Buying a truck, need advice

Cole Slaw

New Member
Location
Florida
Hi all,


I'm buying a new F-150. I have bought cars before, but this time, i'm ordering it custom from the factory and trading in my old truck. They said it will take 8 weeks to deliver.


The odd things that are bothering me are:


1) We agreed on the price and trade-in without ever doing a credit check. I know i have excellent credit, but what if i didn't? What if it were so bad that they couldn't loan me the money?


2) I'm thinking about paying for it cash without a loan, but they said i need to take out a loan to get the rebate. How many months do i have to do the loan before i can pay it off in full?


3) They are letting me keep my trade-in truck until the new one arrives. What about the additional miles i put on it in the meantime? Does this affect the trade-in price we agreed on? They said it doesn't.


If you have experience with this type of purchase, could you let me know if all is normal here?


TIA
 

If you are dealing with an established Ford dealer, and have a signed contract, there should not be any problem. If you are taking out a loan through this dealership, or any Bank, you can be Sure that the office staff checked your credit history, before the salesman signed the contract. Insofar as paying the loan off early, check with the dealer...or whoever you got the loan from...and they should be able to tell you how soon you can pay off the note. If you have to pay on the loan for anything more than a few months, the loan interest will probably eat up most of your Rebate.
 
First of all, You should check with other dealerships AND other BRANDS. Ford isn't the only one making pickup trucks.
Paying cash is the best way, you get the pink slip right away, rather than the bank. The dealers get a kickback when you take out a loan to pay for the vehicle.
 

If you are dealing with an established Ford dealer, and have a signed contract, there should not be any problem. If you are taking out a loan through this dealership, or any Bank, you can be Sure that the office staff checked your credit history, before the salesman signed the contract. Insofar as paying the loan off early, check with the dealer...or whoever you got the loan from...and they should be able to tell you how soon you can pay off the note. If you have to pay on the loan for anything more than a few months, the loan interest will probably eat up most of your Rebate.

Thanks for the response!

The only thing i have signed is the price agreement. They said that they do not do the actual contract until the truck is delivered.

They could not have possibly checked my credit history as i did not give them my SS#. When i asked them about whether they were going to check it, they said they would do that when the truck was delivered. The reason was because the credit score is only good for 30 days and the truck wouldn't be delivered for 6-8 weeks.
 
First of all, You should check with other dealerships AND other BRANDS. Ford isn't the only one making pickup trucks.
Paying cash is the best way, you get the pink slip right away, rather than the bank. The dealers get a kickback when you take out a loan to pay for the vehicle.

I did check other trucks, but the F-150 is what i want. :)

I am definitely thinking it will be easier to pay cash, but the salesman told me that i would lose the $750 rebate. He suggested taking out the initial loan to get the rebate, and then pay it off after a few months. He was vague about how many months, etc., and i have no idea if he was telling me the truth since i'm sure he gets some bennies if i take out the loan.
 
Thanks for the response!

The only thing i have signed is the price agreement. They said that they do not do the actual contract until the truck is delivered.

They could not have possibly checked my credit history as i did not give them my SS#. When i asked them about whether they were going to check it, they said they would do that when the truck was delivered. The reason was because the credit score is only good for 30 days and the truck wouldn't be delivered for 6-8 weeks.

OK...all you have now is a "promise to purchase". When the truck arrives, it will only take them a few minutes to check your credit score, and history, etc. If All you are getting is a $750 rebate, you will Certainly lose money by taking out a loan...vs., paying cash. If you check the finance and interest charges, you will probably find that this $750 rebate will be quickly eaten up.
Another thing you need to look at is what this truck is going to do to your Insurance Premiums. Ford is meeting a Lot of resistance from traditional truck buyers with its new Aluminum Frame/Body construction...vs. Steel. Aluminum will be Substantially more expensive to repair if you get into a Fender Bender, and you can be Sure that the insurance companies will be factoring that in when they write a policy.
 
Hi all,


I'm buying a new F-150. I have bought cars before, but this time, i'm ordering it custom from the factory and trading in my old truck. They said it will take 8 weeks to deliver.


The odd things that are bothering me are:


1) We agreed on the price and trade-in without ever doing a credit check. I know i have excellent credit, but what if i didn't? What if it were so bad that they couldn't loan me the money?
You have agreed on the price and trade-in. There, so far, has been no agreement about payment. The truck comes in. They notify you. If you can't finance it or pay for it, deal's off. In most cases where the buyer can't finance through something like Ford Motor Credit, they would make every attempt to finance you with a high risk, high interest finance company.


2) I'm thinking about paying for it cash without a loan, but they said i need to take out a loan to get the rebate. How many months do i have to do the loan before i can pay it off in full?

Many of the television commercials advertising incentives rattle off that you must finance with Ford Motor Credit, Chrysler Credit, Toyota Credit, etc. The terms are built in where there will be an early payoff penalty... usually equalling the amount of the incentive. By the time you pay "loan origination fees", "administrative fees", etc. they will hide more than the $750 in the finance deal. You will meet some really hard sell, when you pick up the truck, trying to get you to fianance it with them. If you can pay cash... do it. If you can't, shop and find the best financing option.


3) They are letting me keep my trade-in truck until the new one arrives. What about the additional miles i put on it in the meantime? Does this affect the trade-in price we agreed on? They said it doesn't.

There should be no added costs. When the deal was struck, they knew you would be continuing to drive the truck until the new one is delivered. Just make sure there isn't some fine print on the purchase agreement that contains a cost-per-mile clause.


If you have experience with this type of purchase, could you let me know if all is normal here?


TIA



Mods, this is cross-posted in financial. Please remove that one if necessary.

Good luck with the new truck!
 
Is the 750 really that important on a 30000 dollar purchase?
You can almost always get a better deal financing with the dealer than you can on a cash deal. Dealer receives an incentive on the volume of loans he writes for the finance company. He loses on a cash deal!
If you drove in in a car with your tag or showed your license for a test drive,they have checked your credit. They might not have the exact score but the have prequalified you.
You need to check Florida laws to see if prepayment clause are legal or not,some stats yes some no. In my state of NY they are illegal, Florida has much weaker consumer protection laws so you will need to check. Incentive deals may be different read the contract carefully before signing. Tell the you need to see the exact contract before you commit.
Last several vehicles I have bought I let them get their financing vigorish made one monthly payment then paid in full.
 

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