Teach me to deal, HARD

[Dishtowel]

Hello Gentlemen (and ladies)

I am new-truck shopping. The two top contenders that have caught my interest are the Ford Explorer Sport Trac (whatamouthful) and the new Tacoma. I looked at a Ranger. I decided against it based on interior room. End of story, sorry.

But, lets talk about the Sport Trac. I am interested in an 08'. The 09's will be out soon and I hope to capitalize on an 08 that they want to get rid of. I think I want the 4.6 V8, I personally dont think the 4.0L is up to pushing that much truck around, I do think it is well suited to the ranger, but this thing weights more. I think this is shown by the comparable millage numbers. I also think I am interested in the XLT, not the more expensive and luxurious Limited version.

Until the end of sept they have a $5000 delivery allowance on, but I need to get the price down even more. Please share with me your tactics, tips, and tricks on working salesmen down in price.

Also, an observation of mine is that this is not an overly popular vehicle, and there is not many (was two, now none) on the lots where I live (two Ford dealers). This is cool because it's kinda unique, and not cool because that means there is not parts and aftermarket support for it. Thoughts on this?

And, just for fun, some pictures.

This is pretty bad ass, Looks like a D44? in the front, perhaps D60. Logic says dont life my DailyDriver, but damn, this looks fun. Nothing wrong with some fender flares and 33"s on a DD is there?

 

[Will]

My gut tells me--I would get the F150 Supercrew over that thing. I can't think of a single darn thing that I have that would fit in that bed. Bicycles, kayaks, firewood, crushed stone, riding mower, M371 Bobcat--I've had that in there in the last week or so. Even a 6' bed I could do with in a pinch. No way on that bed.

Most likely I would get a 4 cylinder Tacoma over that if it comes in 4x4. If not that, the a 5.4 Supercrew.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The 4.0 is pretty spunky in my parents regular 02 Explorer, we just went on a trip up to the Black Hills in SD and got 26.5mpg... pretty darn good IMO in a SUV running 70+mph loaded to the gills with people/gear.

The pics of the lifted sport trac are of the first generation, which was based off of the Ranger. If you plan on going that route I would get a used one due to warrentee issues with a new one...

The current style is based off of the Explorer, which has independant suspension front and rear. The result is a vehicle that rides and handles great but is expensive and pointless to lift until you go SAS.

The reason you don't see many of them is they came out just in time to be too late for the SUV craze, about the worst possible time for a vehicle with that much utility built in... crossovers (AKA station wagons) are all the rage now. I wouldn't worry too much about parts, most of the vitals are shared with the Explorer.

 

[Dishtowel]

My gut tells me--I would get the F150 Supercrew over that thing. I can't think of a single darn thing that I have that would fit in that bed. Bicycles, kayaks, firewood, crushed stone, riding mower, M371 Bobcat--I've had that in there in the last week or so. Even a 6' bed I could do with in a pinch. No way on that bed.

I hear where your coming from, but, I am often hauling small stuff, eg, parts that are not welcome in the cab, or snowboards X 4 with gear. I could *almost* have a cabbed in SUV, but then I would just dirty up the inside too much = frustrated that I dont have a open box.

The 4.0 is pretty spunky in my parents regular 02 Explorer, we just went on a trip up to the Black Hills in SD and got 26.5mpg... pretty darn good IMO in a SUV running 70+mph loaded to the gills with people/gear.

The pics of the lifted sport trac are of the first generation, which was based off of the Ranger. If you plan on going that route I would get a used one due to warrentee issues with a new one...

The current style is based off of the Explorer, which has independant suspension front and rear. The result is a vehicle that rides and handles great but is expensive and pointless to lift until you go SAS.

Good to hear about the 4.0L. I know about the 1st/2nd gen, i just like the pics, lol. And I know about the independent on the back. I wouldn't lift it, NOT interested in that with IRS. Fender flares, definite maybe.


Thanks for the input fella's, keep it coming. Anybody got 'I got the salesman down $$$$$ " stories?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My gut tells me--I would get the F150 Supercrew over that thing. I can't think of a single darn thing that I have that would fit in that bed. Bicycles, kayaks, firewood, crushed stone, riding mower, M371 Bobcat--I've had that in there in the last week or so. Even a 6' bed I could do with in a pinch. No way on that bed.

Most likely I would get a 4 cylinder Tacoma over that if it comes in 4x4. If not that, the a 5.4 Supercrew.

They have a bed extender that really makes a halfway decent rig out of it. It isn't meant to replace your 3/4 ton though...

 

[Twitch57]

yes!!! 6 post in and all we've done is critique the op choice without actually answering the question

( i dont like the sports trac either but thats not the point)

 

[Bunnell1988]

Usually the best way to get what you want when dealing with salespeople is to come armed with information. You want to find out how much the truck is selling at other lots, how much its going for online, and how much the competitiors trucks are going for. By brining up this kind if info, you may be able to talk him or her down. This will also show the salesperson that you wont be taken for a ride. You can also try pitting salespeople against each other from other lots. This can work very well if they are getting paid off of comission rather than a salary. Make sure you look out of your area for a deal as well. Are you comfortable with going 100 miles or more to get a deal? If so, test drive the one at the local lot, then go out and look for a cheaper model. I like to hunt for a deal, so thats what I would do.

 

[snake]

I agree. I do most of my dealing on the phone. Try some bigger lots and some smaller ones and pit them against each other. Make damn sure you get the build sheet or sticker on each vehicle (online) so you are comparing apples to apples. When you finally get to the point where you are going to go get the vehicle, get the DRIVE-OUT price. This is the price you actually pay with taxes, tags, title, license, etc included. If they try to add in window tinting, etching, etc to the drive-out that isn't a drive-out price. Compare drive-out to drive-out and have everything printed out. Get the deal e-mailed to you with the vin# on the e-mail so they don't bait and switch.

Keep in mind interest rates are negotiable as well.

Some cities have a reputation for lower prices. I live close to san antonio, but dallas, houston, and austin are close enough to drive for the right deal. I ALWAYS get the better deal in Houston. I can turn you onto a saleperson in Hempstead TX that will give you a lowball price if you want, then use it to see if anyone will match it in your area, lemmie know.

 

[alaskan155]

i wouldn't get the new sport trac with it gay independent rear suspinsion, means twice the work and 2 SAS both front and rear

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

i wouldn't get the new sport trac with it gay independent rear suspinsion, means twice the work and 2 SAS both front and rear

With a BII like his I doubt that concerns him too much...

 

[Dishtowel]

i wouldn't get the new sport trac with it gay independent rear suspinsion, means twice the work and 2 SAS both front and rear

I dont mean to sound like an a$$hole, but.... did you even read more than 2 lines? I WANT A NEW, NICE RIDEING, COMFORTABLE, CUSHY, DAILY DRIVER. Those pics are there for the fun/cool factor. Whatever I get, it might get some fender flares and upsize tires, MAYBE.

Thanks for your contribution.

A parts guy that I deal with daily just finished telling me that his dad has one, with the 4.6L and is not very happy with it at all. Poor milage, trouble with the diff, tranny is odd. Just not happy with it. So, that was a turn off. Who knows though, perhaps he just got a lemon.

 

[pillen140]

i test drove a sport trac. very nice! i love the friggin things! comfortable, roomy, i really liked the power rear window(not a selling point though!). the 4.6 is def the way to go, but those things are above $30,000 arent they? i work at a toyota dealer, tacomas are a light duty truck, ride crappy, and i just plain dont like them nearly as much. still a nice truck though, but i would myself take a sport trac 10:1!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

my girlfriend has an 05 sport trac with the 4.0l and i love the thing. it handles like a ranger, cruises nicely at highway speed with out pushing the Rs too much and you can load alot of stuff in the cab and bed combined. my only complaints are the turning radius, not as tight as id like it but then again im used to my ttb set up with a gear box and steering linkage as opposed to the rack and pinion set up. i also have a complaint about the box depth, its hard to see over the tail gate of this thing when youre backing up. cranking the torsion bars might solve this a little as the bed sits higher to accomodate heavier loads, but she wont let me get under it and play around. the thing only has 36,000 miles on it so i cant molest it yet. id say get one and you wont regret it, +1 on that rear window too, that is bad ass!

 

[Kdawg532]

i test drove a sport trac. very nice! i love the friggin things! comfortable, roomy, i really liked the power rear window(not a selling point though!). the 4.6 is def the way to go, but those things are above $30,000 arent they? i work at a toyota dealer, tacomas are a light duty truck, ride crappy, and i just plain dont like them nearly as much. still a nice truck though, but i would myself take a sport trac 10:1!

x2
my buddy had a new taco crew cab v6 and my 3.0 feels more peppy than that thing

 

[offroadranger]

my main advice, similar to bunnells, is go in armed. Know EXACTLY what you want and what YOU want to pay for it. They are going to ask you "well how much do you want your payments to be?" And talk in terms of payments. This confuses and masks the prices and interest rates to most consumers, but thats fine to play the payment game if you know what you want and how much its going to cost you monthly ahead of time.

Never pay sticker price! And shop around!