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Trucks, buy now

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Deere John 
#1 ·
Ok I have some advice for anyone buying a new plow truck this year. I have bought many new trucks so i have some experience in this topic. Note this applies to all brands, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Dodge, Toyota, ect.

You are in one of 5 catagory(s), depending on the catagory depends on when is the best time to buy. Also your location may change things too, this is advice for guys in the maine area.

Catagory 1

Pick up truck stock with out plow ( if its stock with a plow when ya drive off the dealer's lot ya can plow, [might be wise to add extras ])

Buy in like late september to early november.

Catagory 2

Order truck from dealer note this a pick up.

Place order now, it may been 2-3 months before you get your truck. Then it is september or october, and you still have to have the plow installed. You might have to wait another month to get the plow installed, then its orctober or november ( almost time to start thinking about snow).

Cataogry 3

Stock one ton or bigger with body and plow.

You could buy now or wait alittle longer. You can plow with the truck when ya drive off the dealers lot.

Catogory 4

One ton or bigger, no body or plow.

Buy in august to september

This gives you plenty of time to get the plow and body installed by the dealer. Buying early gives them more time to work on the truck they are not rushed things get done right the first time ( not always true ).

If the truck has a body you can wait a little longer doesn't take as long to install the plow as it dose the body.

Catagory 5

Order one ton or bigger truck. Note this truck will come with no body or plow.

Order now, again it could take 2-3 months to get the truck if not a little longer. This means the that when the truck arrives ya have to get it right to the dealer to have the plow and body installed, or if you use two dealers it could take even longer. Buy the time you have the body and everything installed it could be november, time to start thinking about snow.

Ok

Why did i right this.

I know when one truck upfitter gets busy his work is rushed and not always quite as good.

I know of another truck dealer who's mechanics all go hunting for a week in mid november. Meaning no bodies or plows installed.

Also some upfitters buy bodyes just primmed so they have to paint their bodies. Others buy their bodies painted, so they have to order them.

Also right now everyone is busy and not really thinking about how many others will buy plows this fall, and how busy the upfitters will be.

So I posted this to try to bring that truck back into your mind, and get the transaction started, if need be.

I believe the trucks i order will be hitting the upfitter in late august to mid spetember.

Geoff
 
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#3 ·
Geoff's right. The last 4 trucks we ordered (over 4 years) each took 4 months to come in, and my Boss/Arctic distributor didn't get his plows until deer season, so he was scrambling too.
The truck markets are hot, meaning they will build lots of trucks that will sell to average Joes quick and easy. It also means that their focus is (by default) not on building the trucks we need. Start early.
By the way, a small deposit on your new blade (my last deposit was a bottle of Crown Royal, but I suppose cash would do) will most likely hold you a plow at a pre-season or last season's price.

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John
 
#4 ·
I am not sure what is the best time to buy a used plow truck i haven't bought one for a front line piece in awhile.

Last January i bought a 1993 Ford F 250 HD with an 8 fisher plow. The truck was in mint condition. The truck was intended to be a back up, then it got a small plow run, this year it has one purpose a yard truck.

Ok my point is i found a good deal in the middle of the winter.

There is no real perfect time to buy a used plow truck.

Some guys say if you buy one at the end of the season it has been beat and the guy wants to get rid of it. Now the truck might be in great condtion, the spring might be the time the guy decides to trade.

Other guys say the fall is the time to buy. However the trucks in the fall have a chance of being beaten too.

Basicly look all year round. Have a mechanic check out the truck, test drive it, try to find out as much as you can about it. Keep your mind open about trucks too, ie brand of truck, brand of plow, extended cab or regular cab. The bottom line is the trucks condtion, if the truck is in good condition thats all that matters in the end.

Geoff
 
#6 ·
Coming from a former FandI managers point of view as i use to be one at a car dealer.The best time to purchase a car or truck is at the end of the month when the dealership is trying to make there numbers before the close of the month.All American car and truck dealers pay the same price for each vehicle,1 dealer does not buy the vehicles for less than another that simply is not true.But 1 dealer can offer you better pricing than another due to volume and discounts he recieves of his volume which the consumer is unaware of.Example,Ford will have a promotion on lets say f150s,which goes like this,if you sell 40 f150s in the first quarter of 2000 the dealer will recieve 800.00 dollars back on each truck sold.So if its the end of March and the dealer has 35 f150s sold he will give those last 5 trucks away so he can get the 800.00 dollars per vehicle back or $32000.00 in his pocket.The key is knowing which vehicles have such incentives behind them which will make the dealer come to his knees.There are clues the dealer gives which he does not mean to but greed gets the best of these guys and sometimes you can find out which vehicle is a better buy price wise.Dealers will deny that there is any such programs,but i can tell you from 1st hand knowledge it does.this is why you here someone say i got this incredible deal and you cant figure out how he got such a good deal and the guy thinks he got it cause he wheeled and dealed the car dealer,WRONG,he just happened to be in the right place at the right time,when 1 of these programs was ending.Now if you dont know when one of these programs is going on like most of us there are other things to look for.Go to a large dealer when the salesman hones in on you introduce yourself and ask him how business is file his response in the back of your mind,ask him how many cars,he has sold this month ,this is important to say cars because all car truck dealers think in cars.Dont say how many trucks because he will give you the wrong answer you want to know total number of new vehicles they have sold.When you 1st walked in you should look for "the desk" this is where the salesmanager or FandI may sit.The desk will be in a spot central to the showroom floor so he can monitor all sale people.Look behind the desk and there should be a tote board of some kind which will have the saleman names on the left side and then customer names on the other count them for the total cars out and count your salesman cars.If you see only 40 cars delivered and the saleman told you they sell 100 vehicles a month and its the 26th day of the month you are about to get a sweet deal on your truck.

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J PARKER
914-485-4200
 
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