I'm getting a new car...help me make my decision

6'3"

 

Thus the birth of the phrase "VTEC just kicked in, yo!" from The Fast and the Furious.

 

Nah, you're fucked.

Have you considered a Ford Escape?

 

Nah, not really. I'm not too big on Fords, but I've good things about them and the Fusions. I doubt I could afford a new one, how far back do they go?

 

The early ones just underwent a massive recall.

If you're of a certain height (as I am, although I'm shorter than you) getting into and out of compact cars can be a real bitch to deal with.

 

I'm 6-5, and getting in and out of a Ford Crown Victoria I borrowed was a massive pain. Of course I'm also fat, so that's not helping, but I was so low to the ground that I felt like I needed a pole vault to get out. That's why I'm predominantly looking at SUVs and light trucks.

Ford SUVs also don't have a lot of head/leg room. Drove a cousin's Explorer and my head was up against the roof. I felt pretty pinned in. Nowhere near as roomy as the Grand Cherokee I had, even though they're about the same size. Even the Expedition, while roomy, didn't offer a lot of headroom (I was probably, at most, two inches from the roof).

 

Funny you should ask, because I have that info sitting right here for all three US companies. Went to www.fordpartner.com, punched in our company code, selected the Edge and put in my (east coast) zip code, and came up with these numbers:
SE AWD: MSRP $26,970; X-plan $25,866; $2,000 incentives (including $1,000 X-plan cash back); $23,866 net.
SEL AWD: $28,965; $27,695; $1,500 ($500 X-plan); $26,195 net.
SEL PLUS AWD: $30,720; $29,303; $1,500 ($500 X-plan); $27,803 net.
Lots of cash back on the F-150; it's showing them at approximately $5,000 under MSRP.

The GM dealer I bought my Pontiac from a couple of months ago tried to get some money back by giving me actual cash value on my trade, but seeing as how I knew all the problems they'd have to fix to sell it for anywhere near book price, I didn't quibble too much. And I drove out for roughly $1500 under invoice, for a vehicle that Kelley Blue Book says people in my area are shelling out close to MSRP to get.

Check it out, at least -- can't hurt to just look, right? You can search dealer inventories from their site, with supplier pricing included; looks like I could get an Edge for $1000 under invoice, an F-150 for $4000 under. (Your results may vary, of course, and they're normally pretty strict about eligibility. I've been talking to my mom about trading, but we'd have to put the title in my name to make it work.)

Hope this helps...

 

It sounds like it will, though I won't be able to do much with it until/unless I get my code. Thanks for the heads-up, tho.

 

No prob. Oh, and one more thing: in addition to FordLincMerc, that plan also works for Mazda, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Volvo products, if you're so inclined. (And independently wealthy, for the Jags, anyway...)

 

While the VTEC is best at the high end of the powerband, they're not lacking nearly as much at the lower end as advertised. I drive a close cousin of the Civic, and I have NO power problem at the low end. And when you do need to power up those suckers, they're more than merely adequate.

Of course, having a manual transmission to help further control RPMs doesn't hurt ...

 

Not sure Jags are still included. I went on my company's page the other day and there was no Jaguar section.

 

You dont want one anyways. None of us in this profession can afford the repair costs associated with a Jag.