So where are the "Incredible Deals" on new and late model used cars?
 

Posting this for a friend of mine. We are all hearing how the economy is absolutely shredded from the effects of the national lockdown, unemployment, and the effects on the entire US economy. A friend of mine has been saving faithfully for four years to buy a Mustang GT. He is looking for a 2018-2020 Coupe with the performance package and the 10 speed transmission. There are plenty of them out there, and ABSOLUTELY NO DEALS I can find in national searches. We are talking no more than 2-3K off the inflated sticker prices and none under 28K with 25,000 miles on them and 3 years old. Basically the same prices as before this "economic disaster" began. Wonder what gives? Sounds like Ford doesn't really want to sell any cars. He has cash.

The main economic effects from this mess haven't been felt yet, IMO. I'd be patient as Ford circles the drain.

i dont know..but ive sold more parts in the last month than the last 6..i see no crippling economy etc...

You need to negotiate directly with dealers to get the best prices. They can ( and will) sell you a new car for $200 over invoice, but they aren’t going to advertise that fact. You need to do your research and call ‘em.

As I got better at negotiating, I went from buying low mileage 1 year old lease returns to just buying new cars - I found that I can get them cheaper.

I’m sure that car dealers have at least slowed down a bit - and they would love the chance to move more product. This always means they are ready to deal.

If he's looking at used cars, I don't think Ford Motor Company has anything to do with the asking prices. As far as that goes I suspect Mustangs just aren't gong to be discounted that much. If he was looking for a minivan or SUV it may be a different story.

Currently in the process now. It seems these dealers aren't worried or even concern about what is going on outside their windows. Called one last Wednesday, he returned my call an hour ago. Dealt with 3 other dealers and (out of the kindness of their heart) they are willing to move $125.00 - $150.00 off of sticker. The only deal out there is special low financing and that is only on "select" models that not many people want.

These places are acting like nothing ever happen and buyers are falling out of the sky.

The dealers in my area have been jamming my inbox with all sorts of deals and promotions to get me to buy a car. The prices though... aren't any lower than normal.

Everyone is acting like nothing happened in the hopes that they can float along for another few months and avoid taking a hit. If things continue on longer, eventually they'll run out of cash to sustain themselves and employees will take the hit.

I found the same. Especially with pickup trucks. Im no expert but I have found the best deals to be the last of the new last years models on the lot. When I was shopping last, the "Certified Pre Owned" trucks were like maybe 1-$2000 cheaper than new. Ill pay $2000 for 0 miles instead of 30k.

Up here dealers are laying off people, I know three salespeople who have been laid off. So it must be or soon will be, that if you have the money to buy, you should be able to get big price reduction. They may be able to sit on some inventory, but eventually they will be crying for customers.

Parts and stuff like that may be different as people who are off work (paid to stay home) are working on projects to stay busy.

i went last saturday to the biggest ford dealer in new england to look at a 2018 explorer and they would not budge 200.00 dollars to make a sale but wanted to give me peanuts for my 2015 fusion with 18.000 miles

But they are still considered 1 to 2 year old units in the books and the industry. I 1 year old vehicle loses a lot more than $2000.00. Hell, you almost lose that much at the hit of the key. Either buy brand new or 2 to 3 years old with good to low miles.

As nice as Fusions are (were), their value really crapped out when Ford killed them off. A '15 is still a 5 to 6 year old car to a new car store regardless of miles. You will find a better home for it by selling it yourself.

If you get serious, most dealers will sell you a common model for Invoice or below just to move it and get the holdback. Might have to pay a little more for a hard to get model, but not much if it is in stock.

True. That is why I'm having a tough time getting more than $150.00 off of sticker because the vehicle is a 2021 and hot right now. However, I used one of my connections about a 1/2 hour ago and iced a deal for a tad over $600.00 off sticker.

I guess I get that, but in my personal case I still felt like it was the best deal at the time. I was looking at new 2018 Big Horns for like $36k. Or 2016s off a lease with 15-30k miles for like $33k. To me that 3k in savings wasn't worth it. I ended up buying a new 2017 Limited that had like a $60k sticker for $39k. So that probably tracks with they don't care how many miles because its a year old. To me it still seemed like more truck for the money with no miles on it. Reasonably people can disagree over value I guess.


I also got lucky because Chrysler was offering this Maximum care deal at the time that is basically an unlimited powertrain. When I paid off my truck this year I considered buying a new truck before I wrote the big check. But when I called and found out they stopped offering the crazy warranty I decided to keep mine and just make them fix it if it breaks.

That's similar to what he is experiencing, like nothing is any different from any other price gouging day at the new car dealer. The used cars he has been looking at are at new car dealers as well and no real deals. This friend of mine is an interesting character. Was a Pontiac guy his whole life and always saved his money and paid cash when he bought a car, usually every 10-15 years. In 2006 he went to a large Pontiac dealer to buy a GTO. They had the car he wanted on the showroom floor. Dark blue metallic exterior and a manual transmission. He was ready to buy and they WOULD NOT take it off the showroom floor so he could drive it. He was pissed. He pulled a huge wad of cash out out of his pocket, probably enough to buy the car and made sure the salesman took a good look. Got in his car and went to the Ford dealer and bought a Mustang GT 2 hours later. The rest is history. Now he is ready to do it again.

Trucks are a whole different animal. Dealer know they have truck buyers by the kahunas. You can pretty much throw the book away when it comes to buying a new or used truck with new being quite often the better option.

Dodge currently has good deals on Warlocks which are not the current gen body style.

LOL! That happen to me last year at a collector car dealer in Charlotte. I threw a stack of cash on the guy's desk for a black '05 T-bird. His eyes popped out and said "let me check with my dad". He came back and said his dad needed $499.95 more. I said "seriously"? "You're going to let me walk for $499.95"? He said "that's what dad needs". I collected my money and left.

chief they still make the fusion and i understand its a 2015 which are still advertised on the same lot for 15.900 and i get offered 8000.00 and they wouldn"t budge on the explorer which is 15.000 more, hey i have the means so i"ll go elsewhere

If you’re wanting a deal wait a while; Q2 is going to look pretty bad along with the unemployment numbers. Got a friend over at Ameritrade and this economy is looking to get much worse as the feds are having to prop the market.

Ford was suppose to be killing it off. I thought they already did. That $15,900. number tells me they are either fishing or deal with sub-prime customers. What model (trim level) was theirs and what model (trim level) is yours?

mine is a model se the same as most of the thirty or so that they have on the lot for that year with the lowest being 52.000 miles. yeah for some reason they are keeping the fusion. i heard that the lincoln uses the same chassis

I haven't followed Lincoln for a few years now. I know they used to use the same platform for their MKZ but don't know if they still do. Is yours a 4 or a 6 cylinder? The SE Fusion is one trim level up from base, dealers are loaded with those because they can put people in them from all walks of life and financial status. Big with sub-prime buyers because the dealers can get people funded. I would still put a Fusion up against a Camry in all aspects. Fusions are good cars.

Thanks for the good ideas guys. I am trying to get him to just sit tight. I agree dealers just have to be hurting at some point soon. He is willing to travel to get it too. He would buy a plane ticket, fly to wherever, buy the car and bring it home. He knows what he wants though. Not like they are rare or anything. Just a GT premium in one of several colors with the equivalent of a drag pack they call the special performance package. There are plenty of them out there. On a 45K car in these economic times, he should be able to get 5-6K off sticker. There is a ton of fat in those cars. At 45K, 15K is in options that have a higher mark up. But if you have cash burning a hole in your wallet.............!

Just finished talking to my neighbour who is a finance writer at one of the local dealerships. Last month they laid off a few of the newer salespeople and he said they normally sell 80units in April but only have 12 so far. He knows the general sales manager at one of the big Ford dealerships here. They normally do 130 units in April and have sold 10 so far.

Interesting. But yet around here the two dealers he went to want sticker or close, are not willing to even do a dealer trade for the right car, and the guy is standing there with a wad of cash that won't fit in his pocket! Go figure. I told him HE is in the drivers seat and just wait it out.

mine is the 2.5 4 cylinder. my wife has the 2018 escape eco boost and no where near the power or gas mileage as the fusion. the list on mine new was 25.000. the 2020 is 34.000

That could be the difference in dollars. Theirs are likely V6's.

mgarblik, if your friend is letting the dealers know up front that he's a cash buyer, that right there kills his negotiating powers.

Not sure of his approach, I haven't been going with him. I will mention this next time we talk. I spoke to him earlier this afternoon and he said a local dealer did actually call him back and they have a car that meets his requirements. BUT it is a new 2019 leftover. $7500.00 off sticker. He is thinking about it. Being a leftover is not a big issue with him as he will keep it 10-15 years and the depreciation will be gone anyway. He will be an old guy in 15 years! It's a nice looking car, I saw it on-line. Red exterior/Black interior.

This video confirms what I learned working for car dealers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxVyeFmod8

$7500.00 off on a leftover isn't a bad deal if he buys now.

I always tell people not to deal down from sticker - find the invoice price and deal up from there. Argue about how much profit you’ll give them - not over the “discount” they’re giving you.

I live in Upstate N.Y. and the car dealers just reopened late last week. They closed in mid March, except for their service departments.They ran commercials on local TV stating you could buy over the phone or the dealers web site. Once the deal was made you could get home delivery or pick up at the dealer.
The local Chevy, BMW, Toyota dealer near my house just moved their inventory back onto the lots. You couldn't even go window shopping as all the cars were moved to fenced in lots.

A month ago was going through the new car dealer/newer truck game with my son. After looking for near a month & calling on at near a dozen 2018 & 2019 F150 Lariat 4x4's, as well as Limited 4x4's, a few dealers were actually dealing. The reason being, as customers bought new 2020 model trucks with 0 percent/84 month financing offers, dealers caught a few such customers & didnt give as much for their late model trade in's.

Shockingly, a few dealers were actually passing the savings on, though with majority, the games were definitely being played. One thing I noticed was several what id consider really good deals appeared at the end of the month, but first day of April, those used truck deals disappeared. My son ended up in a 20K mile 2018 F150 Lariat Sport 4x4 crew cab w the big Ecoboost. 2" lift, 35's, black wheels. Just what he wanted, & we felt he got a good deal on it. Have no crystal ball on what the next 90 days are going to bring at the dealerships, effects of low oil prices will keep many locals from buying new in my area. If you listen to the silliness that is John Clay Wolfe on Sat mornings on his syndicated radio show, as a massive volume wholesaler he flat out will state how much less he's giving on late model trucks & cars as compared to 60 days ago.

They did a refresh on the styling in 2019 and are keeping the Fusion through the 2020 model year. They may continue to build some models until some time in 2021 in Mexico.

From Car & Driver back in 2019:

"A Ford spokesperson told C/D that there are still "a couple more years" left for the Fusion, meaning that production at its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, will continue until sometime in 2021."

How about $9,000 off a 2020?

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...pricingDetails

It's an automatic Premium GT automatic in black. I don't know what the "drag pack" is so maybe this doesn't meet his requirements.

I'm so ready for the black wheels fad to be over.

Thank you for finding that. I will send it on to him. That's a nice looking car at a good price. I don't think it has the "special performance package". Not sure. I called it a drag pack, my words. Ford calls it special performance package. It has allot of goodies in it and is an expensive option. Some of the items are, larger radiator, larger calipers and rotors, larger battery, extra instrumentation, 3.73:1 axle ratio with Thorsen limited slip, electronic launch control, shocked tuned for drag racing, and a bunch of other little stuff. You know if this will be his last performance car, he should get what he wants. Thanks again for the tip. I will have him check it out. A one way plane ticket from Dayton, OH to FL is only $69.00 right now.

Dealers want you to finance through them cause they get a chunk of the interest on the loan.
They where not happy when wife and I got a personal loan at a lower rate they offered from the same credit union.

I bought a truck last year, and I found on couple year old used ones, that people wanted too close to new range pricing, and I think it may be due to what they owe, maybe. So like someone else said, for me, the few grand more got me new.

My take is new car buying has to slow down over next few months. There sure could be a glut of 2020's to sell still, when the 2021's come out in just 4 months. I would leverage on a 2020 in fall. Have funds lined up and go play walk away, I don't care, here's my offer you don't want to take, hardball.

The 2021's are out. That is what I'm buying.

Yes some models are out already. The days of the second week in September being new car introduction date are long past. The only requirement for new model production is for example a 2021 anything must meet the emission and fuel mileage, (if any), requirements for the model year they represent. My guess is they have the standards 3 years ahead. You make a very good point though. The new 2019 with the $7500.00 discount is going to be 3 years old in a few months!!

The funny thing is, bringing out a new car a full year early is not really a new concept.

Remember, these came out in 1979

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....G2BdL._AC_.jpg

Then my post was very stupid, I am sorry. I had no idea all the 2021's were out now. I guess the ones I would buy are not updated on their websites yet.
The real point is buy prior year model and this will be a banner year.

Nope, not stupid... Not stupid at all. Because its so early in the year, very few people know that 2021's are out there. Funny thing is that I was finding "used" 2021's on-line that I am certain don't exist.

Full disclosure, I don't buy new. Its not in me and you lose too much money at the hit of the key. The last new vehicle I bought was in 1996. It was also the last late model GM vehicle I ever personally owned. I normally buy off-lease, from the manufacturer at the auction. I get the wife a 6 month to 1-1/2 year old vehicle with low miles and get myself a 2 to 4 year old truck with higher than normal miles. The reason I'm looking at new now is 2 fold. First is the obvious, its a 2021. So a year from now it still will be a "current" model, therefore will hold its value. The other reason is that I probably won't have access to one until the fall or next spring and by then the prices will be nearly as much or more and the vehicle will have miles. There is also more warranty with new vs. used. So new it is.

My neighbor is car shopping right now for a new or 1-2 year old used Buick. He makes good money, has money to spend, and says that he's finding them holding hard to pre-Corona prices, even on stuff in inventory 200+ days. You think they'd be mugging him as soon as he stepped foot on the premises, but he's finding quite the opposite.

There are only a very limited number of 2021 car, SUV or truck models available at this time.

For instance, the 2021 Cadillac CT4 is just hitting the dealer lots now. It's a replacement for the ATS and a step down from the 2020 CT5 which just came out late last fall.

I've been tracking the CT4 and CT5 as I'm considering replacing my 2014 ATS4 with either a CT4-V or a CT5-V in the late fall of 2021 - as fall/winter is a good time to leverage a deal.

The vast majority of the current crop of cars, SUV's and trucks are 2020 models. Most of the 2021's won't be available until late summer/early fall.

The 1980 Citation was introduced in April 1980 - far from a full year early. More like 5 months.

Makes more sense than when Ford introduced the Mustang on April 17th 1964 as a 1964 model, based on the 1964 Ford Falcon.

Coincidentally, my 1964 GTO Convertible was built on April 17th, 1964.

:rolleyes: I worked for a Chevy dealer back then. ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Citation