Hello All,

I like this forum- I've been here since I first decided to look at a Protege5. Just took the plunge and bought a 2003 P5.
I think I got a good deal. I work for a company that gets "S-Plan" pricing. So, after an hour of additional barganing, and threatening to leave a few times (nicely, of course), I got this car:

03 P5
Automatic
Midnight Blue
Moonroof & 6CD
ABS & Side airbags
Rear Bumper guard (beacuse of this forum! Thanks!)

List: $19,180

My price: $16,484

That is counting the recent collge grad rebate, too.
Is this pretty good? Did anyone else here get the S-Plan pricing?
Thanks!

 

Very good price. I also paid the S-plan price. I think some folks have gotten a little better by severe haggling or by having purchased a number of cars over the years from the same dealer, but by in large that is about the lowest most folks get. Oh, and I avoided paying the $299 "documentation fee" because that fee is not allowed under the S-Plan!

In total I paid $16,198 for a 2002.5 with a similar set-up (but 5 spd) (with taxes and registration it was $17.3k). The 2003 prices are slightly better for the options, though I got a $750 cash back (incentive at the time) but no college rebate (I'm too old ). If I had known the prices would come down and warranty would increase by one year, I would have waited. Alas, at least I got a 2002.5, which is the same as the 2003, and it was about what I would have paid for the 2003.

Enjoy it!

2002.5 Silver
5-speed
ABS/side bags
Moonroof
Floor mats

 

you should never pay any "documentation fee" under any car deal, as its just a bullshit rip off fee. If the dealer doesnt remove the fee, walk away. They will remove it.

 

Lamsock, Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

 

Very nice price!
How long did it take you to bargin to get this price? Or, I should ask, how did you do it? Do you try and strategy?

 

I bought mine using the S-Plan pricing as well. I got a similar price after College Grad rebate. Also, if you are buying on the S-Plan you shouldn't pay "doc" fees as jas9297 mentioned.

The nice thing about S-Plan is the prices are set by the factory and the price is generally less then you could with any amount of haggling as it's generally a good amount less then the dealer paid for the car. The only thing left to haggle over is warranties/add-ons. It's a pretty pain free way to buy a car and a fair deal.

 

What is S-plan?

 

discounted price for employees of Ford/contributing companies

 

I didnt realize that Mazda and Ford were that tight, that you can get a discount on a Mazda while working for Ford?

Doesnt Ford own like 50% of Mazda?

 

www.ford.com

 

when did Mazda get added to the list of companies at the bottom? I was aware that ford fully owned the others, and dont remember Mazda being on thier website? Did this just happen recently?

 

I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Anyone else may jump in at any time

 

I work for a Ford Partner company so I was able to take advantage of the S-Plan pricing.

The list includes: Ford, Mazda, Volvo, Lincoln, Mercury, Land Rover, Jaguar

However a Ford vehicle was out for me and I couldn't afford a Volvo so I got the Japanese made Protege5

 

I agree if you can do it. I think these fees vary widely, from $0- $50, to $300. In northern VA, it seems all dealers charge a pretty high fee. There is not much negotiation room because if you walk away, you have to deal with it at another dealer. I tried to negotiate and threatened to walk away, but no bite. I even asked them to match the $225 charged by another dealer. Later, I found out about the S-plan rules and they refunded the money (somewhat apologetically). Hopefully, other dealers aren't as obstinate as mine. I think the best chance you have to haggle on this is end-of-year.

 

Thats ridiculous. That "fee" is entirely dealer profit. Nothing more, nothing less. If you negotiated a "fair" price on a vehicle, fair for you and fair for the dealer, there is no reason they shouldnt wave the fee. I think you are getting taking advantage of. Im very surprised they didnt bite when you threatened to walk away. Possibly you had them negotiated so low that they were counting on the fee to make a fair profit, but thats not likely.

From my own experience, a Ford dealer attempted to charge me a $200.00 "administration fee" which was brought up at the last minute, and Im glad I was paying close enough attention to the numbers that I saw them slip it in there before it was too late. I simply said remove the fee or no deal, and they promptly removed it.

You have to be serious and firm though. If you are hesitant, they will still try to milk it out of you.