Hi Everyone-

Been talking to hubby and it looks as if we're going to try to order my '09 FEH mid-next week (if I can find a dealership in Central FL that has any FEH's for me to test drive, just so I know it' "the one"). Before that happens, I have just a small handful of questions:

1. I have NEVER ordered a car; always settled for what was on the lot. With that, will I have to pay for the whole thing up front, or just leave a deposit for now? (I realize I'll still have to pay for any price increases that Ford adds on between now and when the car is delivered).

2. I know that they may try to decrease the worth of my trade-in between now and then. Will they balk at my request to have it in writing that my trade-in will be worth $XXXX?

3. My first choice of color is kiwi green but I think I read someone (GaryG?) say (don't remember if it was here, BlueOval.com or HybridCars.com) that there was an "issue" with that color. Can someone shed some light on this?

Thanks!

When you order a new car you most likely will be required to put down a deposit. Depending on the dealer this may be anywhere from $50 to $1000 or more. For a Hybrid I doubt the dealer is worried about selling it if you fail to take it so the deposit may be small. Again, this is a dealer thing.

For you trade-in when, you order your new car the trade-in price should be in the new car order contract. Unless the trade-in is damaged in some way the value should not go down. The dealer already has built-in some margin here to protect him.

Can't help on the paint color question.

Get that car orderd

Hello.

Well, I can really only speak of my own experiences, or those that I've read from others, so your situation may be diffferent.

I never ordered a car until I got my FEH either. The dealership asked for any amount to "reserve" it, and that amount would be deducted from the final price of the vehicle. I put down $100.

They shouldn't. When I traded in my '95 Explorer, which wasn't in the best of shape, they gave me an offer. I had KBB'd it and was hoping for a bit more. I told them how much more I was looking to get. They talked it over, and gave it to me. ($500 more)

News to me.

If I may give you some suggestions on the test drive:

1. Pick a "course" that's about 30 miles.
2. Don't try to EV around town, let it do it's thing.
3. Be gentle on the accelerations and braking, and watch your instant MPGs. (Even without the Nav/display system there should be a display on the Message Center or somewhere; I haven't tried the '08/'09's yet.) Sure you could test out it's performance, or drive it like you're used to, but is that why you're buying a FEH?
4. Notice how often the ICE isn't running.
5. Relax, and have fun while getting better MPGs then you're used to!

First 4WD Hypermiler

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1. I have ordered most of our vehicles. Typically the deposit is very small ($100-$200) and for our FEH I just authorized a charge on my American Express, no charge ever appeared.

2. Again, not buying off the lot, I haven't bothered to arrange a trade-in until the day I picked it up. You'll have a week or so head's up on the arrival of your vehicle so just try and sell it yourself. You're looking at an investment of 2-3 hours and you can easily get 30% over the trade-in value.

3. Haven't heard of this. Our Kermit-mobile is kiwi green so I'd like to hear more about what issues it may have.

Thanks everyone, you guys rock!

Oh, I just did a search for that "Kiwi Green" comment I thought I read...found it and please disregard! It was from HybridCars.com and GaryG was talking about something being up with a particular dealership because they were saying they could only order the car in Kiwi Green. The way the sentence was written ("Something is up with that kiwi green only color and I would stay away from a deal with them"), I guess I originally read it as "somethings up with that color so avoid it." So sorry for the confusion!

Is it OK to ask here if anyone has had particularly good/bad experiences with specific dealerships in Central FL? I live closest to Tropical Ford but can travel if need be.

Thanks!

Our 2008 is Kiwi Green and after a year, the only issue is that people keep noticing it and commenting on it. The color really stands out and even people who don't like green cars seem to like it.

All dealers operate differently but you should discuss the trade in policy. If months go by between order and delivery, your old car is worth less while the new car may actually be higher in price. Ask the dealer about the policy if there is a factory price increase before you get delivery. I always get two prices from the dealer. The actual cost to buy the new car and the difference with a trade in. Don't be disappointed. You old car is worth a lot less to the dealer than to a used car buyer. While you are waiting for the new car, try to sell the old car yourself. I take good car of my cars and usually sell them to friends and relatives. I usually let the old car go at what the dealer would give me (I'm generous) but you should be able to get closer to the Edmunds (on line) book value.

Although you are unlikely to get discounts on hybrids, look at the financing arrangements. I paid list for my FEH but put nothing down and financed it through Ford for 2.9% (and sold my old car separately). The way auto financing works is different that mortgages. If you are financing, you should generally finance as much as possible for a short term to get a low rate. Yes, the payments are high but you minimize the overall finance charges. If you sell your car separately, you will have the cash to make the first year or more payments.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not super-concerned about price, since we are eligible for X-plan from my husband's employer (unless someone tells me that some places won't take X-Plan because the car is so hard to get, but I'm thinking/hoping that's not the case), so I know the price is pretty much set in stone, save for the worth of my trade-in (2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac), which, I'm sure, my hubby will relish the opportunity to haggle about (grin).

My concern is moreso "Don't go to THIS dealer because they try to give you the runaround" or "THAT dealer is terrific and I never had a problem with them". That sort of stuff. I've only dealt with Tropical Ford from a service/maintenance POV but never actually bought a car from them (we were still living in Tampa when I bought my FEST).

I bought mine from tropical ford. haven't been back since I bought it but the salesman was good ( contact me and I'll look up his name, gh at kwtacts dot com ) The service department called me once telling me that the first oil change and filter was free if I drove it up from key west. They didn't have the one I wanted in stock but they found it for me and traded another dealer for it and gave me a great price.

My '05 FEH is light green metallic above dark gray cladding and I've noticed nothing regarding any finish issues. It's been outside the majority of its life.

Thanks, jolsonmhd. Like I said, it turned out I had simply misread GaryG's comment and there are no issues with the kiwi green paint that I know of. Just perhaps with the dealership who claims they can ONLY get kiwi green FEH's (wink).

And now that I'm back from vacation, The Great Car Buying Event begins. First step is to call every place within a 90-minute drive (coast to coast, Ocala to Vero) to see if anyone has a FEH I can test drive and THEN call every place within a 3 hour drive to try to find someone who will sell me an '09 FEH with an X-Plan. Wish me luck...