Buying a Mustang in Iraq

Hey All,

I recently deployed to Iraq about six weeks ago with the 101st ABN. The Army, through their major supplier AAFES, who sales EVERYTHING that the solider buys on post or otherwise. Anyway, they have a car sales division over here and they sale soley through Ford and Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep. The guys that work there are amazingly funny Irish guys who always talk about the lack of beer and women here. Anyway, to the point... The sales pitch is:

You give them 1000 bucks to put your name on ANY car that Ford DIRECTLY sales to the consumer. You build it to your specs much the same way you would with a dealer. Then give them a build date and a shipping address. Now obviously you wouldn't want it built next month if you're not going to be home like me til December of 2008. So, they give you the total price, from the factory, and subtract the deployment discount, the grand you already gave them, plus what ever the monthly incentive is for that particular month. You get the final cost. The cool part is that if the incentives go up, for example, if I bought it with only 500 bucks rebate in October, but five months later in March they went up to 2500 and back down again to 1000 the next month, you qualify for the highest factory rebate between when you sign the contract to when the car is delivered. Not only that, but since you are overseas, you pay no tax and there isn't a monthly payment. However, if you so choose to pay something, which you will, whatever you DO pay, goes strait to the principal. You haven't financed anything yet since the car doesn't exist for another 14 months or so. Your payments along with the highest rebate offer and the grand you put down originally plus whatever the deployment discount is is deducted from your total balance. By the time you are ready for the car to be built and shipped to your house in the states, they then finance you with whatever bank you choose on the remaining sum of your contract. Your credit then comes into play and whatever interest rate you can get from the banks depends on you.

I don't know, maybe I've been screwing around with the dealers too long on the weekends test driving, but this honestly sounds like the BEST deal I have ever seen on a car. Maybe there's too much sand in my ears or something, but I just wanted you guy's opinion on this and if it's a good thing to attempt.

They can do Shelby's too, but not Roush or any other specialty maker since they aren't direct from Ford. The best part of all, if for some reason you decide that you don't want it anymore before the car is built, you can ask for all your money back and cancel the contract since there is no car and no loan! I still have some more questions to ask them, like can I buy a GT500, and about future cars like the BOSS, but I will let you all know more details ASAP. The internet here is really limited so I will try to get back on when possible. Thank for any replys and so sorry for the long winded explaination! :) :)
 
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First of all id like to warn you of OPSEC and FORCE PROTECTION with your sig.. Secondly, I bought my stang through the military new car sales and it was far from that easy to acquire my stang, id think it would be harder being over there but who knows, maybe they have changed the way they do business...:shrug:
 
Ditto -
First of all id like to warn you of OPSEC and FORCE PROTECTION with your sig.. :

I bought a 2003 Mach 1 in Germany through AAFES just before I deployed. The process was much like you said and I was very pleased with the whole thing. But, one word of caution - although it is true that you do not have to pay tax when you buy the car, you will have to pay a state tax in whichever state you first register that car. That's how the AFEES whole overseas sales thing works. I had to pay 8.25% state sales tax when I registered mine when I got back from Germany. I did the same thing in Korea and bought a vehicle there that I actually took delivery of and drove around while I was in Korea. When I got to Texas I had to pay their state sales tax when I registered it. In both cases I knew this before hand and saved up my money in anticipation, so just be sure you have the money saved for the taxes when you get back. All in all, I was very happy with my AAFES overseas vehicle purchases.

BYW - I was wondering if you were deployed now, since the last thread we exchanged messages on. Good luck, listen to your NCOs and get back safe!:flag:
 
For deployment, stay safe and stay honorable.

For your sig, save it for when your no longer there. It just isn't wise.

Ditto

If you buy it while over there or over here I would still make sure you check in your state and make sure you have to pay state taxes. In Ohio active duty military stationed outside the state may purchase the vehicle outside the state, title and register it in OH and not pay sales tax. I have done it with two vehicles and it saves a pretty good amount of cash, it would at least be worth looking into for Florida assuming that is your Home of Record, it has saved me 3 or 4 grand.
 
I spoke to the AAFES reps when I was over there last time (March 05-March 06), both at the Camp Victory and Taji PX's. I was looking at a GT convertible, which at the time were still quite new. Neither AAFES rep ever mentioned the program that you discussed in your posting. I can tell you that their overall price wasn't as competitive as what I got by waiting until I got home and then ordering a new 07 after I was back for about 4 months at my local dealership. The rep at Taji actually gave me a completed order form on a GT convertible that someone else had ordered as a pdf file on my thumb drive for me to look at when I had time (I still have it somewhere if you want me to e-mail it to you). I was surprised by the number of "junk fees" that they had added into the price, which brought the price up somewhere around mid-point between invoice and MSRP. Keep in mind that when I did my shopping through AAFES the convertibles were still new. Perhaps that accounted for some of the excessive fees in the final price. The car that I ordered once I got home was exactly what I wanted, took only six weeks to arrive, and was sold to me at invoice. My suggestion would be to get their best offer IN WRITING, then shop it against your local dealer when you come home on your R & R.
Thank you for your service. :flag:
I was there for the invasion in 03 with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Task Force TARAWA, and then again in 05-06. We lost 18 Marines during the invasion on 23 March 2003 in the Battle of an Nasiriyah (see my sig). Not a day goes by that I don't think about those guys. :(
Listen to your NCOs, trust your gut, keep your head down and your powder dry.
Semper Fi!
 
I bought an F150 through overseas sales while I was stationed in Okinawa and picked up in SC. The process was just as you described, and worked well enough.

I ended up out the door (total price, taxes/fees/etc) ~$4500 under sticker on the truck, granted I was just 22-23 at the time and didn't do a lot of comparing, but it seemed like a good deal at the time.