2020 Expedition Max Platinum Purchase Help

[Brandonw91]

Hello,

I'm a complete novice when it comes to negotiating prices especially on a vehicle of this cost.

My wife has decided she can't live with anything but a 2020 Expedition Max Platinum. We are going to purchase this vehicle and now I am just trying to figure out how to get the best deal.

I can find a few of the exact colors and configurations we want within 250 miles or so but local dealers are also stating they can get one from the other dealers also.

We have a X plan pin but can I negotiate better than this? What is the best way to negotiate these types of deals? I also have a trade in that we took to CarMax just to get a preliminary value on and they offered $14,000. Do you negotiate the purchase price then bring up the trade in and try to play those two against each other?

Basically I'm content just buying the vehicle but would love to feel like I'm getting a deal. I know it seems like inventory is scarce so am I just stuck playing close to MSRP/Invoice?

Any thoughts for me?

 

[AmpForE]

If you have an x-plan then the price is already negotiated, but your trade is not.

 

[Flexpedition]

One Xplan negative is there is no wiggle room for your trade. No smoke & mirrors, no creative math, no overallowing or robbing Peter to pay Paul. So whatever that Ford dealer offers for trade is about the extent of your negotiations. If CarMax is $14, dealer needs to be $14 or better if he wants the trade. Otherwise, simply let CarMax buy it. Shop 2-3 Ford dealers if you want to see if you can do better on the trade, but the X-plan price is going to be the exact same price in Illinois as it is in Florida, Texas, or Washington. If you are trading a Honda, a Honda dealer will generally offer more than a non-Honda dealer. This generally applies to all makes. Honda dealer keeps a nice selection of used Hondas, not so many Nissans. You didn't mention what you were trading, and it really doesn't matter, just putting that out there.

Just watch the deceptive dealers who advertise $10K off. Yes, $10K off beats xplan, but includes STACKED rebates that 99% of Americans don't qualify for. So, unless you are a first responder who recently retired from the military and graduated college within the last 6 months.... and happen to be a member of the American Quarter Horse Association and are trading in a 2018 or newer competitor vehicle, you aren't getting all the stacked rebates.

We've purchased several Fords over the years Xplan. Walk in and identify yourself as Xplan as the program guidelines suggest.

Its easy for a salesman/sales manager to TELL you they can beat X-plan price, especially when they don't show you the invoice which clearly lists the X-plan price, as well as A, D, and Z price, which they may conceal. The X-plan price is never written on the back on a business card or on the dealers "4 square" negotiation sheet. Ask for and you should receive a photocopy of the invoice showing X-plan, which will be an odd number down to the tens, ones, and pennies. Never $56,300. More like $56,305.61

Got two dealers? Keep them both honest. Get the VIN of the truck you are interested in and ask for the Xplan price. If you get two numbers, somebody isn't being truthful.

MSRP and invoice are in two different counties.

 

[PharmerBrown]

Price your trade in with Zoom and Carvana as well. I sold mine to Vroom as they offered me 2k more than Ford. It was especially nice because I was taking the 0% financing.
I ended up going with a limited with 302a because I had trouble getting them to move on the hard to find platinum.

 

[Fozzy]

Good advice [emoji3595] on the X plan. I am not sure if the X plan takes this out of the equation or not. But financing has became a huge pain at the dealerships. They must make some kind of kick back from certain lenders. Even if you payed cash they still may give you a better deal if you use their lenders. Make sure they are up front with you about that. I have seen as much as $3K off with their lenders vs brining my own finance or cash. Seems stupid to me, but they do it and act like they are doing you a favor. Plus the last day of the month at the end of the day you maybe able to sneak out a few extra dollars or free floor mats or something like that. Got a “free” bed cover on my last F-150 last day of the month at 9 p.m. X plan probably not. But you never know. Sales staff has to meet sales goals and so does the dealership.


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[Deadman]

If you have a trade, they can muddy the waters until you can't see the numbers well. Know what you are willing to pay and what your trade is worth, don't write them a check for a penny more than that difference.

 

[Lou Hamilton]

I have an x-plan from my employer but I was able to do better with various rebates and most importantly the 0% financing (which for some reason was not offered on X-plans).

My x-plan for my 303a was around $71k (sticker was just under $79k). I was able to get a few other discounts plus the 0% for a final price of around $67k before trade-in.

Not sure if this works, but I was told negotiate a price before committing to a trade-in. Then say that you have a trade-in and/or purchase offer from CarMax.

I think I ended up “financing” about $60k at 0% for 72 months. I liked that offer since my money accrues interest instead of ponying up the full amount. I was not going to finance if I did not get 0%, BTW.


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[byathread]

I think the x plan is best deal you can get unless you meet the <1% criteria for ALL incentives. Great advice above on trade. Also consider a private party sale if you feel like dealing with that. I drove my trade to Cincinnati from Philly as they had exactly what I wanted color/production date wise (Apr 2019 instead of Nov 2018 w/fancy white) and offered double what they would locally on my trade sight unseen (added $250 to that value once I got there, too, which they clearly didn't have to do).

Xplan you can also order exactly what you want from dealer you want to buy from, too...

Good luck!

 

[Lou Hamilton]

Also, I shopped 3 dealerships within an hour of me. My local small dealership was able to get me the price I wanted to be at. The other “big regional” dealerships were not. They were about $1k lower than the X-plan.

I was happy that I was 5 minutes from my house versus 45-60 minutes away for the purchase.


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[Brandonw91]

Thanks everyone for the posts so far. Very helpful.

I knew that the X plan price was the price... and that I wouldn't get any variation on that once we said we were using it.

Exactly like some of you say, lots of dealers are throwing numbers around and it almost seems like we may be able to get it under the that number but I think it is smoke and mirrors. I appreciate the advice and will keep everyone updated.