GT - Fair Price

I would order it- and lock in the price. Tell the dealer that you are uncomfortable with the add-ons, and with paying sticker. If you lock in the 05 price- it will look good for an '06- guaranteed that they are going up.

I was able to get a great deal up in West Bend WI.

I got MSRP out in Milwaukee at Northpoint ford... ended up paying about 26500

Supply and demand...

It's a bummer, but you're up against economics getting a GT. Supply is low, demand is high... so prices are high too Dealers can and do sell the car for whatever people are willing to pay for it. We're what... eight, maybe even ten months into the '05 being available? Why do dealers still have $2k-$5k markups above sticker? Because some folks out there are deperate enough to pay it. And so long as they are, some dealers will more than likely charge a premium above MSRP.

That said, unless you have access to X-Plan or some other "non-conventional" discount, MSRP is pretty much the best you'll get. One is usually never supposed to pay sticker for a vehicle. However, given the supply/demand situation and the markups some dealers ask, that's not too bad, right?

Some of the guys on this board managed to get their cars at a price lower than sticker, even in the absence of X-Plan. You might post to see which dealers those were (That's in fact how I found a dealer to take my X-Plan). The footwork and/or distance you may need to travel may not be worthwhile... depends on the savings, I suppose. I had an X-Plan pin in-hand but couldn't find a local dealer to accept it... so I'm travelling 1000 miles to get my GT. But then too, X-Plan is saving me around $2k. That's footwork I can do

The interior color package adds red leather, I believe? If you want a little more flash inside, then the $170 is a good buy. What's the exterior color of your car going to be? I think that would play into it too.

Good luck with gettin' your new machine...

Tell him you would rather order X plan unless he comes down on the price, see what happens... also might try doing this the last day of the month, I believe it cost the dealer money to keep the car into the next month, not sure though, maybe someone in here knows the full story on that myth.