Wow! It’s Wednesday! Escaping to a Hybrid
So last week I was wringing my hands about whether CH and I should buy a new car to accommodate our growing family sooner because dealers have great specials on cars during this time of the year or later because we wanted a Ford Hybrid Escape, and Ford’s price might completely tank later on.
Well, this weekend, CH was doing his usual general online stalk of all the things we’ve talked about getting and found a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid at the CarMax in Burbank.
Now, I actually used to reside within walking distance of a CarMax back when I was living in North Hollywood, but I never really knew what they were all about. So after the jump, here’s my account of our experience, just in case you were thinking about buying a car through them.
Apparently at CarMax, the price that’s advertised is the price you get, and CH liked the price of the Escape that they were selling when he first saw it online. I liked that there was no pressure at all from the door, just a “Can I help you” from a friendly sales guy named George in a blue CarMax polo and khakis, and then he was walking us to the one silver 2007 Escape Hybrid that they had on the lot.
Whoever had bought the car in 2007 liked her or his amenities, b/c it came with just about everything, including a navigation system and leather seats.
However, it is a Ford, so it didn’t have as much storage space in the console as my Echo or radio controls on the steering wheel like CH’s old Lexus or a great sound system.
But it did have all the other things I’d been wanting in a car for a while now: power steering, power locks, and back-up notification — according to the chipped paint on my bumper I need this. So we decided to take it for a test drive.
I prefer small cars, but this SUV was pretty much perfect. It wasn’t so big that I felt like a hulk on the street, and it was narrow enough, that I wouldn’t have to say a little prayer every time I drove it through the alley-like streets of Silver Lake.
We decided to buy it, which meant we had to go home for the checkbook in order to make a down payment. Also, I had to clean out my Echo, since we needed to trade it in.
The only unpleasant bit of the CarMax experience is that we didn’t get nearly as much for my Echo as we wanted. However, when we weighed the hassle of selling it on our own versus trading it in, we decided to just trade it in. As it turned out, the only thing I’m more miserly about than our money is our time.
Also, we came in with our own bank loan, so it took just about forever to get through all the paperwork.
Still, it was a great and fairly straightforward experience. Our sales guy, George, was a really affable guy who actually seemed to like his job, and at no point did he try to pressure us into anything. Thanks to a great interest rate from our bank, we’re only paying $22 more than I was dishing out for my Echo payment, but getting a ton more car. In fact, the Escape gets the same great gas mileage that my Echo got, so it feels like I’ve switched up to a car that fits in more with my current lifestyle, more than taking on a bigger car burden.
And perhaps, most importantly, unlike when I bought my Echo from Miller Honda in Culver City exactly four years ago, I didn’t feel traumatized when I walked out of there – especially since I had the peace of mind of knowing that I could return the car anytime over the next five days if I wasn’t completely satisfied with it.
I realized that often with car buying, it’s not getting the best deal, but feeling like you got a good enough deal and not feeling horribly violated by the whole experience. I also realized that I did like everything wrong when I bought my Echo. So my advice for women like myself buying cars:
1) Take someone with you. Even if you don’t have a partner, we all have friends that love cars. Take that person with you. Actually take any person with you, it doesn’t matter if they like cars or not. Just don’t go in alone. You need a separate voice of reason.
2) If you hate the dirty feeling of negotiating on price like I do, scout out what you want beforehand online and go with some place like Carmax, where the price is set beforehand.
3) Don’t bring your checkbook. This will give you an hour of driving home and back to decide whether you really want to make this purchase or not.
4) Don’t trade in if you can help it.
5) Save up for a 20% down payment if you can.
6) Get a loan from your own bank if poss.
I hope this has been helpful. All in all, I would highly recommend Carmax, if you, like us, don’t believe in buying cars new.
Any other tips for buying cars? Let us know in the comments.
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I thought the Carmax was in Burbank.
I thought the Carmax was in Burbank.
You & I have the same car now. Though yours is newer, but I have the Silver with leather interior & all the fixings. I'm curious what your Echo got for mileage. My Escape Hybrid gets about 32 which i think is lower than what they advertise, but still great for an SUV.
You & I have the same car now. Though yours is newer, but I have the Silver with leather interior & all the fixings. I'm curious what your Echo got for mileage. My Escape Hybrid gets about 32 which i think is lower than what they advertise, but still great for an SUV.
my echo got 30 miles a gallon. this one seems to be getting a little more, but only b/c i don't have to take it on the highway and hybrids are especially good for surface drivers.
my echo got 30 miles a gallon. this one seems to be getting a little more, but only b/c i don't have to take it on the highway and hybrids are especially good for surface drivers.
The highest I ever got mine was about 38 mpg, which was in super stop & go traffic on the 101 freeway during Friday rush hour….. I've been generally very pleased with the car overall. Excellent choice! It will look great with a baby car seat in the back :-)
The highest I ever got mine was about 38 mpg, which was in super stop & go traffic on the 101 freeway during Friday rush hour….. I've been generally very pleased with the car overall. Excellent choice! It will look great with a baby car seat in the back :-)
Hi Ernessa! My name's Chris and I am the social media PR guy at the CarMax home office in Richmond, VA. Google Alerts notified me of your post mentioning CarMax and I wanted to reach out to say hello. Thanks for blogging about your experience at one of our stores. IPaprwork can be a drain, but I am glad to rea that your overall experience was a happy one. It's good to read your sales associate George took good care of you. I will let the appropriate folks know how he did. I hope you have miles and miles of happiness with your hybrid.
Hi Ernessa! My name's Chris and I am the social media PR guy at the CarMax home office in Richmond, VA. Google Alerts notified me of your post mentioning CarMax and I wanted to reach out to say hello. Thanks for blogging about your experience at one of our stores. IPaprwork can be a drain, but I am glad to rea that your overall experience was a happy one. It's good to read your sales associate George took good care of you. I will let the appropriate folks know how he did. I hope you have miles and miles of happiness with your hybrid.
I'd also like to suggest the Motley Fool's car buying guide — they have a whole process to avoid the pressure and unpleasantness. Here's a link: http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm!
I'd also like to suggest the Motley Fool's car buying guide — they have a whole process to avoid the pressure and unpleasantness. Here's a link: http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm!
Doing that link again, since I added punctuation that kind of messed it up: http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm
Doing that link again, since I added punctuation that kind of messed it up: http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm
First–on the subject of CarMax Chris. . .sir: you are very good at your job. Wow.
Now, if you don't have the good fortune to shop at Carmax:
Having bought a couple of cars and lived next door to a Bee Em Double You sales person (now that company's social networking PR folks won't be alerted to this post), I can tell you that it's exponentially better to walk in with a car loan from a third party lender already sorted out. This lets you negotiate price as a cash buyer. Heck, if possible don't let on that you have the financing secured. The sales person is more likely to knock money off the sticker price if they think they can make it back on the interest rates. When you whip out your checkbook, they'll hate you. But, at the end of the day, you'll have gotten a better price and that vague feeling of satisfaction that comes from stickin' it to the man.
First–on the subject of CarMax Chris. . .sir: you are very good at your job. Wow.
Now, if you don't have the good fortune to shop at Carmax:
Having bought a couple of cars and lived next door to a Bee Em Double You sales person (now that company's social networking PR folks won't be alerted to this post), I can tell you that it's exponentially better to walk in with a car loan from a third party lender already sorted out. This lets you negotiate price as a cash buyer. Heck, if possible don't let on that you have the financing secured. The sales person is more likely to knock money off the sticker price if they think they can make it back on the interest rates. When you whip out your checkbook, they'll hate you. But, at the end of the day, you'll have gotten a better price and that vague feeling of satisfaction that comes from stickin' it to the man.
Okay, reading the quote from Chris at CarMax was the coolest thing ever! Wow, nice.
E, nice recommendations. I think the best piece of advice is do your homework. I actually like to haggle, but I go into it having done all the necessary homework in terms of the price on my car (trade-in), the car I want, the dealership, etc. I have been pretty successful that way. But i think the coolest pieces of advice you gave were not trading in if you can help it and self-financing (although that is very hard to get for a lot of people). Very cool.
Oh, did you tell them you were pregnant? When Brian got his Wrangler, he called ahead and told them I was pregnant and on bed-rest. They did all of the paperwork via email and fax. And Brian was adamant that we could not be wasting time there because that was too much pressure for me. It was so cool. We were in and out in 30 minutes (including signing the paperwork, trading in the CrossFire, inspecting the Wrangler, etc.). Plus they kept asking if I needed anything and were super nice. So another piece of advice could be leverage the pregnancy! Ha, Ha!
So, I guess I'll forgive you for not responding to my email since you were busy buying a car!
Okay, reading the quote from Chris at CarMax was the coolest thing ever! Wow, nice.
E, nice recommendations. I think the best piece of advice is do your homework. I actually like to haggle, but I go into it having done all the necessary homework in terms of the price on my car (trade-in), the car I want, the dealership, etc. I have been pretty successful that way. But i think the coolest pieces of advice you gave were not trading in if you can help it and self-financing (although that is very hard to get for a lot of people). Very cool.
Oh, did you tell them you were pregnant? When Brian got his Wrangler, he called ahead and told them I was pregnant and on bed-rest. They did all of the paperwork via email and fax. And Brian was adamant that we could not be wasting time there because that was too much pressure for me. It was so cool. We were in and out in 30 minutes (including signing the paperwork, trading in the CrossFire, inspecting the Wrangler, etc.). Plus they kept asking if I needed anything and were super nice. So another piece of advice could be leverage the pregnancy! Ha, Ha!
So, I guess I'll forgive you for not responding to my email since you were busy buying a car!
Oh, one more thing. Was the price as good as you theorized because of the economy?
Oh, one more thing. Was the price as good as you theorized because of the economy?
I got my Prius at a Carmax and it was hands down, the simplest and most enjoyable car-buying experience of my life.
I got my Prius at a Carmax and it was hands down, the simplest and most enjoyable car-buying experience of my life.
good question, monique. the short answer to that is no. the price we got is totally reasonable, but b/c we decided to go with used as opposed to new, and because we went to carmax as opposed to desperate dealer, we got quite a reasonable price on a car that's really hard to find used. but it wasn't a total deal.
george actually told us that carmax has been benefiting from the economy, b/c people are more open to used cars now. and the place seemed to be somewhat packed with customers the entire time we were there. i think this economy has made a lot of people swindle-adverse and they don't want to deal with the hassle of a dealership. it just goes to prove what can be gained by conducting your business straight forth and honestly.
as for the pregnancy card, unfortunately i'm not far enough along to really pull it with anybody but my husband yet. :)
good question, monique. the short answer to that is no. the price we got is totally reasonable, but b/c we decided to go with used as opposed to new, and because we went to carmax as opposed to desperate dealer, we got quite a reasonable price on a car that's really hard to find used. but it wasn't a total deal.
george actually told us that carmax has been benefiting from the economy, b/c people are more open to used cars now. and the place seemed to be somewhat packed with customers the entire time we were there. i think this economy has made a lot of people swindle-adverse and they don't want to deal with the hassle of a dealership. it just goes to prove what can be gained by conducting your business straight forth and honestly.
as for the pregnancy card, unfortunately i'm not far enough along to really pull it with anybody but my husband yet. :)
Hi, this is Christopher S. Johnson of "Starbuck is Joan of Arc". I also have the FEH. A 2007 bought in 2006. LOVE IT. And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about it — like how the white average bar works on the MPG screen, and why there are 2 different air conditioning settings.
Right now I'm getting mid 30's on both City or HWY. Short trips are death to the MPG and you'll never get great milage going to the corner store or even 10 miles away! The system has to be WARMED UP to run efficiently and that often takes time. If all I do is short trips I get sucky 29mpg.
I also drive carefully: coasting to red lights, tricking the engine to turn off, downshifting to return more energy to the battery, ect. This can easily get me to 36 MPG in the city traffic. That's better City milage than an Echo, a Jetta Diesel, or even the American version of the Smart Car!!
On the highway, if I keep it at 60mph ( I know, it means the slow lane) I get also get 36 mpg! I can drive from L.A. to Phoenix on a single tank of gas.
And besides all of this concern over CO2, the truly under-reported story is how clean the FEH is on regular sooty and evaporative emissions. Cleaner than a Honda Civic, from what I understand. Lots of extra seals, a bladder gas tank, doesnt idle very often, ect.
Most remarkable about the FEH is the reaction I get to it in non-coastal states here in the U.S, like my home state of Texas:
• Most people have NEVER heard of the vehicle. Its difficult to find.
• The conservatives are indifferent about it, thinking it a fad or something.
• The liberal environmentalists only see an SUV shape and so it cant possibly be anything but a ploy and it couldn't be as CO2 lean as their small gasoline car. (which in the city it is actually superior to)
Shrug.
Oh, last thing. As of 2008, the FEH and the Prius are the only two hybrids that can be after-market converted to plug-in hybrids. The Ford system allows for hacking!
-Christopher S. Johnson
Hi, this is Christopher S. Johnson of "Starbuck is Joan of Arc". I also have the FEH. A 2007 bought in 2006. LOVE IT. And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about it — like how the white average bar works on the MPG screen, and why there are 2 different air conditioning settings.
Right now I'm getting mid 30's on both City or HWY. Short trips are death to the MPG and you'll never get great milage going to the corner store or even 10 miles away! The system has to be WARMED UP to run efficiently and that often takes time. If all I do is short trips I get sucky 29mpg.
I also drive carefully: coasting to red lights, tricking the engine to turn off, downshifting to return more energy to the battery, ect. This can easily get me to 36 MPG in the city traffic. That's better City milage than an Echo, a Jetta Diesel, or even the American version of the Smart Car!!
On the highway, if I keep it at 60mph ( I know, it means the slow lane) I get also get 36 mpg! I can drive from L.A. to Phoenix on a single tank of gas.
And besides all of this concern over CO2, the truly under-reported story is how clean the FEH is on regular sooty and evaporative emissions. Cleaner than a Honda Civic, from what I understand. Lots of extra seals, a bladder gas tank, doesnt idle very often, ect.
Most remarkable about the FEH is the reaction I get to it in non-coastal states here in the U.S, like my home state of Texas:
• Most people have NEVER heard of the vehicle. Its difficult to find.
• The conservatives are indifferent about it, thinking it a fad or something.
• The liberal environmentalists only see an SUV shape and so it cant possibly be anything but a ploy and it couldn't be as CO2 lean as their small gasoline car. (which in the city it is actually superior to)
Shrug.
Oh, last thing. As of 2008, the FEH and the Prius are the only two hybrids that can be after-market converted to plug-in hybrids. The Ford system allows for hacking!
-Christopher S. Johnson