New User Looking to Purchase an Edge!

[electrowolf]

Hi all!

 

So (obviously) I'm a new user to the forums. I'm currently driving around a 1999 Chrysler Sebring Convertible with 155K on it, and looking to upgrade to a newer, less maintenance-prone vehicle. I've loved my vehicle since I purchased it, but since then I've sunk about $7,000 in repairs and maintenance into a $4,000 car. I think the time's about up for me to purchase another vehicle!

 

I've been looking for over a year for a car to replace my current one with (yes, I am that afraid to pay money that it's taken me over a year to buy a car, lol). Initially I wanted to get a Charger to replace my Sebring. However, with rear-wheel drive, and all the snow we get, including the 2.5 feet we've gotten in the past two weeks, I decided it probably wasn't the best bet. I then moved on to look at getting a Grand Cherokee. However, with my Sebring bad luck, I'm a bit leery to go with another Dodge-based vehicle. I then came across the Edge while driving down the road, and it looked like a fun car. I got home, did some research, and it seems like it just may fit the bill for what I'm looking for. As an added bonus, my first car was a Mercury Sable, and I loved the thing to death. I certainly wouldn't mind going back to the Ford family!

 

My only problem, as stated, is spending money. I hate spending money, and I would rather do without a car payment Of course, that's not always possible, and certainly not a possibility for me. I'm getting married in just over 8 months, so I'd hate to go into it with too much debt on a car payment as well. So, adding it all together, I would like to ensure I get the best deal possible, and don't want to overspend and under-purchase.

 

I'm not looking to purchase a new one, as the cost of that is well over what I can afford. I'm looking more towards a 2008 or so, SEL package. I would like it to have the SYNC capabilities as well. The best deal I seem to have found online is this one:

 

2008 Ford Edge SEL

$18,988

50,543 miles

 

First off, I don't know how to tell if the Edge has the SYNC package or not. Is there any way to tell? Is it only those that have the touch screen GPS navigation that has SYNC installed? Or do others with the standard radio and CD player have it as well? If its the latter, how can you tell if it has it or not, other than actually looking at the vehicle in person?

 

Second, I don't know at all if that is a good deal or not. According to KBB (and NADA too, I think), the rough price of that vehicle would be around $22,500. That seems like a lot to me, especially for a vehicle with 50,000 miles on it. However, I don't really have any idea as to the standard prices of these vehicles. Is it a good deal, and something I should really look at considering? Or is it way overpriced, and something that I could consider "low balling" the dealer on? If it's too high, what would be a good recommended price for the vehicle (assuming it hasn't been in an accident, there are no scratches, cigarette holes, etc in it)?

 

Thanks all for any advice you can give. I hope to be able to purchase one of these sometime in the near future. I'm ready to "grow up" and move on to a newer, more classy car for a full-time working college-grad like myself!

 

Thanks!

[Osiris1975]

Hi all!

 

So (obviously) I'm a new user to the forums. I'm currently driving around a 1999 Chrysler Sebring Convertible with 155K on it, and looking to upgrade to a newer, less maintenance-prone vehicle. I've loved my vehicle since I purchased it, but since then I've sunk about $7,000 in repairs and maintenance into a $4,000 car. I think the time's about up for me to purchase another vehicle!

 

I've been looking for over a year for a car to replace my current one with (yes, I am that afraid to pay money that it's taken me over a year to buy a car, lol). Initially I wanted to get a Charger to replace my Sebring. However, with rear-wheel drive, and all the snow we get, including the 2.5 feet we've gotten in the past two weeks, I decided it probably wasn't the best bet. I then moved on to look at getting a Grand Cherokee. However, with my Sebring bad luck, I'm a bit leery to go with another Dodge-based vehicle. I then came across the Edge while driving down the road, and it looked like a fun car. I got home, did some research, and it seems like it just may fit the bill for what I'm looking for. As an added bonus, my first car was a Mercury Sable, and I loved the thing to death. I certainly wouldn't mind going back to the Ford family!

 

My only problem, as stated, is spending money. I hate spending money, and I would rather do without a car payment Of course, that's not always possible, and certainly not a possibility for me. I'm getting married in just over 8 months, so I'd hate to go into it with too much debt on a car payment as well. So, adding it all together, I would like to ensure I get the best deal possible, and don't want to overspend and under-purchase.

 

I'm not looking to purchase a new one, as the cost of that is well over what I can afford. I'm looking more towards a 2008 or so, SEL package. I would like it to have the SYNC capabilities as well. The best deal I seem to have found online is this one:

 

2008 Ford Edge SEL

$18,988

50,543 miles

 

First off, I don't know how to tell if the Edge has the SYNC package or not. Is there any way to tell? Is it only those that have the touch screen GPS navigation that has SYNC installed? Or do others with the standard radio and CD player have it as well? If its the latter, how can you tell if it has it or not, other than actually looking at the vehicle in person?

 

Second, I don't know at all if that is a good deal or not. According to KBB (and NADA too, I think), the rough price of that vehicle would be around $22,500. That seems like a lot to me, especially for a vehicle with 50,000 miles on it. However, I don't really have any idea as to the standard prices of these vehicles. Is it a good deal, and something I should really look at considering? Or is it way overpriced, and something that I could consider "low balling" the dealer on? If it's too high, what would be a good recommended price for the vehicle (assuming it hasn't been in an accident, there are no scratches, cigarette holes, etc in it)?

 

Thanks all for any advice you can give. I hope to be able to purchase one of these sometime in the near future. I'm ready to "grow up" and move on to a newer, more classy car for a full-time working college-grad like myself!

 

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forums. I'm in a similar boat as you. I recently sold my money pit Volvo S60 (I've sunk alot of money but probably not 7 grand into it), and I have about $18,000 to spend on a car. I do not want a loan either, and I applaud you for avoiding that scenario if possible. I have been researching the market and the ford edge for a couple of months now, and plan to buy one in January. Let me address your points as I see them:

 

- For some reason I can not understand, I have found that consumer satisfaction ratings and those "best buy for your money" surveys tend to rank the 2007 edge higher than the 2008 one. I don't know why, but if the only reason you want an 08 is for the Sync, you might consider an 07 and save yourself some money.

 

- You will not find Sync in 2007 models, the best way to know in 2008 is to just ask the seller. As far as I know, the Sync is standard in Limited models and an option in the others.

 

-KBB and nada both overprice cars in my opinion. I do not know anyone who ever sold a car for KBB value. My opinion is that they probably are "influenced" by dealer lobbies to overprice cars to inflate prices for dealerships.

 

- Having said that, I estimate that the dealer selling the car you outlined paid about $16,500 for the car you are looking at auction or in trade/in value. I also assumed you are looking at an AWD model. I base this on recent dealer auction data I have collected and graphed, which allows me to estimate what the dealer paid for any Edge that I decide to look at. Keep in mind price varies with region of the country as well, and even within regions of a country. For example, if you go shop for a car in Craptown, USA, the prices are going to be lower because the local residents income will be less than those living in Shinyville. Anyway, always lowball a dealer, especially for a vehicle like the Ford Edge because inventories are huge on this car. Doing of used Edges in a 150 mile radius of me turns up about 700 vehicles for sale.

I'd say open up with an offer of $14000-$15,000 on the car. The dealer has much more experience at negotiating then you do, so don't worry about "offending" them with a low ball offer. Don't be one of those people who just buys a car for what its listed for, and be ready to walk away from any deal.

 

Other things to consider:

- If you do not need AWD where you live I highly recommend going with the FWD model. You will save you money and headaches. If you look at truedelta reliability data, the FWD models rank as pretty reliable while the AWD models have a known issue with the power transfer unit. This is a fixable issue though and if you get an AWD model I'd make sure there is some warranty left on it.

 

- Make sure to pull a carfax report on the car. Not only will you determine if the car has any problems in its history, you can determine how long the dealer has had the car on his lot. Most dealers will send a car off to auction after 2-3 months on the lot, so if you find one that has been sitting around, you can get a better deal for it.

 

- Having looked at the technical service bulletins on the edge, it generally seems better to buy one that is manufactured later in the cycle. This makes sense as you can consider the early models to be a "beta test" and later models will have some kinks worked out. So look at that plate that has the VIN number and manufacture date.

 

-I've also put together a checklist for buying a Ford Edge based on general problems you should look for in a car and also problems listed in the Edge technical services bulletins. I can post it here if you like later when I get home. Then, while your at the dealer, pull out the checklist and go through the car with a fine tooth comb in front of the salesman, this will make him nervous and make him think you are well-informed. I've done this before and watched salesmen sweat its lots of fun Then use whatever you find as leverage for bringing down the price further.

[igcitng]

Does not look like what you are looking at has all wheel drive? If not, I say that is WAY too much for that Edge. 50k is a lot of miles. Figure12-15k max per year average driving and you should only be at about 30-35k or so. Check the build date to see how long it has been on the road. Edmunds.com is the best place to check pricing. Fill in all of the information and it will tell you what you should be paying. I did that when I bought mine new and having it printed and with me at the dealership helped. I also printed out blue book for my old truck and went to other dealers to price Edge's and get them to write a quote including trade and then took it to the dealer I wanted to buy from. I got more for my trade because I had that then they wanted to give me. Gotta play their game.

 

If you have a Carmax by you I feel that is the best place to buy used. You may pay a few more dollars but you get a car that has been brought back to like new.

[electrowolf]

Thanks both of you for your helpful information in my quest to own an Edge!

 

Osiris, unfortunately, the car I'm looking at is only a FWD car, and not an AWD car. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes in the overall price of the car, and if you think it's still a good deal or not on the vehicle. In regards the "Best Bang for Your Money" scneario, I would still prefer to get the SYNC inclusion for the vehicle. I am a technology nut at heart, and would love for my car to have more toys in it to play with, configure, and use! As such, I would probably prefer to take an '08 over an '07, just for the SYNC capabilities, so long as the price for the additional SYNC was comparable.

 

That stinks that there's no way to tell from the pictures whether or not an Edge has SYNC or not, other than if it was a Limited, which would guarantee that it had SYNC. I was hoping there would be some buttons or something that I would be able to try to look for that would be a givaway that it had it in it. I'm currently located in Nowheresville, in the center of the United States. I would have hoped that would lower the price of the car that I was looking for, but it always seems like people get better deals elsewhere, than what people seem to get here in my area.

 

I would love to go into a dealership and offer a lowball offer. However, my biggest fear is that they would counter back that their car is already listed below KBB and NADA, and that it is a good deal. I understand that it may be higher, but by not knowing what the standard going price is for these cars, I lose any leverage that I would like to have with respect to that.

 

I do agree on your comment though that there seems to be a large number of these vehicles out on the market. I did a local check of all cars within a 250 mile radius of my location on AutoTrader, and there were 870~ Edges for sale. Hopefully I could use that to my advantage when trying to go in for a sale.

 

I agree that I should probably stick with a FWD version. I don't have much of a need for AWD. I don't drive enough, or far enough, to warrant the extra driving help. I've had a FWD car the rest of my life, and I've gotten around just fine in the snow and ice. That should save me some money out of my wallet on my purchase.

 

I will definitely be checking Carfax for any vehicle that I purchase, to make sure there have not been any problems reported on the vehicle. The last thing I want to do is run into another problem similar to the vehicle that I have now!

 

Igcitng, you think that the price listed is way too much for the Edge? I agree that 50K miles is a lot of miles. But, I don't mind, mileage-wise, as long as the price is reasonable for the mileage that is on the vehicle. My last two vehicles had 135K and 125K on them when I bought them! But, if $19,000 is too much for an '08 Edge with 50,000 miles on it, then I definitely want to continue my search elsewhere.

 

I filled out the information on Edmunds.com, and unless I did something wrong, the price was still similar to that of KBB and NADA. It had the price of the vehicle at around $19,500 with that milage. So does that mean the price is correct? I hope not, because I wouldn't mind spending less!

 

I do have a Carmax near me. Unfortunately, it is also roughly the same price for the car as what the other dealers are selling for. They have an '08 SE, 46,000 miles, for $17,000. While I agree that [hopefully] their cars are in better condition than that of another random dealership, their price is still roughly the same.

 

Thanks again for everyone's help!

[bulldog]

that price on the 50K mile EDGE SEL didn't seem bad, as long as the vehicle's in great condition. i'm with you on the miles. 50K doesn't seem bad at all (to me that meant quite a few of long trips) which i would prefer on a vehicle rather than one w/ 12K/year that's been driven in town stop light to stop light. i put lots of miles on my new car (Hyundai Accent SE hatch) and it's awesome with 34.5K miles on it in 16 months.

 

i do know if i was offered $22K for my 07 EDGE SELplus that i would not take it. simply because it's still like new to me even with 27K miles on it.

 

BTW i've seen the new ones advertising with 0% interest for 60 months. not a bad deal. creates a payment though, but OOOOOH does that new car smell goooooood!!!!!

 

good luck.

[Osiris1975]

Thanks both of you for your helpful information in my quest to own an Edge!

 

Osiris, unfortunately, the car I'm looking at is only a FWD car, and not an AWD car. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes in the overall price of the car, and if you think it's still a good deal or not on the vehicle. In regards the "Best Bang for Your Money" scneario, I would still prefer to get the SYNC inclusion for the vehicle. I am a technology nut at heart, and would love for my car to have more toys in it to play with, configure, and use! As such, I would probably prefer to take an '08 over an '07, just for the SYNC capabilities, so long as the price for the additional SYNC was comparable.

 

Okay, I ran the analysis of auction prices for the car as a FWD. Consider the following vehicles that sold at an auction in New England (prices are higher on average here):

 

2008 Edge SEL FWD, 7,900 miles sold at auction for $20,900

2008 Edge SEL FWD, 36,717 miles sold at auction for $15,932

2008 Edge SEL FWD, 85,326 miles, sold at auction for 11,600

 

The car you are looking at falls right about in the middle of those last two in terms of miles. That means the dealer probably paid 13k to 15k for it. That means you should offer them something like 13K for it and not go past 16k in my opinion. I know a lot of people are not comfortable with negotiating, and more importantly, the DEALER knows it, and will take you for all your worth if they can. You should completely ignore the sticker price.

That stinks that there's no way to tell from the pictures whether or not an Edge has SYNC or not, other than if it was a Limited, which would guarantee that it had SYNC. I was hoping there would be some buttons or something that I would be able to try to look for that would be a givaway that it had it in it. I'm currently located in Nowheresville, in the center of the United States. I would have hoped that would lower the price of the car that I was looking for, but it always seems like people get better deals elsewhere, than what people seem to get here in my area.

 

I've seen some ads that will indicate that the car has sync. You can use it as a keyword in cars.com or autotrader.com searches. I like the sync but I think I can accomplish the same things with an aftermarket system. For me the panoramic sunroof and AWD are the only must haves. I prefer leather interior in camel and exterior in the orange or red.

 

I would love to go into a dealership and offer a lowball offer. However, my biggest fear is that they would counter back that their car is already listed below KBB and NADA, and that it is a good deal. I understand that it may be higher, but by not knowing what the standard going price is for these cars, I lose any leverage that I would like to have with respect to that.

 

I guarantee you that they will counter that their car is below KBB and is already a good deal. It is a good deal for THEM. In fact I was looking at a car a few weeks ago and the salesman said that exact thing to me. I told him I never saw anyone sell a car for KBB, which is true. He had no response to that. He kept feeding me a line about how "Herb Chambers (the owner of about 45 dealerships in the area) personally prices every vehicle". I laughed extremely hard on the inside. Anyway, I just sold my Volvo and I did not get a single email or phone call until I priced it below KBB. Don't be afraid of the salesmen, you have EVERY advantage on your side. I'll list them for you if it helps

 

- Automobile sales are down big time due to the economy. Advantage you.

-There are a ton of Edges around, as you found out for yourself. Advantage you.

- There are a ton of competing cars in the same segment as the edge. Advantage you.

- Ford and their dealers are trying very hard to win back market share from the Asian auto makers. Advantage you.

 

This is honestly a great time to be a car shopper. Just don't fall into the salesmen's tricks. And they have LOTS of tricks. I highly recommend reading this:

 

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/artic...62/page001.html

 

 

I will definitely be checking Carfax for any vehicle that I purchase, to make sure there have not been any problems reported on the vehicle. The last thing I want to do is run into another problem similar to the vehicle that I have now!

 

Just make sure you note how long the car has been with the dealer, too.

Igcitng, you think that the price listed is way too much for the Edge? I agree that 50K miles is a lot of miles. But, I don't mind, mileage-wise, as long as the price is reasonable for the mileage that is on the vehicle. My last two vehicles had 135K and 125K on them when I bought them! But, if $19,000 is too much for an '08 Edge with 50,000 miles on it, then I definitely want to continue my search elsewhere.

I'm butting in, but I agree with Igcitng, price is way overpriced. Just about any dealer listed car will be way overpriced. Not to belabor the point, but the sticker price is meaningless. I test drove a new edge about a month ago, sure it was a limited with all the options, but they listed it at $45,000. Really.

 

I filled out the information on Edmunds.com, and unless I did something wrong, the price was still similar to that of KBB and NADA. It had the price of the vehicle at around $19,500 with that milage. So does that mean the price is correct? I hope not, because I wouldn't mind spending less!

 

Sorry to butt in again, but no, the price on edmunds, kbb, or nada are not correct. Since these websites get revenue from advertisers (car dealers and manufacturers) they are going to be pricing vehicles in favor of the dealers and manufacturers. The real value of any car is what the consumer is willing to pay for it.

 

They have an '08 SE, 46,000 miles, for $17,000. While I agree that [hopefully] their cars are in better condition than that of another random dealership, their price is still roughly the same.

 

The SE models are sitting on lots because most buyers want an SEL or Limited. That is even more to your advantage. So that particular Edge, the dealer probably paid between 12k and 13k for it. I'd say you shouldn't pay more then 14k for it.

[kiese02]

Hello and wish you luck with your Edge inquiries! We own a 2008 Ford Edge Limited AWD, best vehicle we have ever owned!! Regarding ways to find out if an Edge has Sync!! If you have the VIN #s you can create a SYNC account on their website and enter the Vin to see if it has it. If there are pictures on the internet look at the steering wheel controls. There should be a button with a mouth on it that says MEDIA, if it has this button it has SYNC.(There is also a Microsoft SYNC badge by the shifter.) Regarding the prices for used, i know when we purchased our Edge earlier this year it was a dealer program with about 13000 miles on it. It stickered for almost 40,000 new and they were asking 28,900. I got out the door for 25,000 with no trade! I would shop around until you find the one you want and if the price is right buy it! Good luck and god bless!