A Time to Sell

I'm selling my daily driver...

In the past year I've driven my Ford Fusion about 3,000 miles.  Since the start of the pandemic, it's been driven less than 5,000 miles - More than half of those miles were put on by my daughter, before she got her own car.  Now I've reached the conclusion it's time to sell.  

I still like the Fusion, which I bought new in 2013.  Over 78k miles, it's been almost flawless as a daily driver, requiring regular maintenance and one minor repair to replace a fuel pressure sensor.  It's averaged about 26 MPG - lower than the EPA combined estimated, but not far off the mark.  Manufactures have been gaming the EPA test for years with smaller displacement turbo charged engines, and Ford is no different.  The 1.6 turbo 4 cylinder makes 188 horsepower and about an equal amount of torque.  It's a good engine, but buzzy and lazy when paired with the 6 speed automatic.  

My other complaints are minor.  The electric steering is numb, lacking any road feel, and it's light, like using a Logitech racing wheel.  I also don't like the 18 inch wheels with low profile, 45 series tires - they aren't well suited for pothole and metal plate strewn Midwestern roads.  

Complaints aside, it's the best car I've ever owned for transportation.  It has the best ride - a good mix of comfort for long stretches of interstate highways coupled with enough backroad competence to justify taking the Blue Highways.  And the way the car looks...

Ford obviously cribbed off Aston Martin before they sold it off, and they got away with it.  It's hard to overstate the reaction people had to the second gen Fusion.  It caused a stir like the girl in the red dress in the "distracted boyfriend" meme.  It still looks good today, to my eyes, much better than the bland restyling in 2017. 

I never regretted buying the car, and if I still needed a daily driver, something to commute 30+ miles a day, I'd keep it.  But my commute is now a short walk from my bedroom to my desk.  My occasional Starbuck's detour has become a trip to the coffee maker.  And the Fusion spends its days parked under a tree, sprinkled with tree sap and bird shit.  A layer of dirt formed under the rear spoiler, and the other day I found acorns in the air box, left by mice or even a squirrel.  I just finished the engine work on my Mustang, and with access to several other cars, the music has stopped and the Fusion is without a chair.      

One of the many weird things to come out of the pandemic is the sudden jump in used car prices.  A global computer chip shortage and supply chain issues have left auto manufacturers with a shortage of new cars, at a time when demand for cars has spiked.  I've gotten countless emails and junk mail from dealers offering top dollar for my car.  This week I made the mistake of looking up the value and was shocked at how high it was.  Yesterday I dropped by the dealer, and the used car manager offered more than the book value.  

Tonight I'm going back to the dealer with my payoff note and the extra set of keys.  I expect to walk out with a nice check and fond memories.