Buying FFH used

[crawl49]

Strange Story, but here goes:

 

One of our acquaintances runs an estate sale business. His latest contract is with an estate whose surviving family is out of state. Part of the estate he is preparing for sale includes a new Ford Fusion Hybrid with, according to him, less than 3,000 miles on it. The lawyers for the estate are saying 22,500 will sell the car. I see were the MSRP for this car is around 28,000. He is not sure if this car has the convenience package or the luxury package. I was told its ‘loaded’. I guess my question is, is this a good deal?

 

I am not about to ask what people pay for their cars, but with the MSRP price, the extras and the tax incentive, I am wondering if this is about what the deceased paid for it originally.

 

Both of our cars have over 200,000 miles on them (Honda-CRV) and both still run. We don’t need a car, but having a hybrid would be nice.

 

Another question. My commute is 30 miles to work each way. Six city and 24 highway, of witch maybe eight is stop and go traffic. Is this a good running environment for the FFH?

 

Thanks much.

[lolder]

The car is essentially "loaded" as the base model. There are two packages, the first with moon roof, entertainment upgrade and rear view camera and sensors (very desirable), and the next one up with a big navigation system and leather. These can add over $4k. bringing retail to over $32K. The advantage of a hybrid diminishes with cold weather and high speed driving. It's a nice car in any case. There were very few discounts and they weren't much. Cash for clunkers and the tax credit (only for new buyers) were about the only discounts. Your commute will let the car perform normally. Short, very hot or very cold trips are the worst because of AC use and heating requirements for both passengers and engine. The EPA mileage figures are real. My long term mpg in S. Florida is 39.9 mpg. Up north it's sometimes a lot less (33).

Edited March 2, 2010 by lolder

[Fuze-ion]

If the car is in great, new condition, as it should. If it has any of the option packages like Moon Roof, Back-Up Camera, it is worth the $22,500. There are very few on the market around here, which I guess keeps the price up. Not that cars son't go for a lot miles, but if you have two, and they both ahve over 200,000 miles, it might be a good idea to have a back-up.

[DJE]

Sounds pretty good to me. I'd grab it!

[rlawson4]

It seems like a very fair price. You could never buy it used (a lease repossession etc) for that price. I think it would be 26K to buy it used from a dealer. I would get an early oil change because the car has been sitting. I would also check to make sure the battery is still charged (not the 12 volt but the EV battery). Sounds like a find to me.

[crawl49]

Thank you very much for the quick responses.

[lolder]

It's very important that the car hasn't been sitting for more than a month or so without being run. The high voltage battery can be damaged if it discharges completely over time. You might want a dealer to check it out if you are unfamiliar with the FFH. (Many dealers aren't familiar either!).