How to get a Ford Escape Hybrid?

My wife put a deposit down to order an Escape Hybrid back in July. The dealer was apparently out of allocations and sat on her request and lied and pushed her off for a couple of months before we finally took our deposit back. Even calls to Ford Customer Service did little to solve the problem that the Escape Hybrids are far outselling supply. Ford obviously doesn't have the integrity to slap the hands of dishonest dealers.

We'd like to try again for a 2008 Hybrid: can anyone provide tips for finding a dealer who actually has allocations and ensure we don't get pissed on again?

Dave

Reply to
dgeesaman
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On Nov 13, 6:37 pm, " snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com" wrote: Even calls to Ford Customer Service did little

They've got an advertisement for them all the time on TV now, so I assume they are available, at least in some parts of the country. I stopped being a tech about two years ago so I am now out of the loop as far as keeping up with the latest.

I remember at that time that every dealer who sold them had to send a tech to school to be able to fix them. I think the big question is how far are you willing to travel to get one? If you are willing to travel and pay sticker price (or above) you should have no problem getting one.

Reply to
Kruse

They were advertising them all summer when they were almost completely unavailable. MSRP is the status quo given how quickly they get off the lots.

Along with starting this thread, I searched for one myself. The Ford website was no help, but using Autotrader I found one within 100mi that is not yet sold and is equipped the way we want. It seems the dealers are getting a few now and then but availability is very spotty and nobody seems to know when/what they'll have.

Dave

Reply to
dgeesaman

We used the ford.com site to search for Escape Hybrids in stock near us. They were easy to find.

I then started getting quotes over e-mail. Most tried to call me or blew me off and tried to get me to come in.

Finally, one guy just sent his quote for the one in stock. I compared it to listed "invoice" costs (not MSRP) and asked another dealer friend that told me to buy it because she couldn't even trade for one or sell one on her lot that cheap.

If you know what you are willing to pay you might find a dealer who will quote you out the door with no BS. We went down and signed the paperwork and drove home. It was great.

We love our Hybrid. We get 30 mpg overall. If we drive a lot of city it gets a tad better. 34 mpg takes a really light touch on the gas pedal. I can't imagine getting that, but 30 is pretty consistent.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Reply to
Just Me (remove

Now I don't sell cars, but how is it dishonest for a dealer to sell something for more than retail if its a hot seller?

You sure as hell wouldn't complain about getting it for $50 over invoice would you?

Reply to
Scott

Not dishonest at all. The consumer is free to go to another dealer and get the same car for less, if he can. Or he is free to keep his old car and not spend any money. Or he is free to go and buy another model car, at the same dealer or another dealer.

It is the law of supply and demand. When the demand goes up, and there is not enough supply, the price goes up. Just like the price of gasoline went up when the demand was relatively high over the summer.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

It may not be dishonest, but it can be unethical. Every time there's a hurricane in our area, whether it looks like it's going to hit us or not, the price of gas, water, milk, etc. all go up. The closer the storm gets, the higher the price. Because of the anti-gouging laws, I guess there's a limit on how much the retailers can raise their prices before it changes from unethical to illegal.

I have nothing against a retailer making a buck. I just don't want him buying that summer home in the Hamptons on my purchase alone!

SC Tom

Reply to
SC Tom

Check this link.

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Put in your zip code and click "Search Dealer lot."

It takes a while and you have to check each dealer individually but you will see all Escapes that each place may have and the MSRP. Then all you have to do is click "get an internet price" and you can see what kind of deal they will send you. Some will, some won't. I got lucky I guess. I knew what I wanted and knew what I was willing to pay. It made it that easy and I'd do it again.

Good luck.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Reply to
Just Me (remove

It wasn't about price. It was about promising to order our new vehicle from the factory and then not submitting the order to Ford for months. Apparently each dealer has a number of allocations to place orders, and the demand is greater than the available allocations. Instead of being honest about the fact that your order wouldn't go in for weeks/months, some dealers are taking the orders anyway and promising "any day now", or "these things take time" or "it's in process, we're waiting on the factory". A call to Ford revealed that there was no such order in their system. A pressing call to the dealer revealed the order was still sitting on a desk, 3 months after they claimed to have submitted the order. THAT's the problem.

The Ford website was no help in my search. No dealerships within their maximum search radius had any. Using Autotrader, I found 3 available within 150mi radius, and we're hopefully locked in to get one that is

90mi away. No way I would have found that using the Ford site.

Thanks for the input everyone. Not sure why we're buying from the company that screwed us over once, but we'll see.

Dave

Reply to
David Geesaman

Is the price the retailers are paying for the products higher? If the price the retailers pay for a gallon of milk goes from $3.50 to $4.00, should the retailers be allowed to charge more for milk?

And, I am sure when you sell a used car, you don't demand more for it if it is a popular model.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

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