Ford Taurus X Prices Paid and Buying Experiences
Share your Prices Paid & Buying Experiences on the Ford Freestyle.
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Remember, posting the names of dealerships, city and state are allowed - posting of individual salespeople, their contact information (emails, phone numbers, initials or physical descriptions), "email me" or "tell them ____ sent you" is not.
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First one was the closest and getting calls back from him was spotty at best. Second was a flashy dealership on route one. Expansive showroom and quality furnished. I actually placed an order that he told me was really just giving me the right to first refusal. The order never came and did not look like it would any time soon. I needed a car, the dealer could have tied me into a deal by providing me some help with a loaner, but they may have held out little hope of getting a Freestyle LTD FWD build any time soon.
During Presidents day week end I spotted an LTD AWD 7 seating and all the options Merlot advertised for $4,500 under list. I went on line and and saw no car to match it in dealer two's inventory. Perhaps if I pushed I might have knocked it down more. Dealership number three was at the edge of a suburban town center, your basic lot with a brick and cinder block building and a rather stark interior. We closed in an hour, I got the ford 2.9 loan rate and two days later drove away with what I wanted. Price 30,200
Every step of the way since then has been taken by me. Getting a call back is an act of God although I've visited the Dealership, took a test drive, showed them the ad, and agreed to buy. These people obviously don't want to own up to there own publicized offer. I guess the idea here is to get people on the lot and try to sell them into a higher trim line or at least add options. I made it obvious from the get-go that the base SE was what I wanted, nothing more. This musn't agree with their bottom line.
I love the Freestyle but this first experience with Ford is really getting me dark. Don't these people want SOME money? Frankly, I don't see a lot of Freebies on the road. The crossover/small suv segment is mighty crowded and the Freebie is a new player. You would think they would want to try to get some out there so people could see them.
I bet If I'd walked out there without doing any research and paid sticker at some ridiculous interest rate we would have already closed. Does anyone have any idea as to my options?
We received an internet shopper discount of $500, which I qualified for by using the forddirect site and asking for more information. Note: I did not receive any indication from Ford that I was eligible for this rebate-- I got this tip from this message board. But since I was an internet contact they checked and I was "on the list."
Town East Ford regularly has ads in the paper for a basic SE (no options) and they had a couple on the lot recently. If they don't have one in their ad, I would take the competitors add to them and ask them to match-- you have nothing to lose.
We got a discount of approximately $2500 off of the sticker price plus the $500 rebate. The Freestyle with the options we wanted was not in stock and had to be driven up here from near Corpus, so we felt we got a good price.
I paid $500 under dealer invoice. My sales guy told me there was some sort of unpublished dealer promotion. I'm sure they made money off me anyway. This was my first experience buying a car, never mind a new one, so I don't think I did too badly.
I did not do much comparison with other dealers since I had the X-plan, and I liked my salesperson and her manager. We considered having a look at a 2004 Volvo V70, but in the end I'm much happier with the Freestyle. Oh, and one nice touch: As I mentioned, I didn't drive it home because the car has to come in from another dealer. Marshall is not unreasonably far away from me, but my wife would have had to adjust her schedule to get me out there tomorrow. So, the dealer lent me another Freestyle with a dealer plate that I'm keeping overnight, and will just drive back out tomorrow when the car gets here. Very nice! Of course, this evening I picked up the cold my daughter had last week and now feel horrible, so hopefully I will return it tomorrow.
So, in summary, if you're in the midwest and can use one of Ford's plans, you might want to consider buying by the end of April (2005) while the financing and rebates are still in effect. I guess the main thing I learned this time is that if you go into a dealer knowing exactly what you want, with invoice information in hand and a clear idea of how much the dealer will get when you're done, you can have a smooth, reasonably positive experience. Can't wait to do some real driving!
They run these ads and if anyone gets a little to close to buying the vehicle they do a dealer trade. As soon as I find this vehicles vin on another Ford dealers inventory, me and the Attorney General are going to have a chat.
Since this discussion is focused on people's purchasing experiences, please re-post in our regular Ford Freestyle discussion, where those who own this vehicle can give you advice.
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:confuse: Have to share though that we first went to the Ford Dealership we have used for over 20 years but no follow up form them to internet requests, phone calls, or faxes. You would think that more interest would be shown when you test drive, request additional information, AND you're buying 2 new vehicles.
Went to other Ford dealership that we bought our last Ford from - still great difficulty with responses. We had located EXACT vehicles on Internet and faxed info to them. For some reason, they couldn't get the Freestyle I wanted, but did manage to get one similar to the one my husband wanted. :mad: Husband walked out of that dealership when they refused to give FMC financing at rate (per Ford Direct website) and tried to push 5.4% bank financing saying they couldn't do the "deal" any other way. At the same time, I'm at Jim Keim getting my Freestyle below factory invoice....and after quick call from my husband, he ended up at Jim Keim and got excellent deal on 05 Escape.
I was so fed up with other two dealerships that I located the vehicle I wanted by Internet search, called Jim Keim and they went and were able to secure that vehicle from dealership outside of this area. The same day, I arrived at the dealership at 4:00 p.m., and my husband then by 7:30 p.m. We were out by 10:00 p.m. - both deals done. Both deals with the price below factory invoice and with the FMC financing we had researched. The dealership really went the extra mile for us and was successful in restoring some confidence in the car buying experience in my husband. :shades:
I highly recommend Internet search of inventory and finding out if your preferred dealership will "deal" with that dealership - i.e. trade inventory. With few exceptions, dealerships in same central area won't trade inventory so you have to go outside your central area in search of inventory.
Install a 2 inch receiver hitch. Get a Sportsrack or I believe Saris makes a similar design. Those racks hold the wheels on a wheel tray or hoop with a ratcheted arm, no frame contact. No whelel removal. No contact with other bikes if carelfully adjusted. They work with any bicycle that has two wheels. (I think that is the basic definition of bicycle.) I have a Cannondale Lefty, my kids have smaller wheels, 20 and 24 with odd frame configuration and they all work just fine. I have put receiver hitch on a PT Cruiser, my current car, wihtout a problem, as well as a number of vans. The hitch will cost about $300 installed and a four bike hitch about $500. Expensive, but the rack has a long life and can't be beat for ease of use and ability to hold any bike.
I'm probably not one to judge since the Freestyle replaces my wife's 10 year old Accord and I drive a 1992 Mazda, but the car seems very nicely equipped and well-thought out as far as interior conveniences and so on. Maybe all cars come with this stuff now, but this car appears to be an ideal solution for us and should be able to grow with us over the coming years (2 adults, 3 kids ages 2, 4, and 6).
small downside was being continually badgered to buy an extended service plan. c'mon, i drive 6,000 miles a year--that gets me through 6 years until the warranty miles are up. I know the warranty will expire before I get to that mileage but if Ford will cover it for that long as part of its standard warranty, i ought to be OK.
So far, so good - last 2 cars that I had that were dogs had several things wrong right off the bat, so this is a good thing.
Has anyone added an aftermarket DVD player to their Freestyle, if so what kind and about what did it run?
MSRP - 26465, paid 22600.
Would definitely recommend Randall Noe for those in the DFW area who don't mind driving the extra miles. Their staff was friendly and efficient.
Freehold contacted me after I inquired for a price over the internet. I would deal with them again
Invoice 30,030
X-Plan 29,919
Plus $1,000 Ford rebate and good finance rates or total was under $29K. No haggling, nice experience. Purchased from a dealership in Denver.
I'm not the one to haggle, cause I might end up in jail on an assault charge! :P
After the first 400 miles, this car has been a great buy and my family loves the third row and comfortable ride. The cvt is great! :shades:
How much can I get a warranty for and where?
Even the base model gives you lots of options, including keyless entry, remote keyless entry, A/C, luggage rack, traction-control, AM/FM/CD, cruise-control, and power windows, locks, and driver's seat. We preferred the second-row seats with no center console. It makes the second row seats seem more open and makes access to the third row seats easier.
Once we settled on the exact one we wanted, the salesman showed us the list price, his dealer invoice price, the amount of the hold-back, and the amount that the dealer wanted to make on the sale. All of his figures agreed with what I had researched earlier, and I greatly appreciated the transparency of the whole thing. He also brought to our attention that Ford had just introduced a new incentive plan with 0% financing for up to five years or a $1000 rebate. We went with the 0% financing over the full five years (any reason NOT to do this?).
He gave us more than I was expecting on our trade-in, so I signed the papers without hesitation, and we drove it home that night.
After four days of ownership, so far so good, but we have noticed a few peculiarities. First, the car seems very airtight, which causes the last door to be closed to have to be slammed harder than you think should be necessary. On more than one occasion we have driven off only to find that one of the doors was still ajar, even though it was apparently closed enough to cause the dome-light to go off and thus the "door ajar" light on the dash to not go on.
Second, I've read about the peculiar sound of the turn signals--sort of like the sound made by a wooden clothespin being snapped. It is a bit of throwback, but you get used to it, and you certainly know the turn signals are on!
Third is the CV-transmission, but this is a positive thing. I LOVE it. If you hadn't told me that the car doesn't go through the traditional gear shifting as you accelerate, I never would have known that it wasn't shifting in the traditional day. We had an '03 Sable which shifted so smoothly that you never felt the shifts, either, and this is what the Freestyle's CVT feels like. There's no "getting used to it" or anything like what the popular press reviews of this car have said. It took no getting used to at all. On the other hand, there is a little bit of a whine from the transmission when going in reverse, but one is usually not in reverse for very long.
Fourth, what IS the deal on that big hand-hold on the passenger side of the dash? Are we expecting to be cornering at 90 mph in this thing? I don't think so. Exactly what did Ford have in mind when it decided to include this?
Fifth, no courtesy light in the glovebox. Seems cheap. Of course, it isn't a very large glovebox, so you're not likely to keep much in it, anyway. Plus the storage bin with the pop-up lid on the top of the dash gives some handy additional storage.
Overall, we're very satisfied so far.
As far as the CVT goes, try this on a large hill. Most drivers ride the brake at least part of the way down a hill. Next time you go down a hill DONT touch the brake and take note to what CVT and the engine do....It is a tough habit to break after all the years with standard trannys.
Paid 24,800 with the convenience package as well as the safety package.
About the handle, I'm happy to hear that your family finds it useful, but if it's there for the reasons you state, why haven't we seen handles like this in all vehicles for the last 50 years? Ford must have had some other reason for including it
I will try what you suggest with the CVT on hills..
Thanks.
I'm debating between the Freestyle and the Toyota Highlander.
The Highlander does not have side curtains but according to consumers report is a better car and I can get one for $24,000.00 without side curtains.
Need help in making up my mind. Is this a good price for the Freestyle?
Thanks
I was a little dissapointed with the dealer. He didn't appear to have the car prepped for me even though we made the deal on Saturday. I think when he ran out back to transfer plates onto it, he prepped it at that point because he was gone for about 30 minutes or so. Then he delivered it to me with an empty tank of gas...hello!..anybody home? I'm giving Ford another shot at my loyalty here after being burned with an Exploder a few years ago. Don't BLOW it again.
Besides that, the car behaves beautifully and I won't hold judgement against a car company for a poor dealer experience.
If I have to, I'll take it to another area dealer for it's scheduled maintenance. I'll give this place one more shot to prove themselves...if that fails then I'll lower the hatchet.
:-)
Nice car...going for a long drive this weekend and looking forward to it.
I asked him for a breakdown. Also I told him that I wouldn't pay any extras.
After 10 mnts. went to see the general manager. They were charging me $185.00 docs. fee and $185.00 for what he said it was an insurance in case that my car was stolen. DAAAA. Told him that he was insulting my intelligence and left.
Half an hour later the salesman called and we agree to $23,522.00 for an SEL, FWD with side air bags,AUX climate control,convinience group package. After researching consumers reports, I'm very satisfied. Any comments?
What about the rumors of Ford discontinuing this model by 2008. Any news?
This dealer had alot of Freestyles in stock but none with the exact options and colors I was looking for. I could of gotten one for about $750 below invoice if I would of of took one not equipped and not the color I wanted. This deal was for a Freestyle extremely loaded however.
I got a good value for my trade in also. Much higher than the value in Edmunds or KBB.
I think I got a fair deal.
But as you know, ANYTHING is negotiable under the right circumstances.
I have since found out that the GM price is negotiable in some rare cases. I assume the Ford deal is the same. I'll find out soon if my plan to buy a Freestyle comes to fruition in the next couple weeks.
1) The Ford website states "$500 cash back". Is this in addition to the Family/Employee plan discount?
2) I am looking for a dealer recommendation in the Northern Virginia/Maryland area. Any feedback on dealer experience in this area would be appreciated.
Thanks!
But what do I know-- they are car dealers you know.