2014 Ford Explorer demo vs. new

[Ltrain79]

Hey guys,

New member here and just purchased my first ford explorer today! I had an interesting buying experience with two different dealerships - one offering a demo while the other had a new one and both were both negotiated to the same price. The demo had almost 4,000 miles (with dog hair in the back from the sales manager's dog - couldn't believe it wasn't vacuumed) but had the adaptive cruise control whereas the new one had less than 100 miles but no adaptive cruise control. That cruise control option was the only difference between the two so I chose the new car. Did I make the right call? I think the demo should have been less expensive imo.

 

[kirstenb]

You made a good choice. I'll say I could care less about cruise control. However, there are 4000 miles that you don't know how they were driven vs. a brand new car, that you know exactly how it was driven (you). Congrats on your new ride!!

 

[Riley]

But they weren't the same price. The demo had an $1150 option the other one didn't. When they reduced the price for being a demo (% based on mileage) it all evened out to look like the same price. If the demo didn't have Adaptive Cruise it would have been cheaper than the one you purchased.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Ltrain79.:wavey:
I think you would have been better off posting that before buying. There's nothing worse than second guessing oneself.
I loved the Adaptive Cruise Control and thought it was one of the best features on my 2011 Ltd. Having had it once, I really miss having it now. That package unfortunately wasn't on the vehicle I have now but the offer on it was too good to pass up. My next 'ordered' one will definitely have it. Good luck and happy motoring.

Peter

 

[Ltrain79]

But they weren't the same price. The demo had an $1150 option the other one didn't. When they reduced the price for being a demo (% based on mileage) it all evened out to look like the same price. If the demo didn't have Adaptive Cruise it would have been cheaper than the one you purchased.

Thanks for the quick replies! Riley, I think we're on the same page but have different tacks of getting there. Basically, would you rather have a car with 4,000 miles with a $1,150 option or a new car without said $1,150 option. At the end of the day it is the same price but for different reasons. Their estimation was roughly .30 per mile which isn't unreasonable, but I liked the fewer miles versus unknown driving of a guy carting a dog around town for months.

 

[Sgt1411]

Adaptive Cruise includes Collision Avoidance.

This is one of the best new features Ford has brought to market.

Its saved me many times and I will never buy another vehicle without it.

 

[Riley]

Thanks for the quick replies! Riley, I think we're on the same page but have different tacks of getting there. Basically, would you rather have a car with 4,000 miles with a $1,150 option or a new car without said $1,150 option. At the end of the day it is the same price but for different reasons. Their estimation was roughly .30 per mile which isn't unreasonable, but I liked the fewer miles versus unknown driving of a guy carting a dog around town for months.

Honesty, I leased a '13 Flex Limited last year that was a demo with 6000 miles on it so that aspect doesn't matter to me. Since it's a lease and will be under warranty the whole time I have it I really don't care about the miles. I got it for 3K below A-Plan but if it was covered in dog hair I would have passed. Don't second guess your decision, it'll drive you crazy.

 

[Halwg]

What i would have done is have them clean out the demo and detail it, change the oil and service it, and make sure the warranty started now, so you in effect didn't really have to worry about 4,000 miles, then I would have purchased the one with the adaptive cruise. As pointed out above, this was actually a cheaper vehicle.

 

[peterk9]

The Ford bumper to bumper warranty start date cannot be changed. It begins with the initial "in service" date.

Peter

 

[Riley]

The Ford bumper to bumper warranty start date cannot be changed. It begins with the initial "in service" date.

Peter

Mine was never technically put into service while used as a demo so I still get the full 3 year warranty from the date I took possession. I'll never reach the 36K mileage limit during my lease so it's a win-win in my case. If they would have put it into service from the beginning I would have been without a warranty for the last 3 months of the lease.

 

[tinner]

Adaptive Cruise includes Collision Avoidance.

This is one of the best new features Ford has brought to market.

Its saved me many times and I will never buy another vehicle without it.

+ 1

 

[Tony407]

The adaptive cruise on the Explorer (at least in my '15) works very, very well compared to other cars I've owned with that feature. Having said that, if you haven't had adaptive cruise before you really don't know what you're missing and conventional cruise works just fine for most people. Collision mitigation is very nice, but then again we've all been driving (well, some of us) for a long time without it and we've done just fine.

Personally I think the automated warning and driving systems on today's vehicles, as nice as they are, are going to turn around and bite us in the butts one of these days. The FAA has blamed many an airplane crash on the fact that with planes becoming so automated that today's pilot has forgotten the art of actually flying the plane. This will absolutely apply to cars one day, if it hasn't already. As it is I've already caught myself on several occasions relying too much on adaptive cruise & collision mitigation to warn me when something happens ahead when it comes to distractions inside the car (passengers, cell-phone conversations, fancy touch screens in the dash, etc.). I've especially noticed it when getting behind the driver's seat of my Kia Optima, which has neither of the aforementioned technologies. Don't even get me started on active lane-keeping assist. As great as this is, it scares the bejesus out of me when imagining how we'll all get used to cars that steer themselves, until the one time they don't because the lane lines aren't painted well enough in one section of the road or when the system has a glitch. Imagine driving out of your lane at 55 mph on a 2-lane road when you're semi-automated car doesn't work like it should. Sorry...rant done!!

Tony