Took delivery today of a 2005 Navigator Ultimate 4x2.
Silver Birch with Camel leather interior with the 40-20-40 bench rear seat.
Extras include the newer touch screen THX audio/navigation system, the DVD player for the rear seat passengers and the power running boards (which Lincoln is now throwing in for free).
Standard on the Ultimate are such items as power moonroof, power tailgate and window, heated/cooled seats, dual zone heat/ac (that is really cool, side to side control), power folding 3d row seats and a bunch of other silly stuff.

Interesting negotiation this one. The dealer approached me in Nov knowing the lease was coming up on Pat's 2002 Continental.
Pat and I had already decided she wanted to try an SUV and I offered her a deal. I am, for the moment at least, leaning away from the compromises of performance sedans , my 96 Taurus SHO, performance pickups, my 99 Lightning and luxo pickups, my present 02 Blackwood. Having test driven a couple of current Gators, I decided I could live with the luxury and I have had very good luck doing the chip/filter/exhaust on the 5.4 motor.

So, said I to Pat, let's get a Gator and if you like it, keep it and if you don't, I will take it over in May when the lease runs out on the Blackwood. She took the offer and the negotiations began.

In November, Ford had pulled back on leasing incentives and the offer on the table was way unacceptable. As I still subscribe to Automotive News and several other trade publications, I was aware of this and decided to wait it out.

Sure enough, things changed, which I well knew, and the dealer called on the 15th Dec. and said more or less, "let's talk". So we did, and we were still a ways apart. On the 20th, they gave us a demo for two days and I returned the demo and said that it looked pretty good and go sharpen your pencils. On the 22nd, they came back with a counter offer for the unit we drove which did not have the DVD player and had the two seat option in the middle row with a console.

Having done my homework, I had pretty well nailed down that they were having problems moving Ultimates with all the bells and whistles and especially having trouble moving any Gator with the 40-20-40 middle seat config. Too utilitarian for the Polo set I guess. For Pat and I that config was perfect for what we need a vehicle for so that was in our favor.

To make a long story a little shorter, I got the vehicle I wanted, with the DVD player, for $10 more a month, or $360 for a $1400 system. The lease payments for a vehicle that "lists" for $58,600 is costing me about $30 more a month than her Continental which had a list price of about $42,000 three years ago.

May I take a bow now. Seriously, it does pay to be patient sometimes.

In the meantime, they gave Pat an 05 Town Car as a loaner from the 22nd until today and it looks like that may actually be her vehicle of choice. And, boy. can you really make deals on Town Cars nowadays!!!! I am looking forward to May when the Blackwood is off lease.

Got to go for now as I have to contact Mike Troyer about mods for the Gator.



Bill

 

Congrats Bill. I love the 'gators. As for the town cars, I'm 32 and would take one in a minute. I drove one about a year ago and was surprised at how fast they can corner now. Slap a S/C on that beast and it would be a great daily driver.

 

Bill,
Good luck with the new "whip".Sounds like you beat them up pretty good. One flaw in the plan, though. Sounds like the wife will reap the rewards of your hard work. Oh well, by the time that you are ready to trade in the BW, they will probably have the "Deluxe Super Duper Wowie Goddamn Ultimate" model available. Will you posy some pix?
Hope you had a good holiday. Anything left in the store? Bet the returns are fun. "Honest, it was this way when I got it".

 

Thanks for your responses, guys. I was beginning to think, based on the "views" of the thread and lack of responses I may have been over excited and bragging too much. Not so really, I have been selling, buying and leasing vehicles since 1959 so have learned if nothing else to be patient. There is really no vehicle you have to have so bad as to buy it off the lot the day you see it. Unless, of course, it is a Lambo or some such real exotic.

Anyway, so far, Pat has not let me so much as do more than sit in the vehicle so Straps may be right and we may end up being a two Gator family. In the little sitting I got to do, a ride from the house to the business, one thing that really impressed me was the sound system. I am not a buff and do not know much at all about sound systems but this is the closest I have heard to compare with a good home system in any vehicle I have ever been in.

Speaking of that system which includes the Navigation System, I will probably have issues with it. I am of the age, 65 in March, where I prefer dials and mechanical buttons to touch screen technology. Touch screens are so......well, touchy.

As well, it seems that at first glance, the Nav System is possibly only voice activated and I have heard a few complaints that the vehicle has to be in an absolutely quiet environment for it to work.
Hopefully, it is also at least touch screen activated as well. I will not be off work until Monday to read the book and try it out.

I am happy to say, Straps, that we are closing in on the best December in our 14 years in the HobbyTown business. Hectic it is and this year we did absolutely run out of an awful lot of stuff, in part because our competitors ran out earlier than we did.

Surprisingly enough, our returns have been quite light and without much drama. In our years doing this stuff, we have learned to "qualify" the customers a little better each year so as to avoid return problems at the get go. We also post our policies prominently in the store, have it printed on the receipt and when possible explain it to customers at the registers when we anticipate a potential problem. Still, as you so rightly say, we have a few dozen each year trying to pass off obviously used/abused gifts as "I never even opened the box" type of returns. I learned early on that if it is less than $50 and I have atl least a chance to resell it at cost or better or break it up for parts to not even argue about it and offer them a store credit.

We close the books tomorrow at 6:00 and will do our annual inventory on Sat and Sun and then I am going to take several days off. May even get to drive the Gator around the block a few times. After all, Pat and I have to do our Christmas returns too and have no time for that now.

Happy New Year to All
Bill

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bill Murray
I prefer dials and mechanical buttons to touch screen technology. Touch screens are so......well, touchy.


Still, as you so rightly say, we have a few dozen each year trying to pass off obviously used/abused gifts as "I never even opened the box" type of returns. I learned early on that if it is less than $50 and I have atl least a chance to resell it at cost or better or break it up for parts to not even argue about it and offer them a store credit.

I had a Buick Riviera that had a CRT touch screen system in it. It was an option on the 85-86 Riv and Eldo. It controlled everything, radio, AC, on board diagnostics, etc. Impressive when it worked,which was most of the time, but when it quit, usually in hot humid weather (living in Fla, good luck with that),you walked. Finally quit and had to junk it.

Regarding returns, I was a store manager for discount dept, stores for many years (Zayre, Ames, Marshalls among others) and you would not believe some of the crap that people would pull. Tha best was when a guy returned a VCR ," didn't work",and when we went to repack it we found a tape in it. It was a tape of he and his wife (girlfriend?). He came in the next day begging to rebuy the "damaged " unit. OOPS. We told him that we had returned it to the mfg. along with a copy of his return voucher and that the mfg. might contact him.

 

You do know that you can't have too many Gator's in the family

 

Location is everything....In my neck of the woods, you can't say that you have a "Gator" in the family, otherwise you might get trashed by a 'Cane or a 'Nole.
Happpeee Newwww Yearrrrrrr...
Rich

 

Sorry I didn't post earlier but was off work last week & busy with surgery & getting the house ready for our NewYears Eve party.

Congrats on Pat's new wheels. We should be getting some new ones in the next month or so (don't worry the Wood ain't going anywhere).

Now get out there & take a few pics for us, then email them to one of us so we cna post them (in case you forgot accounting@consultingphysicians.com is where I am all day long).

 

Try to cover several bases here.

I will take some pics in a few days but in the meantime, if you go to www.lincoln.com the feature vehicle for the Gator is the same color as mine so you can see what it looks like in general.

I still have not driven the vehicle more than 1/4 mile but I am taking two days off starting tomorrow. As mentioned on other threads, Pat and I have had only one day off aside from Christmas day since Thanksgiving and I am ready. Even worked New Years Day and yesterday doing inventory. Wheew! two 18 hour days tuckers you out. Anyway, will read the manual first and then take a nice country drive to try out all the gadgets and the new Nav system.

As the days pass, I get the feeling Pat is not going to give the Gator up. I showed her how to fold in the side mirrors and now she hits the garage at 20 mph instead of crawling into it, her biggest complaint.

As a side note, Rdywith, second on my list was an Excursion with the diesel motor and all the bells and whistles. I know you have one but do not remember the motor. Whether diesel or gas, what do you two think of the vehicle in an all around sense?

FastGator, to respond to your post on another thread, if you wonder why I was away, look for a thread around October I think entitled "Bill Murray, where are you?" that was started by Steve.
Tells my reasonably current tale pretty well.

To return to tales of the forest, The Wood turned 28K today and still fires on all 8 just fine. The only thing I have noticed is since driving the Gator from the dealership to the store is that the blower motor in my seat heater cooler is non functional again.
The Wood takes forever to heat up or cool and always runs on strength 5 whereas the Gator needs to be turned down to 2 or so within a couple of minutes.

Rdywith, I believe that the strip at Commerce, Ga. opens again in Feb or March and I have made a New Year's resolution to take the time to make a few passes with the Wood just to see what she is capable of. If Pat is willing, we will take both vehicles and I can do a base line on the Gator as well but I am not holding my breath.

Well, got to go for this time. Will try to get a few pics and email them to Rdywith but bear in mind it is stone stock at this point.
Happy New Year
Bill

 

Bill our Ex is a diesel. Wonderful truck. Drives comfortably & rides comfortably in all seats (& I've had to sit in all of them at one point or another).

Here's a trick for you Bill, tell Pat to go to the track with you & have her race against you to see who makes dinner for a week (or something else worthwhile). I never ran the Gator I had since I only had it for 5 months (majority of which was winter).

Have a nice couple days off.

 

Rdywith:

Thanks for the input. BTW, was that 17.5 on your Curse totally stock or have you breathed on it a little?

I may be way off base, but I was thinking of trying to buy one with the Full Monty, Banks setup, hopefully with some sort of a factory warranty. I thought I had read somewhere that some Ford dealers are hooked into Banks somehow. Any info on that?

I did get to drive the Gator for about 25 miles today even though I did not read the manual yet and did not fiddle with all of the toys. May I say, again, that the sound system is killer!!!
Just for fun I tuned in to a Gangsta Rap station and maxed the volume and I felt just like one of the Boys from the Hood. I only lacked the spinner wheel covers to completely play the role.

Most impressive was the ride quality at highway speeds, It is a little jiggly around town, about the same as my Wood but above 55 or so it is soooooo smooth. Even better than Pat's Continental as far as I am concerned and a heck of a lot quieter.

I really like the 6 speed automatic but it really begs for a chip to firm up the shifts for my taste. I have not yet got the specs for the various gear ratios but it seems first gear is pretty deep as it gets off the mark pretty smartly. The shifter has a detent for D6/D4 and I assume this means it locks out the overdrive in the top two gears. I do not yet know if this new trannie has the dreaded torque converter lockup function but I suppose it does.

So far, the only complaint I have is that it is a bitch to back down our driveway if the turnout is occupied which it was today. Too many seat back head rests block the view. I ran all over the lawn trying to get it on the road and it was embarrasing. Our driveway is about 600' long and has two nasty turns so it is not all that easy.

Got to go, enjoyed the heck out of my day off today and am looking forward to another one tomorrow. Might even take off one more.
Bill

 

17.56 was bone stock, with all the car seats in it. My sister's boyfriend was driving it (not quite used to draggin on a strip as he does sand drags) & that was his 3rd hot-lapped pass.

 

How you likeing the Navi?

Not long ago the 97 Expie Eddie Bauer was upgraded to a Avaitor which is a absolutly great truck.

The decision was made that a navi was to big for our familys current needs. The Expie was to big considering its mostly two people in it.

I still like the Navi a good bit, hell Id consider one in a few years if my needs change, but for now Im happy with the F-150.

I have been told I have to many toys anyways. Wait untill I go to Mi to pick up the new trail truck, its going to raise hell

 

Morning Nico:
Well, up till today, I had only driven the Gator a couple of times but was getting to like it. Pat is with her parents in AZ for two weeks so I will be using it most of the time instead of the Wood.

For some reason, and I agree with you a bit here, the Gator seems huge when driving it compared to a car or even to the Wood. I guess it is the height and width that gets you as it is not all that long. I joked with Pat about her folding in the mirrors to get it into the garage but the last time I drove it I did the same thing when parking in a tight situation, something I never had to do with the Wood.

I too have considered an Aviator and even got the dealer to loan me one when the Wood was in for the power module replacement. The only thing that turned me off was the rear end whine on the one I had. Since the Gator has the same rear suspension I suppose some day I may face that problem too.

I was very impressed with the motor in the Aviator but I have not checked the specs on the 05 to see if it is the same this year. I was a bit disappointed that they dropped the DOHC motor in the Gators but then you do get a fair bit more torque on the bottom end with the three valve motor so I guess it's a trade off.

I'll post some more impressions as I get more behind the wheel time these next two weeks.
Bill

 

The gears in the IRS on the Avais and all new fords with IRS is actaully common. From what my dealer told me most with a build after 6/04 have a diffrent rear end setup that is suppost to be way better. I guess higher quality bearings or something.

The new navi seemed way bigger then our old expy. The thing is a beast, rolling on those 275/70 18 tires. Hell those tires are huge sitting in my warehouse (Im a tire distributer)

So far there is no complants from anyone here about the power of the 4.6 in the Avai. Alittle over 300 hp, heck its way faster then my effie, and more smooth.

This one has every option minus DVD and navigation. Basically it confused the heck out of my grandfather, and he drives it the most.

I have a pic of it from when we first got it. Drove it to my uncles wedding, it got more looks then the limo.

Peral white, the only color I liked. I dont think they offer it in 05??