agarciagmu Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Hey FFH Forum, First post. I've been very active in several other forums and have had several cars that I spend alot of money on aftermarket car parts. Most recently, I've had a Mustang, Charger, SIlverado, and mostrecnetly an IS250. My wife and I just purchased a Fusion Hybrid SE yesterday. I won't post final dollar purchase price on here so its not seen as boasting but if anyone would like to know this information, I'd be glad to share individually. I believe I got a good deal with several different types of incentives and rebates and 4th of July weekend sales. I got a Silver on Black cloth SE. Not many options. Just power seats, power windows, reverse sensors, thats about it. My wife and I purchased this vehicle for several purposes. We live outside Washington DC and traffic is a nightmare. Many places offer parking for hybrid/electric vehicles and our previous car used premium gas. We traded in our 2006 IS250AWD. I had several thousand dollars dumped into our IS250. Aftermarket wheels, many performance parts, suspension, custom interior, etc. We switched to this car because we thought it was the smart decision. The Lex only had 43,000 miles but it requires premium gas which around here is about $4 a gallon. The Fusion can use cheap gas obviously. The lex had completely bald tires to the point that steel wires were becoming exposed on the inside of the front tires. The lex also needed new brakes which can run pretty expensive for a premium brand. So I factor in the $1,500-$2,000 the lex needed in immediate maintenance into the financial aspect of our decision. I may also need to start commuting long distances in the near future so this decision was a no brainer for us. We live 3 miles from the dealership and other than 1 tiny stretch where the car needed to chug up-hill, 99% of our trek home was done in pure EV mode. Our Fusion came without fog lights so I hope I can get them installed by the dealership at some point. -Dr. Dre Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lolder Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Read all the manuals several times all the way through while parked and operate all the controls and menus. You wont remember everything but it's a start. If you've never read an owners manual before, reading this one will yeild the most benefit. Read about how to drive a hybrid. You don't have to drive it differently from other cars but there will be greater rewards if you do. The forum Cleanmpg.com has some primer sections. Don't coax EV mode as it frequently is less efficient at higher speeds. Have fun ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteveB_TX Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Welcome to the forum. :victory: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeff_h Report post Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) We live outside Washington DC and traffic is a nightmare. Hmmm, you don't say... this past week (day before the 4th) instead of going my normal 60-mile commute from Northern VA down to Stafford (where I-95 stands still the entire way), I went 29 miles out of the way (went I-66 way out west near Marshall then took US17) and made about 30 minutes better time than if I had taken the 'short' route. So welcome, I didn't see your color noted, what did you get? And you can post purchase prices here if you like, several here have... mine turned out to be about $400 over invoice but was the best offer of the dealers that I asked about placing a retail order. My dealer has since ordered an exact dupe of my Ruby Red and it is sitting there as dealer stock, and now with the 'special sale' going on (there is also an increased rebate now over what I had) someone can buy the exact car for $1,000-1,500 less than I did.. Oh well that's life, I've enjoyed my car for 6 months and 17k miles so life is good. Edited July 7, 2013 by jeff_h Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djminfll Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Welsme to the forum, and best of luck with your new FFH. As Jeff said, feel free to discuss prices here, many of us have. I factory ordered mine in December 2012, and paid $500 over invoice. I could have negotiated a better price on a car in inventory, but it was a lot harder to negotiate on a car that didnt exist yet! Plus, after $500 rebate and additional $750 from Ford, imactually got the car for $250 UNDER invoice. And if I settled for what was in stock I would have gotten a vehicle equipped differently than I wanted, and wouldn't have gotten the additional $750 since that wasn't offered until after I placed the order. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thavil Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Welcome from another DC area FFH owner! As mentioned, learn all you can on how to drive a hybrid and your car will reward you over and over. I went from a Cadillac CTS and don't regret the decision at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GrayStrider Report post Posted July 8, 2013 Welcome and enjoy your new FFH! We have three in our neighborhood - ours was the first (gray), then around the corner a month later was a silver one, and in between is a new black one. Ours is the only hybrid of the group, though. I love ours, such a comfortable ride, and we're getting 20+ mpg better than our other car, a 2005 Saturn VUE (which daughter will be driving to HS next year). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kuzzi Report post Posted July 29, 2013 Welcome! If you haven't already done so, please feel free to add yourself to our ever growing FFH owner's map! http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6884-ffh-owners-map/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites