Know of any good inventory search engines. I'd like to just put in my address and say search a 500 mile radius, or heck, 1000 mile radius .

Went to http://www.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/ but it's all gooey flash stuff and is not very walkable by the nice Google spiders. The ford site seems to only list the 5 nearest dealers (whether or not they have a FEH).

Anyone know of something like yahoo auto, or cars.com that can search dealer inventory a bit more intelligently.

On the positive side, I did seem to find 2 FEHs after punching in a few dozen zip codes. Next question is price. My company has fleet pricing, and it's supposed to be bullet proof, but I don't know how seriously local dealers take stuff like corporate mandates. I know Toyota dealers in Texas could care less what corporate tells them to do, they'll sell the car to the highest bidder contracts be d*mned.

So has anyone found a good way to find a FEH, and if so, has anyone been able to get a dealer to honor a contractual discount on one?

Ohh yea... cities I checked:

Houston
Clear Lake
Galveston
Tomball
Bryan
Tyler
Dallas
San Antonio
Austin

Found 2... one was the wrong color, and the other didn't have leather.

Ohh well, may add my name to the "waiting" thread here in a few days.

11011011

 

The Ford site allows you widen your search any distance you want.

 

Sorry, they took that feature out!

I was helping a friend find a Mustang just two weeks ago. Back then, at the botton of the pull down list of the five most local dealer names, there was an option to widen your search. Selecting that found the next five dealers. Selecting it again found the next five. So on and so on. By selecting it over and over again, you searched dealers that were further and further away.

Why did Ford remove that feature?

 

I could not find a really easy way to do it. But here's what I did discover, which is not perfect but works pretty well:

Select a sample town in every area you'd like to see, i.e one up north, one south, one in the middle of the city and so on. At the US Postal Service (usps.com) use the ZIP code tool to find the ZIP for each town and write it down. Then use the X-plan site (fordpartner.com) or the regular Ford site to search each ZIP code.

You only have to do the ZIP research one time. If you've set your browser to remember fields, you get a simple drop-down of ZIPs whenever you search.

 

Use Autotrader.com.

In my opionon, the Ford locator system is terrible and doesn't even remotely reflect the actual inventory at dealers.

Most dealers are willing to honor my x-plan pricing. There have been a couple that said well this is a hot commodity blah blah blah....

Sales of the Hybrid's in the midwest are declining. There alot of them siting on the lots now. Especially if you like the light ice blue color. Which I don't

If you dont get x-plan pricing and a few rebates the hybrid is not economical enough to justify even with the tax break.

Check out the Ford Edge also, I rented one recently got 24mpg. The 2008's HAVE bluetooth, and steering wheel audio controls.

 

I used google maps to bring up a location in which to search in and then clicked on "Find Businesses" and typed in Ford and bam...you can keep extending the search distance as well. Right click to open link in new window, and search inventory and keep on moving.

Honestly though I recommend calling each and every one because at least in the DC area they are moving off the lot so rapidly that the online inventories are never up to date.

 

That's a good idea, using Google maps.

The most accurate searches are usually from the dealers' commercial websites, as opposed to what the Ford system says they have. The problem with that is finding each individual dealer's site. But if you can quickly access them from a search tool like Google, it may take a little more time but the information is more accurate.

And yes, definitely call first and give them the stock number to verify the unit is there.

 

Hey dan se ya on Saturday. You can use Autotrader.com Expand your search for 200 miles and dont forget the Mercury Mariner is the same as the FEH, but I found one fully loaded at southwest lincoln mercury, there is also a fully loaded 07 FEH at Sterling McCall Toyota with only 5500 miles for 23K.

 

Yeah, I'd get the Tribute or Mariner, but the X-PLAN cuts MUCH deeper on ford than Mazda or Mercury. Plus there is a ford finance bonus on the FEH right now of $1000 that can be doubled up with X-PLAN pricing. Unfortunately since I bought a Prius this year, there isn't a chance in hades that I'll get the $3000 tax credit. But that is a different thread and prefer not to get set ablaze on that matter.

Thanks guys. Tried the zip code list stuff, and plugged in probably 40 or so zip codes... Came up with 2 hits and took a few hours

Texas has hundreds (if not thousands) of Ford dealers. To cover the entire state, you need a search radius of 500 miles (yes, Texas is almost a thousand miles from tip to tip). Buying out of state is an option but introduces other hassles, like TT&L (twice) and some wacko interstate commerce "delivery fee" on top of the normal 600.

I'll keep you posted.

And yes... I will be VERY interested in your vast knowledge on this ride!

11011011

 

Since your area is loaded with Ford dealers, I'd bet at least one of them has a friendly fleet salesperson who can do the walking for you in seconds instead of hours that it takes you to poke around on the Internet. Plus whatever you find posted in inventory on the fordvehicles.com or fordcredit.com may not be too accurate anyway.
You should be able to call ahead to a local dealer (or send an email) and see if you can get in touch with a fleet salesperson instead of walking in off the street and getting fed to the sharks.
A fleet salesperson can make what you need happen much more easily and the bonus may be that you get to work with a local dealer instead of hunting all over your state.