When haggling with a dealer. For example in th eSt louis area, the newspaper has an ad for MSRP at $20,175 (obviously base model 4 cylinder) with Ford rebate of $2000 FMCC Cash of $1000, college student of $500 and Discount of $1580, for final price of $14,995. My question is how much padding do they have built-in here? Obviously the only part hurting the dealer is the discount part, the rest is from Ford. Could I easily get this deal for $14,000? Also my local dealer tried to tell me the college grad is only for past 18 months grads. Was he being honest or trying to pad his pocket?
$14,995 for a 2005 Escape? Grab it! I paid 25,000 for a 2005 Escape Limited withe everything but the moon roof. I bought mine last summer when there was only a $1000 rebate. Is this model for 14995 stripped? You may not like the 4 cylinder because it may be under powered. M
Some. Look on the web for the actual invoice price. They actually pay a few percent less than the invoice price. The holdback (as it is called) is close to the destination charge. However, the dealer has to make at least a little profit. My info tells me that the invoice price is around $1500 less than the list price.
Dealers sometimes get incentives to sell cars that you don't know about. This lets them lower the price or make more money. I don't think ford as any dealer incentives for the escape at the moment. However, you have to look for them on the net.
It is in his interest to get you as much Ford cash as possible. No, he wouldn't lie about this. I mean, he can't get the cash. But you can.
I would try comparison shopping. go to
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and build your own vehicle. You can also get quotes of the net.
And got to
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and google ford + escapes + invoice.
Also, you can also try to buy a used one with just a few thousand miles or a dealer demo. I bought my car as a dealer demo and never regretted it.
Remember, knowledge is power. Go in and make sure that is truck you want. Then get as much pricing info as you can. The more you know, the power you have.
I think the XLT, XLT Sport and Limited versions are overpriced. Insurance costs more too. You can get a decent truck for about the same as these models.
Regarding insurance, a 2004 F-150 will run me $850 while an Escape will run me $950.
Not sure why the difference but my guess is that in an F-150 the occupant is less susceptibe to injury in an accident.
And one other thing, I liked driving the Escape. It is a solid vehicle, but I have a hard time considering it a "TRUCK". I have more cargo space in my 1990 Escort with four passengers.
Lift the hood on a FWD car and you will notice the engine and tranny are less than two feet from the front of the vehicle. Anything more than a fender bender can take out both, thus totaling the vehicle. Conversely a RWD vehicle in a similar collision may take out only the radiator and the fan.
As to FWD being safer in bad weather, that is a common misconception and not necessarily a fact. Although FWD cars are generally better when driving in deep snow or mud, they are more prone to losing steering control where one drives most often, on plowed or wet roads, than RWD. The simple act of letting off the throttle on a FWD car can cause the lose of steering control from engine braking of the steering wheels. The same is not true of RWD vehicles. Sporting and performance cars stayed with RWD because of the fact they handle much better than FWD at speed.
I never considered the insurance cost would be different. Thanks for your info on that. I have a RWD Crown Vic. I guess my insurance would be less on this but my Ford Escape would be more.
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