As one might infer from the title of this week’s entry, I went to the dealership with a very different intention for replacing our Lincoln MKZ than what actually transpired. The experience is actually a good illustration of some reasons why Ford made its recent decision to discontinue making cars in favor of trucks and SUVs.
As with several previous leases, we were contacted a few months before the end of the Lincoln’s lease with an encouragement to “come on in and see if we can sell you a new car.” Since we were in no hurry to lease another car and were still 5 months from the end of the lease, we figured we’d have nothing to lose (other than oceans of time) by going to see what kind of deal they would make for us. I wasn’t exactly optimistic, though, since typical lease pull-ahead deals didn’t take effect until three months from the end of a lease, so I figured we’d go home and wait the extra 5 months. Worth a try, though.
I did some research and picked out several vehicles that we’d be interested in, and used the online Ford lease calculator to get a feel for how much each would cost me. I really liked the Fusion Sport (325 hp turbo V-6, AWD) but with the options I wanted the price was north of $40k with a high lease payment to match so that was out. Besides, it would essentially be like buying the same car again since the MKZ rides on the same platform. The Focus ST was another option – the dealer had a leftover 2017 model on the lot, so I figured that I might be able to get a deal on that one and its lease payment should be well below the Lincoln. It was a bit sparse on equipment, though – no satellite radio, no Apple CarPlay, etc. The Mustang Ecoboost was my first choice, though – a reasonably-equipped one was around $30k which (according to the Ford website) translated to a lease payment essentially the same as the Lincoln.
Of course, this dealership is still selling cars in very old-school ways. Even though I had specific stock numbers for cars I was interested in, I couldn’t get them to calculate estimated lease payments for each so I could narrow down my choice. As a result, we had to spend nearly 2 hours test driving cars since they wanted me to try the car first and then tell me how much it would cost. Also, this dealership’s methods for inventory control were, shall we say, behind the times? Finding a given car meant wandering the lot pressing the keyless entry remote’s panic button and listening for a horn honk.
I liked the Focus ST as it was quite fun to drive (250 hp in a relatively small car). However, I’m not getting any younger and the car seemed a bit frantic to me. I figured that it would wear on us if we drove it every day. The Mustang was definitely my first choice – the Ecoboost engine offered plenty of power, the automatic transmission was responsive (too much traffic around here to really want a manual), and the interior was reasonably roomy (except for the salesman who was crammed in the backseat). The seating position was low but I could still get in and out of the car without having to take an aspirin first. Most definitely the one I wanted, even though they only had the Ecoboost available in black – I don’t like black cars, myself, but if the deal was right I’d make an exception.
We drove the Mustang first and then the Focus. When we were putting the Focus back in generally the same place we found it, my wife noticed the stock of Escapes lined up near the Focus parking area. She asked if we could test drive one of those, and I agreed, still figuring I’d be able to pull off the Mustang. My only request was that we would look at an SE with the Sport package (black wheels and grille, fog lights) as it looked the best. The one we drove came with the base infotainment system that had a laughably small screen positioned very close to the base of the windshield. The screen was probably 4-5 feet away from the driver and was the size of a deck of cards – not exactly an upmarket look for a car stickering at just under $30k. My wife really liked the Escape, though, just as she had three years ago when we were buying the Lincoln.
Now that we’d spent hours test-driving cars whose affordability was a major question mark, it was now time to talk numbers. The salesman seemed oddly reluctant to calculate lease payments for more than one car and we had to press him to do both the Mustang and the Focus. I had also told him repeatedly that the only way we were going to buy a car that day was if they would take the Lincoln for whatever the current payoff on the lease was – I could keep the car for another 5 months and turn it in without paying anything to make it disappear, so why pay something to make it go away early? So off he goes to calculate payments.
Of course, this payment calculation takes forever to do – amazing to me, since I could calculate lease payments online on the Ford site in a matter of seconds. It probably took somewhere around half an hour for him to come back with answers, which he’d printed on sheets of paper.
The answers I got did not make me happy – their initial offer showed me losing $2000 on my Lincoln, putting down a large sum of money for the Mustang, and still paying about $100 more each month for the Mustang than for our current car. I was not happy – I’d told him I didn’t want to lose money on my current car and wasn’t going to put any money down. I also asked him why the lease payment was WAY higher than what Ford showed on their website, and was met with a shrug.
The Focus wasn’t any better. The 2017 leftover model with very little in the way of equipment, which I’d expected to be just a bit more than my Cruze per month, turned out to be $50 more than the Lincoln per month. This was a total non-starter and I made my dissatisfaction known. He brought over the sales manager and tried to give me the hard sell, but I wasn’t budging. I found myself pulling the same trick my dad always did – lean back from the table and fold my arms to look stern. I told the sales manager that these lease payments weren’t going to work, especially since I could get the Chevrolet analogy (Cruze, Camaro) for a lot less per month. He said “We’d love to get you out of that GM car and into a Ford” which made me laugh out loud.
As they went back to try (unsuccessfully) to get the Mustang numbers down to something reasonable, my wife told me that if we bought the Mustang she wouldn’t want to drive it at all. This was something I’d never heard from her – she was usually good with whatever car I brought home, but she didn’t like something about that Mustang. That pretty much ended the Mustang idea.
At this point, the salesperson is potentially seeing a sale walking out the door (not surprising, since he’d not actually secured any great lease pull-ahead deals or anything else to make us buy), so he asked if we wanted to talk about the Escape. This produced a positive response from my wife, so I went along with it. My only requirements were that we look at the SE sport package and we find one that had the Sync 3 infotainment system with the larger screen. They had one in stock so in old-school dealership style he hurried to go get it so we could be tempted by it well before we had lease payments in hand. Not going to work, man – especially since I don’t particularly like SUVs. I was still in the “I can leave now” mode, but my wife was more convinced we were going to get the Escape.
Their first payment proposal for the Escape showed us breaking even on the Lincoln but still paying $50 more a month for the Escape, a figure we’d already turned down at least once. I guess they weren’t listening. They finally asked the age-old question, “What can I do to sell you a car today?” Answering that question was a lot easier now that I was older and could really take it or leave it, so I made them a counter offer.
In the final accounting, we did bring home the Escape for essentially the same payment as the Lincoln, in a transaction that took nearly 6 hours start to finish with a missed lunch, for us to bring home a car that my wife really loves. I guess that’s what counts, since it’s her car.
So how is the current Escape to drive? The 1.5 liter 190 hp 4 cylinder is perfectly adequate but not amazing, the car is large enough to handle whatever hauling we need, and the handling is somewhat better than acceptable for a tall box. At the moment, just three months into our ownership, the fuel economy is what I would call mediocre – 20 mpg is something that I can get from my 30 year old Thunderbird SC. It does look pretty good – I am assuming that black wheels will end up being a fad that will probably play out by the time we trade it in, but it looks good now. It still comes with a key (a rather cheaply made one at that) – pushbutton start is available only on the higher trim models. My wife finds it hilarious that I always forget the key since my car has the pushbutton start. First world problems…
So, this brings the CC community up to date on my cars, and this will be my last COAL entry about a specific car. Next week I’ll sum up 40 cars over 30 years and see what I’ve learned. (Probably nothing, if you ask my wife…)
Where I live, this is called a Kuga, and it has become very popular since the face-lift – ( which makes it look more like a Hyundai ).
I fear those black rims wouldn’t stay circular around these parts though…
I’ve been tempted to rebadge mine as a Kuga and replace the rear reflectors with the rear fog lamps found on EU-market Kugas, much as Ed Stembridge did by turning his Chevrolet SS into a Holden Commodore:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-2017-chev-ss-my-year-with-a-dinosaur/
I’ll admit I was initially disappointed when Ford replaced the US-market Escape with the Kuga/Escape, as the old Escape had a more rugged, truck-like look. At the time it felt like a move of desperation on Ford’s part, as there was little to no money for a US-specific replacement for the Escape, and we kept hearing that it was all well-planned as part of the “One Ford,” global platforms plan. Yeah, right. To my eyes, the Kuga/Escape looked smaller, cuter and less capable, and initially I wasn’t a fan of the chopped-off rear styling, as compared to the no-nonsense, squared-off tail of the outgoing Escape.
But I’ll also now admit that I was wrong.
Not only did Kuga/Escape grew on me, I’ve come to appreciate its more upmarket feel, it’s obvious European details, its comfort, and its relative efficiency. My mother – who passed away nine weeks ago – wasn’t all that much into cars, yet she loved riding in my Escape in the last year of her life. She was always commenting on how comfortable and quiet it was, the last part of which I found odd, because I’ve certainly owned quieter, more luxurious vehicles.
Where I live,they are also marketed as Kugas, although that may not have been a best choice, as “kuga” means plague here 🙂
Not a bad SUV though, especially diesel, just wrong name…
And you wonder why Car Max is so successful?
I grew up in a car dealership, knew the “secret stuff” thirty years before the Internet made it public, and in the last ten years have lost any and all tolerance for the usual dealership crap. Yeah, I could save an extra couple of hundred going the six hour run and feeling slimy by the end.
My time and mood is too valuable for that.
And I’m convinced that wives are a major factor in the death of the sedan.
I’m convinced that Ikea and Costco are responsible for the death of sedans. Wives may spend more time there, but husbands often end up unloading. And hatches are easier on the back regardless of who you are.
Yeah, the dealership sounds like an old school place. Same as the one I work at. Say what you will, but it works well, in my opinion, for the lot, and the customer. As a former salesman, I can tell you walking back from the sales desk with that high first pencil is the longest walk in the world, knowing the customer is likely to bolt. The secret is presentation and negotiation. I doesn’t matter how low a price I bring back to the customer, it’s always too high. The ones that sit down and say, “Your best deal right up front, I’m not playing games”, always turned out to be the biggest game-players to come down the pike. I’ve walked the CarMax lot; it’s pretty, and decently organized, but the prices are outrageous. I likely would never buy there or anywhere with “no haggle” pricing. My first car biz job was at a dealer transitioning to “no haggle” (they have since transitioned back to “haggle”). I had a customer walk out over $400 on $40,000 deal; haggling is the paradigm they’re used to and expect in the car biz. You may get a better price at CarMax, or you may not. As far as saving several hundred, or even a few thousand, dollars by spending a few more hours hammering out a deal, is well worth my time. And the slimy feeling? I’m too poor to be too proud….
At least you also got a hatch as a redemption ?
Very enjoyable COAL series and congratulations on the Escape. I have to say you have more patience that I do – at this point, any time I pick up a negative vibe at a Dealer, I’m out the door. I’ve learned that poor sales persons, poor stock and inventory control, poor time management just means more headaches if you have to go back for warranty work, etc. Jim.
WOW, Syje, I hadn’t thought about that, but I believe that you nailed it about women being heavily responsible for the death of sedans.
And most days I haven’t the patience for 6 hours of the kind of ordeal described here.
When I was buying a car in the mid 70s, I visited the Ford dealership that my father’s friend owned. Even though the owner/salesman was blind, he could tell you where on the lot you could find every car in inventory. (Looking for a Pinto? Go out the back door and turn left.)
It also irks me when folks at dealerships act like customers have no idea that the internet even exists.
Last night I visited a local Ford dealer’s website looking for a Focus or Fiesta….preferably with a manual transmission. Out of 470 new vehicles, I found 2 Fiestas with manual transmissions. Want a Mustang with a manual transmission? You better want a GT or an Ecoboost powered car in blue, black, or grey. Truck? Nearly 300 F-series in stock.
It’s an atrocity of human nature that it’s 2018 and there are automobile dealerships handling business as though it were 1978.
Or 1958!!!
You have been assimilated into the Borg. 🙂
Also; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxFp7atlOwI
It’s a nice looking car – very Subaruesque. I can’t help but detect a tone of defeat and resentment throughout this piece. If it’s your wife’s car, she’s driving it, and it makes her happy, that’s what it’s all about, right?
The dealer I bought my 2008 Escape from also had poor inventory management. When it came time to test drive a few vehicles, they often couldn’t find the keys because sales people weren’t putting them back in the correct spot. I finally settled on the one I waned to buy and the paperwork was drawn up. I was going to be able to pick up the vehicle two days later. The following day the salesman called to inform me that the vehicle I had purchased had actually already been sold but that they were trying to find me a similar vehicle from another dealership (there was one 200 miles away). I was mad and complained to the dealership General Manager. His response?…….”Look, you either want an Escape or you don’t.”
I think you made a good choice. Of course, I’m a bit biased because I own an Escape…and a Mustang, both in black. You might say I couldn’t make up my mind. ?
Alas, your fuel mileage is about the same as what I’m getting on my commute: 21 mpg seems to be my average, and I’m now at 33,000 miles. Interestingly, it doesn’t vary all that much when I use the EcoMode display to adjust my driving habits towards getting the highest “scores” on “Anticipation” and “Speed.” I’ve pretty much decided to just drive it normally, rather than use the display to hypermile another 0.2 mpg out of a tank of gas.
In a year and a half of ownership, I have a few very minor complaints. Like most Ford vehicles that are not trucks, I find the fuel tank to be a bit on the small side; undoubtedly I was spoiled by the ~20 gallon tanks in my Maxima and Altima. I find the cargo area lighting to be inadequate, which I remedied with hidden LEDs. Speaking of the cargo area, I miss being able to open the rear glass in the cargo door (as I could in my ‘05 Vibe). And finally, I rue the day that the battery needs to be replaced, as it’s crammed way, way back and under the cowl (but as I get older, I tend to pay to have such things done for me).
All in all, I’ve been happy with mine, especially with the deal I made on it. I was looking at new ones, and literally stumbled upon a low mileage lease return with exactly the equipment I wanted.
I use a nicely equipped 2015 EB Mustang as my D.D. I love it, but it has its limitations. I’m on my own, however the Mustang is perfect for two adults. The back seat is torture for anybody over 5 ft tall. I keep the rear seats folded down, and you can pile a lot of stuff in the trunk..
Unless you live here it never snows quality winter tires are an absolute necessity. The Mustang is super maneuverable in traffic and easy to park . However finding space to open the doors ?? A little tough.
That all being said “A happy wife is a happy life ” you made the right choice.
When I was shopping in 2013, Ford started playing that same game with me. Not giving me concrete numbers on the price of a base Fiesta with 5 speed, taking forever on every little thing, evasive answers on my trade. I finally told the salesman I was going to go get some lunch (i’d been there three hours and wasn’t near to sitting down and signing an agreement) and went down the street to the Nissan dealer to look at what they had in stock in my price range. I had just made a counteroffer on a Versa S with 5 speed (I like stripper models – less stuff to break!) when the Ford salesman called me all mad and pissed because he’d seen Nissan run my credit report. That cinched the deal with Nissan. Every experience I’ve had buying a Nissan has been quick, painless and without the usual angst. I think that time it took 90 minutes from when I stepped on the lot ’til my car was back in the prep area. Toyota was pretty painful, I’d have to think twice about going back there. Of course it might have just been the way J Pauley Toyota in Ft. Smith was.
American car dealers are their own worst enemies. This isn’t 1978 anymore, dolts.
Let me guess: Randall Ford?
It was called North Point Ford in North Little Rock back then. No idea what their name is now.
While you’re justified in disliking the way you were handled by the Ford dealership, your tactics are the reason why so many dealers behave the way they do. My assumption is that the salesperson and the manager were working numbers on the Fiesta when they noticed the Nissan mark on your credit report. Clearly, the salesperson should have been more professional with the phone call and simply asked what he could do to earn your business. But your actions mirror exactly what the average dealership goes through on a daily basis. By not being entirely truthful with the Ford dealer, you reinforced their belief that “buyers are liars.” It’s a self perpetuating cycle.
My guess is you benefited from Nissan’s strategy of selling everything at the lowest possible price, which has its advantages. And if Ford ran your credit before you got to the dealership, Nissan would have known about it, which probably also helped with the price.
Dealers do need to be less cagey when negotiating deals. However, customers aren’t entirely blameless either, as your experience demonstrates.
After three hours of not getting numbers he is requesting, being evasive on questions, and taking forever to provide information, I don’t think Mark owed the Ford dealer anything. Mark appears to have been ready to purchase but the dealer was playing their games, ended up stepping on their own d*#$, and lost what sounds like a sure sale to a competitor.
Maybe the Ford dealer should take a long look at reviewing how it is that Mark had a great opportunity for an excuse to leave and improve their processes, although I really don’t have much doubt that what occurred in fact IS the result of much honing of their process that likely wears most people down to the point they eventually give in and sign whatever is put in front of them. This is the real tragedy here. Good for Mark, more people should do the same.
The Nissan dealer on the other hand appears to have (comparatively at least) respected Mark’s time and intelligence and put together a deal that worked for both sides. The Nissan conglomerate is more successful than FoMoCo workdwide these days. If they and their dealer body can sell an equivalent (in the mind of the buyer) car cheaper and better then they deserve the business.
As I find myself aging, I too have less and less tolerance for dealers and their games, my time is much more valuable to me. That was FAR different when I was in my 20’s and surprises me upon reflecting on it.
The last new car I purchased I arranged everything on the internet. I went in and drove one early in the process and was clear about not wanting to buy that day, and left after the drive. A few weeks later, once I compared all the numbers from several dealers I made an appointment with the one that had the color I preferred to see it in person and finalize the purchase. Total time in the dealership was about an hour which included the trade-in process where they verified the condition of the car that we had agreed to a value on.
And Syke is correct above, CarMax IS successful exactly for those reasons. They respect the buyer and don’t do a hard sell. I’ve purchased one car from them and sold one car to them (at separate times). I was happy with the deal I got on the purchase and realize that some of their cars are perhaps somewhat higher priced that I could find elsewhere, but again, time is important and I will pay a bit more to be satisfied (as will others), and every person I interacted with was professional and didn’t try any BS. I’ve since looked at several others with other salespeople and have had the same experience every time. Selling them my other vehicle was even easier. They look at it, explain their methodology and give a price (clearly, in writing, that is more professional than ANYthing I have ever received from a “traditional” dealer) that is good for seven days. You are welcome to shop it around. In the end their offer was good enough and while the vehicle didn’t end up on their own lot I actually found it at another dealer several months later advertised for 16% more than I sold it for which made me realize I got all the money out of it that was there to be gotten.
“Traditional” dealers are their own worst enemies. If I ask a question, I expect an answer and I expect it now, that’s how it works when I am selling something myself. A small entry-level hatchback with a stickshift sounds like dealer lot poison to me here in America, the proper way to sell that is to tell the buyer your best price the first time around, and if he wants to write a check then and there, let him and then fill that space with something more profitable.
I had a pretty lousy experience buying my MKS at the Ford dealership, too, but the service department was great.
I was ready to purchase. I don’t remember the exact price but it was a Fiesta with 5 speed and a/c for around $12,000 IIRC. Their constant refrain was “We’re still working on it” which translated to ‘we’re going to wear you down until you sign on the deal we want’ as far as I was concerned, and I’d played that game before and regretted it every time.
Buying a car should be like buying anything else without the attempt by the dealer to squeeze every last cent out of the buyer. VW tried that game with me in 2015 and I walked then too. Give me respect and a decent trade-in value and I will sign on a reasonable deal. I never walk onto a dealer’s lot unless I’m ready to buy that day and have my financial ducks in a row. Treat me like a rube or an easy mark and I will leave.
Don’t have to wait, just get up and ‘thanks for time’ and leave. They will call with better price, maybe. No need to waste 6 hours, IMHO.
I’m not clear on how you think Mark “lied” here? As someone who has past experience working in accounts receivable and debt collection, it does NOT take 3 hours to pull a credit report. Not only that, but the fact this particular Ford dealership either a.) ran the report after the customer left or b.) was possibly pulling his report multiple times raises some serious red flags to me that borderline run afoul of FDCPA laws, and can be severely punished. The minute that Ford dealership called up to bitch about what they found would have been the moment I demanded a printout copy of said report with an appropriate timestamp that had better correlate to when I gave them the go ahead to run my credit.
That seemed sketchy to me, too. Either they hadn’t pulled my credit yet or they did it more than once. That pissed me off once I realized during the call that they hadn’t even done my credit score yet – what were they doing during my three hour wait then??
Now that Ford is cancelling all their cars except for the Mustang and Focus – both of which have less than stellar reliability compared to the Fusion – I don’t have much of a reason to drop by. Which is sad because they’re the only new car dealer where I live.
More and more I am becoming impressed with Nissan. I like the Versa. The similarly named (but different car) Versa Note was great to drive
It is actually Toyota dealers. They have a holier then thou mentality. I will take the bus before I buy another Toyota product
I lease my cars. I also can calculate a lease quickly. Why did the dealer calculate a paymant higher than Ford’s website? To add on fees; mop and glow, rust and dust, VIN etching and all the other profit makers
My Acura dealer just moved into a brand new building. I was in the neighborhood, and the General Manager asked me if was ready for a new vehicle. My reply was “You tell me.” I have a 2016 RDX which is 26 months into the lease. He deal, calculated in 2 or 3 minutes was for an identical 2018. Same lease payment , and I make the first payment and DMV plate transfer fee.
I stated that I had a full tank of gas and had just made the May payment. I like the RDX with V6, 6 speed auto, and a rear shifter. 2019 will be turbo 4 cylinder. I’ll probably pull the trigger in a week.
Really good looking Escape! I like these with the recent facelift.
The black wheel fad will pass like everything else, but I like them.
I’m surprised a Ford dealer in a metro area (therefore, with competition) would be so old school and difficult to deal with! Especially since you would seem to be a good repeat customer of theirs.
How do some dealers know where the car is, though? When I test drove 3 or 4 Lexuses (Lexi?) last Fall before buying my ES, I went with several stock numbers I had written down from the website. The salesman would text someone the stock number I wanted to see, and it would appear at the door, driven by a lot jockey. Maybe the jockey just wandered the lot looking for it, for us? It seemed to happen too quickly for that. Do some dealers use temporary RFID chips or something? Just curious.
Having a lot organized is not rocket science. Back when I worked service desk at the Honda shop, we normally kept 50-60 crated ATV’s in stock at all times. I had the lot organized to the point that when a mechanic had to set up and PDI a certain stock number (last six digits on the VIN) unit, I could give him a piece of paper telling him what side of the lot, what row, and how deep in the row plus whether it was top or bottom (we stacked two high). He jumped on the fork lift, pulled out the requested unit, put everything else back in order (and I had no problem getting them to do this, it was to their benefit) and the system rolled on.
Two months after I got transferred to parts, the system was in shambles. Because my replacement didn’t care, and the store didn’t bother to make him care.
Hate payments, either direct purchase, or lease. Have gone to dealers and paid cash (well, a check) for everycar since our 2004 Sebring Conv. When I heard the Plaintive…”I am tired of climbing in and out of this low car (The Sebring) Iwant something I can just slide my butt in and out and has room for my shopping purchases ( I know it sounds so stereotype 60s, sitcom housewife, however, that is the actual wording) If this were the 60s we would be shopping station wagons. However in 2010, it was CUVs so off we went to the local dealership “park” in North Scottsdale to peruse. I had actually called and spoken with the sales manager and made reference to an Edge and the fact we were going to write a check for the car. He told me to see him directly. We went there first, not intending to buy. He had a selection of Edges ready, we chose a pearl white limited, drove it we both found it satisfactory, he had the papers ready, we signed wrote the check in the presence of their finance officer (he was not particularly pleased as he gets no cuts on cash deals. only on the add-ons and we were out of there, just over an hour. Neither of us have any patience with dealership games, I know they have to make a profit of some sort, but, I am not going to sponsor them. learned this form my Dad. he was all business and quite direct. When I bought the Lincoln as my new DD a few years later, I went with payments, thinking it would help freshen my TRW, after 3 months, I hated it, called the bank, got the payoff, and transferred the funds. Boom….I hate paying on time for a car. I know such is not for everyone, and being as both of us are now retired, we will likely not so such again. Sure was fun, though.
“Happy wife, Happy Life”.
Atta Boi!
You beat me to it! Happy wife much more important than whatever features the car has.
That’s not a problem for me; my car has no features. 😀 (Unless a 2-speed automatic is considered a ‘feature’ . . . ).
Since the car was meant to be driven mainly by the COALIE’s wife it seems quite reasonable that she should fancy the chosen vehicle.
Another way to say the same thing: When Mama’s Not Happy – Nobody Is Happy!
I have to ask: once the decision to go with a Mustang or Focus was out the door and you were committed to a CUV (in this case, the Escape), was there any thought of walking and trying any of the competition (Equinox, RAV4, CR-V, et al)? Reviews seem to indicate they’re all good in several (if not all) areas. In fact, the biggest failing of the Equinox seems to be price; evidently, a loaded one can get salty. I’m personally rather partial to the hybrid Kia Niro. If that was the class of vehicle I was considering, I’d definitely have at least test driven one.
Once the dealership starts playing the ‘running the numbers’ stall to wear you down, well, that’s the time to walk, especially when there are so many other decent choices.
Some commenters have suggested that women are to blame for the rise of crossovers and the demise of the sedan. I think it’s due to millennials starting families and finally being in a position where they can afford a new car. 30 years ago it was station wagons, minivans, and SUV’s that families purchased. Crossovers have similar configurations. Times change, but history does have a habit of repeating itself sometimes.
I also think that aging Baby Boomers play a role in this popularity. It’s easier for many of us to get into and out of a crossover.
I’m also surprised that no one has mentioned child safety seats as a factor. The height places you in a more comfortable position for securing the child into the device.
Finally, at least in the US, the height raises the driver up to a better position of visibility, which is not an insignificant factor when you consider that pickups and large SUVs now make up a large portion of vehicles on the road.
Women have ruined pickup trucks. They used to be built for strictly for men. Not so today.
To me it’s the opposite. Today’s pickups are made to look so macho and buff to the point they look ridiculous. I don’t think it’s women driving that.
I guess your right on that. I was grumbling about short beds to accommodate a back seat, and the lack of cheap stripper work trucks.
CAFE ruined pickup trucks.
As massive cars were effectively outlawed by it, pickup trucks gradually took on all the accommodations and occupant space to fill the void.
Boomers started buying SUV’s in the 80’s, with the mid size S-10 Blazer, smaller Cherokee, 4-Runner, Pathfinder, and Bronco II. Then the 1991 Explorer was a home run.
With gas cheap now, Gen X’ers are jumping up and saying they will “never go back to a car again” [as a 40-something friend said].
Millennials see UV’s as “cars”, and love Jeep Wranglers.
Car purists are crying themselves to sleep, wanting more ‘manual trans sport wagons’ on the road. But, there’s more important things than what others do with their cash.
The process described buying the new car is one reason we have a Camry in the garage. From the time we shook the salesman’s hand until we left the dealership with the new car: less than an hour. Negotiation time: zero. “They’re all $4500 off of MSRP this week- which color would you like?” Now granted, we knew which model we wanted to look at when we walked in, so that eliminated a lot of back and forth.
Aerodynamic design is what’s killing the sedan. My GF bought a 2018 Acura TLX, and while it has a fairly massive trunk, the sloping rear window makes the lid fairly small, making it difficult to load. If something slides up against the rear seatback, you practically have to climb inside the trunk to get at it. Who needs that?
Oh and the rise of the pickup truck as a personal transportation vehicle When 30% of the vehicles on the road are pickups, people want to sit higher up in their cars so they have a chance of seeing what’s in front of them.
My Versa is so low I can look up the road under them 🙂
Spent a long time last year deciding what kind of car I wanted then which car would meet my wants/needs. Almost seduced by the the oddball combo of FCA engineering and Jeep looks of the Renegade – but trying to find the elusive combo of a MT and a sunroof was frustrating. Finally decided on a Subaru Forester. The Premium trim with the 6MT includes the sunroof and winter package so it hit every need and want I’d identified. From the time I walked into the showroom until I was rolling out of the lot in my new Forester was well under 2 hours. Yeah, I might’ve been able to shave a couple hundred from the price at one of the newer suburban dealers by playing all the usual new car sales games but why? Not worth my time or the aggravation to save a few percent of the total cost to own. Hard to imagine any modern dealership operating in a manner that would take 6+ hours to buy a car!
Around here in Tualatin most current generation Escapes are not this fancy and I do not think I have seen one this fancy yet. Surprisingly enough there are a number of privately owned base model Escapes around here with Black door handles and wheel covers. The base model Escape also seems popular with various government agencies.
“a transaction that took nearly 6 hours start to finish”
Wow! You are one patient person.
There is no way I would have tolerated that kind of treatment.
I’m easy to please: no compact wagon means no sale.
For every 1 person who wants a compact station wagon, there’s 100,000 or many more buyers of a compact SUV.
VW offers a Golf wagon, but it’s not lighting up sales charts. Sales this past April were down 58%. See here if don’t believe it:
https://media.vw.com/releases/1015
Where are all these buyers who claim they’d buy one? And “swear” that wagons would make a comeback if offered?
Remember Paul’s write up of buying a left over TSX wagon and it had sat at a dealer for how long?
Need paying customers, not wishes or “I woulds” for a favorite body style to stay on the market.
Thank you for an excellent series over these last few months and I look forward to the summary next week. You’ve made some definite zigs and zags and ended up with a few cars that I never expected based on the ones before.
What I’m really curious about though is what your old neighbors are driving now! 🙂
I admire your patience to play stealership games for six hours. I can’t last six minute at dealer scamming. It’s the reason I’m driving used car today.
Fuel economy of 20 mpg shows how a small turbo is all about getting good numbers on the fuel consumption test. My 240 hp Accord gets that in city traffic and does hugely better on the highway. Pushing around a heavy brick has a downside.
After a big accident (rear ended by a texting driver) I was shopping for a new car 10 years after I last purchased one. The internet was a great tool for research and walking into the dealership prepared.
I really tied to “buy American” this time, but without fail the GM and Ford (sorry, Dad) dealerships were distinctly old-school and annoying. The salesman at the Chevy dealer insisted that I drive a car (SUV) that I wasn’t remotely interested in before I could drive what I came there to shop (compacts). Also, Chevy? Hand-cranked windows in 2018?
Needless-to-say, I ended up (painlessly and quickly) in a Hyundai. It would have been a Honda but the Fit has a weird platform under the front seats that gets in the way of my left foot driving position (i.e., I tuck it back under the edge of the seat on the highway – it’s easier on my gimpy knee to be able to switch back and forth.)
The weird platform under the driver’s seat is the fuel tank; Honda places it there to allow for the ingenious “Magic Folding” rear seats.
Nice Escape
Most folks I know that have owned Ford Escapes have loved them. My Aunt is leasing one and she loves it.
I am going to guess that the dealer in question is Academy Ford of Laurel MD? They are old school. I had to get a spare key(non remote one) made for my 2012 Fiesta because I did not want to carry around that huge assed remote/key combo in my pocket. I programed a stand alone Ford keyless entry remote(easy to do yourself in 2 mins without any more expense) and needed the non remote key.
My local dealer Apple Ford did not have a key in stock but Academy did. However Academy did not have machine to cut Fiesta keys (they stated they send the key code off to Ford and 3 days later the cut key arrives). However Apple had the right machine. I had to go to Laurel to buy the key and then go back to Apple to get the key cut.
You stood your ground and that was great. If it had been me, I would have walked out. It is not like you needed a car at that moment.
Syke is right, CarMax is so much easier to deal with. I have had nothing but good experiences buying cars with them.
My brother and sister in law will only go to CarMax.
I got a few deals from internet, but make sure the paperwork matches the email quotes. Sometimes they will “put a finger on the scale”.
This whole idea of the dealer riding in the car during a test drive is a joke. That is why we bought 2 cars from the same dealer. Because he was very relaxed and said, “take the car for 24 hours – drive it around your neighborhood, on the roads and streets you normally use, park it in your garage – see how it fits your life.”
Yup, thats how you sell a car; respectfully and cognizant of other people’s time. I will go back to him again.
PS. West County Volvo in St Louis. Sadly, they don’t have saabs anymore…