I had my truck serviced and, thankfully, they found the issue under warranty. With the warranty about up and them finding an issue that would've been nearly 2k without it, I opted to look for a new vehicle. I worked with the sales department and found a vehicle for 24800 and was offered 16k for my trade in. I asked if they would negotiate as I was going to look at other dealerships before signing and they said no because they do "true car pricing." I said are you sure and they said I wouldn't find a better deal.
I went home and searched all Ford dealerships from Columbia to Lancaster to Salisbury to Hickory to Spartanburg. I found the same vehicle at Keith Hawthorn for 24300; when I emailed the FM sales rep and asked for the difference, he said KH didn't offer floor mats. I called KH, they said the floor mats were included and would like to look to see what they could offer me for my trade in. I drove to Belmont and did not disclose Fort Mill's offer until they gave me theirs. After negotiating the vehicle to 23800 and an offer of 18500 for my trade in, I signed with KH.
Fort Mill reached out and asked when I would be in for a test drive the next day, I advised it would not be necessary as I purchased the vehicle along with a second vehicle elsewhere because they would not negotiate when they asked and I got a 3k better deal. They responded stating they would've negotiated if I gave them the chance. Meh, maybe next time they won't shut down my original request to negotiate so quickly...