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Wagons Ford Flex Ford Flex New Owner Reports
43 messages, Last post on Oct 20, 2009 at 1:33 PM
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Replying to: buckeyepilot (Nov 25, 2008 6:44 am) |
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Replying to: JTO (May 09, 2009 11:37 pm) With respect to fuel, the numbers are out there. AWD adds about 180lbs of hardware, so fuel burn is affected accordingly and not enough to matter IMO. With respect to maintenance, given that I've chosen to extend my warranty to 7 years with no deductible, it makes absolutely no difference to me whatsoever. It may have added another $1,800 to the purchase price, but I'm more than happy to to have paid it for the additional road confidence it offers, and I certainly expect to receive a large portion of that back at resale through additional value, ease of sale, or both. Unless you live in a dry snowless climate and/or are stretching to afford the trim level you want, I think FWD would be one of the last ways I'd choose to economize. |
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Replying to: JTO (May 09, 2009 11:37 pm) I live in Michigan, where we get plenty of snow. I have NEVER found 4wheel drive to be an advantage that I needed. If the snow is so bad that 4 wheel drive is required, I just stay home(And so does anyone else with any sense.) FWD works just fine in 98% of the winter driving situations you will ever encounter. Save your money both for gas and for the extra expense initially. Stopping is the BIG problem in winter driving situations, and you already have 4 wheel brakes for that! |
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Replying to: JTO (May 09, 2009 11:37 pm) I test drove both FWD and AWD that were loaded to nearly identical MSRP's. The FWD had more options than the AWD. In the end I opted for the AWD. In my opinion it was one option that was a requirement. Good luck. dano
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Replying to: dano72 (May 27, 2009 11:53 am) |
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I am largely writing here as payback as this site and others helped me greatly with my car buying experience, so I will pay it forward. We are a small family but often have extended family along so we wanted the third row seat. I also wanted leather as this would be more durable long term (and comfortable). My son wanted the DVD. We also needed AWD (northern NJ) and a tow package to haul our pop-up camper. These items became the criteria for our search. We first started to look at the Flex because it fit the bill. I had never heard of it or really never saw one on the road before our first trip to the dealer (a dealer I never intended to buy from for no reason other than they were out of my way). This helped reduce the pressure of the salesman. Fortunately the salesman was new (former GM guy and that was something we would hear a lot of), and he left us alone for the test drive. Overall it was a good experience but the sticker shock and somewhat sluggish feel left us wanting to look around. We next looked at the Honda. The new Pilot was roomy, somewhat cool looking with off-road tendencies, and had all of our criteria. The price was good and the Pilot felt like it had more power. This would stay on our list. We next visited Toyota (dealer I bought my last Toyota from) and looked at the Highlander Limited. Must admit the bells and whistles were great but the sticker shock was brutal. The dealer was very pushy, nearly hostile in the negotiations and seemed only to care about making his monthly numbers. At every turn it was only in the dealers advantage and I was in a position to comprimise on what I wanted (features, colors, etc.). I had enough and walked. I went back to Honda mostly because they handle Internet pricing well and I had a bidding war going on (definately shop via Internet office if possible). We came within minutes of making a deal but in the end they refused to honor a deal we agreed to over the Internet (mainly holding the price for one week while I got my dead presidents in order). "Nope, gotta take it tomorrow or no deal, pricing all changes". This was clearly not what we communicated with over the net and the fact they pressured me to take possession right away (when a couple days and new month would really do nothing to hurt them). I said "you are gonna let me walk over this? really? Seriously, this is only going to get better for me the longer I wait, you can take my deposit and lock this in, and I'll be back next week". "Sorry" was there answer. We walked. We planned to go back to a Ford dealer on our way to another Chevy dealer. Why not give the Ford another look and they also had Nissan there so we might as well have a gander at the Pathfinder. Well the Pathfinder was simply hideous. Didn't like anything so we spent about..oh 3 minutes looking at it. We then asked to see the Flex again. By now it started to grow on us. We went for a nice ride and it was very roomy in comparison to the Highlander and Pilot, yet arguably more sluggish (well it is mammoth). The salesman was great, no pressure, take it easy kind of attitude. He gave us some numbers to consider but understood we had other dealers to visit and even offered to help us get there (really...wow). In the end we decided with the closing of some GM dealers, the closest one was simply too far and we just didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling so we never did try the Traverse. We went back to the Ford dealer only after some negotiations over the phone (great way as this is far easier as you can simply hang-up). Man, the numbers were great...no bull no baggage, just slightly over invoice, very slightly. Ok, we need to take a much closer look at Ford. We agreed to head back for a closer look only after they found the exact model we were looking for (and they found one somewhere else, brought it over, cleaned it up, and we had no firm committment yet). We looked, again stressing we are looking, and they said "ok, take your time". Wow, no pressure. So we took a good long time looking and agreed this was it. A few more minutes of some paperwork prep and we were on with our weekend. We agreed to come back the following week. This gave us plenty of time to get the money together but perhaps more importantly do more research to be very clear we are prepared to make the best decision. After negotiating the price I then studied the Finance and Insurance side of the business (which is often where the real money is made). Bottom line we agreed not to buy anything extra and the only thing in play would be the rebates and APR. I did all the math and figured if they could beat 5% APR we could easily take the rebates over the 0% and be ahead of the game. And that is exactly what happended. Great APR and $4500 in rebates. We had a good deal. The dealer made a few bucks on the car (not much) and perhaps a couple bucks on the APR and we had a great monthly price. We closed the deal in less than an hour (and I stressed this point before the Finance sit down - in and out in an hour or less or lose the deal). The finance guy knew he was beat and really didn't try too hard to push products. Ok here is the main take-aways: Always shop around, Internet is best as you avoid the sales cubicle and might fall victim to the BS session on confusing numbers. Always shop for the car price - never monthly. You will get a much better deal by shopping the car price and doing your own homework to figure out the monthly. If you must go on a monthly figure, go 50 to 75 bucks less than your ideal payment to give YOU some room, but again go for the car price. Know your credit and what you can realistically afford. Do this all on your own and if needed secure your own financing. The dealer can run your report and give you a subject finding and an inflated APR (based on your unfortunate credit - blah). Know what you want in the car, including service agreements or warranties. Shop around as other dealers can also sell these products. I say this because the finance and insurance guy (the closer) will pressure you to tack on some bills to give you coverage, coverage you likely never need. Shop around, take drives. I would test drive at dealers you never intend to buy and then also try to avoid going inside the office where they can temp your emotions. This gives you neutral territory to shop. Then circle back to a local dealer you can trust (maybe) and try them out. Good luck 2009 Ford Flex SEL w/ AWD. Silver with two tone white top, convienience package, lighting package, tow package, Sync, Roof rails, Rear DVD system. $36200 minus $4500 in rebates.$31700. Not bad!
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Replying to: mtnmanmike (Jun 10, 2009 8:09 pm) |
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| I have had a flex as a rental for the last few days since my '08 Taurus went in for minor body repairs. I like almost everything about the Flex - handles well, love the transmission, decent performance for a heavy vehicle with a 6-cyl, very comfortable seats, good Sony stereo (though strangely not as good as the Ford Premium stereo in the Taurus), third row is easy to put up and down. On the minus side are the intrusive headrests, which also make the poor rear/side visibility worse, minimal cargo space behind the 3rd row (it's not remotely close in carrying capacity to the 21 cu ft trunk in my Taurus no matter what the stats say, and the same no-telescoping steering wheel as the Taurus. But the absolute deal killer for me would be this - a set of golf clubs does not fit across the cargo area because of the plastic bins on either side. It sounds petty, but you have the choice of having your longest club support the weight of the whole bag while flexed against one of the bins, or if you put the 3rd row down, placing the clubs lengthwise in the bed. Reaching forward and picking up the clubs in this position is guaranteed to give you a back injury. Surely one of the most common items carried in the back of a car should be one of the first items allowed for when planning the dimensions. It's just so dumb. | |
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We finally bought a Flex and the decision was in no small part due to the great long term review provided by Edmunds.com. Ours is a Red, AWD Limited with a white roof (Tow Pkg, Vista, Family DVD, 40/40 2nd row). I admit that we discussed the looks quite a bit, but once we bought it, all the concern went away. Not only that, but it has become a magnet. Friends, lots of friends, come by just to check it out. When they climb inside, they get this big grin and talk about how much they like it. Favorite Elements - The looks (especially with the white roof), the space, Sync, split-fold seats in every row, the pass through to the third row is a good size, great visibility, the recess behind the 3rd row is just the right size and height for groceries. Least Favorite - The mileage is great on the highway, but in the teens around town, the often noted gap in the ceiling liner, the 2nd row seats don't lock as easily as they should, the white roof is marginally executed. You see feathering when you look through the sunroof. Final thoughts - We are absolutely loving the car and its looks (You get a lot of looks). However, if you buy one be sure to check the roof liner in the front. You may find that it is not securely fastened and is hanging more than an inch lower than it should. If you have a sunroof, open it and look at the gap between the liner and the roof. |
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I had an opportunity to rent a Ford Flex sel for 10 days. Enterprise Rental offered it for $5 a day over the cost of a compact. My vacation was in Maui. My speeds averaged 40 mph since the highest posted speed limit on the island is 55 mph. The flex had 4000 miles on the odmeter. Overall I was very impressed with the Flex. The ride was smooth. Very good steering response. Easy to drive. The seat comfort was good. Lots of space, especially with the rear seats down. Liked the backup warning beep. Minor gripes was the base Sony stereo, which was just average. I loved the blue instrument panel at night for its looks but found them hard to quickly identify which button to push while driving. I wished the headlights were brighter at night. And I averaged 20 mpg (I thought it would be better with the speeds I drove). Definitely still on my list to purchase. But I will wait to see what the Ford C-Max offers when it comes out next year. |
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