Our Ford Escape: A Love Story
Almost one year ago we arrived in America, hopped a flight to New Mexico, landed, piled into my parents’ car, scarfed down a green chile burrito, and drove over to the Ford dealership to pick up our car (exactly, in that order). Thirty minutes later (no joke) we were driving away in our 2013 Ford Escape with only seven miles on the odometer.
Before we left Italy we bought our car. It was such a ridiculously simple process—no haggling and no shady car salesmen—just us, our wallet, and a really nice Brit who sold us our Ford from the base’s car dealership. We told him exactly what we wanted and just like that, he said it’d be waiting for us when we arrived. All we had to do when we got there was show proof of insurance and we’d be able to drive it off the lot.
My husband and I put a lot of thought into what car we’d want to get. After being a (kinda) one-car family for our duration in Italy, we knew it had to have four doors. (My previous car was a Toyota Scion, which was fantastic after I graduated college, but not so great once we started a family.) I didn’t want a mini van quite yet, and a sedan still seemed too small. When I went back to America over the holidays I test drove quite a few SUVs and the Ford Escape came out on top. We debated between that and a few others, but we were drawn to the price (a sweet military/USAA discount) and the features of the Escape.
One year later and I’m still smitten with our car. Some days I still swear I can smell that “new car smell” and other days that scent is over taken by diapers, crushed cheerios, random bottles, and other items that remind me how lived-in our car actually is. Its automatic start feature is fantastic, because I can start the car while I’m still inside the house and it starts cooling off—such an essential feature when living in the south. The key-less entry and start feature means I don’t have to mess with keys (something that seemed foreign to me when I first started driving the car), which is a delight when I have to carry 1,001 other things on each trip to the car.
But my absolute favorite feature (besides the back-up camera and beeping functions) is that I can open the trunk by just swiping my foot under the bumper. This is AMAZING when my hands are literally too full to open it manually. I actually let out a few whimpers when I have to open the door to my house by using my hands.
Anyway, this entire post was inspired because we recently hit 18,000 miles on our beloved car over the weekend, and I realized I never talked about the “new” ride in our life. Yup, that’s a lot of road trips in less than a year, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
We did the same thing, except we bought a Ford Explorer. We only went that route because we wanted the third row. We started the savings plan with the car sales people, only because they paid us 7% interest on it. That's unheard of! Besides that it was relatively easy on the foreign end. They made me mad on this side though, but whatever. It's done and we got a car.
Can I say I'm crazy jealous? I try really hard not to be, because stuff is just stuff, but sigh. We bought our suburban used – because it was all we could afford, and it turned out to have a lot of issues and hidden problems from the previous owners. Then when we found out we were having baby #3, we opted to trade in my civic for an odyssey. I was ready for a minivan (seriously, auto sliding doors are sweet!), but again, all we could afford was used. Even the lady at the title office looked at me confused when she saw I had traded an '05 civic for an '04 odyssey. Who does that? But… it had fewer miles and was affordable.
But again, the van has issues. The dealership apparently did none of the inspections/tune-ups they claimed (that air filter was hideous and my tire pressure was holy crap not good!). Someday maybe we might be able to get a newer car? I would love to get into a car that didn't have busted vents above the baby's seat (so the only option is no air or a blast of air), one sliding door that won't unlock half the time (requiring you to manually reach around and unlock it) and another sliding door that randomly shuts on you while you're trying to buckle the kiddo in their car seat. Our van is possessed and sad.
Sorry for the long comment. Enjoy your car… I'll just be sitting over here drooling 😉 and maybe crying a little… (can I blame hormones still?)
We are storing our car stateside since we can't take it with us, and will come back to a paid off car (super exciting) and we are hoping to do something similar to this so we're no longer a one car family! With me not working outside the home it never made sense to be making two car payments for one to sit in the garage most of the time! This sounds like such a nice way to go! AND: such a nice car! We drove our current CRV off the lot with under 10 miles too! Isn't that the best feeling ever?!
I LOVED my Ford Escape. It was an amazing car, and I put 148k on that sucker and enjoyed every single one of them. I fully intend to buy another one when I have kids someday.
well this post comes at an excellent time 🙂 we're in the market for an SUV and are debating between the ford escape and the honda cr-v. haven't driven either yet, but it's great to know you love your escape so much! it's my first time every buying a car, and there is so much to think about!! not gonna lie, that trunk opening trick sounds worth it alone!!
We left our car in the US and it'll be paid off in a few months! I really want (wanted) to get a car in this same way, but I am not sure we are able to do so. We are still looking into it. I would love more details on the process if you are willing to share!
We might buy an Escape when we get back! Not a brand new one, but a newer one.
I loved this post!! I don't mind sponsored posts at all, but I love when people take the time to recommend something they love just because they love it, yannow? 😀 And I feel similarly about our Subaru. We were a one-family car before that (which really meant I was a literal stay-at-home mom – I was going crazy!). We've owned our Subaru for over a year now and I love it!
We love our Escape, too! We are so sad that we have to sell it before we move to Japan, but my in-laws are buying it, so at least it's going to a good home. 🙂