Q. I purchased a new 2007 Ford Escape in July. The salesman offered a $2,007 rebate plus zero percent financing for 60 months. A week later he called to say he made a mistake in offering me a cash rebate and zero percent financing and is threatening to repo the car. I moved the car to a safe house. I’ll return it if I am wrong, but fear I’ll wait months for the return of my $4,200 down payment or they’ll deduct some kind of processing charge.
E.O., North Riverside
A. Regardless of who is right and who is wrong, pause for a moment and consider that you are an adult hiding a car at a “safe house.” Seem a bit odd? Are you going to go through life disguising your voice, too? There was a mistake. The offer from Ford on 2007 Escapes was a $2,007 rebate plus zero percent financing for 36, not 60, months. However, our legal source, Andy Norman of the Mauck & Baker law firm in Chicago, said if you signed the retail installment contract, with the interest rate and full financing terms, and it says you will pay zero percent interest for 60 months, that’s what the deal is. If not, you can hide your car in a “safe house,” paint the body panels in black and white stripes so folks think it’s a zebra, or you can call the dealer and find out what the financing charge is for more than 36 months and get on with a normal life. Will you get your deposit back and will they deduct some kind of charge for you not making financing payments since you thought you got zero percent for 60 months? Why not ask the dealer? Take off your mask when you do.
Q. In July, I signed a contract to buy a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid. After a month, neither the dealer nor Ford has any idea of a delivery date. Originally I was told six to eight weeks. I based my purchase on available tax credits on hybrids that could run out. Should I cancel the contract since Ford has no idea when I will get the vehicle?
C.S., Wauconda
A. We called Ford spokesman Jim Cain who said when gas prices touched then topped $3 a gallon, orders for the higher-mileage Escape hybrid rose so demand topped supply. Now there’s a wait for delivery since Ford plans to produce only about 20,000 Escape hybrids this year. He said with the low production number, there is no worry about losing tax credits, based on the number of units sold. If you send us your dealer name and order number, Cain said he’ll try to see where your order stands.
Q. I bought a new Nissan 300ZX convertible in 1993. The windshield just cracked. The dealer doesn’t have a replacement and said to check with my insurance company. Nissan said they don’t supply 1993 windshields anymore and to check junkyards. I have now sent a letter to Nissan corporate to see if that does anything. Do you have any ideas?
E.W., Beaver Falls, Pa.
A. Nissan found a glass company near you that specializes in replacement windshields, but you said none was in stock. Now you want to contact Nissan corporate “to see if that does anything,” which tends to mean you hope a Nissan executive authorizes having a replacement made for you. Nissan said nothing about building a replacement, which would be very expensive, but did say if you send your vehicle identification number, they’ll search their suppliers to try to find one. Send us the VIN and we’ll pass it along. Nissan suggests, however, that you visit the Web to get the names of Nissan Z club contacts to learn how they get hard-to-find replacement parts. If 10 people, for example, need the same windshield, perhaps a supplier would act.
Q. Regarding the reader looking for a four-door convertible (Transportation, Aug. 26), I’ve heard of conversions on Cadillac sedans and Chrysler sedans to make them into open tops.
P.M., Deerfield
A. Several readers wrote to pass along the same information about customizers who transform sedans into convertibles. Thanks to all who wrote. But, remember, when you remove the metal top to turn a sedan into a convertible, you lose structural integrity. We once saw a custom four-door Corvette at an auto show that sagged in the middle. We would prefer a car from the factory designed to have structural strength and integrity even minus the top and don’t know of any automaker doing that now.
Q. Regarding the reader (Transportation, Aug. 19) who wanted a convertible truck, Chevy has a retractable hardtop on its SSR.
T.K., Elgin
In 1989 Dodge put out a convertible Dakota.
J.S., Clarendon Hills
You failed to mention the Jeep Wrangler has a removable top.
T.B., Chicago
A. A reader wrote asking why an automaker hasn’t come out with a retractable hardtop convertible truck or SUV. Chevy had a retractable hardtop SSR but stopped building it in the 2006 model year and, the reader wanted something offered now. The Dakota was a short-lived soft top. And read the reply again and the line that says since no retractable hardtop truck or SUV is available, “You’ll have to settle for a removable top on a Jeep Wrangler for now.”
———-
Write to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., 4th Floor, Chicago IL 60611, or send e-mail with name and hometown to transportation @tribune.com.
