Validated yet UPSET at Ford

[Marc Smith]

one problem is turnover at the dealerships...  I would imagine that sales guys move around,  following the carrot.

one problem is unit saturation... Ford has 6 cars, 6 suv/crossovers, and 6 trucks.  and i would imagine that they have 2-3 trim levels for each vehicle, which means  the sales guy has to learn at minimum 18 types of  vehicles with another 18-36 trim levels...And if they have a dealership that has lincoln or some other brand attached,  then you might as well double it...  and with car makers changing models every few years and trims every few years  its no wonder the dealerships are clueless.

 

and its not just fords problem.  All automakers are the same... 

 

I guess they figure  they figure its easier and cheaper to let the customer learn all they can learn from the internet  and hope the staff can fake their "knowledge" enough to get by...

[Ponypower]

I am a very very happy with my 2014 Cmax.  My life time mpg is 43.9 and climbing.  I did not buy the car for mpg only. I like the body style and ride.  Its a blast to drive.  I look at it this way if we got the 47/47/47 but the car was cheaply made, rode rough and with no thrills would we be happY?  Honestly an additional 3.1 mpg is no big deal to me.  On the other hand, trade in value has always been the same, you just lose!

 

Thanks, this is just my 2 cents worth. 

[Adrian_L]

I wanted to buy a 2014 but they were just too expensive in March.  When I found out that my 2013 was built in November I told myself "hey, it's actually a 2014 after all".  Well, not really. 

After 4000 miles, lifetime average is 47 mpg.  Mostly city driving on flat roads.  Will be switching from 5W20 to 0W20 upon my first oil change. 

 

A wonderful and rewarding car.

[snakebitten]

I'm really not that hard to sell a car to. I should explain. :)

 

I have been buying new cars (and some used) from Ron Carter Ford for about 16 years. (?) But technically, I have been buying new (and some used) cars from Richard Grunden for 16 years.

I simply LOVED the crazy fool. Most honest, knowledgeable, car-truck loving crazy man I ever met. Even my wife loved him.

The Cmax story:

I had taken the wife's car in for an oil change one morning last January.(?) It was a Ford Focus Titanium I had surprised her with about 2 years earlier. She was crazy about that car.

But after the car was serviced (and washed!), the service writer informed me it needed new tires. $$expensive too. So I asked her to hold on for a few minutes while I go up to the sales floor and complain to Richard. :)

Richard asked "What do you want me to do about it?" (I told you he was honest and crazy)

I told him to check and see if I could make a good trade or not, instead of putting $11-1200 in tires? I new I had just about hit break even on what the Focus was worth and what I owed. Maybe a little bit negative. Instead, Richard stated I had a bit of equity in it!

Long story shortened a bit............I called the wife and asked her to come by Ron Carter Ford on the way home from work. (She didn't ask any questions. She knows me way too well)

Anyways, she drove home that night in a 2013 SEL CMax. Pretty dolled up with all the goodies too. Neither of us knew much about this Hybrid stuff, but Richard was simply ecstatic about it and did an amazing job on the test drive walking us through "how to drive" this car. I now know how amazing his knowledge was about the car. Not surprising though, he was always thorough and educated on vehicles I purchased. And he truly got excited about the last couple of years of Fords product line.

 

Sadly, Richard just keeled over the day of the Daytona 500 this year. Heart attack. (He was a Nascar fanatic since I met him)

So the C-Max was our last purchase from my favorite Ford salesman of all time.

But my concerns on whether my wife would love her funny little new car were not warranted. She was crazy about her Cmax.

 

Full disclosure: (If I'm going to post on this forum, it's going to come out sooner or later) My precious wife passed away on Easter Sunday. (I'm still envious that Richard gets to be with her now. The dirty rat) So suddenly I was faced with what to do with "her" car. Keep it? I'm surely not going to drive the thing. I'm a 6'1" cowboy hat-boot wearing redneck that can only be found in some Ford that starts with a F- (150,250,350....love them all) But I drove it a couple of times while I evaluated the decision.

 

I was mesmerized by the amazing thing. No wonder she delighted in it so much! (And it smelled just like her too. A nice emotional balm to go along with it's other attributes)

 

I kept it. :)

 

I'm addicted to it. And that's how I found this forum a couple of months ago and started lurking and learning. (Thx everyone)

 

Whatever this EPA fiasco that is discussed in deep detail here, the dang car comes up short OR blows right past it. So for me, not even close to stealing my joy!

And the whole resale hit that IS a potential bummer, I don't worry about much since I got a fantastic deal up front. Perhaps the big discount WAS because of the bad rap the car was getting around that time? (I was unaware of it)

 

Anyways, nice to meet all you folks. I'll try to not be so rudely quiet in the future.

(Still can't figure out how a car built on 11/7/2013 is a 2013 model?) 

Edited July 19, 2014 by snakebitten

[kostby]

Welcome!

 

...

(Still can't figure out how a car built on 11/7/2013 is a 2013 model?) 

 

Sorry to hear of your personal losses. Losing both your spouse AND an honest car salesman in a few short months? Wow!

 

Glad you've found this forum and are enjoying the car.

 

2013 model-year C-MAX SE and SEL production began in the summer of 2012 and they were built as 2013's through December, 2013.

 

2014 model year production actually began in January 2014, and ends September 14, 2014. 2015 model year production will begin September 15, 2014.

 

Depending upon where you looked up the date, your car could have been built either July 11, 2013, or November 7, 2013.

 

Ford ETIS shows our build date at 11-4-2013, using the European and military tradition of day-month-year, but the door-jamb sticker shows 04-10-2013, using the US tradition of month-day-year.

Edited July 18, 2014 by kostby

[snakebitten]

Thank Kostby,

 

good catch on the date. You were right.

 

ETIS shows 11/7/2013

Door Jamb sticker states 07/13  (no actual day)

 

So combining both datasets, I assume it was actually 07/11/2013?

 

OK, that's is more plausible as being a 2013 model.

[fbov]

...My precious wife passed away on Easter Sunday. (I'm still envious that Richard gets to be with her now. The dirty rat) So suddenly I was faced with what to do with "her" car. Keep it? ...

She picked a good day to pass from this world... my Mother waited until Spring; albeit in 1985, but you get the idea.

 

And welcome to the small group of folks who didn't buy the C-Max for themselves. We inherited ours from my Father-in-law, Porter, so naming it was easy. I didn't like the car much at first, but my wife wanted us to get it from the estate, yet didn't want to drive it, so it became my "science project" in her words. Little did she know...

 

When folks marry, I usually offer congratulations and condolensces, as few know what married life will actually bring. In your case, it's the reverse; condolensces on losing the love of your life, and congratulations on finding a long-term reminder of what you shared with her.

 

HAve fun,

Frank

Edited July 18, 2014 by fbov

[snakebitten]

Thanks for the kind words Frank.

 

If you knew Brenda, heading to the other side on Easter Sunday just plain makes sense.

Our journey was a most amazing 33 years, I assure you. Full of adventure. Truly blessed. :)

 

At the risk of getting scolded as an off-topic newbie, let me reiterate that I am a validated, and tickled pink, with now my amazing little Ford

9600 miles. And as of yet, not a single issue beyond an oil change and tire rotation. And with some of you hyper-miler's assistance, getting 55-60mpg on my daily 46 mile commute.

[Kelleytoons]

This is an interesting thread that has wandered all over the place from the basic point (yet somehow managed to seem relevant not to mention vastly entertaining).  Pardon me for posting a few thoughts:

 

1) I knew going in that the numbers weren't accurate, even the "adjusted" ones (I just bought ours this week).  Didn't particularly bother me, as our best friends have a Prius as well as another couple we spend a lot of time with (that couple has both the Prius sedan and the Prius V) and I knew their mileages were not as advertised either (my lead footed friend is lucky to get 39mpg in his Prius).  I came from a Durango where we were lucky to get more than 13mpg so anything would be an improvement.  But I can certainly understand the folks who bought first gen before the numbers were "retooled" and felt lied to.  They did, however, get more satisfaction from Ford then I ever had out of similar situations with other companies.

 

2) Resale value doesn't interest me a whit, since I keep all my vehicles long past they are worth selling (the aforementioned Durango is 14 years old, and I'll drive it at least another 5).  But, again, I sympathize with those to whom it is an issue.  However, I always thought that was what leasing was all about (IOW, if you aren't going to keep your vehicle a LONG time, just lease).

 

3) While still very new, here in our hot Florida climate I've easily gotten 45mpg even on very short runs (where I wouldn't have thought the system was warm enough to get optimized) with the air on.  Then again, I've been driving "carefully" for many decades now, having been taught that way by my employer for company vehicles back in the gas rationing days.  Our C-Max also only has 340 miles on it, and I'm hoping that once it breaks in a bit more I can better that by quite a bit.

 

4) Even with "careful" driving, there are times you need to sharply accelerate, and driving my friend's Prius for a week taught me that it was NOT the car for me -- it basically drives like a whale, so gutless that I was almost t-boned by oncoming traffic just trying to get across the highway outside our development's entrance.  The same maneuver with the C-Max is easy-peasy (I don't even have to floor it, just a touch on the gas pedal and it GOES).  I understand the Prius V is even worse in this aspect so I'm glad that although it was on our short list we didn't even bother to test drive it.

 

The more I drive the more convinced I am we made the right decision, but that doesn't mean the C-Max might not end up being thought of as the Edsel of the 21st Century.  While most of you are probably too young to have experienced it, that particular car was WAY ahead of its time, and other than perhaps the styling (which was an acquired taste) so much better in so many ways than other vehicles it's a shame it got such a bad rap (of course, if you had one in classic condition today it would be worth a LOT of money -- perhaps the same will be true decades down the road of our car.  Too bad I won't be alive to reap the benefits :>).

Edited July 18, 2014 by Kelleytoons

[ptjones]

Kelleytoons did you noticed I Private Messaged you. :)

 

Paul

[Wnuk]

Sorry to read of your wife's passing snakebitten. You are doing her well by keeping her Cmax,

[mtcmax]

Condolences on your loss. She had excellent taste in men and cars.

[Jus-A-CMax]

snakebitten - wonderful post & if I may, on behalf of all the CMax members here, we all pass you our condolences and prayers to you & your family.

 

Also, as someone whos hitting the 32K mark, the car still gets better and better and better. Enjoy your MPGs and the car, your wife was very WISE to choose the CMax and seeing something special in this car, jus as much as she saw in you when she married :flirt:  you.

 

God Bless :)

Edited July 19, 2014 by Jus-A-CMax

[Adair]

 

I was mesmerized by the amazing thing. No wonder she delighted in it so much! (And it smelled just like her too. A nice emotional balm to go along with it's other attributes)

 

I kept it. :)

 

Oh, snakebitten,  What an beautiful, poignant story. Thank you so much for sharing with us.....a bunch of virtual strangers.......with one common thread that started binding us. And as time has gone on, some of us.....the lucky ones....have found other threads.

 

I echo our other members condolences for the loss of your beloved. It is never easy, and we are never ready.

 

We hope you will stick around and share your adventures with your C-MAX.

 

 

Peace,

Adair

[John Sparks]

John, you need to understand why the C-Max rating of 47 mpg is not correct and why the Aug. 2013 EPA rating of 43 combined is wrong. You also need to find out how the EPA numbers are actually calculated. ;) It has nothing to do with people not driving like the drive cycles. It not about what FE you get. It's about how Ford misled the public twice about what real world FE might be - which is the fundamental principle of the EPA FE rules and regulations. Some drivers will get more than the EPA numbers some will get less. fueleconomy.gov shows the 2013 C-Max Hybrid average at 39.3 mpg - which is good. :) Interestingly, it looks like fuelly has now combined all C-Maxs (gas, diesel, Hybrid, NRG into one.

 

I'm sorry. I just don't agree that the numbers are incorrect, especially the previous 45/40/43. I'm a sales rep and if you ask me Ford is just trying to make the public happy. Seriously....I took a 350 mile trip yesterday. Longest trip I've taken since I got the car. 90% was on the interstate and 90% of that was at 73-75 mph. When I got home my average was 43.4 mpg. That's the combined mpg for when I bought the car and again, most of the trip was interstate. So how does the vehicle not get 40 mpg highway? I'm confused, can you clarify?

 

 

That was simply the longest trip that I have taken. My experience has been the same with shorter distances and with "true" highway speeds, 55-65, I get mid 40s to low 50s. Example: I was running late this morning so I just set my cruise at 63. For my 31 mile commute to work I averaged 45.5 mpg.

 

 

I just don't get it. For some reason Ford is getting beat up on this car when they really shouldn't be (it's killing the resale value).

 

 

Just a note, if you're not using EcoCruise, you should be. It makes a difference.

Edited July 21, 2014 by John Sparks

[mrobinso8]

MPG is only accurate when calculated manually, not what the car is programmed to display.

[Marc Smith]

MPG is only accurate when calculated manually, not what the car is programmed to display.

Its better than the prius, 

 

that being said, my last two tanks  the indicated MPG(trip) and indicated fuel used  corresponds with what was pumped and MPG done with the calculator..

 

keep in mind that even when you calculate the MPG  its not exact since you are are not sure that you are getting the car filled to the exact same level. 

[Laurel]

Snakebitten,  I am so sorry to read about the death of your beloved wife. The loss must be so difficult for you.  You write beautifully.  Maybe you are an author?

 

Laurel

[Adrian_L]

MPG is only accurate when calculated manually, not what the car is programmed to display.

 

Not true.  My Fuelly numbers match the computer lifetime average very closely.

[Jus-A-CMax]

C'mon who going to argue over the 1 to 3 MPGs...crap, I would :doh: never mind....

Edited July 26, 2014 by Jus-A-CMax