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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute/Mercury Mariner Prices Paid and Buying Experience
320 messages, Last post on Feb 07, 2008 at 11:15 AM
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Replying to: stealth1 (Jul 10, 2005 5:15 pm) Thanks, JRock |
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Replying to: kworthmom (Jul 07, 2005 7:21 pm) Thanks, Jason |
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We got our Tribuite i 4WD with only all weather mats and rear bumper step plate, for what I came to $6800 off MSRP on June 29th. I called a couple of dealers, and ended up in Wayne Mazda, via their internet sales team. Discounts as follow $350 markup over invoice due to NJ/NY advertisement fee (ie their invoice is higher than what edmunds say) $500 discount below invoce (so net here we are at $150 below invoice) $250 Internet coupon $3000 Mazda customer cash $1000 Mazda Financing $500 Gerber $500 ACOG (though I had to mail this in as I didn't have the add from the magazine at first) MAC gave me $6.99 which I would refinance. We bought an MPV in the end of Feb. At the time, they gave me 6.39. Now here's the interesting bit - the MPV deal was at anothoer smaller dealer, which I dealt with the finance guy directly for the sale. At the time, he just PUNCHED IN 6.39. He said that's what he was just a 'request'. Of course if Mazda figures it out it's fine, they just give it to you like that - it's not going to be any lower'. In the case with Wayne, all of the paperwork is done 'in the background' so you can't haggle. He said 6 months to wait to refinance. Yeah right... So when you buy, if they punch 8%, and you go for it, Mazda is happy for them and happy for the dealer... In my case, there was no sence in NOT taking the $1K, since with our trade, the ammount to finance was just about $10K, so the rate would have to be completely out of wack to even think about iit... My .02...
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Replying to: su_a_ve (Jul 18, 2005 10:52 pm)
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Replying to: ramzey28 (Jul 19, 2005 4:59 am) There's a magazine called Plum aimed at pregnant women over 35 that came out last september. It was only mailed to Ob/Gyns though. They put an add there for a $500 off, same as the Gerber deal. It's supposed to be only one of them, but most dealers advertise both and would take both. But you need a copy of the mag. and the email with the certificate number. I was able to get a copy of it but did not come in in time for my purchase. The dealer though gave me an extra rebate form and I mailed that in to Mazda HQs. I new the procedure since when I got my MPV a few months ago, I also got the Loyalty rebate 3 days after taking delivery (so had to mail it). For the MPV I got 6.39 so it wasn't THAT BAD. But now I got 6.99 and that was HIGH. Also, I wanted to do it for 4 years, and they would give me the same rate !!! |
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| Has anyone out there bought a 4WD Mariner Premier since the employee pricing promotion started? I was wondering how good that was. If you have bought one, what was the sticker price (MSRP), and what was the employee price? | |
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Replying to: kam327 (Jul 05, 2005 8:32 am) I recently bought a Mercury Mariner and noticed the vibration when I step on the brakes driving on the highway. Like a warped rotor or something. I only have 700 miles so far and have not taken it into the dealer, but feel I should do so very soon. I don't think it should vibrate like this. |
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I’ve been using Edmunds.com, including these user postings, as well other sources to make a new car purchase decision and figure out a target price. I’d like to “give back” to Edmunds and the other online posters so here’s my experience. It’s long but I hope it’s helpful to newbies. For various reasons I settled on the 2005 Mazda Tribute S as my first choice. I initially leaned toward a 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5 (I’ve owned two Subarus, starting in 1976!) but drove a 2005 Ford Escape rental in July and liked it: not as “truck-like” as I feared and got 24 MPG on the highway. I prefer the Mazda interior plus the longer warranty and loaner cars for warranty repair. Also the current 2005 Tribute close-outs incentives appear higher than Ford’s and the 2006 model doesn’t seem to add any significant improvements. The closest Mazda dealer to the tiny mountain town where I live – and where Outbacks are the dominate vehicle – is Wenatchee, WA, 100 miles away. Cascade Autocenter which sells Subaru, Mazda, Jeep and other brands, had a car in stock equipped almost exactly like I wanted. I emailed, said I was ready to buy and asked for an out-the-door price on a particular vehicle (referenced by VIN). I did the whole deal online with their excellent internet manager plus one phone call. Cascade Autocenter offered the best price, and were significantly lower than Seattle dealers proposed. What I got: Mazda Tribute S with 1PK (Level 1 package: sunroof, stereo upgrade, etc.); AB2 (side airbags/side curtain airbags), FLA (floor mats). Prices (including delivery charge) per Edmunds.com MSRP: $27,295 Invoice: $25,405 What others are paying (?): $26,013 My price goal: $21,400 plus TTL What I paid: $21,322 plus TTL After agreeing to the price online I phoned to provide information to arrange Mazda financing (necessary to get additional $1,000 discount; will pay off 90% in first payment and rest over three months which will cost less interest than I would lose by cashing in a CD early to pay for this car) and scheduled a pickup date/time. When I arrived the car was parked in front and perfectly detailed. The internet manager demonstrated the car – locating jack, under-hood items, etc. – and we went for a 25 mile test drive with speed up to 80 mph on the highway plus twisty roads, over railroad tracks, etc., to check for vibrations, wheel alignment, etc. No problem. Back at the dealership we went over the warranty and service schedule, signed the papers and I drove off. As far as I’m concerned it was a satisfactory transaction and I highly recommend Cascade Autocenter’s internet manager. Hope the car turns out as well as this transaction; I’ll report later on my driving experience. |
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This bulletin board plus specialty tire consumer survey boards all indicate the standard Tribute/Escape/Mariner Continental Conti-Trac 235/70-16 tire is a total dog. Here's how I dealt with it at time of purchase: Before going to pick up my Tribute I called the Wenatchee Les Schwab tire dealer to price a set of Toyo Open Road A/Ts (considered a good tire for conditions where I live and well-rated by several sources and consumer surveys). Les Schwab’s installed price was identical to internet dealers (after factoring in shipping and installation) plus they offer free 3,000 rotations, 30-day no questions exchange/refund, additional warranty services and have a dealer for service 9 miles from my house. I drove straight from the Mazda dealer to Les Schwab and got the Toyo’s put on. The sweet part is that Les Schwab gave me a $216 credit for the unwanted (by me) Continentals. Driving the 100 twisty highway miles home the tires seemed excellent. Life’s too short to waste time wearing out lousy OEM tires. |
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This is the first car I’ve purchased since getting my internet connection in 1998 and my take on online car buying is: If you want the lowest price you need to know beforehand EXACTLY what you want and let the dealer know you’re ready buy NOW; don’t ask for three demo drives in the same car, wait for weeks to decide and then expect a great price. My philosophy is that if you find a fair salesman/dealer then treat them fairly as well. Most so-called online salesmen I encountered were basically unresponsive and treated an online inquiry as a lead to be reeled into the dealership. Despite their manufacturer and dealership web sites inviting you to “request an online quote on this vehicle”, most of them won’t do it and will send back some line like “you need to come in so we can assess your needs properly.” I decided to just ignore them and move on to other dealer sites. Except for the internet manager I purchased from (who provided detailed, specific answers to all my questions) everyone else, including Mercury’s so-called Online Concierge, simply ignored questions I asked re maintenance costs, the benefits of certain options, etc. My experience, and I’ve been both a business owner and salesman, is that most salespeople, online or otherwise, are too lazy to work for a sale with a customer who wants to know more than is in the brochure. I found it incredibly useful to check (and even track over a couple or three weeks) the dealer’s actual online inventory. Not only could I tell if they had one equipped as I wanted – and even some large dealers didn’t; all of theirs were “loaded” – but I could gage by the size of inventory on a particular model and by tracking it over a couple of weeks how badly the dealer might want to get a particular car off their lot. One so-called internet sales manager – who refused to quote a price on a particular VIN - went on about how hard it would be to get the model I wanted while this jerk’s online inventory showed a large and growing inventory and the manufacturer is rebating them. I got an excellent online quote on a Mercury Mariner BUT using the online inventory I leraned there are no remaining 2005 Mariners equipped as I like anywhere in the state. I would have to order a 2006 (also a very fair online price but still higher than a 2005 and I would have to wait six weeks and I wanted the new car for a month-long “safari” in September). I hope everyone uses internet resources responsibly – i.e., if an internet dealer is treating you well don’t try to bust his chops – so that courteous, informed online buyers continue to make good transactions at the expense of salesmen and dealers who “don’t get it.” On, no! I just realized that if I keep buying cars online I’ll never have a chance to get the free balloons and hot dogs some dealers still use to lure in suckers or visit another "tent sale"...
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