I don't have any advise for you but I did have a question. I am overseas and I am planning on buying a factory direct Taurus X. I asked about the hold on production but the car sales person did not know what I was talking about. Can you help me? I can't find anything online. I am due to come back in August and the car is suppose to be ready for me when I get there. I need to know what I am headed for. Thanks for your time
Sales people would be the last to know about production schedules of any vehicle. They are the absolute bottom of the food chain.
A planned August delivery of a Taurus X should not be affected in any way by this. This is likely just a temporary hold on production until they work through some inventory that is already at (or on it's way to) dealerships.
The Tauruses and X are assembled in Chicago. Because of slow sales, much of the plant was laid off for much of November. Therefore, it would be hard to special order a car, for at least a period of time. This fall, sales were significantly down from the Freestyle sales the year before - even though the Taurus X is a much improved vehicle with more standard safety equipment.
I haven't seen any attempt to advertise the Taurus X. It is never mentioned in newspaper ads of dealers, and I haven't seen any TV ads. It seems Ford has decided that crossover buyers should all be pushed into the Edge. The Flex is coming out next year, which will use the mechanics of the Taurus X with different sheet metal.
The rebates for the Taurus X just increased to $2,000 (at least in the Northeast US) effective Dec. 1 to around Jan. 2.
I just received quotes from 5 Ford dealerships in PA. over the net. It was amazing how close they were - the differences could be explained by the differences in invoice prices. They averaged about $500 over Edmund's invoice price before rebates.
It appears some of the dealerships report their invoice price as including the regional advertising fees they are required to pay. That makes the dealer's "invoice price" a couple hundred dollars higher than what Edmunds says.
Also keep in mind that starting with production at the end of Sep, synch is included in the base price of some of the models so that adds about $400 to the base price. Dealers probably have both pre-synch and post-synch models which can account for the difference in invoice/msrp prices. You have to look at the window sticker list of standard features to see if it is included, otherwise you won't know.
Thanks for the reply. I have to order the vehicle soon because we are moving back to the states. It is coming factory direct and I am purchasing it through a military car dealer. I just wish that I could somehow contact the factory to ask them directly. :confuse:
"Thanks for the reply. I have to order the vehicle soon because we are moving back to the states."
I would wait until you get back to the states. If you think about it, you are ordering an American car, which will then have to be shipped over on a ship, which you are then going to have to ship back on a ship. That is a lot of exposure to salt air, plus a lot of hassles. It is simpler just to get it when you arrive home.
Purchases Taurus X EB from Sunrise Florida Ford Dealership. Standard price $28,970 plus destination & delivery fees $750. Optional Equip: power moonroof, Aux climate control, Navigation sys, Power lift gate, Sirius Sat radio with 6 months, 18" 7 Spk chrome Wheel, Reverse Sensing sys, DVD family enter center total cost of options $6,260. Toal MSRP $35980.00 Dealer would not move on that price. However traded in 2002 Ford Experdiation EB with 112,000 miles in good not great condtion. Dealer started at $3,000. I said no deal happens until I get $7,000 for trade. Ended as follows $35,980 less $7,000 less two rebates from Ford $2.000 less another private reabate from AAA south Florida and Ford $500 net $26,480.
$2,000 rebated from Ford was $1,000 plus additional $1,000 for not using Ford financing used local credit union instead.
Only bad thing about deal Ford web site said Taurus X EB came with sync standard. As I found out latter Web site is wrong, only cars built after 10/01/07 will have it standard. So any one buying one off car dealers lot will be surprised when you have a phone button on your dash board and it does not work. Spoke to Ford consumer help and was told in nice way Tuff.
So you can now get the moonroof and DVD system in the same vehicle? I believe on the Freestyle you could get one or the other, but not both. I better not let my wife hear about this lest she'll start campaigning for a new Taurus X with both.
We're very happy with our '05 AWD Freestyle SEL with DVD, but no moonroof.
I thought that was kind of weird. What also caught my attention is a dealer that does not charge a dealer fee! Every dealer in Florida in my experience, regardless of make, tacks on a Dealer Fee between $400-$700 (yes, $700!).
I need more information, but quickly running the numbers based on the limited information you provided about your car, (I could be wrong due to the lack of info) it does not look like a great deal! You really need to do your homework! With that many rebates, you should be able to purchase this car $1500-2000 below the invoice price (not MSRP) check Edmunds.com. Where is your next assignment? Some states give the military a tax break if you purchase the car in that state.
Have you done your homework so you fully understand how much the car cost and then compared that cost to the Invoice price? Then, find a dealer in the states and get a quote for the car you want (with all the Ford rebates, at least $1500 + under the invoice price w/o extra fees) and before the normal TTL charges.
Once you have that information you can compare you overseas deal. Since you are picking up the car in the US, I assume AAFES will arrange for the CA TTL. I understand that CA is an expensive state to purchase a car.
If you already signed a contract and put down money, it may be too late!
I test drove the TX EB today at the local dealer, and both my wife and I decided to pull the trigger on the deal. I picked this dealer because they a low-volume "town" dealer, so they are more laid back compared to the highway dealership. The salesperson was an older gentleman who was very relaxed and friendly. He let my wife and I take the car for a test drive on our own, so we were able to give it a nice, long extended test drive.
The ones they had in stock were all loaded up with options we didn't want, so we ended up doing a factory order. I get X-Plan pricing, so that's the price I got. Plus, I get any rebates/incentives that are in effect at the time of delivery. The other benefit of factory ordering was that new orders come with Sync (unlike the ones on the lot which were "Job 1" orders).
The deal:
2008 TX Eddie Bauer AWD Merlot with Gold Accent Reverse Sensing System Heated Seats
MSRP: $32,490 Invoice: $30,388 X-Plan: $30,342 - rebates/incentives at time of delivery
Also, with X-Plan dealers are allowed to charge up to a $60 doc fee, so the total deal is $30,402 - rebates + TTL
Just take a look at the Veracruz, CX-9, XL-7, Outlook, etc... threads like this one and you will see many people paying extra fees (from doc fee, to port fee, and other names I have never heard of). Why do you ask? I am just trying to make people aware of this traps.
Unless you purport to know the different rules and fee's that apply in all 50 States separately, and in all Canadian Provinces as well, you cannot even begin to offer such advice.
Please share your vast knowledge concerning this subject.
Let's be clear, we are not talking about the standard TTL fees charged by counties and states, in most cases these are set by law. (Dealers will try to hide them in this part of your contract)
There is little doubt that the fees we are talking about are just fees created by the dealerships to pad their profits. Without a doubt, the "Doc Fee" is the most common, I have seen reports of as little as $50 to as much as $500. There are many others under different names (Port Fee, Prep Fee, Etc.....)
For a Taurus X, I started with getting prices over the Ford internet sites for vehicles with the options I wanted. They all came back initially at about $500 over invoice. Then I started working with 2 dealerships who were the most assertive (not aggressive) and responsive. I didn't have to ask them to beat each other's deals - both dealers would call me every day or two, find out what the other dealer was offering, and then beat it by $200. It was particularly valuable to get a decent trade in value - in the past I've been low-balled by dealers on trade-ins.
It helped to let the dealers know that I had narrowed everything down to one model, and that I was very straight forward with them about the other dealer's offers. I could tell they could smell someone who was BSing them - they asked questions when they thought the other dealer's trade in value sounded too good. Also, it was helpful to say that I was not in a rush, but wanted to buy before the end of the year. Manufacturers offer incentives to dealers for year end sales quotes.
In the end, the best deal was for an instock model at a couple hundred dollars under invoice (before rebates) and with a very fair value for my trade. Originally, I was going to have the dealers obtain a vehicle from another dealer, but they were able to further discount an in-stock model by digging into the 3% holdback that each dealer gets. As a result, I got a vehicle with more options for the same price.
It is a great time to buy. In the Northeast US, it is $2000 rebate, or $1500 with Ford lower interest financing. The 5.9% financing Ford is offering for 5 years is only slightly less than the 6.1% I got on my own from a credit union.
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice.
With all the rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least equal to the rebate below the invoice price. (ie... $2000 rebate = $2000 below invoice)
Comments were made about extra fees that can quickly turn a good deal into a bad deal.
On my Taurus X, I just had a $50 fee to handle the State documents. When I asked for a quote, I specifically asked for an "out the door price" that included everything except actual State fees and taxes.
The dealership made a very half-hearted attempt to sell me window etching and rustproofing.
I was surprised that the dealership found a lower interest rate than I could get on my own from my credit union. The rate was 5.6% for 5 years.
FWIW - when I picked up my Freestyle, they told me there was a $75 dealer fee of some sort. I told them I would not pay it because I knew it was discretionary on the dealer's part. They refused to budge, but they just turned around and reduced the sale price by additional $75....probably some accounting magic on their part, but it didn't matter as long as my price was reduced by this extra fee.
Some are negotiable, some are mandatory. I guess it depends on your state.
It is a great time to buy. In the Northeast US, it is $2000 rebate, or $1500 with Ford lower interest financing. The 5.9% financing Ford is offering for 5 years is only slightly less than the 6.1% I got on my own from a credit union.
I saw you said that the rebate in the Northeast US is $2000. I am also in the Northeast US and I had thought that the rebate is only $1500. Thinking that my info might be wrong, I checked the Ford website. Looks like the rebate for NJ, NY, and New England is, in fact, $1500.
However, the rebate for PA, DE, MD, and VA is $2000. I am guessing that you bought in one of these states. Maybe I should have driven an hour to PA to make my Taurus X deal!!!
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice. (This number is very low, better deals are being made with the CX-9 and VC)
With all the rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least equal to the rebate below the invoice price. (ie... $2000 rebate = $2000 below invoice)
Just purchased my 2008 Taurus X SEL with leather interior, interior convenience package, second row console, and a few other extras. MSRP was 30,454 with the options, got under Internet/XPlan pricing of $27,764 (one was lower by a couple of hundred dollars) and then took off the $1,500 rebate. Final price was 26,264. Paid $50 document fee. Absolutely love this vehicle!
I should have written down the prices to remember, but now that I look, we actually got the car for $26,200, and going by the consumer reports dealer invoice prices on their $14 report, invoice with our options was $26,504, so we just saved a few hundred off the invoice price.
Xplan then runs about $2,200 more, since their xplan price was $28,700 as I recall. I think the internet price was like $28,350. Our price was $27,700 because we had been told our final price would be $26,200 after the rebate. So, we didn't get invoice minus the rebate by any means.
We did trade a 2004 Honda Odyssey and thus did some tinkering with the numbers to get that paid, since the trade in value was abyssmal. However, this was a lease vehicle so in Texas, we did not get any tax credit for the trade in.
Something is not quite right here. If X-Plan was $28,700, invoice could not possibly have been $26,504. X-plan normally is very close to invoice, not almost $2,200 more.
You know, that's what I originally thought, and I've heard that the internet price is close as well, so I'm totally confused at this point. The info I posted about what we actually paid I know is correct (LOL) but I don't think I can trust the printout I saw at the dealership. Sorry!
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice. (This number is very low, better deals are being made with the CX-9 and VC)
With all the rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least equal to the rebate below the invoice price. (ie... $2000 rebate = $2000 below invoice)
I have bought 2 cars with X-Plan pricing. The X-Plan pricing is as follows:
Dealer Invoice * .996 + $75
In addition, you get whatever the current factory incentives are. Also, the dealer is allowed to charge up to $75 for documentation fees. X-Plan doesn't include tax, tags, license, either.
I have a feeling that the Consumer Reports invoice price that you were working off of might have already included the incentives. That may be where the discrepancy lies.
If you use X-Plan pricing, you are allowed to request the actual dealer invoice. On the invoice, you should see the dealer invoice price as well as the X-Plan price. If it doesn't match, or you think there is some funny business going on, call the X-Plan customer service 1800 number and ask for assistance on getting the deal that you deserve.
I did some more research to see if I could help you out. When you said that you got $2200 over invoice with an X-Plan deal, I figured either there was something wrong with the numbers you quoted, or the dealer screwed you.
You didn't give your exact options, and you didn't say if you got FWD or AWD, so I couldn't get the exact invoice. However, according to Edmunds, the invoice price is about $2000-$2500 less than MSRP. So, if the MSRP for your vehicle is around $30,500, then the invoice price is probably around $28,000. If that's the case, then you probably got around invoice price before incentives, which sounds about right for an X-Plan deal.
So why did CR give you a different invoice price? My guess is that they subtracted the incentives from the dealer invoice. Again, this matches up with your numbers, since you said that the CR price was around $26,500, which is the invoice price minus the $1500 rebate.
As I posted earlier, I factory ordered a TX using the X-Plan. My tentative deal is right around invoice minus incentives, so it looks like you pretty much got the same type of deal.
Comments
A planned August delivery of a Taurus X should not be affected in any way by this. This is likely just a temporary hold on production until they work through some inventory that is already at (or on it's way to) dealerships.
I haven't seen any attempt to advertise the Taurus X. It is never mentioned in newspaper ads of dealers, and I haven't seen any TV ads. It seems Ford has decided that crossover buyers should all be pushed into the Edge. The Flex is coming out next year, which will use the mechanics of the Taurus X with different sheet metal.
The rebates for the Taurus X just increased to $2,000 (at least in the Northeast US) effective Dec. 1 to around Jan. 2.
I just received quotes from 5 Ford dealerships in PA. over the net. It was amazing how close they were - the differences could be explained by the differences in invoice prices. They averaged about $500 over Edmund's invoice price before rebates.
It appears some of the dealerships report their invoice price as including the regional advertising fees they are required to pay. That makes the dealer's "invoice price" a couple hundred dollars higher than what Edmunds says.
Are you getting at least $2000 below invoice not MSRP, but the invoice price?
I would wait until you get back to the states. If you think about it, you are ordering an American car, which will then have to be shipped over on a ship, which you are then going to have to ship back on a ship. That is a lot of exposure to salt air, plus a lot of hassles. It is simpler just to get it when you arrive home.
$2,000 rebated from Ford was $1,000 plus additional $1,000 for not using Ford financing used local credit union instead.
Only bad thing about deal Ford web site said Taurus X EB came with sync standard. As I found out latter Web site is wrong, only cars built after 10/01/07 will have it standard. So any one buying one off car dealers lot will be surprised when you have a phone button on your dash board and it does not work. Spoke to Ford consumer help and was told in nice way Tuff.
We're very happy with our '05 AWD Freestyle SEL with DVD, but no moonroof.
Chad
Did you pay any extra fees (doc fee, etc...)?
If you did not pay any extra fees it looks like about $400 under invoice. If you did, the number would be less.
With that many rebates, one would think the price would have been much better!
Does anybody know of a good extended warranty company?
Damon
With $2500 in rebates that should have been at least a $2000 below invoice deal with no extra fees.
Once you have that information you can compare you overseas deal. Since you are picking up the car in the US, I assume AAFES will arrange for the CA TTL. I understand that CA is an expensive state to purchase a car.
If you already signed a contract and put down money, it may be too late!
Good Luck!
The ones they had in stock were all loaded up with options we didn't want, so we ended up doing a factory order. I get X-Plan pricing, so that's the price I got. Plus, I get any rebates/incentives that are in effect at the time of delivery. The other benefit of factory ordering was that new orders come with Sync (unlike the ones on the lot which were "Job 1" orders).
The deal:
2008 TX Eddie Bauer AWD
Merlot with Gold Accent
Reverse Sensing System
Heated Seats
MSRP: $32,490
Invoice: $30,388
X-Plan: $30,342 - rebates/incentives at time of delivery
Also, with X-Plan dealers are allowed to charge up to a $60 doc fee, so the total deal is $30,402 - rebates + TTL
Again, many are falling for extra fees, please watch out. Hopefully, the rebates will be $2K or more when your car arrives.
Just take a look at the Veracruz, CX-9, XL-7, Outlook, etc... threads like this one and you will see many people paying extra fees (from doc fee, to port fee, and other names I have never heard of). Why do you ask? I am just trying to make people aware of this traps.
Let's be clear, we are not talking about the standard TTL fees charged by counties and states, in most cases these are set by law. (Dealers will try to hide them in this part of your contract)
There is little doubt that the fees we are talking about are just fees created by the dealerships to pad their profits. Without a doubt, the "Doc Fee" is the most common, I have seen reports of as little as $50 to as much as $500. There are many others under different names (Port Fee, Prep Fee, Etc.....)
Buyer Beware!
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice.
With $2000 in rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least $2000 below invoice.
Watch out for extra fees!
Good Luck.
In my region, the current rebate on the TX is $1500 ($1000 if you take the special financing).
It helped to let the dealers know that I had narrowed everything down to one model, and that I was very straight forward with them about the other dealer's offers. I could tell they could smell someone who was BSing them - they asked questions when they thought the other dealer's trade in value sounded too good. Also, it was helpful to say that I was not in a rush, but wanted to buy before the end of the year. Manufacturers offer incentives to dealers for year end sales quotes.
In the end, the best deal was for an instock model at a couple hundred dollars under invoice (before rebates) and with a very fair value for my trade. Originally, I was going to have the dealers obtain a vehicle from another dealer, but they were able to further discount an in-stock model by digging into the 3% holdback that each dealer gets. As a result, I got a vehicle with more options for the same price.
It is a great time to buy. In the Northeast US, it is $2000 rebate, or $1500 with Ford lower interest financing. The 5.9% financing Ford is offering for 5 years is only slightly less than the 6.1% I got on my own from a credit union.
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice.
With all the rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least equal to the rebate below the invoice price. (ie... $2000 rebate = $2000 below invoice)
Watch out for extra fees!
Good Luck.
On my Taurus X, I just had a $50 fee to handle the State documents. When I asked for a quote, I specifically asked for an "out the door price" that included everything except actual State fees and taxes.
The dealership made a very half-hearted attempt to sell me window etching and rustproofing.
I was surprised that the dealership found a lower interest rate than I could get on my own from my credit union. The rate was 5.6% for 5 years.
Some are negotiable, some are mandatory. I guess it depends on your state.
What was your price compared to the invoice price?
Is there anything wrong with that?
I saw you said that the rebate in the Northeast US is $2000. I am also in the Northeast US and I had thought that the rebate is only $1500. Thinking that my info might be wrong, I checked the Ford website. Looks like the rebate for NJ, NY, and New England is, in fact, $1500.
However, the rebate for PA, DE, MD, and VA is $2000. I am guessing that you bought in one of these states. Maybe I should have driven an hour to PA to make my Taurus X deal!!!
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice. (This number is very low, better deals are being made with the CX-9 and VC)
With all the rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least equal to the rebate below the invoice price. (ie... $2000 rebate = $2000 below invoice)
Watch out for extra fees!
Good Luck.
What was the XPlan price compared to invoice price?
Was there a trade involved?
Thanks
Xplan then runs about $2,200 more, since their xplan price was $28,700 as I recall. I think the internet price was like $28,350. Our price was $27,700 because we had been told our final price would be $26,200 after the rebate. So, we didn't get invoice minus the rebate by any means.
We did trade a 2004 Honda Odyssey and thus did some tinkering with the numbers to get that paid, since the trade in value was abyssmal. However, this was a lease vehicle so in Texas, we did not get any tax credit for the trade in.
Post your best deal in terms of below invoice price:
07 Freestyle $4900 below invoice.
08 T-X $1000 below invoice. (This number is very low, better deals are being made with the CX-9 and VC)
With all the rebates, at a minimum current deals on 08s should be at least equal to the rebate below the invoice price. (ie... $2000 rebate = $2000 below invoice)
Watch out for extra fees!
Good Luck.
Dealer Invoice * .996 + $75
In addition, you get whatever the current factory incentives are. Also, the dealer is allowed to charge up to $75 for documentation fees. X-Plan doesn't include tax, tags, license, either.
I have a feeling that the Consumer Reports invoice price that you were working off of might have already included the incentives. That may be where the discrepancy lies.
If you use X-Plan pricing, you are allowed to request the actual dealer invoice. On the invoice, you should see the dealer invoice price as well as the X-Plan price. If it doesn't match, or you think there is some funny business going on, call the X-Plan customer service 1800 number and ask for assistance on getting the deal that you deserve.
You didn't give your exact options, and you didn't say if you got FWD or AWD, so I couldn't get the exact invoice. However, according to Edmunds, the invoice price is about $2000-$2500 less than MSRP. So, if the MSRP for your vehicle is around $30,500, then the invoice price is probably around $28,000. If that's the case, then you probably got around invoice price before incentives, which sounds about right for an X-Plan deal.
So why did CR give you a different invoice price? My guess is that they subtracted the incentives from the dealer invoice. Again, this matches up with your numbers, since you said that the CR price was around $26,500, which is the invoice price minus the $1500 rebate.
As I posted earlier, I factory ordered a TX using the X-Plan. My tentative deal is right around invoice minus incentives, so it looks like you pretty much got the same type of deal.
Thanks