Seeing as I like Lee's Raptor build thread, I figured I'd start my own to keep track of everything. I enjoy timelines with time frame's for reference purposes. I'll also use this thread as a build thread. Without Further Ado: Ordering Timeline: Feb 25, 2016: Contact made with Louisburg Ford out of Kansas about the potential to order a 2017 Raptor. Jimmy, my salesman, told me they were doing $50/over invoice on the Gen 1's, but wasn't sure what they would be asking on Gen 2's. July 21, 2016: Jimmy reached out to me via email letting me know the ordering banks were opening up, and they were indeed charging $50/over invoice. Pricing, final total, & everything is worked out over the next few days. Original Order & Pricing: 2017 Avalanche SCREW 802A Carbon Fiber Package Tailgate Step Heated Steering Wheel Tailgate Step Invoice: 60,793.96 MSRP: 65,325.00 Agreed Upon Price Breakdown: Invoice: $60,793.96 Fee: $50.00 Doc Fee: $249.00 Title Work: $350 Total Picked Up: $61,442.96 + Tax (Realistically, $649 over invoice) July 26, 2016: Jimmy sends me the buyers agreement. I sign and email back and call with my deposit information ($1,000) July 27, 2016: Credit Card Charged $1,000 for deposit. July 28, 2016: Email received from Jimmy. Hi DROPOUT, News came down from Corporate this morning that the Raptor’s are no longer open allocation like it was in previous years. So, unfortunately we will not be able to sell these to our customers for $50 Over Invoice. We know this is not good news and believe me when I say we are not happy with the allocation process they have switched to. The cost you would be looking at is MSRP, so I understand if you would like to not order through us. Obviously, I would credit you back your deposit if I have taken one if you decide not to buy from me. Let me know. Best Regards, Jimmy Later That Day: Told Jimmy this was BS. We had a signed agreement and he took my deposit. Told him to shove it where the sun don't shine and refund my deposit. July 30, 2016: Refund Received ~ Not a single word in the email about being sorry, etc... July 30 - Aug 1, 2016: Approx 25-30 phone calls made to local dealers. Found several MSRP deals, nothing under. Also found several that were asking $5k over MSRP. August 1, 2016: Find a new dealer, through an FRF forum member that *may* charge roughly $500+ over invoice. He's not sure whether or not they are taking any more orders or what the wait list might be. I contact this dealer, and am notified that I am #6 on the wait list. At this point, they do not know whether or not they will have that many allocations but will keep me posted. August 9, 2016: New Dealer (who will remain anonymous until order is scheduled and being built) notifies me that I was the last one on the list to qualify for an order as they received 6 Allocations. Double checked that they were indeed still charging $500/over invoice, and it was confirmed. Sent new dealer order spreadsheet with everything I wanted. Took several days for them to process. New Order Looks like this Order & Pricing: 2017 Avalanche SCREW 802A Carbon Fiber Package Tailgate Step Heated Steering Wheel Tailgate Step Forged Bead-Lock Wheels (addition since the original order) Invoice: 61,865.96 MSRP: 66,490 Agreed Upon Price Breakdown: Invoice: $61,685.96 Fee: $500.00 Misc Doc Fee's & Temp Tag: $94.40 Total Picked Up: $62,460.36 + Tax (Realistically, $594.40 over invoice) [Even better than the first deal] August 12, 2016: New Buyers agreement with the following info above on it sent to me. Signed and sent back. August 12, 2016 (continued) Made contact with the FRF member that referred me and gave him the good news. Told him beers were on me when I get there to pick up the vehicle. August 15, 2016: Deposit of $2,500 made. August 17, 2016: DORA received. Originally, I was 6th in line, but because I got paperwork and deposit submitted so quickly, I was bumped up to 2nd in line with a priority code of 12.
It seems that you have time on your hands to make all those calls and chase a deal down, well done. How far do you have to go to pick up your new ride? I see they are putting a temp tag on it, so I assume it's out of state. That's going to take time to go get it , no? Then going through the process of registration back home is kinda time consuming. Myself, I am time challenged, so I made a call on 7-19, talked to the guy for about 5 minutes while sending him an email with the order info. The order was placed with a DORA and level 10 confirmation the next day. I will take delivery with a plate on it and full of premium fuel. I am paying a little less than msrp, and am fine with that because I have been doing business with my guy for 20+ years and know they will pick up and drop off in my driveway for all service needed with a flatbed. My point is, I see a lot of folks like you chasing all over to save a few bucks, which everyone likes to do obviously, but what happens when you need warranty work done? Is your local dealership going to cop an attitude because you didn't buy it there? Don't you wonder if the level of service isn't going to be as high as it would be if you were a regular customer? I'm not brand loyal, but am dealer loyal, and believe it pays me back in spades over the long run. And I am not singling you out, there are guys traveling a really long distance to save a little money which seems crazy to me. Just throwing my .02 in.
Hey @shelteredraptor ... You bring up some very valid points. I'll work through them a bit. 1) I'm a business owner and I spend MAYBE 5-10 hours a week actually "working" ... with that said ... $5k+ in a single day's work ~ my own income doesn't even come close. More than happy to make a single day trip or weekend trip out of it. I'm in a fortunate position which I realize, many people aren't. 2) I only looked at States that were drive-able within a single day. Fly out, drive back, within a single day. Or ... Rent a car, drive up in a single day, drive back the next. Either way, I wouldn't be out more than $200-$300 in travel at most. 3) Registration/Taxes ~ Probably 10 minutes ... and I go past our Clerks Office on the way to work. This isn't the California DMV that could legitimately take hours/days. I'm in and out within minutes. 4) I've owned quite a few "fun" cars .... Viper, M4, Caddy CTS-V Coupe (When they first came out) ... and outside of the Caddy, all the rest were purchased out of state. 5) Breaking down the price .... We're looking at roughly a $5k spread between MSRP & Invoice (in after tax dollars). I'm in a top tax bracket, meaning, that $5k, was roughly $8k "earned". I'm an incredibly frugal person surprisingly, outside of my car. Its the one thing in life my wife has no say over Add sales tax on top ... And we're talking about an additional $500+. 6) I'm not brand loyal at all, leaving me little time to become dealer loyal. This will be my first Ford purchase (Outside of a commercial truck I bought a couple years ago). That dealer is on the "Blacklist" at $10k over. I wasn't able to find a single dealer within an hour willing to order at MSRP ... There were a few that "may" but they had no knowledge on allocation or when I would be able to order. Found a few at 2-3 hours away that were willing to place an order at MSRP, but I'd be near the end of the waiting list. All that said .... It comes back full circle to chasing the almighty dollar. If I didn't put in all that effort, and settled at MSRP, I would have felt like I was cheating myself. Similar to negotiations (which I have to do quite a bit in business) .... I've walked away from negotiations thinking, "Man, could I have done better?" ... I've done it many times and I always kick myself afterwards. Had I done all that work, and the best I could find was MSRP 2-3 hours away, there's a good chance I probably would have still done it. I may have tried to negotiate down just a tad, but knowing they have people lining up behind me, knew I wouldn't have much room to work with. I appreciate the questions @shelteredraptor !!!
What's your plan or how do you manage maintenance or service on a specialty vehicle purchased from a distant dealer? I plan to switch from a Toyota to a Ford (also my first time buying Ford). Current vehicle was off-the-lot and I knew I could find the best dealership service dept - didn't have to be the one I bought from.
Service work should have no impact on where the vehicle was purchased. 1. A reputable dealership should service every vehicle the same and treat every customer the same. That's just good business. A. You may buy from them next time. B. They are still making money on the service. 2. People move, so its not uncommon for a dealer to service a vehicle they didn't sell. They will even service vehicles from other manufacturers. 3. The service department is run as a completely different entity from sales. I bought my wife's 2011 Edge sport from the same dealer that I ordered my 2017 Raptor from. I do not take anything there for service because it's 20 miles from my house and there is a dealer 1/2 mile from me that I prefer. I did not buy either vehicle from the dealer by my house because they aren't willing to negotiate on price. I've never had an issue with service there, whether it's warrant work or basic maintenance. Buy from where you get the best deal. Get service based on the convenience and quality of work.
@crash457 has the perfect response. I'm not concerned taking the Raptor in to any one of the several dealerships in my city. As for moving from Toyota to Ford, I am as well! Coming from a 2015 4runner
I totally get it. I was just curious about your particular case because it seemed like it was as you described, not your first rodeo. How'd you like the V? Do you still have it? I have one of these bad habits too.....
another 2 cents - got a buddy who works in service my local Audi/VW dealer. Service and sales are different "profit centers" so they are not too concerned with where you buy your car. He does tell me time and time again if they have a customer who does regular service/maintenance with them, then the dealer is much more "accommodating" when it comes to any Warranty issues. Best thing you can do is have a good relationship with your dealer service peeps - it can make all the difference. My friend tells me a story of a client of theirs who always brings his Audi in for regular service and brings Dunkin donuts and coffee for the guys in the service area. He has a "highly modified" Audi and they from time to time need to look the other way in order to get a Warranty claim thru. anyway - just common sense - catch more bees with honey. Ill be doing service and maintenance at my local dealer - same one i'm buying my truck from.
Very Nice! I enjoyed the V, it simply wasn't practical. Only had it for several months ... Then moved to a Truck/Viper combo. Made a couple vid's when I had it. One was a muffler delete, the other, when I installed a KPE exhaust.
Current Status: * ORDERED 8/12 - 2017 SCREW * Avalanche * 802A * ORDER PULLED & VIN ASSIGNED 11/17/16 * SCHEDULED BUILD WEEK 12/19/16 ::: SCHEDULED BUILD DAY 12/21/16 ::: BUILT/COMPLETE 12/22/16 * RAMP 58 SINCE 12/27/16 ::: ETA TO DEALER 1/13/17 ::: NEW ETA 1/9/17
I tried looking for a 2017 Raptor in California around the 1st week of October, all the dealers I contacted wanted $10K over MSRP, and $20K over MSRP for Ruby Red or Blue Color. I ended up searching Ford's website outside of CA for inventory that had build stickers assigned to dealers. Finally found the Red color I wanted that was $10K over MSRP located in AZ. All dealers that I contacted in CA, AZ, OR, WA, NV, and NM wanted $10K over MSRP. I found one dealer in NM that was asking $1K over MSRP for Avalanche White Supercrew that stickered at about $68K. I referred this vehicle to my Ford Fleet guy in SoCal and I think he worked out a deal to get it from NM for his wait list customers. DROPOUT, looks like you did a great job buying your truck. I did get the extended service contract 7 Years or 100K miles for $1690, I think that is the only thing I did decent on...they could have thrown that in for FREE and still got over on me. My build date is 11/03/2016, still shows "released, waiting for shipment".
