Okay, so the wifey wants an X badly. She likes the 04, not the new 05. She has it picked down to the color with tow package and LSD. Now we need advice on getting the best deal out of the dealer. She was offered 2K for her trade in, and the car is worth about that. Then some crap about a factory rebate. Prices start at 25, or 26K.
I suspect the dealer can sell these at 22K and make $. Am I wrong? What is the bottom line price? We were going to put 12K down.

thanks

22k would most likely land you an XE 4x4 with 1, maybe 2 packages.

If it were me and her car is not on it's last leg I would wait til the 05's are out and do a comparison between the two different models. 240hp and a 5sp auto/6spd manual sounds very nice to me.

I agree. The new engine is probably worth waiting for!

Just walk out on the dealer until he gives you what you want.

Also, go on the LAST day of the month. They need that last sale for the month.

Good advice from Stone.

It'll also depend on selection. Around here it's hard to find ones that aren't all optioned up. Ours is an '02 and has basically all options except the 6 cd changer and sunroof - it's an XE, and it stickered for just over $26k. I left paying just under $26k, but that included tax, title, and registration, so I probably knocked about $2k off the price after 3 hours of haggling with them.

I recomend buying it from the fleet dept and not from the guys up front. You will find it much easier that way. One of the main benefits is that you can email several dealerships around the valley and talk price and options without even going into the dealership. Also, like Stone said, buy at the end of the month. The dealer is more likely to whore out the vehicle just to get the numbers.
Good luck.