Quote Originally Posted by know1 View Post
Just started looking for my own new F150 a week or so ago. I'm not in a big rush, but a local dealer had the truck I want so I went in, drove it and made them a fairly low offer. They said they couldn't do that and I was on my way. I've got time to be patient and get what I want for a good price.

Anyway, a couple of days go by and the salesman calls me up and tells me that if we meet halfway, we could have a deal. I was already willing to do that so I told him I would and I started making plans to head to the dealership.

A half-hour goes by and he calls me and says his manager told him he couldn't do that deal and could I meet them halfway again? I told him no and then he asks me if I could just come up a little more. We agree to a price and another half hour goes by and finance guy calls me up and basically says they can't do that deal and that they can't come down at all.

Now maybe the price I thought we had agreed to was too low, but the sales guy should never have agreed to a price with me that he couldn't do. They're lucky that they weren't dealing with my wife because she got pretty upset by it. She might have posted all over Facebook that they were dishonest and possibly gone down there and marched in front of the dealership with a sign.
I agree with you, something was wrong there. Thought. When you get to an agreed price on the phone, request they send to you a 100% completed Retail Buyers Order for your review and POSSIBLE acceptance. If you see numbers you like, initial it, and fax or send a scanned copy back. When you arrive at the finance guy, if any numbers have changed, smile, shake his hand, and just walk out.

I've sent buyers orders to Illinois for used F150's, across town to bank VP's for new F150's, and several to Fort Knox soldiers for Escapes, Edges, and Focus ST's. If it comes back signed, that's a done deal and we only have to set up a time to do the paperwork, and do the delivery. It it comes back with a counter offer, or a verbal phone offer, we do another order for what we can do, and sent it back for initials. Sometimes we can't move because we literally went all in right of the bat. Sometimes we can move a little, and take an even slimmer deal.

The bottom line really, is a good deal is the one both parties can agree to accept.