gtucker4

Hi folks,

I was just curious to know if anyone had ever negociated with a dealer to include options on their car that didn't come factory installed. I know that's really vague, so I'll clarify. The pony package is only an option on the V6 premium. So is the comfort group. I would really like to have these things on a deluxe model, so I don't get stuck with the Sucknuts 500 radio, and it's ugly door mounted subs. I'd like to see if I could get these things added, and was wondering if anyone, or anybody they know, has any experiencedoing this. Hell, I wouldn't mind just getting the parts, and doing the installation myself, but if the dealer will do it to move a unit, why not? As always, thanks in advance for any input.

FenderParrothead

I have personally never done that, but I do know that it's possible. My buddy just bought a Scion TC about 5 months ago, and told them that he'd buy it only if they made some changes. I can't remember all of them, but I know one had to do with the spoiler. He wanted a normal spoiler instead of the rear lip one that came on the car. I think another may have been the ground effects. Anyway, he bought it, then took it back a week or so later and they did the mods.

I'd give it a try. Worst they can say is "no", then when they ask you if you want to buy the car anyway, you can just smile and say, "no"!

gtucker4

Gotcha. I'll offer to pay them what the options list for on the build-a-vehicle portion of the website, and see what they say. I've literally searched the whole state of AR for a vehicle with the comfort group, that didn't have the Shaker, and no dice. And trying to get the dealer to search out of their region is like pulling teeth... I think they get scared that once you know where the car is, that you'll just go there to buy it. Valid concern, especially if it's within a reasonable distance. It's funny, because the '07 GT deluxe had the ability to be ordered perfectly. You could get the comfort group, and not have to have the Shaker radio. Of course, they didn't do this with the V6... And now, I'm not sure anybody else has noticed, but they've decreased the amount of options you can get on the '08 deluxe models. No IUP, orpower driver's seat for the V6! I swear, an a la cart option structure is the only way to go, so when are they gonna get with the program???

RED121572

I bought mine two years ago when negotiating anything wasnt an option. Good luck!

gtucker4

That's why you never buy in the first year! That, plus the whole bug-fix, early adopter snags and glitches. Best time to pick up most cars is toward the end of their model cycle. Only thing about that though, is that you get the itch to trade once those new models debut...[:@]From what I've seen of the spy shots for the '09 model, doesn't look like enough of a revision on the outside. Maybe it has more to do with the things that should have been on the car for the last two generations. Things like standard front, side, AND head curtain airbags. Stability control, and a modern suspension setup would bring the car in line with all of it's rivals. Oh, and let's not forget, NO MAST ANTENNA, and some DECENT FREAKIN' MIRRORS!!!!! I hope someone from Ford at least skims these forums...

ohnoesaz

When I bought a new Civic in 2000 they didn't have a car with the cheaper options that I had in mind, so they just sold me a better Civic without adding in the cost of the extra options it had.

Remember these dealers want to make sales, end of story. Offer them exactly what you have in mind and tell them you'll sign immediately if they match it, or you won't sign at all. Some will say no, some yes, but it helps defeat the hassle of negotiating.

When I bought my used '05 GT with 6K miles they wanted $24K. But this dealer was in the middle of nowhere so the online AD for this stang kept sitting there.I finally went there and said I'll do $20K firm and out the door, which includes all taxes and fees. They said OK. No negotiating.

gtucker4

That's cool. I'm sure that approach would work, if they'll be willing to find a car that's a close match, and has a lil' more than I want. The problem is, they've got a couple on their lot that I know they want to move, and at this point in the year, I'm not sure if anyone's going to want to dealer trade their older cars. I'm looking at a butt naked GT deluxe, NO options. I really want the power passenger's seat, and the factory heated seats, that come in the comfort group. I also want the SAB. Luckily, it's already got the power DS, and ABS/TC standard. Safety reasons, and insurance discounts would be the main reason. I've been digging around, and asking questions on the forums here, about the likelihood of getting these components put on the car by the dealer, haven't got too much in the way of response. Certain things like ABS/TC, I could understand the dealer not undertaking. But the seat thing, I wouldn't think that would be too difficult, so I'll just ask and see what they say. We're supposed to go to the dealership today after I get off of work, so I'd like to have a pretty good idea whether or not my requests will be realisic or not...

ratnacage

Ford limits some options as part of or with certain packages. The car may not even be able to special ordered the exactway you want. Your best route is to just suck it up and take what comes with it.I wouldn't want the dealer to install anything complex like the comfort group or teh Pony Pkg - it'd be horribly expensive even at dealer cost, then good luck getting it covered under warranty (that's right, just because a dealer does something that YOU want, doesn't mean it's automatically covered under warranty especially if it's an unauthorized configuration). That dealer may cover their work, but another dealer may not.

I think in the long run you're asking for trouble going down that path. By the time you're done with the cost of adding these things, you'll have spent more money, time and frustration (and certain future frustration) than it's worth. If you wanta deluxe for the cloth seats, you're better off switching the leather seats in a Premium to cloth - that's a fairly easy aftermarket mod that most dealers have done routinely (though it's usually the other way around - cloth to leather).

Having been a Ford salesman (no longer though), and don't take this the wrong way - I'm just being straight with you, I'd let you walk before I took on that kind of headache unless I was making some serious money in the process. In my experience, customers that have these sorts of demands will keep coming back to haunt the salesman because the car will never be right (as if he could do anything about it).

Not to mention when you go to sell it or trade it, you won't get one penny of those mods back because on the books it will always be a "deluxe."

americaniron

I wantedmy stang with the frpp handling pack. They didn't know what it was, but after explaining it to them they jumped right on it.

gtucker4

You know, I don't even care if they put the stuff on, I just want the parts. It seems ridiculous that a dealer could not order a complete replacement seat, I just don't understand why. Maybe if I could see a schematic drawing of the two different styles of seats, that give the darn part numbers, I could do a real cost analysis, and figure out if it's worth it. I can't imagine that there's NO part of the manual seats that are not also used in the power seats. There are a couple of seat sets on Ebay right now, from older model years, that have the SAB setup and power DS. A guy on here touched on harness differences between the '07s and the older years. He converted his passenger seat over to power, not sure if he had SAB already though. I would definitely prefer that the dealer didn't have to modify anything, just provide me with the complete assembly and switch gear I need to get it done myself. I wonder if the fact that I'm looking to trade both my Accords in for a pair of Mustangs will help my cause any...