New Member Here

[shinytop]

Test drove a C-Max last Friday.  Very impressed.  It was a sterling gray with 301 package.  Looking for same color with 302 package, more for the backup camera than the power lift gate.  

 

I have been driving a Hyandai Sante Fe for the last three years and wanting to get to something smaller but between bad back and too many years I find it uncomfortable getting in and out of sedans.  I found the C-Max was no problem at all.  I have found two cars that meet what I want, both are about 250 miles from me so would have to travel on the hope I can reach a decent price with my trade in.  

 

I looked up gad pods after seeing them mentioned in several posts.  How well do they work for those who have installed them?  Would it be possible to see pics of an installation?

 

I want to thank the members of this site.  Have been reading avidly and have bookmarked the link to Ford's how to videos and have downloaded the C-Max manual in hopes of needing it before long.

 

You know, new car fever is fatal.  You can live it with it indefinitely but it will eventually be fatal if you don't buy a new car!

[Ponypower]

Congratulations on getting a C-Max.  I also have a Ruby Red with 301 package and just love the car.  No problems at all.  I have 3600 miles on the car and the overall MPG is 42.9 and climbing.  I have been getting 600+ miles per tank of gas.

[robertlane]

Test drove a C-Max last Friday.  Very impressed.  It was a sterling gray with 301 package.  Looking for same color with 302 package, more for the backup camera than the power lift gate.  

 

I have been driving a Hyandai Sante Fe for the last three years and wanting to get to something smaller but between bad back and too many years I find it uncomfortable getting in and out of sedans.  I found the C-Max was no problem at all.  I have found two cars that meet what I want, both are about 250 miles from me so would have to travel on the hope I can reach a decent price with my trade in.  

 

I looked up gad pods after seeing them mentioned in several posts.  How well do they work for those who have installed them?  Would it be possible to see pics of an installation?

 

I want to thank the members of this site.  Have been reading avidly and have bookmarked the link to Ford's how to videos and have downloaded the C-Max manual in hopes of needing it before long.

 

You know, new car fever is fatal.  You can live it with it indefinitely but it will eventually be fatal if you don't buy a new car!

 

Welcome to the Ford C-MAX Hybrid Forum :)

[shinytop]

I like fast computers, gadgety phones (even though I don't use half the features), the latest TV's, all that stuff.  Till now my love with gadgetry has been only mildly expensive.  Oh, I have longed for geeky cars like the hybrids in the past.  But they were always too expensive to justify, Lexus 450H, or too much compromise with performance and room, Prius.

 

But I test drove a Ford C-Max last week and, although I am resisting, I think I will end up buying one. It has ease of entry and relatively high seating position that moved me to SUV's. Yes it is a hybrid but that's not all the geek.  It's performance is not startling but is close enough to my V6 small suv to not feel like I am moving down.  But the Geek factor! Not even counting the 8 inch LCS navigation and radio screen it has two other programmable LCD displays designed to help you achieve high mileage.  Besides trading a paid up car for a payment I will probably kill myself studying the screens instead of the road!

 

I am still shopping but how many of you like the Geek factor as much as anything else?  It's ok, you can confess.

 

 

[salsaguy]

Welcome shiny

Glad you found us. I fly y the cmax fever as well last year and have been in the research mode done then reading up as much as I can here.hope to get my words w CMax soon....

 

As for the gas pods they help only if you drive a lot on the highway/freeway over 55/65 mph over long distances which will offset the reduced mpgs the cmax has on the hwy. They don't seem to help as much in town/city when driving under 45mph

Be sure to sign up on fuelly.com and add your cars and track your mps. If you post bunch of baseline tanks without the pods, then  you can submit your logs to the gasp of team to get a significant discount on the pods when you sign up for their tester program. See their site for details.

get a baseline of mpgs without then install and get a bunch of mpg tanks with them to compare.

Be sure to buy the magnetic pods and not the adhesive ones so you can play with the exact placement to tweak to get best mpg and also to remove when cleaning car or if you end up not liking them flee a petulant thing.

You really don't need to use them to get great mpgs of you follow the advice from jus-a-CMax and recumlence and the folks on the "800/700/600 miles driven on one tank" club.

Not many cars/MPVS like the cmax out there. Don't be another lemming and fall into the trap of being forced into getting a prius (tin can). Toyota lost a lost a lot of faith/trust by customers after the way they dealt with the accelerator/floor mat issue. Their quality levels are not what they used to be. Most of the issues that brought down the initial scores on the Ford cmax were related to the my Ford touch dash infotainment system but most of that is now all worked out by updates and many folks here LOVE their MFT and wouldn't live without it.

Test drove a C-Max last Friday.  Very impressed.  It was a sterling gray with 301 package.  Looking for same color with 302 package, more for the backup camera than the power lift gate.  

 

I have been driving a Hyandai Sante Fe for the last three years and wanting to get to something smaller but between bad back and too many years I find it uncomfortable getting in and out of sedans.  I found the C-Max was no problem at all.  I have found two cars that meet what I want, both are about 250 miles from me so would have to travel on the hope I can reach a decent price with my trade in.  

 

I looked up gad pods after seeing them mentioned in several posts.  How well do they work for those who have installed them?  Would it be possible to see pics of an installation?

 

I want to thank the members of this site.  Have been reading avidly and have bookmarked the link to Ford's how to videos and have downloaded the C-Max manual in hopes of needing it before long.

 

You know, new car fever is fatal.  You can live it with it indefinitely but it will eventually be fatal if you don't buy a new car!

[lowbar]

Shinytop, I have an SEL with the 302a package.  The automatic liftgate is one of those things you don't think you need until you have it.  Then you don't want another vehicle without it.  Necessary?  No.  Neat?  Oh yeh.  

[C-MaxSea]

Confessions of a geek 'investor'.  Oh your story sounds familiar Shinytop - although I usually add in a strong measure of constraint & miserliness.  Another element of my addiction is the 'swiss army knife' factor.  Story line interjection .......................could not resist the opportunity to 'invest in' media center computers (on the cheap of course) about 8 years ago - now have nearly 3 terrabytes of video recording ('free').  We use it almost daily in place of renting media or paying for media plans.  Similarly, the Samsung G-Note 1 (international unlocked version, no plan).  Waited 20 years for that 'swiss army knife' phone phablet to come out - relied on near 'free' phones with no plans until that.  (anticipating a trifold screen watch 'phone' in the next couple years - flip, flip, detach & viola a full featured phablet in your hands - naa, too bulky???)

 

Ah, the C-Max, the next great/coolest/scientifically elegant  'swiss army knife' discovery - Uhoh!  Let's see; a 10 year body & chassis pedigree giving it great handling/driving characteristics, unprecedented ingress/egress ease; an updated, powerful & sophisticated hybrid drivetrain; a seductively nice interior; lumbar support checkolla; astutely laid out technobilitiessssssss - BINGO!  Combined with a leaky BMW needing to be replaced, and a bargain price, the rest is history.....  ( have had our garage wired for 220 for the last 20 years anticipating a plug in, alas the technology not quite there for us, no worry C-Max Hybrid is there - it will faithfully get us down the road the next 10-20 years until we are all driving something completely different - rather gliding around in something not requiring a driver per se, just a navigator)

 

Starship GG, away..................................  

 

nick

Edited May 28, 2014 by C-MaxSea

[Adrian_L]

I'll never drive a regular gas car again.  The hybrid display animation--showing you what parts of the engine are engaging--plus the "empower" screen.  Priceless.  I just wish the "efficiency leaves" area could be changed to show gauges, such as an oil pressure or tach.   I have it on navigation now.

[shinytop]

Well, found a 2014 C-Max in the color I want, sterling gray/light stone, with 302A package at a dealer 4 hours from here so I am going to drive there in the morning and see if I can get a deal I can live with.  Wife has quit grumblin and now just mutters, "I don't see why we need an electric car. "  Oh well.

[kostby]

Check dealerrater.com for that dealership's ratings, so you might go in with some idea of what to expect.

Many C-MAX owners have spoken about their dealer experiences here.

 

In short, yes, there are still way too many rip-off-artists employed at what you would hope would be reputable car dealerships.

 

Never underestimate the power of two feet as a negotiating tactic. 

As in walking out, if you even suspect they're taking advantage of you.

 

Don't let the excitement of a buying a new car overwhelm basic common sense.

Even after you THINK you have a firm price negotiated, beware of the smiling F&I (Finance & Insurance) people.

Even in highly-rated dealerships, that's the room where many dealers still use "tactics" to boost the bottom line profit margin, and where you end up paying a bottom-line-out-the-door price hundreds or even thousands higher than you thought you negotiated with the salesperson or sales manager.

 

If the bottom-line out-the-door deal they ask you to sign in the F&I office isn't exactly what you want, don't be afraid to leave without signing anything.

Even if it means a 4-hour drive back home without the new car. 

Your momentary disappointment will subside when you eventually get a great deal from a dealership who actually earns and deserves your business!

 

Beware of these dealership profit-building-add-ons and charges of little or no benefit to the consumer, UNLESS YOU STRICTLY AGREE TO PURCHASE EACH ONE OF THEM:

 

*market-price adjustment = We think we can make the people in this area pay an additional $500.00 for every car we sell, so we're trying it with everyone.

*pin striping = $10 worth of tape, expertly applied in 5 minutes, and you're charged up to $100

*window serial-number etching" = Yes, it could help authorities recover the glass from your car after it has been stolen and stripped.

*paint protection (Not the vinyl applied to painted nose and hood surfaces which truly CAN protect surfaces, but a wax treatment sprayed on and then buffed. You can wax it yourself.)

*nitrogen-in-the-tires. Air is already 78% nitrogen. Yes, racing teams use 100% nitrogen. Unless you're racing your C-MAX, you probably don't need to.

*ridiculously overpriced dealership documentation fees ($349.00? Really? To type in my name and address and the car VIN number on the computer and then press 'PRINT'!)

*non-Ford extended warranties with extremely high profit margins, high deductibles, and a fair chance that they won't be honored where you would naturally take your car while traveling out-of-town, for what should be a 'covered' repair. I purchased a genuine Ford extended warranty for a vehicle I knew I would be driving a lot of miles, and indeed the Ford extended warranty saved me money in the long-term, and there were never any questions about 'covered' repairs.

 

EDIT:

Browsing inventory on Ford.com, I located this 2014 SEL in Sterling Gray with Stone interior and 302A at Parks Ford Lincoln, Gainesville FL:

http://gainesvilleford.net/Gainesville-Florida/For-Sale/New/Ford/C-MAX/2014-Hybrid-SEL-Gray-Car/25142524/

http://services.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/inventory/WindowSticker.pdf?vin=1FADP5BU6EL500332

Edited May 30, 2014 by kostby

[robfixit]

Sounds like my wife. For months she has been saying I was crazy for wanting a CMax. After she got her dream car, a used Mini Cooper S, she softened to me getting a car, though she still could not see why I would buy a new car. I finally wore her down and dragged her to a dealer last Saturday and we negotiated down to a few hundred hundred under invoice. It was easy getting to invoice, as that was real close to the Costco price. The other few hundred took a little more work. When we threatened to leave and think about it, they met our offer. All in all, once we started talking price, it only took us 10 or 15 minutes. I drove out with a shiny red SEL with the 302 package. The rear view camera and auto rear gate were not necessary, but I figured with spending that much and 5 years no interest, what the heck, and I really am liking the features. And the funny part is my wife has been in a friends CMax a lot of times, but never driven it. She did not like the looks and did not think it was anything special. When we got home, I had her drive it around the neighborhood, and she was surprised how well it drove. She was even justifying the price to her parents after the gas savings, when 3 days before she was bad mouthing the price. And the red color actually makes the shape of the car acceptable to her. I am loving it. I only test drove it for 10 minutes, but trusted all of the many reviews I read and watched. After driving it for a few days, it drives as good or better than I had hoped. Good luck, and I hope your wife comes around like mine did!

[shinytop]

Picked up my 2014 C-Max SEL today.  Sterling gray 302A package.  Had 67 miles on it, manufactured in March 2014.  

 

Drive home from the dealer was 240 miles.  I did the speed limits, mostly interstate at 70 MPH.  40 MPG using Eco cruise.  One bad rain storm.  Love the way the car handles but the steering is sensitive.  Easy to wander into adjacent lane while trying to navigate menu system.  8 inch screen is a fingerprint magnet.  Got to learn the voice commands so can avoid touching screen!

 

Did not get extended warranty.  Was offered 5 yr, 60K for 1100, 8 year/100k for 1800.  If trouble prone first year I may explore that Michigan dealer with the good prices.

[salsaguy]

Congrats on your CMAX

good color choice

U can get a warranty anytime later

hope it doesnt have to be used but on a hybrid car that is only 2 yrs old its a crap shoot for sure

[kostby]

 Love the way the car handles but the steering is sensitive.

Don't know what your Escape had, but the C-MAX has electrically-assisted steering with pull-drift and active nibble control:

http://billbrownford.net/Vehicle-Orientation-Electric-Power-Assisted-Steering/

 

Also check the tire pressures.

Mine was delivered with 32psi in each tire!

First I tried 38psi, recommended on the door sticker, and it still seemed like the car was still 'waddling' within the tires.

I've boosted it to 45 and the steering seems much less fussy on the highway, even in crosswinds.

The tire sidewall says the max is 51psi, so there's still a safety margin and room to experiment.

[robfixit]

On the touch screen being a fingerprint magnet. I ordered a Lexerd screen protector through amazon. I just got it and  I will try to install it. I read in a forum that somebody used one and it helped a lot with fingerprints. As it is resistive touch with a plastic screen, and the way the screen sits back, it is easy to hit it with fingernails, so I thought a screen protector would be a good idea to help protect it and to cut down on fingerprints.

[salsaguy]

Just buy some LCD/Plasma TV screen cleaner and get a eye glasses cloth or lint free glass cleaning cloth and keep it in your car sealed in a zip lock bag to keep dirt out, or do it on weekly maintenance at the end of the week.

 

The one I have is blue in color not green but its the same stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SVC2548G-27-Cleaner-Computer/dp/B003DNS89G/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401524142&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=panasonic+plasma+tv+gel+cleaner

 

I use it for my tvs and tablets

And after using the gel cleaner it should better resist fingerprints I would think

Just wipe again with cloth to remove prints if they appear frequently

Dont need to use the gel all the time

Edited May 31, 2014 by salsaguy

[ScubaDadMiami]

I rarely touch the screen. I do almost everything by voice commands. You'll love that, once you start using it enough to become experienced at it.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Welcome shiny

Glad you found us. I fly y the cmax fever as well last year and have been in the research mode done then reading up as much as I can here.hope to get my words w CMax soon....

 

As for the gas pods they help only if you drive a lot on the highway/freeway over 55/65 mph over long distances which will offset the reduced mpgs the cmax has on the hwy. They don't seem to help as much in town/city when driving under 45mph

Be sure to sign up on fuelly.com and add your cars and track your mps. If you post bunch of baseline tanks without the pods, then  you can submit your logs to the gasp of team to get a significant discount on the pods when you sign up for their tester program. See their site for details.

get a baseline of mpgs without then install and get a bunch of mpg tanks with them to compare.

Be sure to buy the magnetic pods and not the adhesive ones so you can play with the exact placement to tweak to get best mpg and also to remove when cleaning car or if you end up not liking them flee a petulant thing.

You really don't need to use them to get great mpgs of you follow the advice from jus-a-CMax and recumlence and the folks on the "800/700/600 miles driven on one tank" club.

Not many cars/MPVS like the cmax out there. Don't be another lemming and fall into the trap of being forced into getting a prius (tin can). Toyota lost a lost a lot of faith/trust by customers after the way they dealt with the accelerator/floor mat issue. Their quality levels are not what they used to be. Most of the issues that brought down the initial scores on the Ford cmax were related to the my Ford touch dash infotainment system but most of that is now all worked out by updates and many folks here LOVE their MFT and wouldn't live without it.

 

 

Erh, I don't think so. I made the case that for my City driving, these Gas Pods are the real deal and they do help even in the lower city speeds. While controversial, I believe each of us should make up our own mind as to whether these work or don't. I know which camp I am putting my foot in and I think most hypermilers here are of the same mind & opinion, each reaching their own independent conclusion.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Jus-A-CMax