The History Kid Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) I appreciate the info so far guys, but something I gotta put out there: I've done my research on this car. This is the car/configuration that I'm most comfortable with, this is the car/configuration that is going to work best for me in the short term and the long term. When I'm looking at a car, I'm not looking at one that I'm going to have to dump a lot of money into down the road - case in point - this is the first issue with my Taurus I've had since I got it. It has to do snow, it has to do ice, it has to sail through rain coming down sideways, 100 mph headwinds on the interstate, and isn't afraid to get dirty. When my hand comes down on it, it should want to hit me back. When I need the car to jump 70 mph in under 10 when I'm already doing 35 - I can't have the car sitting there and pondering it for even a blink of an eye, it just has to do it. It's gotta be friendly to be modified inside and out, when something does happen I need to go somewhere knowing the parts are there today and I'll have the car back tomorrow. The only car that I have found, and I did look far and wide once already that will do that, where I sit down in it and am comfortable and know that the car's going to do exactly what I want and what I need is that Fusion. I've sat in the '07's, the '13's, and the '15's - I know the old models will not do what I need, I know the '13's - new will. So...yeah...I'm sold on which car. I just need the pointers to find and get the right price for said car, and the leads on when the best time to buy is. Promise. The '06 is going to my mom when I get this car, the '02 is what will be sold, have that ironed out too. That Taurus has been through dozens of blizzards on the interstate, dodged debris, been within a horrific distance of god knows how many spinning monsters, waded flood waters, gotten right into the dirt and mud and plowed through it, had hailstones the size of golfballs wirrled at it. And the only thing it's got to show for it is a bad bearing and a break line problem after 93K miles. That is a damn fine car in my opinion. Edited May 1, 2015 by IbizaFlame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Hey Michael, look at the new Jeep Cherokee. It will give you more interior and cargo room plus it gets about the same MPG as the Fusion. Costs about the same too. We almost bought one last fall before we decided on a new Ram 1500. They come in 2WD or 4WD and 4 cyl and 6 cyl. They really drive nice and are affordable when you look at how they add up against something like a Fusion. They have some nice pricing on them right now too. My neigbor is a plant manager/Engineer for the Flat Rock, MI truck plant and he just traded his Fusion in becasue he was unhappy with it. He bought an Escape, which made sense for him because of his AZ plan and all that. Even he acknowledged the new Cherokee is one heck of a value. They start at under $23k for a 2WD and come with pretty much everything you will need. Also, $1500 rebates on them right now. You can always get a little sportier with a Trailhawk package, that was what we were looking at. They pretty much conquer all for half the price of a Grand Cherokee. Edited May 1, 2015 by teaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven1963 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I appreciate the info so far guys, but something I gotta put out there: I've done my research on this car. This is the car/configuration that I'm most comfortable with, this is the car/configuration that is going to work best for me in the short term and the long term. When I'm looking at a car, I'm not looking at one that I'm going to have to dump a lot of money into down the road - case in point - this is the first issue with my Taurus I've had since I got it. It has to do snow, it has to do ice, it has to sail through rain coming down sideways, 100 mph headwinds on the interstate, and isn't afraid to get dirty. When my hand comes down on it, it should want to hit me back. When I need the car to jump 70 mph in under 10 when I'm already doing 35 - I can't have the car sitting there and pondering it for even a blink of an eye, it just has to do it. It's gotta be friendly to be modified inside and out, when something does happen I need to go somewhere knowing the parts are there today and I'll have the car back tomorrow. The only car that I have found, and I did look far and wide once already that will do that, where I sit down in it and am comfortable and know that the car's going to do exactly what I want and what I need is that Fusion. I've sat in the '07's, the '13's, and the '15's - I know the old models will not do what I need, I know the '13's - new will. So...yeah...I'm sold on which car. I just need the pointers to find and get the right price for said car, and the leads on when the best time to buy is. Promise. The '06 is going to my mom when I get this car, the '02 is what will be sold, have that ironed out too. That Taurus has been through dozens of blizzards on the interstate, dodged debris, been within a horrific distance of god knows how many spinning monsters, waded flood waters, gotten right into the dirt and mud and plowed through it, had hailstones the size of golfballs wirrled at it. And the only thing it's got to show for it is a bad bearing and a break line problem after 93K miles. That is a damn fine car in my opinion. Well after all of that, the only advice I can give you is DON'T TELL THE DEALER ANY OF WHAT YOU JUST TOLD US. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Well after all of that, the only advice I can give you is DON'T TELL THE DEALER ANY OF WHAT YOU JUST TOLD US. That, and never drive a Cadillac. Personally I like to rent cars for mini-vacations and treat it like an extended test drive. At least when gas was expensive last year, a 3 hour each way trip would be free to rent for me since the savings in gas by not having to drive my truck offset the cost of the rental. So, I loved to rent. The only cars I have rented that I liked was a Hyundai Elantra, Cadillac ATS, and a Ford Fusion with the turbo and platinum package. The worst cars I have rented in terms of comfort, styling, and ergonimics of the cabin was a Nissan Sentra and Honda Accord. The Chevy Cruz was horriffic. The entire car was backwards. Take anything you can think of, like speedometer, tachometer, gas lid location, seat controls, cruise controls, and the entire car felt backwards. The speedometer was even upside down. Edited May 1, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) 100 mph headwinds You do realize you're talking about driving through a very strong F1 tornado, right? isn't afraid to get dirty. snow ice blizzards debris flood waters dirt You need to quit looking at cars and look at jeep wranglers. It's gotta be friendly to be modified inside and out, when something does happen I need to go somewhere knowing the parts are there today and I'll have the car back tomorrow Jeeps are super easy to work on yourself, and has about the strongest aftermarket parts following of any vehicle. When I need the car to jump 70 mph in under 10 when I'm already doing 35 - I can't have the car sitting there and pondering it for even a blink of an eye, it just has to do it. Believe it or not, the 2013 jeep wrangler's 0-60 time is faster than most of the Ford Fusion's. Oh and remember the residual value comment earlier? One of the highest out there. Twice the residual value of a Mercedes last I checked. Edited May 1, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 That, and never drive a Cadillac. As a cadillac driver, I take offense to that.... Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) That, and never drive a Cadillac. As a cadillac driver, I take offense to that.... Shakey Ha! I meant don't drive one because he'll want it instead of a Fusion but maybe you got that. What year is yours? I like the new ones but several older models had big time trouble. Around 2003-2004 the engines were awful. I have a friend who had an electrical problem and it just sat there for years, nobody could figure out what the problem was. I'm wanting an ATS-V coupe with a manual transmission myself. As a whole, I think they have made several big improvements and have become more performance oriented. Plus, factory racing seats. Edited May 1, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Also, check out the new Dodge Dart. Pretty nice little ride with some of the nicest grouping of standard equipment on the market...and they are offered up pretty cheap. No offense to anyone but the Fusion was not a pleasure in any state of the word when I test drove one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Due to the fact that I have an incredible amount of student loans, and have no one who could cosign - I am thinking of going new, as I could for sure get the financing. Enter the problems. ... As it stands I couldn't afford the payment on the new car without some kind of finagling, and the only trade in would be my mom's car. Anyone got any tips... I mean this very sincerely. You are setting yourself up for huge problems. Run from all of that financing. Find a well maintained Toyota or Honda with 75,000 miles and put another 100K on it over the next 5 to 10 years. While eveyone else is buying new cars and showing off, pay off those loans and don't take out any more loans. Then take all of that discipline that you learned and start investing. You will not be a cool kid, but when you are about 40 or 50 you will be really cool, but at that point you should not care about it anymore. PM me if you want. I couldn't agree more....great advice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 That, and never drive a Cadillac. As a cadillac driver, I take offense to that.... Shakey Ha! I meant don't drive one because he'll want it instead of a Fusion but maybe you got that. What year is yours? I like the new ones but several older models had big time trouble. Around 2003-2004 the engines were awful. I have a friend who had an electrical problem and it just sat there for years, nobody could figure out what the problem was. I'm wanting an ATS-V coupe with a manual transmission myself. As a whole, I think they have made several big improvements and have become more performance oriented. Plus, factory racing seats. I have a 2011 CTS Coupe. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 No offense to anyone but the Fusion was not a pleasure in any state of the word when I test drove one! How old was the one you drove? I drove a newer one with turbo and a titanium package, (probably said platinum earlier), had leather seats, real nice, real big. Super nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Personally for me the biggest issue with the Fusion, and a great many other cars, is front wheel drive. I just don't like the way they feel. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Rear wheel drive is nicer from a performance standpoint, but it also sucks on the ice and snow. For a commuter in winter weather it does more harm than good. I doubt anybody could tell the difference outside of hard acceleration, especially on curves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 No offense to anyone but the Fusion was not a pleasure in any state of the word when I test drove one! How old was the one you drove? I drove a newer one with turbo and a titanium package, (probably said platinum earlier), had leather seats, real nice, real big. Super nice. Brand new one. My wife and I drove one in October. Titanium package and fully loaded. The MSRP was high 30's I believe. The interior seems cheapish for the money and the seating position was not comfortable at all. The Fusions do look pretty sleek but the little Dart we drove after it was much nicer equipeed for 10k less and the leather and such felt pretty upscale compared to the Ford. After that we test drove a new Ford Breadbox but neither of us liked that either. Totally cramped inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Trunks on Fusions are ginormous. I loaded up a weekend's worth of 3-gun gear in one plus multiple bags of clothes for my kids and had room left over. They are bigger than they look. A Cadillac ATS is smaller. A Caddy's trunk is 10 cubic feet and the Fusion is 16, interior volume is 90.9 vs. 102.8. Way bigger. Even a CTS's trunk is 13.7 vs. 16 on the Fusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Get a car you really, really love! it’s the end of the world…i actually agree with Mark on something I don’t know how you’re wired…some think practical, some economical, etc…I put a VERY high emphasis on my enjoyment of the item. BUY WHAT YOU WANT. Buy what is going to make you happy right now. I was told “get something that gets good gas mileage,” NO! Everyone that knows me knows that i’m going to do what i want (DISCLAIMER: I’m a text book case of how NOT to manage your finances. I’ve been fortunate to have far more than i need, so maybe i can be a bit more stupid than some). I’m not suggesting you be stupid or reckless; but, i lost a lot of “todays” because I was living for “tomorrow.” i had a co-worker, younger than I, drop dead two weeks ago. His tomorrow never came. I wonder how many things he planned to do “someday.” I heard about this other guy, he worked and finally retired on a Friday. He died over the following weekend. Made me think about all the things he and his wife put off -- saying they’d do it when they retired. Like i said, don’t be stupid; but, don’t sacrifice what you want either. There is a balance--find yours. Steve Edited May 1, 2015 by BigStewMan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 Yeah guys my stance is firm on what I'm getting. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 A used car was mentioned earlier. I'm fairly old school so I remember a day when it was a no-brainer to do this. However, post- "cash for clunkers" plus considering the better gas mileage and safety, the line is much more blurry now. Also, many people don't do the proper maintenance on them. People sell them a little under 100K miles to maximize the price, except the buyer may be getting them just in time to get new plugs and wires, new tires, new timing chain, new water pump, or anything else like that. Sometimes, assuming you can afford it, it is just so much nicer to buy new and avoid all that mess. But, if you know good and well you will struggle before you even get it, well, you don't need to get it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel's wife Posted May 1, 2015 Moderators Share Posted May 1, 2015 Due to the fact that I have an incredible amount of student loans, and have no one who could cosign - I am thinking of going new, as I could for sure get the financing. Enter the problems. ... As it stands I couldn't afford the payment on the new car without some kind of finagling, and the only trade in would be my mom's car. Anyone got any tips... I mean this very sincerely. You are setting yourself up for huge problems. Run from all of that financing. Find a well maintained Toyota or Honda with 75,000 miles and put another 100K on it over the next 5 to 10 years. While eveyone else is buying new cars and showing off, pay off those loans and don't take out any more loans. Then take all of that discipline that you learned and start investing. You will not be a cool kid, but when you are about 40 or 50 you will be really cool, but at that point you should not care about it anymore. PM me if you want. I couldn't agree more....great advice. I third this motion!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Yeah payments will wear you out if you're not set up to handle them. They're nice at first but can get old kinda quick, and then you realize you still have 3 more years to go, and owe more than the car is worth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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