Purchase question...
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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Purchase question...
This is a little off topic, but still related to the Durango. Questions at the end so please bear with me.
My wife and I have been trying to come up with ways to lower our outgoing bills. One idea we had is to go buy a new truck! ;-) She decided she likes the Durango’s better than our current vehicle and she wants something a little smaller (wish she would have told me that a year ago!).
We have a 04 Ford expedition that is not quite a year old. We purchased it with Ford's A plan and with rebates giving us a $12,000.00 discount off of the sticker price of $43,600.00. We ended up financing around $37,000 after extended warranty, maintenance agreement gap insurance etc.
I recently canceled the above "extras" knowing we were going to trade the vehicle in. I now owe about $32,000.00 on the vehicle.
We spent some time this weekend at a couple different dodge dealers trying to find out what we could do to get out of our Ford and into a Durango.
At the first dealer the salesman didn't really seem too interested in helping us out. Regardless, we test drove a few different Durango’s and found one we liked. With the employee pricing and the cash back, the price was about $28,000. The dealer would only offer us 20,000.00 trade for the Expedition even though it's trade in value books at around 26,000-27,000. The retail sits between 29,000-31,000.
After we decided to give it a shot (with no money down), the salesman went off and came back a short while later with no numbers saying they could not even get us close to our current payment. He mentioned that he could get the payments lower with a 5 year lease. We said ok... give it a shot. He left again, came back a few minutes later with no numbers again and said they still could not get us close. I asked him where we were at and he shrugged and said that the numbers did not matter because they could not carry that much negative equity in a lease. I said something like "Didn't try to hard to make the numbers work did you" and we walked out.
The next dealer was much more helpful. After deciding on a truck in the 27,500 range we ran the numbers. Turns out their numbers were 250.00 per month more than we are paying on our current vehicle (630.00). In addition, in order to get to that 880.00 payment, they wanted 8,000.00 down! Aahahaha! I asked about leasing and they came back a short while later with a lease payment that was similar to our current payment, but still wanted 8,000.00 down!
Discouraged, I went home, logged onto Dodge's web site, searched the dealer inventory for the exact truck we tried to get and ran the numbers myself (including the 8,000.00 down). Purchasing and adding the negative equity showed the payments to be exactly where I thought they should be... not 250.00 MORE as the dealer came up with.
So my questions are this:
1) Would you do this if you really needed the extra monthly income (i.e. trade a vehicle in and lose that much money on it).
2) How much negative equity can you carry over into a lease? Is there a limit or was the first dealer simply BSing us?
3) The second dealer was more helpful, but it seems they padded the numbers. I have heard this is a common problem at dealers, but this seems EXTREME!
Overall, this was the most dishearten experience I have had trying to purchase a vehicle since (oddly enough) I purchased my 2000 Dodge Dakota 6 years ago at a third dealer. I have bought several new vehicles over the years, but have only had issues with Dodge dealers!
I am going to give it one more shot at a John Elway dealership about an hour from me as I hear they are pretty reputable. Wish me luck! Sorry for the LONG post!
My wife and I have been trying to come up with ways to lower our outgoing bills. One idea we had is to go buy a new truck! ;-) She decided she likes the Durango’s better than our current vehicle and she wants something a little smaller (wish she would have told me that a year ago!).
We have a 04 Ford expedition that is not quite a year old. We purchased it with Ford's A plan and with rebates giving us a $12,000.00 discount off of the sticker price of $43,600.00. We ended up financing around $37,000 after extended warranty, maintenance agreement gap insurance etc.
I recently canceled the above "extras" knowing we were going to trade the vehicle in. I now owe about $32,000.00 on the vehicle.
We spent some time this weekend at a couple different dodge dealers trying to find out what we could do to get out of our Ford and into a Durango.
At the first dealer the salesman didn't really seem too interested in helping us out. Regardless, we test drove a few different Durango’s and found one we liked. With the employee pricing and the cash back, the price was about $28,000. The dealer would only offer us 20,000.00 trade for the Expedition even though it's trade in value books at around 26,000-27,000. The retail sits between 29,000-31,000.
After we decided to give it a shot (with no money down), the salesman went off and came back a short while later with no numbers saying they could not even get us close to our current payment. He mentioned that he could get the payments lower with a 5 year lease. We said ok... give it a shot. He left again, came back a few minutes later with no numbers again and said they still could not get us close. I asked him where we were at and he shrugged and said that the numbers did not matter because they could not carry that much negative equity in a lease. I said something like "Didn't try to hard to make the numbers work did you" and we walked out.
The next dealer was much more helpful. After deciding on a truck in the 27,500 range we ran the numbers. Turns out their numbers were 250.00 per month more than we are paying on our current vehicle (630.00). In addition, in order to get to that 880.00 payment, they wanted 8,000.00 down! Aahahaha! I asked about leasing and they came back a short while later with a lease payment that was similar to our current payment, but still wanted 8,000.00 down!
Discouraged, I went home, logged onto Dodge's web site, searched the dealer inventory for the exact truck we tried to get and ran the numbers myself (including the 8,000.00 down). Purchasing and adding the negative equity showed the payments to be exactly where I thought they should be... not 250.00 MORE as the dealer came up with.
So my questions are this:
1) Would you do this if you really needed the extra monthly income (i.e. trade a vehicle in and lose that much money on it).
2) How much negative equity can you carry over into a lease? Is there a limit or was the first dealer simply BSing us?
3) The second dealer was more helpful, but it seems they padded the numbers. I have heard this is a common problem at dealers, but this seems EXTREME!
Overall, this was the most dishearten experience I have had trying to purchase a vehicle since (oddly enough) I purchased my 2000 Dodge Dakota 6 years ago at a third dealer. I have bought several new vehicles over the years, but have only had issues with Dodge dealers!
I am going to give it one more shot at a John Elway dealership about an hour from me as I hear they are pretty reputable. Wish me luck! Sorry for the LONG post!
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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From:
RE: Purchase question...
You should absolutely not be in the market for a new vehicle! Sell your current Ford, for as much as you can. Go buy a used or "pre-owned" late model Dodge that you can afford. Simple.
The key is to let someone else pay for the depreciation. Regarding a new vehicle, if you have to think about it, you cannot afford it!
The key is to let someone else pay for the depreciation. Regarding a new vehicle, if you have to think about it, you cannot afford it!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
RE: Purchase question...
You know... I think you are absolutely right! I have always had the horrible habit of wanting the newest, latest and greatest. Finally I am starting to see the light!
Thanks for the wake up call... I really needed it!
I am going to put the Expedition up for sale this weekend!
Hopefuly in a few weeks, I will be the proud owner of a used Durango!
Thanks for the wake up call... I really needed it!
I am going to put the Expedition up for sale this weekend!
Hopefuly in a few weeks, I will be the proud owner of a used Durango!
