Not sure if this is for every Ford dealership, but all the ones I contacted in Southern California had this deal with a few of the 2008 Explorers on their lots.

My dad just picked up a new 2008 Ford Explorer XLT for $20,490.

$26,490 MSRP
-$2500 Cash Back rebate
- $500 Rebate for financing with Ford
-$3000 Older inventory rebate
-------
$20,490 + TTL.

I think if you talk to a few dealerships you might be able to do better but we just went with the one closest to his home.

Any good lease deals on this?

yes Ford Explorers are built on truck chassis as far as i know.

So are you saying he paid MSRP - rebates? He should be able to get close to invoice - rebates.

BTW, we have an explorer with over 100k miles, and nothing mechanical has gone wrong with it. I know everyone will chime in and say that if its American, it is crap, but it has run great for us.

According to Edmunds.com: (not color specific with just XLT base package)
MSRP: 26,495
Invoice: 24,771
What others pay: 25,008

After regional adjustment ($358 for socal), destination charge ($785 for socal) and only the $2500.00 Cash Back rebate:

23,651. You should be able to get it down to 20,151 without really having to haggle. Just print out the Edmunds page or something and mention the rebates.

% wise you are seeing about 22% reduction here from MSRP, not bad if you are in the market for it however the Nissan Pathfinders have had about 30% off ish and the Mazda CX-9's over 26% off. So I think more is justified. The 6k should be off invoice then you have a deal similar to what we have seen for other manufacturers.

I think you will find that Ford Explorer quality varies quite a bit with the year. I've had 3 of them - '96, '02, '06. The '96 was very good, the '02 (after 80k) was the worst car I've ever owned, the '06 appears to have major transmission/rear end issues.

Check out consumer reports auto buying guide, I'm not normally a believer in them, but they are pretty spot on w/ their explorer reviews. I'd stay away, buy a 2 year old Tahoe instead.

Link for reference: Worst Car Ever. (2002 Explorer)

BTW - in central FL, @$20,500 is a price that can usually be had for a new XLT, if you are willing to be flexible with what they have on the lot.

You also might want to check out the F-150s. They have up to 9000.00 in rebates on top of employee pricing. It breaks down to something like this:

rebate 2500.00
rebate 3500.00

then you can also get an additional rebate if you are leasing or own a ford. It is 3000.00 for supercab or crewcab and 2000.00 for regular cab.

We just bought a STX regular cab with all the options for just @13000.00 after rebates. I am pretty sure the MSRP was @ 25000.00. We were trading in my DH's focus. It does not get as good of gas mileage, but he feels safer on the road.

jknight said:SmashNGrab said:100k miles is nothing. the real test is 200k.

200k is nothing, the real test is 500k!

Making up arbitrary numbers to deem the reliability of a car is dumb. Most people don't keep their brand new cars until they have 200k miles, though yes, many do. But to make you happy, once our Explorer has 200k miles, I will report back in this thread.

I've got 193k on my '98 (original owner) and it still runs great. The only semi-major repair we've ever done was the rear differential, which was about $700. Other than that its been great with no problems..

jknight said:
BTW, we have an explorer with over 100k miles, and nothing mechanical has gone wrong with it. I know everyone will chime in and say that if its American, it is crap, but it has run great for us.

I will chime in only to say that I absolutely LOVE my Explorer. It is the best car I have EVER owned. I typically buy a new car every year. I have had mine for three years because it has been a pleasure to own and drive! I know, I know...it sounds sick to love their car, but I really do!

Thanks OP! I'm not shopping today for a car, but I hope this helps someone that is!