11th Dec 2010, 16:50
"Why do people keep misquoting J.D. Powers and CR? They both agree that imports are better overall then any domestic cars."
Since when?? J. D. Powers rates Ford ahead of Honda, Nissan and Toyota, and CR rates as many Fords as best Buys" as they do Toyotas. In addition, CR rates the Fusion BETTER in reliability than both the Camry or Accord, and have for 5 years.
12th Dec 2010, 12:25
J.D. Powers ALSO ranks Acura and Lexus above any domestic cars, and the last time I checked, they were imports.
Consumer Reports rates the Fusion as a standout high level car for the domestics, but overall imports still rank above domestics in quality and reliability.
Like I have said before, it is easy to go and find tidbits of information that make the cars you like look good, while omitting the whole truth about the ratings systems. If you take the data as a whole, imports rank better. Truth is truth, sorry.
13th Dec 2010, 00:28
Wow! The Fusion retains so awesome that after you use it a bit, it's worth the same or even more than a new one!!!
Seriously, the only way that could exist would be if the Fusions are so far back ordered, thus raising the value of the ones available for sale. And who are we kidding people?? You must be crazy to sell your Fusion if it's the best in its class. Oh wait, so you can buy a cheaper new one ;)
13th Dec 2010, 14:45
This might happen in Nome Alaska where there are 2 Fusions for sale in 1,500 miles. Around here that is anything but the truth. A quick search of 100 mile radius brings in well over 600 used Fusions. None of them go for the price of a new one. They start at the high end just under $20K, and fall from there to around $7,995 for high mileage first year examples.
Not sure where the magical land of the ever increasing value of the Fusion exists. In this economy, there is no stand out for car values. The Fusion is on par or lower than anything in its class. Sure there are markets where dealers take advantage of the market and the availability of cars, or lack thereof, but it isn't the norm.
14th Dec 2010, 19:51
We live in a large metropolitan area with a population of over a million, and we have 5 Ford dealership within 25 miles. Just out of curiosity, I checked the ads for used Fusions this weekend. There were THREE. The cheapest was $12,995. It was a 2006 SE with 90,000+ miles. A new one goes for $16,895. No way would I pay only $3900 less for a 6-year-old car with nearly 100,000 miles on it. That doesn't make much sense.
15th Dec 2010, 11:56
Yeah, I live just north of NYC. I found over 600 used Fusions in five minutes and they start around $7,995 for higher mileage ones from the first year of production. You live in a pretty small metropolitan area if there are only around 1 million people. There are about 22 million here. The dealers are playing the market well there and keeping prices up and inventory low as there is probably a higher demand for the Fusion there. You should search my area and have one shipped home to you. Even with the $500 shipping cost you'd save a ton of cash!
15th Dec 2010, 18:35
Well, I live in a large urban area of about 1/2 million, and we have 8 Ford dealerships within a 20 mile radius according to Ford's website.
New 2011 Fusion SEL 2.5L 4 cyl Auto: Starting Invoice: $23K.
2010 Fusion SE 4 cyl Auto 9K miles. ---- $18.9K
2009 Fusion SE 4 cyl Auto 9K miles. ---- $17.4K
2008 Fusion SE 4 cyl Auto 25K miles. ---- $12.9K.
And BTW:
*** 2006 Fusion SE Auto 65K miles ---- $10K!!!
*** 2006 Fusion SE Auto 47K miles ---- $15.9K
I got these straight from Autobytel.com.
So, I'll take 30 of those $16.9K 2011 Ford Fusions please! Just tell me where!
16th Dec 2010, 13:41
Yeah, let me know where that is too... I would love to buy 20 of those $16K Fusions so I can make more than enough to buy my next Mustang!
17th Dec 2010, 17:36
"I'll take 30 of those $16.9K 2011 Ford Fusions please! Just tell me where!"
I'm not sure what state you live in, but the 2011 Ford Fusion is advertised at $16,900 in Memphis, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, Little Rock Arkansas, Jackson, Mississippi, Olive Branch, Mississippi, Millington, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia, Tampa, Florida, and several hundred other dealerships in the south. $16,900 is the going price for the Fusion and the comparable Mazda 6. No dealership goes by the list price. Check the new car ads in virtually ANY city. Ad prices are what you pay, not the list. $16,900 is actually pretty average for cars like the Fusion, Camry or Malibu. I see ads for Camrys and Malibus here for that price every week.
As for a $10,000 used Fusion, I've seen a few. They usually had 200,000 miles on them or were pretty banged up. A nice one at that price is very hard to find unless a private seller is pretty desperate.
18th Dec 2010, 09:23
Not sure why you're not sure when I said the NYC metro area is where I live... So your dealers are letting Fusions sell for about $1,500 under invoice? Huh. Things are definitely different in the south, and dealers have no interest in making any real money there. I used to sell Fords, and there is no way we'd let any car go for that much of a discount. Like I said, I should order up 20 of them and make a fortune reselling them up here for more money! The only thing I can figure is the one they are advertising is an absolutely stripped base with a manual tranny, which no one wants, and then they upsell you to the AT car when you get there. It is an old fashioned bait and switch technique, but it apparently is still working.
Also, on the used Fusion. There are over 600 around here right now, and they are as low as $7,995 for a base model with around 90K miles on it from 2006. The best deal I found was a 2007 V6 car with 69K on it for $9,995, but I didn't scour all 600 of them, so I am sure there are more like this one. These are dealer cars, so they are anything but "banged up", and are reconditioned and in as good of condition as possible.
Really, around here the Fusion is just another car. It ranks about the same or lower than the Camry or Accord for market value here. The Accord is more desirable here really, as is any import. NY is where the money is, and wealthy people don't drive domestics as much as Acura's, Lexus', BMW's, Mercedes...etc. etc. I see at least three to one imports everywhere I drive here, and the Fusion is very ordinary and not a standout. Heck, BMW's are as plentiful as Corolla's here, and are just everyday commuter cars, so no one cares much about a domestic car like the Fusion.
The market is pretty strange where you live, if they are truly giving Fusions away for so much under invoice, and then jacking the price on used ones so much above book value.
10th Dec 2010, 21:03
A colleague of mine went shopping for a low-mileage used Fusion last week. He found a number of used and new ones, but told me that he was opting for the new one, because all the used ones were actually priced as high or higher than the new ones. That seems to indicate a pretty high resale value to me!!