[cbdallas]

Had some time to kill on Friday, so I dropped by a local Ford dealer to see what it would take to get out of my Ti into an ST1 they have on the lot. I've seen negative equity situations before, but this one takes the cake.

My car: '14 Titanium 5-speed, has everything but the sunroof, MSRP $26,005, I paid around $23,000 for it including TTL in May. 3700 miles on it now, in perfect condition. I owe $21,000 on it. I was offered $13,000. KBB and NADA have it around $17K dealer trade value.

I was curious to see the numbers they came back with, so they put them on paper for me. $2,000 down, $429/mo for 72 months, 0% interest. This was the BEST they could do after much haggling. (You should've seen their original numbers).

The payments add up to nearly $31,000.....on a car that MSRPs for $24,500. Add my $2,000 cash to that and I'm on the hook for a $33,000 Focus ST1. Needless to say, they were really pushing me to do this deal. Of course I walked.

I love the Focus, but this type of thing really puts me off buying another Ford, or another American car for that matter. I realize most of the depreciation takes place within the first year or so, but I don't think at any point I should be THIS far in the hole.

It was an enlightening day.

 

[BeastMD]

Try a different dealer. They should at least give you KBB for it.

 

[wavsine]

Had some time to kill on Friday, so I dropped by a local Ford dealer to see what it would take to get out of my Ti into an ST1 they have on the lot. I've seen negative equity situations before, but this one takes the cake.

My car: '14 Titanium 5-speed, has everything but the sunroof, MSRP $26,005, I paid around $23,000 for it including TTL in May. 3700 miles on it now, in perfect condition. I owe $21,000 on it. I was offered $13,000. KBB and NADA have it around $17K dealer trade value.

I was curious to see the numbers they came back with, so they put them on paper for me. $2,000 down, $429/mo for 72 months, 0% interest. This was the BEST they could do after much haggling. (You should've seen their original numbers).

The payments add up to nearly $31,000.....on a car that MSRPs for $24,500. Add my $2,000 cash to that and I'm on the hook for a $33,000 Focus ST1. Needless to say, they were really pushing me to do this deal. Of course I walked.

I love the Focus, but this type of thing really puts me off buying another Ford, or another American car for that matter. I realize most of the depreciation takes place within the first year or so, but I don't think at any point I should be THIS far in the hole.

It was an enlightening day.

Avoid that dealer like the plague. Black Book is the de facto standard that dealers go by. They were bending you over and lubing you so to speak. You said you had everything except sunroof so I included Nav and 18" wheels. I also deducted for no automatic transmission. Your car is so new and so low mileage that there isn't even a value for average or rough. Since you have a rare 5 speed Titanium, I would definitely try to retail the car yourself and avoid dealer trade. Values below are based on Texas location.

 

[chemistkremer]

I think this is more common with the Foci than with other makes/models. Unfortunately, the downside to owning such a common car is that the market is utterly saturated with them. Plus, the '15 is going to hit lots in the near future so dealers are already trying to move inventory. And of course there is the stigma attached to the Foci, DCT or not.

The biggest detriment in your case is that you have the 5 Speed; as much of a better transmission that may be, these days the people buying manuals are those who actively seek them. Most people cringe at the thought of driving a manual since most don't know the first thing about them.

I bet that had you gone through with the deal, a savvy shopper who was aware of all the problems and who "wanted an auto but would settle for a stick" would've walked away with your car for close to what they were offering for it. The kicker is that you would be moving into a much more desirable car.

Just as a point of reference, when I bought my '12 SEL, I was able to go from $15.5k to under $11k incl. TTL.

 

[JayDeZ]

I just got 11,750 for a 2012 SEL hatch with 36,000 miles. Black book listed it for 11,600 KBB said 11,800. This was from a Honda dealership. One Ford dealer offered me $8000 and the one where i bought it from offered me $12,000 but we couldn't agree on a price of a Fusion so I ended up getting an Accord.

They want to give you $13k for yours and list it for $20+ I'd check elsewhere.

 

[sfhess]

The incentives offered on these cars kills any resale value.

Selling/trading any car that is being financed in the first 3-4 years of ownership is a losing proposition.

Just suck it up and suffer driving your crappy 5-speed Titanium for another year or two.

 

[felixthecat]

The incentives offered on these cars kills any resale value.

Selling/trading any car that is being financed in the first 3-4 years of ownership is a losing proposition.

Just suck it up and suffer driving your crappy 5-speed Titanium for another year or two.

This ^^^^^^ Or take a dump.

 

[wavsine]

Just suck it up and suffer driving your crappy 5-speed Titanium for another year or two.

^^^^ Not This.

The 5 speed Titanium is an excellent automobile. No DCT troubles.

It will just take longer to find a buyer that wants a manual.

 

[felixthecat]

If he has a stick, why is he looking to ship it then? Drive it for a few yrs & get your money out of it. Keep it in great condition.

 

[PratoN]

The 5 speed Titanium is an excellent automobile. No DCT troubles.

It will just take longer to find a buyer that wants a manual.

The first thing I thought when I read this thread was "...Should I just buy his car?"

I've had my DCT troubles return since the D clutch assembly (Don't jump to any conclusions/speculations on the life of the DCT from just my experiences - I don't even have the latest software revision yet.) I don't actually intend to buy the OP's car, but the point is that there could definitely be someone out there that is willing to take that car off your hands for more than $13k.

 

[cbdallas]

Not really concerned about it right now, as the Ti is a perfectly nice car. Was just checking to see how much it would cost me to trade the heated leather, nav & MFT for a turbo. At that particular dealer, it costs a bit too much.

Was gonna go try out Auto Nation in Frisco but the white ST1 they had for $20 disappeared off their website over the weekend.

Things like this I just consider not meant to be if they don't happen. But I appreciate all the input. I kinda thought that deal was a big bend-over.

 

[sfhess]

This ^^^^^^ Or take a dump.

^^^^ Not This.

The 5 speed Titanium is an excellent automobile. No DCT troubles.

It will just take longer to find a buyer that wants a manual.

Sorry if my remarks were taken the wrong way. Just an attempt to inject a little irony into the situation.

I keep getting letters and emails from two dealerships where I had my 2011 Fusion serviced in the past year offering me "max value" for trading it in. One recent letter offered me $5K below what I still owe. No thanks. It is a great car and I have no intention of trading it in jus yet. I drove a 2014 Fusion recently and was not really impressed anyway.

I just rolled over 10,000 miles in my DCT-equipped Focus which I purchased on July 15. No issues to report.

 

[roswelltop]

cbdallas, did you include GAP coverage when financing your Titanium 5spd?

Based on the way insurance companies seem to be "totaling" accident damaged Foci, that would be my biggest concern, in your negative equity situation.

 

[cbdallas]

Yeah, I did put Gap on it. Don't recall how much that cost, but it was a neglible add to my payment. Not sure it would put even a small dent in the $8K negative equity they're suggesting I have, but I will bring it up if I continue to pursue this with other dealerships.

 

[Laminar]

I love the Focus, but this type of thing really puts me off buying another Ford, or another American car for that matter. I realize most of the depreciation takes place within the first year or so, but I don't think at any point I should be THIS far in the hole.

It was an enlightening day.

While we've acknowledged that the dealer was low-balling you like crazy, consider also that a high-margin spec-ed out economy car like your Titanium is going to experience much greater depreciation than something less loaded.

When I bought my Focus in July 2013, I bought new only because used ones were holding their value so well that I couldn't find a used one more than $2000 cheaper than a new one with the options I wanted, so I bought an SE Sport for $17,500. If a dealer were to put my car on its lot today it would list in the $15-16K range.

Consider that your issue isn't one of automotive brand, but of specific car choice. A high-end Mercedes, BMW, or Aston Martin will lose far more of its value than a Focus will in a similar time frame.

While it was worth it to you to pay $6000+ over the cost of an SE to get the Ti and all of its goodies, those goodies are worth far less to the used car buyer, so the car's value suffers.

 

[roswelltop]

I wasn't talkin' 'bout canceling the GAP coverage. I was thinking about how happy you would be to have the coverage in the event your Focus is involved in an accident during the period of negative equity--which might prove to be for the life of the loan.

 

[Kabigon]

Was just checking to see how much it would cost me to trade the heated leather, nav & MFT for a turbo. At that particular dealer, it costs a bit too much.

IMO, it will cost too much at any dealer.

In the real world, the ability to accelerate faster doesn't really have a great deal of value, especially after the novelty wears off.
Some of the features/amenities that you would be giving up can enhance your driving experience even when sitting at a stop light or in bumper to bumper traffic.

 

[OldGray320i]

Bottom line, when eoy deals are "up to $4,000 off" on a $20K car, your ball park for NEW is now $16K - $18K (depending). 2 years on, my car is worth $10 to $12K now, or about half what I paid for it.

That's discouraging. I bougth mine new for a couple of reasons that no longer exist, and I like the car, but it still kind of stinks that only two years on, it's worth half what I paid for it.

Makes me think I should get out of it what I can now, and go buy that used NC Miata or 128i I've been thinking about.

I haven't driven either of them (yet), probably because I do enjoy the driving the Focus. And it still meets some needs, such as being a great trip car when we go out to SD; plenty of space, and hard to beat 38mpg on the highway. That's about 10 more than my "want" cars get, and about $100 a trip.

What to do, what to do....

 

[BlueIce]

Manual Ti's took a big hit when the ST was released. Now, if you want a manual fun to drive focus, you're going to get the ST instead of a Ti most of the time. Leaving the Manual Ti's without a home.

 

[CunFFS13]

I feel your pain! You gonna lost big numbers there!