in the area.

HD truck stores are in the 90-110% service absorption, car and light duty truck stores are typically in the 60-70% range. I wish our service could get to 100% absorbed, that'd be amazing.

When is the best time to buy new...end of the month/year? I've also heard in or around September.

Depends on the vehicle. Ford, for example, phases in vehicles throughout the year at different times. So buying a new F-150 makes sense in the fall, but buying a new Flex would make more sense the following spring (F-150's are released before Flex's).

 

[BOOGIE MAN]

I've heard you'll get a lower price by telling the dealer you're going to finance and then pay cash once the price is set than if you say you're going to pay cash up front. Is that true?

 

[suicidekings]

I've heard you'll get a lower price by telling the dealer you're going to finance and then pay cash once the price is set than if you say you're going to pay cash up front. Is that true?

I thought it was the opposite, say you're paying cash... I could be wrong and I will let Nick answer, but im curious about that too!

Also, one thing I hate when buying a car... The sales man will play the back and forth game a million times. I will ask for the best deal up front and let them know I dont want to play the back and forth game. If the offer he brings isnt good then I get up and leave. Does this happen to you a lot and is there a way to avoid all of the back and forth?

 

[13COBRA]

I've heard you'll get a lower price by telling the dealer you're going to finance and then pay cash once the price is set than if you say you're going to pay cash up front. Is that true?

Great question.

When you pay cash, the dealer makes money on selling you the car. When you finance, the dealer can make up to 2.5 points on a loan. 2 points on a loan of $50k is about $1900.

Meaning, the dealer would be better off selling you the car losing $500 on the deal and making $1900 in finance, than he would if they sold it and made $1000 when you paid cash.

Back in the day, the cash is king statement, was dominant because financing was a lot harder to achieve than it is now. With financing being available to nearly everyone, a cash contract or finance contract both mean the same in terms of instant money to the dealer.

I thought it was the opposite, say you're paying cash... I could be wrong and I will let Nick answer, but im curious about that too!

Also, one thing I hate when buying a car... The sales man will play the back and forth game a million times. I will ask for the best deal up front and let them know I dont want to play the back and forth game. If the offer he brings isnt good then I get up and leave. Does this happen to you a lot and is there a way to avoid all of the back and forth?

As far as avoiding the back and forth, it will depend on what type of dealership you are dealing with. More traditional dealerships do just this, they go back and forth not to give up gross profit.

More modern dealerships, like mine, price their vehicles extremely competitive on the market. We justify our prices to the consumers and explain where they are compared to our competitors and so on. For example, on pre-owned vehicles, we barely negotiate, maybe a few hundred dollars or so. The reason we are able to do this is from the time it gets on our lot until the time it leaves, it is priced competitively against our competition's prices.

It makes for much smoother transactions, customers tend to be happier and everything is just easier. Every once in a while I'll still get an older farmer that wants to negotiate thousands on a used truck...he either allows us to explain how we price, or he gets mad and leaves. That's very rare though.

 

[Serpent]

13Cobra, do you guys use rey rey?

 

[13COBRA]

13Cobra, do you guys use rey rey?

We use Reynolds & Reynolds for our DMS.

 

[P49Y-CY]

great idea and thank you for this Q&A, 13COBRA :beer:

I like to special order my cars ahead of time built with certain combinations of options that are not usually found through a dealer search. i give a deposit and wait the 8-12 weeks, etc.

how can i ensure that when the vehicle arrives that it is not dealer prepped in any way? i have found that no matter how many "friends" i have at the dealership, different departments want to try to "do their thing" to the car when it comes in.

 

[black92]

If I choose to change my own oil instead of taking it into the dealership will my warranty be denied? Is keeping the receipt for the oil/oil filter and writing down the mileage enough to prove that I did in fact change it?

 

[matthayn]

Why does Ford offer ESP on competitive makes?! MAKE IT STOP!!!

Coming from a service writer.

 

[13COBRA]

great idea and thank you for this Q&A, 13COBRA :beer:

I like to special order my cars ahead of time built with certain combinations of options that are not usually found through a dealer search. i give a deposit and wait the 8-12 weeks, etc.

how can i ensure that when the vehicle arrives that it is not dealer prepped in any way? i have found that no matter how many "friends" i have at the dealership, different departments want to try to "do their thing" to the car when it comes in.

Best thing you can do is refuse delivery if they prep it before delivery.

If I choose to change my own oil instead of taking it into the dealership will my warranty be denied? Is keeping the receipt for the oil/oil filter and writing down the mileage enough to prove that I did in fact change it?

Yes the receipts will be enough as long as each oil change is documented and you use approved oil.

Why does Ford offer ESP on competitive makes?! MAKE IT STOP!!!

Coming from a service writer.

You're telling me haha

I own our warranty company, so we don't sell very many ESPs. Ford's PremiumCare is great, but such a pain in the ass. With my warranty company, I can get things covered even if they're in the "gray area".

 

[matab14]

Great question.

When you pay cash, the dealer makes money on selling you the car. When you finance, the dealer can make up to 2.5 points on a loan. 2 points on a loan of $50k is about $1900.

Meaning, the dealer would be better off selling you the car losing $500 on the deal and making $1900 in finance, than he would if they sold it and made $1000 when you paid cash.

Back in the day, the cash is king statement, was dominant because financing was a lot harder to achieve than it is now. With financing being available to nearly everyone, a cash contract or finance contract both mean the same in terms of instant money to the dealer.

Maybe this is a dumb question but when you talk about paying cash vs the financing part and the dealers making a set amount of points if you do indeed finance, does that mean you have to finance with one of their bank to make those "Points". For instance if I bought a vehicle and opted to use my local credit union vs a dealerships bank of choice would they still get the credit? ie. driving the potential of the price down on the car....

 

[13COBRA]

Maybe this is a dumb question but when you talk about paying cash vs the financing part and the dealers making a set amount of points if you do indeed finance, does that mean you have to finance with one of their bank to make those "Points". For instance if I bought a vehicle and opted to use my local credit union vs a dealerships bank of choice would they still get the credit? ie. driving the potential of the price down on the car....

No, you'd be bringing in your own check...so to a dealership that would be the same as cash.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[bdcardinal]

We use Reynolds & Reynolds for our DMS.

Best owner ever.... We had Rey-Rey and switched to DealerTrack a few years ago. I know it is cheaper and "prettier" but I do miss Rey-Rey on the parts end.

 

[13COBRA]

Best owner ever.... We had Rey-Rey and switched to DealerTrack a few years ago. I know it is cheaper and "prettier" but I do miss Rey-Rey on the parts end.

Reynolds is a lot easier to use in my opinion. It is quite a bit more money, but that's ok. My employees like it as well.

 

[silver03svt]

If I choose to change my own oil instead of taking it into the dealership will my warranty be denied? Is keeping the receipt for the oil/oil filter and writing down the mileage enough to prove that I did in fact change it?

Yes.

Ummmm.....yes to which of the two questions he asked?

 

[SonicDTR]

Ummmm.....yes to which of the two questions he asked?

+1