How I Saved $8,000 on a 2021 Ford F-150 Platinum Powerboost, and you can too!

[@todddecker8698]

Thanks for your information. I did all my homework and sent a detailed enumeration of the features I wanted included in a 2023 Ford F-150 Platinum PowerBoost truck. Chip called me within a half hour after sending it and we discussed some of the features that had to be removed due to supply constraints. It bothers me that Ford has to remove the heated steering wheel and the auto/start stop feature to complete the order. Nonetheless, Chip sent me a quote within another 15 minutes or so. Within an hour of sending my first email, I had a quote for a truck that (after tax) is a little over $9,000 lower than the MSRP my local dealer would charge on Long Island. I pondered for a few days, looked into the cost of flights and found the travel costs and travel time were remarkably similar to yours. I placed my order yesterday. I expect my truck in about 4-6 months.🙂 I should note that two local dealers here haven't even responded to my email inquiry about pricing from over two weeks ago! We're in the Amazon-order-everything-online age... they had better wake up to shifting sales paradigms or they may see their car selling businesses evaporate in the coming years.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Awesome! That sucks on the supply chain stuff… I thought we were finally past that, but Chip was the man. I have no affiliation with them but they were up front and delivered on every promise so I’d certainly buy from them again.

[@rickvanderweide2813]

Thank you for your video, it was helpful and encouraging. I'm currently in the process with Granger for an F150 to be shipped to CA. So far, so good. Much better pricing than I can get here.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Awesome! My F-150 is still going strong and I hope you enjoy yours and the experience! Not sure how much you like to drive, but I rather enjoyed the road trip from IA to NH in my new truck and they were great about picking me up at the airport and Des Moins was a pretty neat town.

[@kksan]

What shipping service do you use to make such arrangement? I'm also a CA customer thinking about purchasing from Granger.

[@rickvanderweide2813]

@@kksan I used "fisher shipping" on the loose recomendation from Granger. They don't endorse anyone, but they told me this company charges a little more than the others but the results are positive and consistent for customers. I hope this helps.

[@mitchmagic4216]

I will be buying from a dealership for the first time and I had about a thousand questions. This video answered all of them. Awesome job!

[@TheBigHeavy]

Awesome! Good luck!

[@v9237]

Very informative video my man! Thank you! you’re also very well spoken.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Thanks! To quote Hans Gruber: "The benefits of a classical education..."

[@usmcgrunt02]

I went through Granger as well, Chip is awesome!

[@mariomarotto4540]

Thank you for your response. It is very informative for my decision 👍.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Glad it helped!

[@mattdorsey9906]

Wow,just checked their website,and cheaper than any other dealer I've seen. I'm even from iowa and never heard of these guys

[@timkerwin6886]

Great Video. Lots of good info thanks for posting.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Glad it was helpful! I look at buying a car like a competition and actually enjoy the process of finding a deal. Good luck!

[@GearsGadgets]

Great info. Great deal. Enjoy the new truck.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Thanks 👍

[@davewmck]

Excellent video! Thanks for the content

[@TheBigHeavy]

Glad I could help!

[@tcbridges]

I paid $364 in DOC fee. Pissed me off the dealer said its standard. I purchased same truck as you but in a loaded Lariat 502A pack. Mine msf was $68,100. I got $4900 off pluse $1500 Ford Discount. Then traded in a 2012 F150 brfore i thought og trading ming in KBB was $17000 ywell they took om thade in and got $25,500 for mine. So right now wth 2700 miles and owe a loan balance of $32,000 loal at 3.45 interested. Love it but going to see if i can do a platum or Kung Ranch for a 2022

[@TheBigHeavy]

The doc fees are pure profit, and are like calling vinyl seats "Vegan Leather," it's just semantics to make you feel better about getting hoodwinked. As long as you're happy with the truck and the deal overall, a few $$$ isn't too bad in the long run. Enjoy the truck!

[@anthonylan2295]

Great video and I'm getting ready to order one soon. I didn't find a Chip Giles but wondering if it was Chris Jiles instead?

[@TheBigHeavy]

Check here, I see his smiling face in cell B1: www.grangerford.com/staff.aspx. I believe I also put his email address in the video although I can barely remember where I put my left foot sometimes so who knows! Good luck!

[@timcornett2569]

Great video and very timely for me. You mentioned getting $1600 in rebates but I may have missed what those rebates whether any were from Ford. Can you elaborate? Thanks!

[@TheBigHeavy]

Glad this helped! Yes, all the rebates were from Ford. Basically when I talk about "rebates" they're all from the manufacturer. In my case, they were: $1000 special order rebate (I believe this may have expired) $500 Farm Bureau member rebate (the video talks about this. Basically buy a $40'ish annual membership, wait 30 days, and you get $500) $100 "We'll throw you a bone" rebate Others you might be able to get (with proof) are recent college grad, emergency services worker (fireman, EMT, etc.), medical worker, veteran, and I think they do one for teachers. Google "Ford Rebates" and that should help. The "holy grail" of rebates is the PCO aka Private Cash Offer, which is basically a rebate specific to one individual and historically these were in the $1000-3500 range. From what I've heard Ford stopped issuing them due to the supply shortage. Usually there's way better stuff like "truck month" rebates and whatnot, but with the supply shortage Ford and its dealers are regularly getting MSRP so deals are few and far between.

[@kal7049]

@@TheBigHeavy What is a private cash offer? Is that when the buyer purchases with 100% cash?

[@TheBigHeavy]

@@kal7049 No, it's Ford's term for what's essentially a customer-specific discount. People call them a "PCO" and you'll usually get an email or something int he Fordpass app that gives you notification of the PCO, amount, and an expiration date, and they're generally good on most Ford products. I got one about 9 months after buying my F-150. Your dealer can also look in Ford's systems and see if you have a PCO, and then apply it to your deal. So essentially, if I have a $1,000 PCO, and negotiate a price of $50,000, the dealer should ultimately write me an invoice for $49,000 since Ford "put in $1,000 cash" (hence the cash terminology). Whether you pay actual cash or finance doesn't matter. There are some stories of shady dealers looking to see if you have a PCO and then pocketing the cash.

[@jeffersonwcox]

This is an excellent analysis, how do I find my specific truck builds invoice cost?

[@TheBigHeavy]

I believe Edmunds.com will let you do this (or at least they used to), although things get a bit tricky sometimes with the options. At a minimum, you should be able to get the invoice price for a particular trim level online with a little Google-fu, and then if you reach out to Granger they'll do a build sheet with MSRP and invoice for each option. Good luck!

[@huguensonalexandre141]

Hello Big Heavy, Thank you so much for the info regarding Granger ford. I reached-out to Chip and provided me an invoice price for my build. I have a Student discount for $750, and there is a current $1000 Rebate. Chip informed me that those rebate will be considered when my truck arrives. In other words, he wasn't willing to discount it off the current sale price offer. Did you have the same experience? if not, what do you suggest?. I specifically recalled you informing us to solidify the numbers before moving forward.

[@TheBigHeavy]

The rebates seem to get a little bit squirely as to whether they're "finalized" at ordering or purchase. Something like a student discount should apply for the long term, and the "fine print" for the $1K should be on the Ford website and some of those apply at order and some at pickup. I couldn't get Granger to put the rebates in writing, but they did apply them (Farm Bureau and Dealer Order) without any problems so as long as you disclose them and have all the documents you need you should be set! Not sure if you can stack Farm Bureau on the Student discount, but annual membership was like $40 and provided a $500 rebate.

[@skrsys]

@@TheBigHeavy Rebates only apply at delivery. Market incentive rebates generally change every month, so whatever is available when you take delivery applies. Organizational discounts (military, Farm Bureau, student & etc...) don't change very often, so you can usually expect to get them.

[@Kiplingers]

How did you decide on Granger? Were there any other dealers closer to you that may not have had that good of a deal but good enough to offset the plane tickets and travel costs?

[@TheBigHeavy]

I tried 3 local dealers and they all hemmed and hawed about even doing X-Plan (this was at the start of the infamous semiconductor shortage), and one laughed outright about matching Granger's quote. No one would even get within $4K of Granger. When I called Chip he was no-nonsense, no haggling, and helpful, so I looked at it as a fun way to have a roadtrip and see a part of the country I've never seen before, plus Granger had a good reputation on the various Ford forums. There's another dealer called Chapman up in PA that appears to be matching the 3% below invoice that Granger is doing. Their a slightly easier drive, although I think their doc fee is a bit higher, but they would have saved me about 8 hours of driving if the car had come when I was in the Carolinas vs. NH as I'd originally planned.

[@mariomarotto4540]

Great video! I'm ready to purchase the F 150 Platinum, can you share with me what was your package and options! Also I like the 36 gallons tank, but don't come with the powerboost option. Is the powerboost worth the extra money? what kind towing package did you order?

[@TheBigHeavy]

Awesome! I think you'll like the F-150. I got the following (from the window sticker with MSRP for reference): - 701A (aka Platinum High package w/ B&O, power tailgate, tailgate step, 360-camera package) $2685 - Smoked Quartz Tinted CC $510 - Powerboost full hubrid $2500 - 3.73 Electronic Loc RR Axle, Active Park Assist, 7350# GVWR Package $0 (I think these come with Platinum + Powerboost) - Tow Technology Package $0 - Twin Panel Moonroof $1495 - Pro Power Onboard 7.2KW $750 - Interior Work Surface $165 - FX4 Offroad Package + Skid Plates $1005 - Partitioned Lockable Storage $215 I looked at the additional tow package (I think it is called the heavy duty tow package) and with the Powerboost all it really adds is the tow mirrors for like $1000 which is goofy. If you have the non-PB you get the bigger gas tank and I think the 3.73 axle. The tow packages get really confusing and the 701A included Tow Tech which gives you Pro Backup assist and some other goodies. I like the powerboost a lot in terms of performance, fuel economy, and the ability to "idle" and run the AC with the engine staying off save for brief starts to power up the battery. I looked at is as spending $3250 for a really powerful and long-lasting generator that I could use during an extended power outage that has a bunch of "fringe benefits." Good luck with your purchase!

[@Chris.Donley]

If understand these 3% deals with Granger, there is no benefit using X-Plan, you would actually pay more using that? How would you rate the Grangers dealer prep job when you picked it up, everything pristine?

[@TheBigHeavy]

Correct, you're a bit below X-Plan with Granger. In terms of the prep job, I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10, with a 10 being absolutely pristine, showroom-level prep. There were some streaks from glass cleaner on the gauges and some minor dust on the dash, but no swirl marks on the paint from a bad wash or anything damaged. If you have what we'll call "reasonable expectations" you'll be happy.

[@randyshay7280]

What happens when you have problems with it. Do you have to go back to Iowa to have them fixed?

[@TheBigHeavy]

No, any Ford dealer will fix the problem. There's a bit of a myth that the dealer that sold you a vehicle will give you better service. In pretty much every dealership sales and service are completely different departments. Theoretically you should get better service at the dealer that you bought from, but due to moves or things like this, my last 5 cars have been services by different dealers than where I bought from and I've never had a problem and received loaners where needed, etc. Usually the dealer bills the manufacturer for this stuff so it's not really any skin off their back. With Granger they did offer a "lifetime powertrain warranty" that required oil changes at 5K mile intervals (vs. the OEM recommended ~10k) at their dealership. I've seen some other dealerships offer this and it's basically a "bet" by the dealer that getting people to double their oil changes (a high-margin service) will cover the occasional powertrain that blows up past the manufacturer warranty. The other risk is that you lose the warranty if you wait until 5,001 miles, so you have to preemptively change oil before a road trip, etc., so I don't see a ton of value in these.

[@robertlewissr.5732]

How did you handle the engine break in period? Sounds like you put the truck on the road shortly after purchasing. I'm planning to go a similar route.

[@TheBigHeavy]

I’ve had mixed feelings for on “break in” periods and if memory serves, Ford doesn’t explicitly recommend one. I hit some traffic and would down/up shift to vary the RPM a bit, but otherwise didn’t worry too much about a formal break-in. Life is too short and if 9 hours at semi-constant RPM destroys a modern engine I’ve got bigger problems!

[@MichaelTroulis]

Great info. Let us know how you like the truck.

[@TheBigHeavy]

LOVE it so far. I have a video in the works with some initial thoughts, but 3000 mi into it and I don’t regret a thing.

[@ramonsantos5444]

Nice content I looked at a lariat 502 a package in Chicago They stickered at 66,500 but they would not go down on the price and no rebates Did you order your f150 with granger or was it in the lot

[@TheBigHeavy]

I ordered. They basically had nothing on the lot when I ordered other than a couple stripped down XLs and XLTs.

[@Basigman]

Do you uses your massaging seats ?

[@TheBigHeavy]

I do on long road trips. I thought it would be a gimmick but they’re actually really great on any drive over an hour or so.

[@josephalexander2837]

Howdy Big Heavy!! It would appear you received approximately 10 percent off the MSRP. Do you think this is a good place to start my offer ? My build is 65,500 $. I would them to work from my build sheet first . Live in PA. Thanks !!!

[@TheBigHeavy]

If you're working with Granger they essentially do "flat pricing" off of invoice. If you're working with another dealership then you can offer anything... I'm not sure how the supply and demand situation is going these days but I would certainly start with a percentage below invoice and then work from there. Psychologically, it's better for you to start with a number and work up from there, versus working down from a number the dealer gives you. Good luck and let us know how you do!

[@Durttay]

Crappppp. I ordered my f250 9/15. Do you know or think Chip can take over the order so I can do the sale with grainger??

[@TheBigHeavy]

Not sure if you can transfer. Certainly worth a call or email to try!

[@billlatronica6848]

Was there any pressure from the dealer when you went to pick the truck up about add ons and warranties and all that? Like "you can't take the truck home unless you buy the extended warranty" or stuff like that?

[@TheBigHeavy]

They gave a pitch for the usual extended warranty and said theirs was better than the Ford factory one and I could buy and later cancel if I changed my mind. I ended up buying it, doing some further research and deciding I’d get the Ford warranty later from Flood, and was able to cancel with an email and no real hassle. I hate the “finance office pitch” and that was the only minor complaint I had with Granger, but they kept their promise of easy cancellation so I can’t complain too much on that front.

[@billlatronica6848]

@@TheBigHeavy that's fantastic to hear. I'm usually not an extended warranty guy either, but with so much on board electronics and computers, I think it's best to get one for the Powerboost. I'll either buy mine from Flood or Ziegler.

[@TheBigHeavy]

That's my plan as well. I believe you can get the Ford extended warranty within the factory 3/36,000 period so plenty of time to decide. I may go to a Lightning in the next year or two, so I have some time.

[@elliswalker11]

What do I say if they won’t show me the invoice?…I’ve been to a couple places looking for a new Elantra and a new f-150

[@TheBigHeavy]

I’d personally walk, although it’s unfortunately a sellers market these days so it might not help. Alternatively print out the invoice from one of the many websites and start there. Again it may not help unless you want to special order, but the worst they can do is say no!

[@tcbridges]

Good job

[@TheBigHeavy]

Thanks

[@randyshay7280]

Was wondering how you got the invoice price?

[@TheBigHeavy]

Granger will help you out, or websites like Edmunds.com or Consumer Reports have the invoice pricing (they keep moving it around so you have to hunt a bit). Remember that "invoice" is kind of suggested to the dealer, and that the dealer actually pays a fair amount less.

[@randyshay7280]

How did you get the invoice?

[@TheBigHeavy]

Check websites like KBB and Edmunds.com. I think the big review sites (Car & Driver, Motortrend, etc.) also have a pricing tool.

[@suprand]

Wonder what they will do on raptors

[@TheBigHeavy]

Not sure. I kind of wanted a Raptor and then realized I’d be “that guy” that never actually uses it for what it’s designed for. Despite my advancing years a tiny part of me still wants to be a desert racer and hasn’t resigned itself to merely being a dessert racer.

[@suprand]

@@TheBigHeavy I get what you’re sayin but I disagree. You still get all the utility of a truck with all the luxury inside. I go back and fourth with the powerboost though.

[@elvism684]

MSRP+30% 😂

[@TheBigHeavy]

@@elvism684 OUCH! That's a lot of ice cream so I guess I'll stick to being a dessert racer.

[@jamesm568]

Always buy your vehicles with 0% financing.

[@w.anderson8806]

Should be more like $10-12,000.00 from sticker.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Not these days! Maybe once the supply chain gets back to some degree of normalcy. Toyota just announced they’re going to drop production 40% due to COVID and supply chain so unfortunately it doesn’t seem like this is clearing up in the near future.