Georgia Mercury Car Dealers

we bought an 09 escape limited and passed our 04 on to one of the kids. huge difference, same vehicle, but everything is better. i just renewed the sirius for 2 years. gas mileage is @22 for the new one versus 19 for the '04.

My 36-month,15K miles per year, lease on a 2007 Mercury Mountaineer is coming to an end in December. The Mercury is in good condition and has ~39K miles on it. I'd like to either buy the Mountaineer or a different CPO vehicle. I'm leaning toward returning the Mercury and just buying a different CPO vehicle in order to get a vehicle with a slightly smaller profile and better gas mileage. On my short-list are the used Toyota RAV-4 and used Subaru Forester. The buy-out price on the contract for the Mountaineer is just under TMV value, so it seems like a good deal. But, I don't feel as confident in the long term reliability of the vehicle and I'm not in love with the gas mileage. However, if I got a good deal, I would be inclined to keep the Mountaineer since I know its history. I don't imagine I can get them to negotiate on the buy-out price since its below TMV. Are there any other options such as a low finance rate? I plan to put down around $8K toward whatever I end up getting. My Mountaineer lease is my first leasing experience. I'm anxious about possible surprise charges if I try to return the vehicle back. I bought the additional wear and tear coverage that gives me an additional $2500 in leeway. But, I still worry that if they find out I plan to return the car, they'll scrutinize and charge me for anything and everything imaginable. I know this is likely me being paranoid since as I mention the vehicle is in good condition. How much of any of this should I share with the lease people when I call to discuss setting up the vehicle inspection and discussing lease end options? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance, Crickets

I am just checking in because I saw a question about the Quests. I bought my 2008 S in Sarasota, FL with seat package and power package: dual doors, back up sensors, etc., exactly one year ago (August) when Nissan was giving away their vans, SUVs and trucks. I just hit 10000 miles on my van last week. I have had no problems with the van except for a loose wire in my dash, steering wheel area that was making a clanging noise and that was promptly fixed and was probably caused by my DVD installation by Circuit City. I recommend the vehicle. It is roomy, I love the automatic rear hatch. The sound system is great the chairs are comfortable. I love the van! It is sexy. I paid $17100 new and I am so happy that I did not buy the Odyssey for double the price. If you can find one, get it. The gas mileage is not as good as my 2006 Odyssey but it is not terrible either, about 22-23 MPG all local non-highway driving. It goes up to about 27 MPG on the highway trips.

I don't know who the Quest Basher was, but I LOVE my Quest. I previously had a Dodge Grand Caravan and the Quest is better all the way around. I checked out the Sienna and it just wasn't for me. I bought my '07Quest used with 24k miles on it. It's an SL, has back up sensors, a DVD player and auto open doors and hatchback. We got it for about 15k. I don't know anything about dealers in New Jersey, I'm in Texas but we got huge HUGE runarounds with at least 10 dealers before finding the perfect Quest for us! One dealer tried selling us an S model for 36k ! USED ! Thank goodness I had done my homework ! Several dealers tried selling me a base model as an S model. Once again research is worth it. I would name off all of the upgrades that an S model had on it and leave them stumbling around, then walk out. Anyway, the interior of the Quest is the roomiest you will find! The engine is powerful and it gets great gas mileage for a minivan (I average 25mpg on the highway and have gotten up to 26.5). The only negative things I can say is it has a large blindspot (but the sideview mirrors make up for that), has a large turning radius(hello it's a minivan). And the air conditioner compressor went out half way to San Antonio, it was fixed within a day at no cost(still under warranty). So, let no one dissuade you from a Quest... it is the best vehicle for my family ! (three rather large adults and twin boys) I would happily buy another one if the newer models rate with this one.

Ok, first time poster... long time reader of Edmunds.com This is a tale of me having my way with a dealership. I have (had) a 1998 Chevy Blazer. Replaced 3 water pumps, one alternator, one radiator, one fuel pump, 4 shocks and a butt-load of tires. The Blazer also had the following issues: -121,000 Miles -Needed a tune-up -Front alignment (Car shakes from 60-70mph) -Needed 2 new front tires -Needed Front breaks -Heat and air did not work -Had electrical issues - incessant clicking (from what sounded like the turn signal) -The fuel gage never read true and would click to E at anytime. -Transmission just recently started acting funny. -Had an oil leak, radiator leak, and a leak from the back hatch window. -Passengers door wouldn't open with keyless entry -And the inside would smell like exhaust or gas from time to time. -Last but not least: The interior sucked... (2 kids and me not being anal about the inside) -Exterior: Lots of small dents and scratches. (Ala kids) Pro's: The 4wdr worked, and the engine was strong. I was going to have to pay at least $650.00 to 1.5k$ to get the car back into shape I wasn't looking forward to winter with at very least no heat. I explained the situation to the wife. Then said We should look for something newer and less miles and trade the Blazer in. I started looking on the Internet and I found an explorer in an adjacent city, with 80k miles and 2001. I called to see if they still had it. (9 times out of 10 they don't but... they surely have something else they can get you into... blah blah) In this case they had it. I told them I'd be down at about 5pm. I waited until dark to go. I wanted to camouflage my car a bit more. =) They wanted $4,995 for the Explorer XLT. I hopped on Edmunds.com and checked the price. It was listed at $5,250. While my Blazer was listed at $1,200. I had read the buying guides on this site and I tested them a few times on other perspective cars. I've never felt so vulnerable as when in a 'car buying' situation. My wife's job on this mark was to be disapproving and agitated. We test drove it. It seemed solid. With one exception, a rhythmic 'whirring' sound. Could have been from the 4wdr gear box or a bearing issue... OR Completely normal to the car. (Time will tell) I came in and let him know I wanted to chat about the vehicle. After some time he got back to us... We remained active, getting up and wandering around when he left, etc... We started talking money. I told him of the sound I'd heard and expressed it could be a future issue. He didn't argue with me. I asked if he'd mind if I had my mechanic look at it, etc... Then we got down to the trade-in part. He asked me what I had and I gave him the keys and he wandered out to see. We did not follow. Here is the critical portion. This was in a smaller city and he had no other staff on-hand as it was late (For them, they closed at 8pm) He came back in, made a call, chatted with the other end then came over and wrote down what he was willing to offer. The offer was $2,000. Knowing what I knew about the blazer and it's worth, I nearly swallowed my teeth. I hymned and hawed about the $2,000, but ultimately let it go as I was not going to let that be a deal breaker in any situation but I didn't want to appear too eager to jump at the offer. I then haggled him down on the $4,995. I finally got him down to $4,150. With all told, I only owed him $2450.67, which I was more than happy to pay. A was a bit chagrined to take the title for the blazer and cash for the Exploder back to him the next day, but hey... deals a deal. They did make a jab at me for the beat up license plates from the Blazer - alluding to the condition of the car, but never came right out saying it. However in my defense, I did disclose everything he had asked for initially. I took the Exp out on a 370 round trip exercise. Performed wonderfully and I got 23mpg. Win win. I left there giggling to my wife. She just shook her head. She however was just as glad to be out of the Blazer. While I could afford a better car, I wanted to have this for a work car. Money concerns are huge on 95% of American's these days, and I believe that this site helped me walk out of there having saved $1k at very least. This was an awesome experience. However, I don't think I could make as one sided a victory as this again. :P :) :P