As we reported recently, the 2007 Ford Edge SEL generated a lot more excitement than we anticipated, with two buyers coming forward in the first weekend. One family wanted it for a high school-aged daughter and test drove it twice. The next day the father called me, cleared his throat, and made an offer.
First, I'll remind you that our True Market Value price was $18,033 and our listing price on Autotrader.com was $17,900. It's always fun to try to guess what a person's opening offer is going to be. I was psychically sending him signals to offer $17,500 and I would generously offer to split the difference and close at $17,700.
"We could be over there this afternoon with cash and pay you $16,000," he said. (Buyers always think that using the word "cash" will make you giddy with excitement.) His offer took me by surprise and I couldn't conceal my disappointment. "No, I can't consider that," I told him. "The very least we'd take is $17,500." He said he wasn't in a hurry and told me to call him back if I changed my mind.
Two hours later I got a text message from him, "Okay, we'll buy the car at $17,500." Nice.
Frankly, I was surprised we were able to get this much for the Edge and sell it so quickly. Yes, it's a pleasant SUV, with a comfortable driving position and good looks. But the brakes scare me (152-foot stopping distance from 60 mph versus 120 feet from competitors) and our observed lifetime fuel economy of 14 mpg is disappointing.
So we paid $29,500 for the Edge and we were able to sell it for $17,500. That's a depreciation of $12,000 or 40 percent over three and a half years ago and 36,400 miles
Be sure to check out the Wrap Up and Parting Shots that will be posting soon.
Philip Reed, Edmunds.com Senior Consumer Advice Editor @36,400 miles
carguy622 says:
09:43 AM, 05/21/10
"(Buyers always think that using the word "cash" will make you giddy with excitement.)"... maybe they've been listening to Dave Ramsey too much. I like the guy, but he thinks that you can get a deal on everything just by waiving money around.
These people were obviously smitten with the Edge. If two hours later, isn't a rush, I'd hate to see what a rush is.
zcalvert says:
09:59 AM, 05/21/10
Is it just me, or does that seem like a ton of $ for this thing.
I'm oddly curious to hear about how this disappeared into a black hole for so long.
brn says:
10:09 AM, 05/21/10
So Edmunds doesn't even ask their own TMV?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't TMV what you should expect to sell it for? As such, you should ask MORE than TMV, in hopes of negotiating down to TMV.
chunky_azian says:
10:10 AM, 05/21/10
Something about a 16 years old driver in a 4,000 lbs machine scares me.
lime679 says:
10:13 AM, 05/21/10
I sold Toyotas for a few years and loved it when people would come in and throw that they have cash down and can buy it today. I'll never forget I had a woman who came in with $35K and wanted a $45K Sequoia. She was really pissed that I wouldn't lower the price to $35K INCLUDING TTL! I was like um ma'am it doesn't work like that.
Honestly, I could care less if you finance or pay cash. I get my money regardless.
bkj216 says:
10:18 AM, 05/21/10
I tried the "If I pay cash will you lower the price" move before and it worked. Of course I only paid $1500 cash for something they asked $2200 for, so it wasn't a huge difference
drunkenpanda says:
11:17 AM, 05/21/10
Just wondering, why did you guys keep the Edge around for so long?
azggjones says:
11:26 AM, 05/21/10
Ummm, Since when did you have a Ford Edge? Where has it been since 2007?
bloodyr says:
11:43 AM, 05/21/10
There has to be more to this story. It used to be blogged about fairly regularly, disappeared for two years, and then shows up again to be sold. And it only has 36K miles, so it hasn't been driven much in those two years. Maybe you guys could at least make up a story involving the mob, international espionage, etc...
s197gt says:
12:07 PM, 05/21/10
i would probably be more interested in a buyer that offers me cash vs. a personal check or even a bank check. i mean, it's CASH! as long as it's real you know there won't be any problems and it is immediate. and i do think it shows your serious cause there is no going back.
car dealers don't care, in fact they would probaly rather you finance through them, since i've heard they get an incentive from their banks.
s197gt says:
12:11 PM, 05/21/10
that mileage is atrocious. i thought one of the benefits of a crossover versus a true suv was supposed to be better fuel mileage?!
alman08 says:
12:35 PM, 05/21/10
it'd be funny if that potential buyer sees this now ...
"Frankly, I was surprised we were able to get this much for the Edge and sell it so quickly. Yes, it's a pleasant SUV, with a comfortable driving position and good looks. But the brakes scare me (152-foot stopping distance from 60 mph versus 120 feet from competitors) and our observed lifetime fuel economy of 14 mpg is disappointing. " ...
and not showing up with the money.
Obviously, even the author thinks $17,500 is too much for this used vehicle.
nick7302 says:
01:12 PM, 05/21/10
I know where the Edge has been for the past two years. In the parking lot, accidentally left idling the whole time.
How else could you explain the 14mpg lifetime average?
lucien4 says:
01:42 PM, 05/21/10
Why isn't cash better than someone saying let me go to the bank and get it financed? Loans/checks can fail and just takes longer as well.
brn says:
02:56 PM, 05/21/10
lucien4, about two weeks ago, near where I sit, someone bought a used car with cash. The cash turned out to be counterfeit. There's always a risk.
firstwagon says:
03:55 PM, 05/21/10
"near where I sit"
Where do you sit and why are you sitting there?
bimmerjay says:
05:58 PM, 05/21/10
"Something about a 16 years old driver in a 4,000 lbs machine scares me."
Especially one that can't stop worth a damn.
hybris says:
07:32 PM, 05/21/10
I'm glad Ford has come a long way from 2007 tech.
stovt001 says:
11:00 AM, 05/22/10
+1 to bimmerjay. I do not see this ending well, especially for other drivers. Your brakes are only as good as those on the cars around you.
I did sell a car for $4500 cash one time, and I have to say it was kinda fun having 45 $100 bills to play with, for all of 20 minutes before I decided to go to the bank. The bills were all legit, of course. It would have been far less fun if they weren't.
I can say using cash can give you a negotiating tool as it locks you in to a set maximum price. For a salesman, it is easy to hide extra costs in the financing by extending the term, for example. Or, he can easily say "well we can add (insert extra cost feature here) for only $2 a month" and that sounds pretty good right? Until you realize it will still cost you hundreds of dollars in the end. On the other hand, I had a friend who bought a truck with cash. He sold his old car, brought the cash to the dealership but didn't tell the salesman, and made an offer for a truck based on that cash amount. The dealer agreed, but then tried to increase the price with tons of add-ons, justifying it by saying they could just finance the rest for cheap. Finally my friend pulled out the cash and said "this is what I have. I will spend up to this amount out the door. I won't finance any more, so this is my limit." And the deal was done. My friend couldn't be tempted by financing add-ons so he had a firm position to bargain from. So while cash makes dealing with a salesman easier, it certainly isn't more appealing for the salesman.
resident says:
12:03 PM, 05/22/10
"brn", though I'd like to say it's ironic that edmunds.com doesn't go with their TMV, it's expected because the price is what someone is willing to pay. All edmunds.com does it try to figure that price people are willing to pay using whatever algorithms they have. Apparently, more people go with kbb.com than edmunds.com, so that is probably a more accurate valuation.
eclogite says:
05:07 PM, 05/22/10
Lifetime mpg of 14?!?! Holy crap! That's awful! What's up with that?
charlesb says:
11:04 PM, 05/22/10
This thing is a absolute piece of crap. Ford should have paid you all to drive it.
ocramidajzj says:
07:39 AM, 05/23/10
This whole transaction just shows you how ignorant people can be. Chances are they didn't even research the Edge or figured that it's size will protect their daughter if the brakes don't work well. Or their daughter was pulling the strings all along, which is probably why the father was so quick to accept the 17,500. Daddy's little girl probably likes the Edge and could care less about who she'll hit while she's texting.
On another note, yesterday while my wife and I were out shopping I saw a "girl" driving a brand new Mercededs C300 4Matic. It wasn't the type of car she was driving but the fact that she was talking on her pink cell phone and not using the car's Handsfree Bluetooth system. I see this sort of ignorance a lot- people driving their expensive cars and completely unaware of helpful tech.
Depressing...