How to buy a new or used F250

[sam-3]

I hate the entire process about getting a New or used F250 from a dealer. Our requirement are F250 with tow package,long bed ,crew cab...four doors,4x4.We found a used one at our local Ford dealer. DH took a test drive and it drives just like the F250 we have now. We are in the information...researching stage. Our salesman printed out the information on this super duty truck. He has only been on the job for three weeks. Asking price is $39.500. Salesman says it is negotiable. What price reduction should we be asking for? It is a 2016 with 11thousand miles on it. He told us he can't give us a trade in $amt. unless we are actually purchasing!! If a sales man is talking he is lying!! We purchased our present truck from this dealership and we were quoted a trade in $value before purchase. Any advice appreciated.

[BuzzWolfAR]

The only thing that matters is the difference between the cost of the new vehicle and your trade. Tell him how much you are willing to write a check for, and be willing to walk. He will come down after you walk, and call you.

[sam-3]

Our present vehicle is a 1997 F250 long bed heavy duty with a matching fiberglass cap and running boards. It has been well maintained mechanically. Every year it goes in the body shop and has never been in an accident. We have all the service records. It has 4x4. We are probably going to max it out until it goes to the junk yard. Several people have stopped us in a parking lot and asked us if we want to sell it. Every year we have the rust proofing renewed. Our sales guy has three identical trucks for sale. My guess is that a company had them and they came off lease. What do you think the price should be without a trade in?

[sam-3]

Forgot to mention it is a gas truck and this is what we have and want.

[mtofell]

Trading on a new vehicle makes if confusing because there are two different transactions taking place. Dealer know this and are masters at playing with numbers to confuse people. Enter interest rates, rebates, factory incentives on the new truck and the dealer is right in his happy spot of smoke and mirrors.

Best case is sell the current truck private party and keep it out of the transaction completely. Go on a site like Trucar or Cargurus to figure out what a fair, good, great deal is for the new truck. Standard operating procedure to get at least a decent deal on the new truck is to just throw down a number that you know is ridiculous and stick to it. Walk away and go have lunch or go home for the day and wait for the dealer to call. They will and should have at least a decent price for you. You can also shop similar truck on the internet all over the country on sites like Autotrader. Use that as negotiating power with local dealer. Or, if you get the itch, make the drive to pick up the new truck.

At least it's easier than it use to be with the internet.

[BuzzWolfAR]

What does Kelly Blue Book tell you? Price it out honestly, but again the amount doesn't matter.

Only the difference new verses old is important. KBB will give you a good idea.

Take in is wholesale price. Purchase price is retail. The difference is dealer profit.

[sam-3]

I will look up the websites sugested and do some more research.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by sam-3

I hate the entire process about getting a New or used F250 from a dealer. Our requirement are F250 with tow package,long bed ,crew cab...four doors,4x4.We found a used one at our local Ford dealer. DH took a test drive and it drives just like the F250 we have now. We are in the information...researching stage. Our salesman printed out the information on this super duty truck. He has only been on the job for three weeks. Asking price is $39.500. Salesman says it is negotiable. What price reduction should we be asking for? It is a 2016 with 11thousand miles on it.

Here's what has worked great for me over the last 25 years. Before that I had to use snail mail and telephone because there was no easy-to-use e-mail or websites.

1. Prepare to sell your trade in. To do that, go to www.KBB.com and determine a good price. Clean up the pickup so it's spic & span, inside and out. No need to "detail" it, but make it look reasonably nice. Then go to town/city and look for used-car lots that have similar vehicles (older pickups) in stock. Talk to the manager only - not a salesman. Tell him you want to sell your pickup and you're getting bids from three dealers, and you'll sell it to the dealer that pays you the most. Also inform him that you're buying a new pickup, but not from him. Get at least three bids, then choose the one you like best.

2. Go back to KBB.com and build&price your new pickup. Determine invoice price and best "fair market price" for your zip code.

3. Then go to www.Ford.com and build & price the same truck. If you can build it on the website, then Ford can build it for you. Ignore prices and note the button for "Search Inventory". The website will then show you the ones in stock with close to your specs within a hundred miles or so of your zip code. For a gas engine F-250, don't expect there to be a lot of nice ones in stock. Lots of choices in diesels, but limited selection with the 6.2L gasser engine.

Here's a 2017 F-250 XLT CrewCab 4x4 gasser I built on 2017 Ford SuperDuty - Build & Price

⦁ $44,230 Base MSRP
⦁ $5,100 Total of Options
⦁ $1,295 Destination Charges
⦁ $50,625 Total MSRP
⦁ -$0 Available Incentives
$50,625 Net Price
Search Inventory >>> note when you get this far you can search inventory of nearby dealers tp see if your truck is already sitting on a dealer's lot.

Model
⦁ $44,230 2017 Ford F-250 XLT Crew Cab, 8', 6.2L 2 Valve Gas SOHC EFI NA V8 (Flex-Fuel) Engine, TorqShift®-G 6-Speed SelectShift® Automatic w/6.2L, 4.30 Electronic Locking Axle Ratio, 4X4, SRW

(yes, you need the 4.30 axle for dragging a heavy trailer with a gas engine)


Note that $0 option price means it's either standard on your trim package, or included in a package you paid for elsewhere on the list.
Paint
⦁ $0 White Gold
(Love that color with tan interior for living in the desert).

Equipment Groups
⦁ $160 Camper Package (includes rear anti-sway bar, which you need for towing heavy)
⦁ $3,025 XLT Premium Package (Nice stuff if you can't afford a Lariat)
Exterior
⦁ $130 Front and rear Splash Guards/Mud Flaps
⦁ $375 Tailgate Step (old men hafta have this)
⦁ $495 Tough Bed® Spray-in Bedliner
⦁ $60 Fixed-Glass Rear Window

⦁ $280 PowerScope® Telescoping Trailer Tow Mirrors (power fold and telescope, replaces manual fold/telescope = convenient for parking in tight places or in garages with narrow doors.
⦁ $0 BoxLink™
⦁ $0 Reverse Sensing System
⦁ $0 Rear View Camera - Tailgate
⦁ $0 Fog Lamps
⦁ $0 6" Angular Chrome Step Bars
⦁ $0 18" Chrome PVD Aluminum Wheels (SRW)
⦁ $0 4.30 Electronic Locking Axle Ratio
⦁ $0 LT275/65Rx18E BSW A/S Tires
Interior

⦁ $185 Electronic-Shift-On-the-Fly (ESOF)
⦁ $0 Camel
⦁ $0 Cloth
⦁ $0 Trailer Brake Controller
⦁ $0 110v/400w AC Inverter Outlet
⦁ $0 AM/FM Stereo with Single-CD/MP3 Player and 4 Speakers
⦁ $0 SiriusXM® Radio
⦁ $0 SYNC® 3
⦁ $0 Cloth 40/20/40 Split Bench seats

Note, there are lots of other options available, so choose whatever you are willing to pay for.

Be sure you get electronic locking rear axle, then combined with 4x4 you'll be almost unstoppable in snow and mud. I don't need 4x4 because I can go anywhere I want to go with 4x2 and electronic locking rear axle. If snow is so deep I can't go, I'm way too far north and way too close to Christmas.

Also be sure you get the trailer brake controller - it's the best on the market.

And if you might tow a gooseneck or fifth wheel trailer some day, then be sure you order the fifth wheel/gooseneck prep kit. It's a bargain compared to adding it later.

Then finalize the deal for the new pickup with the dealer (or manager, not a salesman). Most small-town or little city dealers will sell you a new vehicle for $500 over invoice. Big-city dealers and even small city dealers with newer stores located on a freeway have higher overhead to pay for those fancy stores, so they may need to make a bit more than $500 over invoice. Use the KBB "fair market price" to assure that you're not getting the royal shaft. I've not paid more than $500 over invoice for the last several new vehicle I've bought in the last 25 years.

If you cannot find your exact truck in stock, then considering ordering it to get exactly what you want. I'm particular, so I've had to order most of the last several new vehicles I've bought. 1995 Toyota T-100 pickup, 1999.5 F-250, 2000 Toyota Avalon, 1997 Honda Odyssey, 2012 F-150, 2015 Mazda Miata, 2017 Toyota Highlander. I first ordered the 2017 Flex the day after Ford opened the order book for the 2017s, but a month later they still hadn't scheduled it for production, so I cancelled that order and ordered the Highlander.

When you order this time of year, you can usually count on 6 to 8 weeks build and delivery time. For an F-250 ordered on February, I'll bet you be driving it about 6 weeks after you finalize the order. Vehicles that have demand that exceeds supply, such as a mid-size crossover SUV of any brand right now, may take a bit longer. My Toy dealer found my Highlander in-transit from the assembly plant to the distributor, so I was able to get it in less than a month.

But if you decide to order, then plan ahead.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by sam-3

Our sales guy has three identical trucks for sale. My guess is that a company had them and they came off lease. What do you think the price should be without a trade in?

Buying used is a completely different ball game than buying a new one. In my previous response I assumed you would do what I'd do - order a new one. But if you are considering a barely-used one such as a 2016 F-250 XLT 4x4 with CrewCab and long bed, you still use the internet pricing websites to get an idea of a reasonable price.

You said the salesman quoted you $39,500 for that one. KBB.com says the "fair market value" range in Eastern Tennessee is $41,070 to $43,237, average $42,154 with XLT trim. So according to KBB (the blue book),$39,500 is a good price if it has XLT or better trim. But if it's a fleet truck with XL trim instead of XLT, then that $39,500 price is probably close to KBB's fair market price.

But also check the prices on New Car Prices and Used Car Book Values - NADAguides and www.Edmunds.com. They will vary some from the prices on kbb.com. In the end, you must decide on what you are willing to pay, but using the internet pricing websites will give you an idea if you are being completely unrealistic in your hopes.

For the new one in my previous post, with MSRP around $50,500, you can probably buy it for 45,500 plus TT&L. If you have to pay $39,500 plus TT&L for that used 2016 compared to a brand new 2017 with exactly the options you are willing to pay for, for $45,500, then I know I'd opt for the new one. But it's your money, so it's your decision.

[Springdale1]

I just purchased a 2016 f 250 with 14000 on it. This is a crew cab 4x4 with tow package, has a 6.2 with 3.73 gears and a 6' 8" bed. This truck is a lease return from a leasing out of Tulsa OK. The truck was purchased from a dealer in Buffalo NY, but another dealer in Rochester NY had a truck just like it with just higher mileage. I paid just under $31,000 for it. The dealer was a pain to deal with but did give me an ideal what they would give me on trade. Do your homework and check the value of your trade in by going online and getting a blue book value. Good luck and hope this helped

[sam-3]

DH and I have decided to use the truck we have now until it is ready for the junk yard. The truck we are considering defenitely has the XLY trip package as does the truck we own now. Our Niagara Falls,NY Basil Ford has three exact used trucks on the lot. I will spend alt of time using your advice to do more research. What prompted us to look is the fact that our body shop guy says he won't do any more work on our truck body wise. The truck is eighteen years old and we have always taken excellent care of this vehicle. I have a buyers name and number if we want to sell. He is an auto mechanic. I have a feeling most people don't want a gas guzzler truck. DD works at HD. When we pick her up from work a customer also wanted to buy our truck. I'm hoping I get lucky and can find a body shop person to keep our truck looking decent for a cash deal. This truck costs more than the assed value of my home!! Thanks again for taking the time to post and being so helpful.

[dla]

Kelly Blue Book is a nice reference, but Craigslist is far better. Regardless what KBB says, your truck is only worth what your local market is paying. Price your truck right and you'll have cash in hand to buy your next truck.

Regarding dealers, you don't need them. Use a broker to find you a used truck.

[09 harley]

I just purchased a 2017 F250 CCLB 4X4, 4.30 and a few more options than Smokey had listed. It was 53225. The dealer in Beaverton, Or took 1600 off the dealer invoice plus there was a 1K incentive, which lasts until 3-17. I have never paid over dealer invoice on the last four vehicles I've purchased.
The total discount on the new truck was 10 3/4 percent off list.

[sam-3]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Where would I get a broker? I am in Niagara Falls.USA Several years ago my brother used a broker to purchase his minivan. He paid $200.00 for this service. I am in New York.