I just signed a lease yesterday on a 2013 C-MAX Hybrid SEL, and take delivery tomorrow afternoon. I've been leasing cars for a long time: three Ford Explorers, a Dodge Magnum, a Ford Edge, and most recently a Prius 4. This year I decided to try and be a little smarter by using the car pricing services (KBB, TrueCar, Consumer Reports, and CarsDirect). The results of that experiment I'll have to discuss some other time. One common thread with all the pricing services is the fine print. Specifically, the quoted price is only applicable if the dealer has a car in stock which is exactly like the one you quoted. All I wanted was an SEL with the factor-installed remote start and interior package (floor mats, basically). Simple enough, you'd think, but trying to find it was impossible. I ended up with those two options plus navigation and white platinum paint. Two things I really didn't need, and around $2000 in MSRP that I didn't want added. So, my question is: Are there any web sites/services which can find a specific car configuration in local dealer inventories (regardless of manufacturer)? Specific to the C-MAX, the Ford "find me a car" service doesn't do the job. It only gives you control over a basic set of options. No doubt so that your search results will end up with lots of dealers having a candidate vehicle in stock. I had to spend a lot of time going to individual dealer web sites to check their inventory. And, there's no telling whether those online inventories are even accurate. It seems to me that the manufacturer should have a better idea of all the vehicles on their dealers lots -- with a day or two of lag time, perhaps -- including every option that appears on the window sticker.
