Recommended Mods for Leased Edge?

[dtappeiner]

Thanks in advance for your patience if I sound like an idiot. I just got my 2008 FORD Edge SE base model in Vapor Silver on a lease and I love it so far. I will probably buy it when the lease comes up, but I am not sure. I would like to make some minor modifications and would love recommendations. The only non-stondard "upgrades" are the premium sound system and Sirius.

 

For now, all I plan on doing is tinting the front windows, getting new floor mats because I have the light beige interior, getting racks installed (I just have the rails right now), and maybe installing some new speakers (the existing speakers do not handle bass very well in my opinion). I am not a big car modifier and am not looking for anything drastic. I doubt I would do any custom tuning or anything like that, but I would like to make the car look and sound a little tougher, perform a little better and imporve gas mileage- if possible.

 

I ordered the K&N filter as a start but then I read that this could increase engine wear and I don't want that. What is the real deal on these filters?

 

I have been looking at the cold air intake idea and looks like there are (or will be) some options on this. Is it worth it?

 

Anything I can do with the muffler or exhaust to make it sound a little meatier or perform better?

 

Anything else you would recommend to make it look cool?

 

I am kicking myself for not getting the 18" premium painted wheels as they would look so good on my EDGE, but I wasn't even aware of them when I got it. Funny, the dealer spend very little time with me and there was no pressure or upselling. I did most of my negotiation by the phone and I think I got a really good deal and they made very little profit (I checked with my friend that was a car sales maanger for 10 years and he said he thought I got a great deal). Anyway, different story.

 

Please keep in my mind I don't want to do anything that might cause warranty problems.

 

Thanks again for any suggestions or advice.

 

David (a convert)

[ablb]

Greetings and welcome

 

Lots of good upgades and mods here http://www.fordedgeforum.com/index.php?showforum=14

 

I like the shorty antenna and tinted windows.

We have a white MKX so we tinted with 35%.

What do you think about tint on your vapor sliver like this?

See the attachment below, I sold the Z and Honda VFR for a F250, wish I had them back.

 

Here's my #1 upgrade I always recommend to my leasing friends.

 

As quick as you can get to your Credit Union.

Take out a THREE (four if you have to, this is a learning experience) year loan

(sorry but the first one will be at a higher (used car rate) interest rate.

Here's the secret part

Make the payment payroll deductable. After the first couple of checks you won't even miss it.

 

Now for the good part.

 

In the past 40 years I owned several pretty nice cars and have NEVER made a payment on any of them.

 

Here's a short list.

1969 69 SS 396 Chevelle

1974 74 GTO

.....

1979 75 Porsche 914

....

1992 92 BMW 325

....

....

1998 Cadillac Cateria

2002 02 Infinity I30

2004 04 BMW X3

....

2008 08 MKX

 

.... = other new but less interesting cars and pickups

 

Bottom line....get out of that lease ASAP and if you do want to keep the Edge...Why would you want to pay for it TWICE?

 

ab

Edited August 13, 2008 by ablb

[Con-man]

I agree with ablb. If you want to keep this Edge get out of that lease. I know you think that your paying something on the Edge while leasing but your not. If you stay in that lease until the term is over you will see they will still want alot of money to purchase the Edge. I leased a Tahoe a few years ago I really loved the truck and I wanted to keep it. I stayed in the vehicle until the end of the lease. I called to find out how much they wanted to purchased the Tahoe make a long story short for what they wanted to purchase the Tahoe and what I paid for the lease I could have purchased two Tahoe's.

 

Now Mods The only thing I would put on the Edge is something that I could take off and sell. If you put rims on the vehicle and you don't keep it you will loose some money when you sell the rims. You will never get back what you paid for them.

 

I wouldn't tint the windows until you were sure your going to keep the Edge again if you give the Edge back you will loose the money you paid for the tint.

 

Good luck

Edited August 21, 2008 by Con-man

[kdd01]

My .02 and a plug for these guys. Order an xcalibrator3 flash tuner from Evolution Performance and run the performance tune ( requires premium fuel ). Best performance mod for the $$ and takes 5 minutes to complete the install. All you do is sit in your drivers seat, plug it in to OBDII port under steering column and follow the instructions on screen. You'll like driving your Edge even more and you'll leave many wondering how they were just smoked by a Ford Edge ! Also noticed a 2 mpg increase in fuel economy so far - if you can stay out of WOT. And you can flash back to stock before returning the lease. The tuner can be easily reloaded for your next Ford vehicle from emailed tune files.

[dtappeiner]

Hey guys- thanks for the respones. this is the first leased car I have ever owned so a few questions:

 

My payoff (residual) after the 3 years is just over $12000...how is this bad? If I bought the EDGE new with no money down as I did with the lease. wouldn't I owe about $12000 still after 3 years? How am I paying for it twice? Also, in 3 years they are likely to have a pretty nice EDGE out that I will probably upgrade to,,,why lock myself in. In the past I have either paid outright or financed...right now I have a 2002 GMC Yukon that I still owe $12000 on and it is great truck but I have no equity...I think a lease at under $300 a monht for the Edge is a great6 deal...at the end of 3 years I can turn it in and get a new Edge or just buy it for $12k...what am I missing?

 

My .02 and a plug for these guys. Order an xcalibrator3 flash tuner from Evolution Performance and run the performance tune ( requires premium fuel ). Best performance mod for the $$ and takes 5 minutes to complete the install. All you do is sit in your drivers seat, plug it in to OBDII port under steering column and follow the instructions on screen. You'll like driving your Edge even more and you'll leave many wondering how they were just smoked by a Ford Edge ! Also noticed a 2 mpg increase in fuel economy so far - if you can stay out of WOT. And you can flash back to stock before returning the lease. The tuner can be easily reloaded for your next Ford vehicle from emailed tune files.

[Grey]

Also, with leasing - get the sale or trade-in value before your lease runs out. If it is worth more than the buy out price, you may want to buy it out and turn around and trade it in or sell it, pocketing the difference.

 

If you do extensive mods on it, you could be charged extra to return the vehicle to stock condition. That can be avoided if you buy out the vehicle at the end of the lease - same with excess miles.

 

I leased the MKX and will be faced with the turn-in or buy decision next summer. Since it will have very few miles (15,000 or so after 2 years), it may be worth more than the buy out price. (I hope!) :happy feet:

Edited August 23, 2008 by Grey

[goatee]

I would consider some bodyside protection for your edge since body side moldings are becomimg a thing of the past. I have an 08 Edge LTD dark blue and an 06 Avalon XLS (indigo ink)- I had the color keyed body side moldings installed on both of them and am glad I did. The color match is spot on and I have received many compliments on them. Got them from sportwing.com. Other than that possibly think about a bumper protector ( I dont have one), it seems to make a lot of sense. Good luck.

[Hardhawk]

Leasing can be a great deal. The Edge lease interest rates are really low if you have excellent credit. Plus, with the big hit the car companies are taking on the lease residuals not being what they expected, you may well be able to dicker on the residual buy out at the end of the lease. I did that on a 1998 Dodge PU that had a bank lease (BOA) that was at a crazy low interest rate and a crazy high residual. I worked them down thousands on the buy out residual and ended up leasing then buying for less total money that an outright purchase new that was financed would have been. It was a great deal for me. A lease CAN be a horrible deal, but if you do your homework and negotiate, it can work out well. That is why Chrylser got out of leasing recently and GM won't lease in Canada any more. With the economic problems and shift in buyer preferences, the days of the good lease deals on trucks, SUV's and CUV's may dry up after this summer.

[akirby]

Leasing can be a great deal. The Edge lease interest rates are really low if you have excellent credit. Plus, with the big hit the car companies are taking on the lease residuals not being what they expected, you may well be able to dicker on the residual buy out at the end of the lease. I did that on a 1998 Dodge PU that had a bank lease (BOA) that was at a crazy low interest rate and a crazy high residual. I worked them down thousands on the buy out residual and ended up leasing then buying for less total money that an outright purchase new that was financed would have been. It was a great deal for me. A lease CAN be a horrible deal, but if you do your homework and negotiate, it can work out well. That is why Chrylser got out of leasing recently and GM won't lease in Canada any more. With the economic problems and shift in buyer preferences, the days of the good lease deals on trucks, SUV's and CUV's may dry up after this summer.

 

Ford Credit will not negotiate a lease buyout. They have so many they can't really afford to do one-off negotiations, even if they lose money.