The front strut bar was purchased from Ford of Taiwan. The remote fuel filler door consists of a Ford of UK Maverick fuel door combined with the release mechanism and new interior scuff plate from a US Mazda Tribute (01-05.) 01-05 Tributes came with remote fuel doors as do Fordd of UK Mavericks. The door edge gaurds and scuff plates are Ford US items, everything else is aftermarket.

 

Wow, that is odd.I would probably do it.The depreciation on 9000 miles($25000 car)-crudely calculated- is maybe $2400-PLUS you get to start the warranty over.
I am still suspicious of the dealer.If they want an "old hybrid" on the lot, why don't they just toss a little dust on it and park it with the used cars??It would be worth at least $2000 more than a used one(tax credit). There is something they aren't telling you/us. Heck, they could sell it to a buddy-giving the buddy a great price for his trade in so it would be a no sales tax sale.The buddy could then just trade it in for his used car.They would have to pay Title and license fees twice-maybe $300 total, but it would be waaaay cheaper than trading a new car for a used car which is at least a $2000 loss..
Strange.Charlie

 

How are things in New Orleans? It is without a doubt one of my favorite places and we are wanting to go back as soon as the websites say the places we usually go are open. We wish you guys down there the best...feel helpless except to send some money.

 

Umm. Who is going to pay the sales tax? And any other registration fees? I say its a bad idea.

 

newgreenie- thanks for the kind remarks. NO is slowly coming back.The floodwalls are almost repaired, so we will be?"better protected" than last year.They are actually much better walls/levees than we had before, but that is faint praise.
Many,many tourist/entertainment/eating places have reopened.We are a tourist city, so that is important.Our current population is about 200,000-down from 460,000.There isn't any housing left to accomodate any more returning folks, so I suspect 200,000 will be it for a while.
Crime was waaaaay down until about March 2006.It(actually just the murder rate) has spiked recently, but it isn't carjackings or holdups; drug turf wars are the explanation. In general the metro area is still much safer than pre katrina.
Many,many folks(wife/RN) are still out of work because their jobs/buildings(Charity Hosp /wife) are gone-more or less.
We are currently blowing $$ in Flagstaff AZ.We took our greyhound and newest cat/kitten on the road trip.Wife like the various arch. sites, and the cool temps in the evening are a nice change.
Our home is actually 4 miles WSW of the main break in the 17th street canal floodwall.We were lucky,no flooding(River Ridge was well named I guess)-just slight wind damage.
NO is coming back.If you can take the heat it is a good time to come.There are probably lots of bargains-prices are probably down as hotels and rest. reopen.
Thanks,Charlie

 

My parents got a similar call from the Honda dealer regarding their 2003 CR-V last year. On the phone they said that they would buy their CR-V and give them a new one for just a little more so they could get some used CR-V's on the lot. When they arrived at the dealership, the dealer wanted an extra $10,000 to upgrade them to a new version.

 

Archslater-now that is what I expect the real story might be.The dealer gets you in the door, and them puts it to you.The deal might involve different interest rates on the financing so the "jobbing" wouldn't be so obvious.
If the Escapes were bought with low interest rate loans then the loam company might give the dealership a kickback to be able to redo the loan at 6-7% instead of 3-4%.
There has to be something in it for the dealer.The "need used vehicles will trade for new" is BS.There is a screwjob hidden in there somewhere.
It would just be too simple to just park a new FEH on the used car lot.YOU NEVER GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING-ESPECIALLY FROM A CAR DEALER.Luck,Charlie
PS I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they are targeting women for this scam.Car dealers were notorious for ripping women off.Women-in the past-just didn't expect to be robbed while someone was smiling at them.
Now,I'm not implying anything sexist here, but women have been targeted in the past by car dealers.

 

Hi,
Well, the deal is that I own the car outright. So, in "theory" it would be an equal trade although he was offering to give me the extended warranty which I did not originally purchase and he was willing to subsidize my after market leather upgrade. As I posted earlier, I met a woman at the grocery store who has a FEH and she was contacted. When she went, she learned it was an even trade but she did have to pay for titles, tags, taxes and transfer and she had to pick from what they had on the lot which werent as nice as the car she had. So there are out of pocket expenses. Most of the people in my community whom Ive seen driving hybrids of all types are women, hmmm...I wonder what on earth we were thinking!!!!!!LOL

 

I can't imagine how having a late-model, low-mileage Escape Hybrid on their used car lot would be good for the dealer. If I was shopping for a used car and saw a hybrid with just a few thousand miles on it I would be forced to wonder why the original owner got rid of it.

The whole thing sounds a little suspicious to me. But, if my dealer called me and wanted one of my hybrids back, I would consider giving one up if, and only if, I came out even or ahead. I just don't see how that could be possible.

JMO.

 

Ray,
you said a mouthful there... If I saw a current year/model on a dealer's lot with low miles like that, I would also wonder why the previous owner got rid of it as well. However, if I had seen my FEH on the lot, it would be obvious (05 FEH AWD w/25000 miles on it...) btw, that is 25,000 miles in 10 months...

I did notice the other catch as well... seems like the dealer is having the people with nicer equipped FEHs traded even up (so to speak) for a cheaper less equipped vehicle.

When I purchased my FEH, I had a choice between an 06 FEH AWD with similar options or my 05 FEH AWD... After considering the 2, the 05 was the better bet. The 05 had more options and had a cheaper price tag.

This said, if the dealer's offer is valid like you stated, and you did take their offer, you would end up with the cheaper version of you vehicle. Plus the dealer would end up making more money in the long run... Don't dealers make the majority of their $$ from used sales? After all, they have more room to fluctuate price on a new vehicle than a used one...

just my 2 cents..
Rich