Passing the batton...
Passing the batton...
My son had a 2003 T-Bird.76,000 miles...(bad car...probably last car Ford built before they learned how to build good cars). Something was just not right about it...very old school loosey goosey. It was on Car and Driver's:
Dishonorable Mention: The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History
I traded in my 6 spd Crossfire (Fred) at the 90,000 mile mark back in 2013 for an Escape Titanium AWD 2.0 L turbo....after 52,000 miles ...zero problems , very fun to drive. So I still had Wilma (PRISTINE) (2008 with 34,000 miles) automatic with Navigation.
I gave Wilma to my son and used his T-Bird as a trade in for a 2017 Focus ST (KONA BLUE).....I NEEDED a 6 Speed!!!!!
It's the same basic engine as the 240 HP one in the Escape but is tuned to get 252 HP on 93 ...drops to 243 on 87 octane. Redline 6500 with 3 second overspeed t0 6800 rpm. The HP #s are determined at 19.5 PSI..however OVERBOOST at 21 PSI is allowed in 20 second intervals.
Sticker $25,680 basic ST1 only option on car was $30 all season tires...basic car has push button start, bluetooth, and back up camera & Has full size spare!!!!!.
Really had to dicker on purchase....to start they wanted about $18500 difference (sales tax included)
Finally got them down to about $11,500 plus about $1,500 sales tax....so check was for $12,980.
They claimed they were gonna have to spend $2,800 to fix all the problems on the T-Bird....I don't doubt that's what it would have cost me at their dealership. Also, we did not have the removable hard top on when we went to the dealership.....midway between the 3rd and 4th negotiation they asked if the hard top was in as good a condition as the rest of the car....I said oh yes.
So by trading in the car I saved about a $1,000 in sales tax on the new one.
The kicker is.....that was Monday....today is Thursday...no one has ever called to ask..."Where's the removable hard top?" It's in my basement. A lot of the T-Birds were purchased without that $2,500 option....If they never call about the top....I'm gonna put it on E-Bay....
Bottom line ...my son is now the proud owner of Wilma.....& I've moved on to a nasty little Focus ST.
GEICO 7 year 100,000 mile Mechanical Breakdown Insurance on new ST = less than $18 / 6 months....$250 deductible / breakdown.
Dishonorable Mention: The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History
I traded in my 6 spd Crossfire (Fred) at the 90,000 mile mark back in 2013 for an Escape Titanium AWD 2.0 L turbo....after 52,000 miles ...zero problems , very fun to drive. So I still had Wilma (PRISTINE) (2008 with 34,000 miles) automatic with Navigation.
I gave Wilma to my son and used his T-Bird as a trade in for a 2017 Focus ST (KONA BLUE).....I NEEDED a 6 Speed!!!!!
It's the same basic engine as the 240 HP one in the Escape but is tuned to get 252 HP on 93 ...drops to 243 on 87 octane. Redline 6500 with 3 second overspeed t0 6800 rpm. The HP #s are determined at 19.5 PSI..however OVERBOOST at 21 PSI is allowed in 20 second intervals.
Sticker $25,680 basic ST1 only option on car was $30 all season tires...basic car has push button start, bluetooth, and back up camera & Has full size spare!!!!!.
Really had to dicker on purchase....to start they wanted about $18500 difference (sales tax included)
Finally got them down to about $11,500 plus about $1,500 sales tax....so check was for $12,980.
They claimed they were gonna have to spend $2,800 to fix all the problems on the T-Bird....I don't doubt that's what it would have cost me at their dealership. Also, we did not have the removable hard top on when we went to the dealership.....midway between the 3rd and 4th negotiation they asked if the hard top was in as good a condition as the rest of the car....I said oh yes.
So by trading in the car I saved about a $1,000 in sales tax on the new one.
The kicker is.....that was Monday....today is Thursday...no one has ever called to ask..."Where's the removable hard top?" It's in my basement. A lot of the T-Birds were purchased without that $2,500 option....If they never call about the top....I'm gonna put it on E-Bay....
Bottom line ...my son is now the proud owner of Wilma.....& I've moved on to a nasty little Focus ST.
GEICO 7 year 100,000 mile Mechanical Breakdown Insurance on new ST = less than $18 / 6 months....$250 deductible / breakdown.
Last edited by Chris L.; 07-27-2017 at 10:49 AM.