Our mystery car shopping experiment came to an end yesterday when we took posession of our new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.
Here's the wrap up. We got the fully loaded car for $100 under invoice which is was $29,796.01 (don't forget that penny!). We could have gotten the same car in black at $200 under invoice but we wanted the ice metallic blue because it photographs better.
One thing we learned is that pricing on this car is all over the place. We had dealers who wanted to sell us the car at $500 under sticker price. We negotiated in person and only got them down to about $500 over invoice. The lowest prices came from internet sales managers.
We called a large Ford dealer and told the internet manager that we had been offered the car for $100 below invoice. We said we wanted the light blue and said we had seen five of them on their lot. What was their best price? They emailed that they would sell the car to us for 1% over invoice plus a deal prep fee of about $100. This came out to about $400 over invoice.
At first they wouldn't budge from this $400 over price, but the next day the salesman (I had been turned over to sales by the internet manager) said he would accept our offer. They also delivered the car to our offices which meant we didn't have to go through the ordeal of the finance and insurance office.
So, once you test drive the car, there's no reason to stay and make a deal at the car lot. Go home and work the internet and the phones for the best price.
Or am I missing something?
By blueguydotcom
on December 17, 2009
02:32 PM
It's the easiest way to do it now. We did this with my last car, my sister's last car and my wife's car. Email, internet, a few phone calls. Heck on my car I gave them all my info by phone so when we arrived at the dealership I needed to only sign the docs and get my keys.
Right now I'm looking again (long story) and the internet has already delivered great prices on the cars I want. Now I just need to decide on a car!
By bodyblue
on December 17, 2009
03:19 PM
YAAAAAAAAYY Not another BMfreakingW!!! Not a 90K vanity mirror! A real car that a lot of Americans just might be able to afford........Lets hope it holds up well and performs up the hype. This is one of the cars that Ford needs to cement its reputation as Americas best and only independent car maker.
By windsor5
on December 17, 2009
06:33 PM
400dollars over their invoice. What is their profit margain? Is buying a car that easy I have always bought private party. So your telling me I can get a place to lose money just to sell me a car? heck this internet dealership idea is not a bad one. Just wonder how long the market will stay in recession for so the car lots keep doing this?
By brn
on December 17, 2009
07:12 PM
windsor, dealers "pay" invoice, but they also get cash back for every car they sell. The more they sell in a given month, the more cash they get back per car. There's other money too, but I wasn't able to figure that part out.
In addition, they are more interested in warranty work. They know if they sell you the car, you're likely to come to them for warranty work. That's where they make the real money.
By 1487
on December 18, 2009
05:38 AM
"This is one of the cars that Ford needs to cement its reputation as Americas best and only independent car maker."
spare us the "they are the best because they didnt take government money" crap. Please. GM and Ford are making great vehicles right now. Just leave it at that.
By pat1usmc
on December 18, 2009
08:26 AM
$30,000 just seems a little high for a Fusion. I understand its a hybrid but that is a price I wouldn't be willing to pay yet.
By brn
on December 18, 2009
09:50 AM
pat1usmc, it does seem a little high, but it's inline with the hybrid market.
By firstwagon
on December 18, 2009
02:03 PM
I am really interested to hear how this cars performs (drivability, speed and mileage) compared to other long term hybrids.
Aside from that though, it will likely be one of the least interesting cars in the fleet.
By blueguydotcom
on December 18, 2009
04:10 PM
pat, amen to that. 30k for a ford sedan? And no the price does not seem inline with other hybrids. It seems outrageously high compared to an Insight or Prius.
By greenpony
on December 18, 2009
06:07 PM
1487, keep in mind that without your and my tax dollars, GM would still be bankrupt. And with the government still tugging at the puppet strings of both GM and Chrysler, that does, in fact, make Ford the *only* independent American carmaker. Regardless of how die-hard a GM fanboi you are.
By brn
on December 18, 2009
07:38 PM
blueguy.com,
"30k for a ford sedan?"
If it weren't a Ford, it'd be ok?
"And no the price does not seem inline with other hybrids."
It's perfectly in line with a Camry hybrid. It's less than Lexus hybrids.
"It seems outrageously high compared to an Insight or Prius."
The Prius comes it a bit less, but can run up to $30K. The Fusion is a class above the Prius and two classes above the Insight. Of course it's going to cost more.
By blueguydotcom
on December 19, 2009
01:59 AM
BRN, to each his own. 30k for an American economy car seems a bit outrageous to me.
By bodyblue
on December 19, 2009
05:18 AM
"spare us the "they are the best because they didnt take government money" crap. Please. GM and Ford are making great vehicles right now. Just leave it at that."
Ford is making great vehicles, GM is producing nice designs with mediocre quality. GM quality is coming up but is still not world class like Ford. I know you think CR is crazy because it rates Caddy quality near the bottom but get over it. Seen the polls about perception of American Car companies? You probably should not......Ford up......GM....not so much. Buick is a real bright spot in design and it seems in quality.
Oh and a Fusion is not an "economy" car by any means.
By pat1usmc
on December 19, 2009
05:28 AM
Agreed, the Focus is the economy car, the Fusion is definitely not. Still, $30k is too much for me.
I'd consider one at the $26k mark but thats just my opinion, I'm sure it will sell very well.
I'd go with a lower level SE model with the manual transmission and that awesome monochrome appearance package for about $23k.
By brn
on December 19, 2009
10:48 AM
Pat, give it a year or so for the hype to die down a bit. The Fusion Hybrid starts about $1500 over your price point. Once things settle, you'll see them going for $26K.
I'd really like to see a Focus class hybrid. Many adopters would be happy to settle for something smaller.
By blueguydotcom
on December 21, 2009
04:53 PM
Isn't the Focus going away now that the Fiesta is coming and the Fusion essentially fits the bill as the next step up?
By steve_
on December 28, 2009
09:06 AM
I'd like to read more stories about how to have a car delivered to your home to avoid the "rip-off" room. Do you have to sign paperwork that you were offered mop & glow etc.?
Of course with my luck, the F&I guy would deliver my new car to home, complete with the menu of crap I don't need and an hour long sales pitch I don't want to listen to.
By carthell
on December 28, 2009
04:43 PM
The whole online purchase process seems to be impossibly easy now! I used an online resource to attempt to buy a car more than 8 years ago, and all I got were offers to come in and talk to somebody. If it were convenient to come in, I wouldn't have used the internet!