First Forum Post - potential buyer questions

[diesel97]

So here was my experience today when test driving the truck I linked in my post above. It was at Crossroads Ford in Apex, NC which is high volume dealer. There are multiple Crossroads dealers within their network (14 I think). The Apex location has at least 20 F-150 SC 4x4 right now in stock in varying configs.

First the truck:
The Good - It had no rust and looked great underneath. The cloth seats in the XLT feel great and were really comfortable. The 3.5 PB has tons of power as we all know. Plenty to like.

The Bad - There were noticeable hard downshifts (like a thunk) when decelerating. Maybe this is ok and maybe it's normal but my 2008 Acrura MDX doesn't do it and my wife's 2021 Mazda CX-9 doesn't do it. Now I feel like I need to drive a few more to see if they all do it. No center arm rest in the backseat on the XLT. I feel like that should be standard and not have to get a Lariat to get a center arm rest for the back passengers. Also no adjustable AC/Heat for the rear which once again should be standard on the XLT IMO. I don't even think you get that on the Lariat which blows my mind. It's on my 2008 MDX and my wife's 2021 CX-9. I'd still buy the truck but I think those things should come on a $60,000 vehicle, truck, car, suv etc.

And now on to dealer. I test drove the truck with my family and the salesman (retired Marine in his 30's) stayed behind. When I got back he had the paperwork ready and the asking price as the full MSRP plus $699 doc and the $497 dealer prep fee I mentioned on my post above. The sales guy said the work for the prep had already been done and they don't remove it (whatever). I was working on OTD price so I didn't care. The OTD price was about $63,300. I probably would have offered $55k OTD but bit on $57k OTD but we didn't get that far. I mentioned that the sticker had a lower price than he was showing and why wasn't that shown and he said they start at the highest suggested MSRP without Fords suggested discounts. I asked to see the invoice and he said he could maybe get it for me but not to bother because they wouldn't even sell it for 3% off MSRP so selling at invoice was off the table. He wasn't being rude, just being honest with me. A sales manager walked by and confirmed that they aren't really coming off the price. He seemed irritated that I asked him to see the invoice but said he could dig it up if needed. I assume they would have come down by maybe $1000 if I haggled but we were nowhere near each other in price. The salesman said last year he could sell it for $8k-$10k off when they had 6,000 vehicles but they are below 2,000 right now within the dealer network. I told him I may be back when I can get at least $5k off sticker but in truth I'm likely done with them. The salesman also said he doesn't work on commission so he didn't care what price I paid but we would be wasting each others time trying to get to invoice pricing. We shook hands and I left.

Overall I still want an F-150 but between my experience at Crossroads Fuquay and Crossroads Apex I feel like the market is just not right for me. I've messaged Albert and Tom to try and get an order going so that may pan out. I should also note that the salesman and sales manager told me today that if I ordered a truck through them I'm only able to get the rebate at the time of delivery and not what's offered now, or any time in between. That doesn't line up with what I've seen on this forum so I don't know what's right or wrong.

Hope this info helps anyone else who is out shopping.

https://www.youtube.com/c/YourAutoAdvocate/playlists If you got time to kill all your answers are here. I'm waiting at least till Dec more likely March of 2022 and maybe things will get back to normal.

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[Littlefield82]

https://www.youtube.com/c/YourAutoAdvocate/playlists If you got time to kill all your answers are here. I'm waiting at least till Dec more likely March of 2022 and maybe things will get back to normal.

Thanks man. I've watched a few of their videos and I already knew I was getting BS from the dealer but in today's market (low supply) they can pretty much charge what they want and people will pay. I've bought four new cars, five used cars and 10 motorcycles and each time I felt like I had negotiation power...until now. I live in an area with a booming economy where a lot of people have money to spend and the one's who don't seem to spend it anyway. Maybe it's like that everywhere though. I also assumed that because they are a high volume dealer that constantly advertises on the radio that they'd be willing to haggle to move some vehicles.

 

[Dan M.]

So here was my experience today when test driving the truck I linked in my post above. It was at Crossroads Ford in Apex, NC which is high volume dealer. There are multiple Crossroads dealers within their network (14 I think). The Apex location has at least 20 F-150 SC 4x4 right now in stock in varying configs.

First the truck:
The Good - It had no rust and looked great underneath. The cloth seats in the XLT feel great and were really comfortable. The 3.5 PB has tons of power as we all know. Plenty to like.

The Bad - There were noticeable hard downshifts (like a thunk) when decelerating. Maybe this is ok and maybe it's normal but my 2008 Acrura MDX doesn't do it and my wife's 2021 Mazda CX-9 doesn't do it. Now I feel like I need to drive a few more to see if they all do it. No center arm rest in the backseat on the XLT. I feel like that should be standard and not have to get a Lariat to get a center arm rest for the back passengers. Also no adjustable AC/Heat for the rear which once again should be standard on the XLT IMO. I don't even think you get that on the Lariat which blows my mind. It's on my 2008 MDX and my wife's 2021 CX-9. I'd still buy the truck but I think those things should come on a $60,000 vehicle, truck, car, suv etc.

And now on to dealer. I test drove the truck with my family and the salesman (retired Marine in his 30's) stayed behind. When I got back he had the paperwork ready and the asking price as the full MSRP plus $699 doc and the $497 dealer prep fee I mentioned on my post above. The sales guy said the work for the prep had already been done and they don't remove it (whatever). I was working on OTD price so I didn't care. The OTD price was about $63,300. I probably would have offered $55k OTD but bit on $57k OTD but we didn't get that far. I mentioned that the sticker had a lower price than he was showing and why wasn't that shown and he said they start at the highest suggested MSRP without Fords suggested discounts. I asked to see the invoice and he said he could maybe get it for me but not to bother because they wouldn't even sell it for 3% off MSRP so selling at invoice was off the table. He wasn't being rude, just being honest with me. A sales manager walked by and confirmed that they aren't really coming off the price. He seemed irritated that I asked him to see the invoice but said he could dig it up if needed. I assume they would have come down by maybe $1000 if I haggled but we were nowhere near each other in price. The salesman said last year he could sell it for $8k-$10k off when they had 6,000 vehicles but they are below 2,000 right now within the dealer network. I told him I may be back when I can get at least $5k off sticker but in truth I'm likely done with them. The salesman also said he doesn't work on commission so he didn't care what price I paid but we would be wasting each others time trying to get to invoice pricing. We shook hands and I left.

Overall I still want an F-150 but between my experience at Crossroads Fuquay and Crossroads Apex I feel like the market is just not right for me. I've messaged Albert and Tom to try and get an order going so that may pan out. I should also note that the salesman and sales manager told me today that if I ordered a truck through them I'm only able to get the rebate at the time of delivery and not what's offered now, or any time in between. That doesn't line up with what I've seen on this forum so I don't know what's right or wrong.

Hope this info helps anyone else who is out shopping.

I have tried to negotiate with Crossroads Fuquay in the past and after that experience, I would never step foot in their dealership again. I think Crossroads has turned into a monopoly and wants to buy up every dealership in the state.

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