WPWoodJr
-
Posts
159 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Posts posted by WPWoodJr
-
-
He also recommended when down hill coasting to slightly tap the break force recharging of the battery. I think Ford has estimated that the friction breaks should last 2 to 3 times a normal car. The friction breaks don't kick in until something like 10mph under normal circumstances.
I thought that actual braking wasn't necessary to recharge the battery. When you let up on the accelerator in electric mode, there is no natural slow-down from the engine back pressure, so the hybrids recharge the battery to provide an artificial back pressure and slow the car down, making for a gas engine feel.
-
Right answer. Most dealers are on a "locater" system with Ford and some have additional group/alliances that routinely locate and trade vehicles. Remember you are buying a vehicle from a dealer (not Ford Motor Company -Ford sells vehicles to the dealers for resale.) The dealership can satisfy your order by ordering the vehicle from the assembly plant or from another dealer. The vehicle you buy doesn't have to be exactly what you ordered to satisfy the IRS for the tax credit (different options or colors are ok.)
Grey, do you have any reference for this information? The IRS web site seems surprisingly unhelpful.
-
See post #6 above. Dealer can "source" the order from anywhere. Your purchase order dated before 3/31 is your proof you "purchased" and qualifies you for the full tax credit.
Like I said before - dealers trade vehicles all the time. You ordered the vehicle from the dealer, where they get it for you is up to them - No IRS involvement or interest.
Now, what I think--- is that they knew they would have a hard time talking another dealership out of a Hybrid, or they might have to pay a premium for it. Easier to tell you that it might mess up your qualification for the credit.
Well, my dealer has a hybrid they could swap for it. I'm wondering if they would have to cancel my order with Ford if they satisfy my order through a swap, and they would get one less hybrid.
-
" On March 31 I ordered a green FFH with black leather, 502a package. If a nearby dealer has that car, can't I get my dealer to swap one of his cars for that car without losing my tax credit? Or do I have to buy the ordered car to qualify?"
Your purchase order dated 3/31 qualifies you for the $3,400 tax credit. It does not have a VIN associated with it. Your dealer can order from the factory or dealer trade to obtain the vehicle for you. If the vehicle fits your requirements (even if the specifications/options are slightly different), you can claim the full credit.
Dealers trade vehicles all the time to fill customers purchase orders. The IRS would not care or even think about how the dealer got you the vehicle as long as you are the first registered retail owner.
On the 8910 form next year, show the date you took delivery, the $3,400 credit amount and claim 100%. Don't show 3/31 as the delivery date, but keep a copy of your purchase order as that qualifies you for the full credit at 100%.
Enjoy!
I tried to get my dealer to swap a car for me from another dealer. They said that would most likely invalidate my order date of Mar 31 and that the IRS could easily find out. What do you think?
-
Great start to your blog. The pics of the Atlantis Green are spot on; it really does look like that in person. It'll be nice if you really go into the details when your FFH comes in.
Thanks! I do plan to go into detail when I get the car.
I posted an update to Atlantis Green revealed that shows how black it looks on a cloudy day.
-
I changed mine today from Atlantis Green to Gray. The green is just too dark - would look black most of the time.
-
Does any one that ordered the last couple of days in March, have a vin number or schedule date yet? I'm actually interested in anyone's date ordered, date schedued, and date delivered. Trying to compare and get some idea what to expect.
Thanks
I ordered March 31 but have no vin or schedule date yet.
-
It would be cool if the Sync system could hook up to the Internet through your phone to get system updates or traffic/weather or CD database updates or whatever.
-
I have been trying to get some reliable information on Sync 3.0 in the FFH. There have been a lot of rumors, etc. about what will be needed for the upgrade to 3.0 as the vehicle is shipping without the GPS/Internet services support. So I finally decided to bite the bullet and went to the syncmyride side and started a chat with a sync support person. First, the FFH is shipping with the new sync hardware. The GPS/Internet services are currently not supported. He initially stated that the upgrade for that support would require a dealer visit, but put me on hold while he went back for more information. He came back and said he had to correct himself and said the upgrade will be available as a download. Good news for the technically inclined. Pressed on when the upgrade would be available, he said that there is no official date, but that the middle of May appears to be an objective.
Thanks Jim good info!
-
-
I thought I'd try my hand at blogging so I've started a blog/discussion site about my newly ordered FFH. There doesn't seem to be a focused community on the inter-web for the FFH like PriusChat. Stop on by and leave a comment on my blog or add to the discussion forum!
-
My old car is a 1998 Audi A6 2.8 with 101,000 miles on it.
-
Why is the Milan's MSRP priced at $1,480 above the Fusion when equipped the same?
Milan
300A & 58N
Fusion
502A
I priced them in Philadelphia area and they came out about $1150 different - Milan was $33090 and Ford was $31940 (502a). I got my 502a for $30,120.
-
Eh, I got my 502A Silver 2010 Fusion Hybrid for 30,900
Got my 502a in Atlantis green for $30,120 - I think there's lots of room to deal!
-
Grey,
Thanks for the info.
We ordered ours on March 30. And we keep looking at other dealers as they get one in. None, has the exact color with the package we want.
Of course, I know We'll have to wait or loose $1700.00 of the $3400.00 tax credit.
Thank again for the info.
Is that true? On March 31 I ordered a green FFH with black leather, 502a package. If a nearby dealer has that car, can't I get my dealer to swap one of his cars for that car without losing my tax credit? Or do I have to buy the ordered car to qualify?
-
Well my dealer just received an Atlantis Green Milan. Barely a green color, more a black with a green cast. Changed my order from the platinum white to the atlantis green. Hey it even saved me a little money...
I went to a local dealer today and saw the Atlantis Green. I would have said it was black if the sticker didn't say green. I'd prefer it a little more green like a fir tree. Guess you liked it though huh?
-
If your order was verified and someone approved it as retail by 4/2, you should have a VIN assigned. If it was not input until 4/3 or later by Ford, you might have a VIN but are waiting to be scheduled tonight. Your dealer should be able to tell you more tomorrow.
Glad you got in under the wire for the tax credit - hang onto your purchase order dated 3/31.
Thanks. To qualify for the tax credit, I only need the purchase order, correct? It doesn't matter when the dealer entered my order into the Ford system?
-
And they could just as easily give you back the $500 and say "sorry, we can't get the car."
It's perfectly legal - they are not required to sell you a car in the first place. But they can't keep your money.
That said - it would be rare for that to happen.
They can't legally say "sorry, we can't get the car" when they actually got it and then sell it to someone else. That would be fraud. Using my money to get a car from Ford under false pretenses, and my opportunity lost to get the $3400 credit.
-
Grey responds to his post - A VIN means Ford acknowledges the order - so it must have been verified.
And "All of the verified orders in the system before 3/31 have been scheduled."
It is possible that a VIN was assigned without being scheduled yet- that is why I said check Friday. It might have not made the Thur. night (4/2) cutoff last week - or the salesperson just didn't want to check yet.
Regardless, they should have been more forthcoming with the information they had, to relieve the customer's concerns about timing. I ordered 2/26 and was verified 3/2.
You can get a rough estimate of timing from the sequence date and VIN relationship, unless there are commodity issues. See what the dealership has to say Friday.
BTW, Ford builds about 15,000 Fusion/Milan vehicles per month.
What is the Thur night (4/2) cutoff?
I ordered on 3/31 - should I have a VIN yet?
-
Thanks everyone for helping put my mind at ease. I drove one the other day, impressions are here:
-
I think Ford would be none too happy as they make the dealer go through the whole verification process in order to avoid this kind of practice. I am pretty sure you would also have grounds to sue them over breach of contract.
I don't know if they did go through a verification process. They took my license, but they didn't run a credit check. I had to ask them for the order receipt; and the receipt copy they gave me was a xerox without their signature line on it (was off the bottom of the xerox) and no date! I called them up a couple days later and had them send me the original green copy of the receipt, and told them to make sure it was dated and signed, which they did.
-
Of course it's a possibility and no, you can't force the dealer to honor the deal. You can ask for your money back though if they don't produce the vehicle.
Is this a common practice? Doesn't my order provide me any protection against a scam like that?
-
As I noted above, I paid $500 down on a FFH with 502a package for $30,120.85 (before taxes) on Mar 31. Now, having driven one at the dealer, I am getting concerned that somehow they will take the car I ordered and sell it to someone else at a higher price, or some other shenanigans like that. Is this a possibility? What, if anything, can I do to ensure I get my car? Is my order a contract with the dealer that they can't break?
-
A black FFH with 502a package and stone interior came in to my dealer today (I ordered a green FFH with black leather and 502a package from them on 3/31). I went over as soon as it was prepped and drove it. It drove nicely though I didn't get to drive it far. It only had about 32 miles on it. It will take awhile to get used to the LED interface but it was great. I put a few green leaves on it ;-) I tried some hard acceleration and it went ok, nothing to write home about, and I didn't push it too much because it was not broken in yet.
The Sony stereo is one of the best I've ever heard in a car! No graphic equalizer, just bass and treble controls but that's all that's needed. Great bass, open treble, with an effortless, powerful quality to it. There is a "DSP" mode that only has one setting but sounded ok, no huge cathedral hall reverb or anything like that (good!). I hooked my BlackBerry up to the USB port easily and it recognized the songs/artists/albums on it and played them.
The nav unit has a straight down view and a birds eye view similar to Garmin's. It was nice, but I think I like my Garmin 360 better - it has a more refined interface. But this one's built in :-)
This is a complex system with the NAV and all, but it does a lot. The interface can be clunky. For instance, alphabetic keyboards are not QWERTY. Looking up artist names can be tedious - not nearly as quick and intuitive as Blackberry.
As for the inside, I'd say its very nice but not classic like an Audi or BMW - lots of buttons and controls and no wood trim.
The backup camera was awesome, except it kept beeping because it was raining and it mistook the rain for an obstruction I guess. The BLIS system was also impressive.
I'm 6'1" and had no problems in the front seat with moon roof. My head just brushed the top when sitting in the back.
All in all, I really liked it. Sure I'd change some things but this car has everything I wanted.
How to drive the FFH for best mpg
in Ford Fusion Hybrid
Posted
Did you consider the new Prius?