Kelleytoons

Yipes -- these last two things are *exactly* the reasons I am hesitating on taking the car in to get this done. Don't fix what isn't broken is always a good motto, but even if nothing horrible goes wrong even taking more than an hour or so will be a *real* problem for me (since our dealership is too far away for us to drive both vehicles, which means I'm stuck there waiting). This whole thing sounds a bit like having elective surgery done -- there is always a risk, and you need to weigh the risk versus the reward. I don't mind NOT having it done except that this thing runs out in May, so if by some chance after that I have battery issues that would have been solved by this I'm screwed. Sigh -- this is going to be one I'll have to think about (at the very least I think I'll wait until winter, when it will be more comfortable to wait around there all day).

Good for you -- I bought my A5 a year ago for around $40 on eBay as well (I'll probably skip A6 and just pick up A7 next year). Paying dealership prices is ridiculous (actually, even $40 is too high for something that costs about 30 cents even with the map data licensing fee considered).

Wow, FIRST new car -- no one picked up on that. That's huge (in contrast, I've only ever bought one used car in my life, and it was a big mistake as it had had an undisclosed accident that really screwed it up for many years, back in the day when such things weren't easy to find out about). Have a ton of fun -- nothing better (and over a year later Maximis -- who IS a she -- is still my "new" car and feels that way every time I drive her, unlike any other one I've ever owned). (And as to the Energi owner who thinks it has enough space -- you must be using luggage made for the lead in the new Ant Man movie. My tennis bag would *literally* not fit in the back of that car, as it barely fits in the back of my own. What a royal PITA it would have been to have to put it in the back seat).

Kashmir, You can ask whatever you want to ask -- the beautiful thing about a sales negotiation is that you can ALWAYS walk away. If you have made up your mind in advance that you NEED that car and WANT that particular one you are screwed. Instead, you must say in your mind "what that car is worth to me is xxxx, and I'm not going to pay more for it and if I can't get it for that price I'll find some other car" and as long as you are strong and make that point clear to the salesperson you are figuratively (and hopefully eventually, literally) in the driver's seat. As to what's fair -- that isn't up the salesperson to decide, or anyone here, really. What's fair is what you can negotiate. If you aren't good at these sorts of things, take along someone who is (better still, have THEM take charge). I walked away from a really terrible deal one time and the salesperson chased me out of the showroom and when I still said no and got in my car he called my cell five minutes later. As it turned out, I really wasn't interested at all in that car, but it shows you who is really in control in these situations. There are lots of car dealers out there and lots of cars to be made deals on -- there is only one you.

And I wonder the same about you. Do you not understand that if I drive my usual drive (more than 30 miles) that an Energi is NOT practical for me? And when I drive my usual (long) drive there is no where I can plug it in? (Whereas I only have to hit a gas station once every two months). And that the lack of storage space IS a problem for many (including me, who uses every bit of space I have in Maximis). Sorry, but the Energi is NOT for everyone -- glad it works for you, though.

And all my point was is there are differences between the two that could cause folks to want a Hybrid over the Energi, which you didn't seem to understand ("I don't know why anyone wouldn't get the Energi..."). Indeed, plugging and unplugging alone would be a bit PITA to me and, as I said, different driving styles as well negate the purchase. It really depends on what and how you are using your vehicle, and I would never say that I couldn't understand why someone would buy one over the other (or, indeed, why someone wouldn't want either one -- there are different strokes for different folks).

You don't know why folks wouldn't buy an Energi? Um, cost? And lack of storage space in the back? (Both of which were deal breakers to me). Not to mention some of us drive a LOT further than is practical with one (or don't have the ability to plug in where they end up). There are lots of pros and cons for both C-Max's but to each his own.

There are a lot of car dealerships, particularly in your area (and don't rule out casting a wider net, as you live in close proximity to a LOT of states). Also, don't rule out the SE because, with the right package, it can include nearly all that's in an SEL and still be a lot cheaper. It helps if you can at least TRY and act as if you're in no hurry to buy. The exact attitude you want to give off is "I may very well buy from you today... or I might wait six months" so the salesman can sense a possible sale but not one in which they have you over the barrel. Good luck.

Have you gotten this letter? http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/5102-customer-satisfaction-program-15b04/ If not, make your dealer check to see if your car qualifies (I would suspect it would have to) and they ought to perform this CSP, which is designed to solve some battery issues. Not saying this would fix yours, but it wouldn't hurt.

I'm going to agree with others that the price is too high... but it never hurts to negotiate. Just tell them $17k is your final price and if they even *slightly* hem and haw walk away (and I mean that -- do not even think about going back to that dealership). I'd also agree with most here that a 2014 is a better buy for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is it will not have sat around as much and be more prone to the battery problem AND you ought to be able to pay about the same asking price for one that's pretty well loaded (in the same condition, that is). The nice thing is that you are in the driver's seat, figuratively speaking of course. They are offering you a pretty bad deal so there is no pressure on you and that's the absolute best position to be in for negotiations.

Um, get a cat? Seriously, though, we occasionally have mice in our garage where Maximis is parked and never have an issue (that I know of, of course). My wife just lays out traps, the "sticky" kind that definitely attract and kill them. She's not particularly happy about the killing part, but it is effective and easy to do, so in your case that is what I'd be doing.

Um, that's not nearly enough information. Are you saying your dealer wanted you to buy a vehicle with the MFT navigation system in it but only had the A3 chip? Or are you saying you ALREADY have the navigation system but your dealer only has the A3 chip? (You can't "upgrade" your car to the MFT navigation system -- even if you already have MFT. You either have the navigation system installed or you don't, and it's only done at the factory). If it's a new car purchase I'd definitely just get the one with the A3 because you can, on eBay, pay less than $40 for a much more current version.

Road trip!!!!

When you say "none left in my area" I assume you mean the entire state, right? Because your dealer can easily network with all the other dealers in your state (and some in other states): our own vehicle came from WAY upstate because there wasn't another Ice Storm with the equipment we wanted at the time (and this was last year). I'd be *amazed* if you couldn't find a dealer, somewhere, that had access to a similar network, and equally amazed that in that network they couldn't locate at least one vehicle in the color you want. But perhaps it's just gotten very, very scarce now (you can also shop out of state as well -- any local dealer will still have to honor your warranty and repair work, so going elsewhere is not a handicap). At the very least I'd try Nevada.

Yipes -- I was about to post when Snowstorm said all I was going to say (and more... and better than I could have). Still, I'll add my voice and say that it also depends on how you drive your vehicles and what your expectations are. If you have almost any vehicle more than 10 years or so the resale value is practically nil (depending on mileage, of course). Our Durango, now at 13 years, is in that category. The repairs we had to make on it recently were FAR more than the resale value, but we did it because it's been reliable for us and was still cheaper than another new car. But we tend to keep our vehicles until they just don't drive anymore. I am assuming, with a lot of evidence to support me, the C-Max will last us at least 10 years, given the mileage we are putting on it (at 10 we will still have under 80K most likely). If it's worthless to anyone else at that point in time who cares? I'll continue to drive and repair as needed and when it doesn't make any sense to keep it I'll junk it somewhere and still get a few hundred for it. But... if you are the sort that likes to have a new car you probably ought to sell sooner than later (although, truth be told, you are then more likely to be the sort who should lease rather than buy). Otherwise... calm down.

Hmmm, that IS interesting. I wonder if it has to do with your relationship to the place itself. The Pep Boys that did my flat knew me (well, at least knew I was a regular customer, since I have a Pep Boys card and a record of work there, like a battery replacement and oil change... this was for my Durango, not the C-Max). I just went in and did not make any assumptions (although if they had charged me $20 I *might* have been a little upset, as that's pretty high priced for what costs them, even with labor, not more than $1). I used to live in a small town in Nevada (although it WAS the state capital) and the tire place there, called "Big-O" (which was at the very least a statewide chain and may have been all through the west) advertised fixing flats for free, so that was where we always had it done for many decades. But I've also gotten flats fixed for free in California, and even Vegas, at tire only places. The other factor, of course, is what the damage actually is. For a nail or other small repair where you can see the object, easily pull it out and just stick the plug in -- as I said, I watched and it takes literally seconds to do -- it would be hard to justify even a $5 charge. But if you just called and said "How much do you charge for fixing a flat?" they may well have a base price like $20 because they might have to take the tire off, put it in water, or do other repairs. At the very least I'd take whatever vehicle it is into a shop you do business with and have them look at it and ASK them there what they would charge (and then go elsewhere if they charge anything -- and let them know you won't be coming back to do any more business with them).

Pep Boys has fixed flats for me for nothing as well -- since it takes any car repair place literally seconds to do (I've watched -- they can fix a flat faster than I can blow my nose :>) most don't charge since it's good will (and if you *really* need a major repair then they have you <g>). As a matter of fact, in a half century of car ownership (and the corresponding amount of flats that go with that) I can't recall ever paying for a flat fix that didn't require a new tire (I assume there are *some* places that charge, but they wouldn't last long in business if they did).

I doubt whether they are used by anything other than the OS in determining how it will display things, but it's such a trivial thing to do it certainly doesn't hurt doing it (you only have to do it on the parent folder and tell it to ripple the changes throughout, so it takes less than even one second). I wouldn't obsess over it either way.

You can always get Ice Storm in a 2014 model -- no reason not to get the older car (since they didn't add anything particular in the 2015 models) and you might get a good deal on one. We love the color -- and a lot of folks have commented on how nice it looks (one of things I really like, at MY advanced age, is the lack of need to wash it often. Even here in Florida I seldom wash it more than once every four or five months, and it still looks clean and beautiful).

You don't have to post the same message more than once here. I answered you in your other post.

Which drive? Not all are alike -- there are some that are much better quality than others. I've used many various types of drives and even some from major makers don't work so it may just be a matter of getting the right brand. This drive worked for me: http://www.amazon.com/PNY-Turbo-128GB-Flash-Drive/dp/B00FE2N1WS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434886763&sr=8-1&keywords=128gb+usb+3.0&pebp=1434886790880&perid=0TYWJTW4EV7VJY7949QG and as always if you order from Amazon and it doesn't work for you you can return it for free (they even pay for shipping). Assuming you can also return the drive you just bought, you might want to try this one. But first... make sure you have updated MFT to the latest version (you can login to your MySync page to find out what version you have and whether you need to update or not).

Hmmm, just like Miami Dad I live in Florida, and this week we've had temps in the high 90's (broke 100 one day) with humidity like you wouldn't believe and no sign of trouble in nearly a year now. But at least now I'll know what to expect if/when it happens.

If the CSP notice fixes any of these it's likely to just be some things that don't turn off properly (since that is what the CSP mostly "fixes"). I do have to admit it's somewhat unsettling to get out of the car, close the door, and still hear things running (even if they do shut off a minute or two later). And that's only the things I can hear -- who knows what else could actually be "on"?

Make sure you read this thread: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/5091-customer-satisfaction-program-15b04/

I wouldn't assume your dealer knew what to do two months ago -- at the very least you might want to check that service order and see if they reprogrammed any modules (they may well have checked wiring but I'm guessing the module fix only came to light when the CSP came out). Anyone with a battery problem should have that programming done.