Potential new Energi owner - have a couple of questions!

[jza80]

Hi all,

 

I am seriously thinking about picking up a Fusion Energi and have a couple of questions.

 

First, I would want to pack a spare tire in the trunk.  I can see that a temp spare could be placed in the well towards near the bumper but doing this will use up most of the limited space.  Has anyone tried to place a temp spare on the upper shelf area?  There are a couple of speakers there but it looks like a temp spare would fit although part of the tire would be hanging out in the air. Any thoughts on this and is anybody keeping a spare in their Energi?  

 

Next, I have read that the headlight performance is weak.  I have not been able to test drive one at night (and probably will not be able to) so I'd like to know the opinions of some actual owners.  I have read that the Fusion seems to accept aftermarket HID ballast without causing an error or shutdown so I know this is an option but I would prefer to keep the HL stock of possible.  What are your opionons on this?

 

Thanks in advance! 

[murphy]

You can't put a spare in the wheel well of an Energi because there is a blower system in there for cooling the High Voltage Battery.  You might be able to stand one vertically but I don't know how it could be secured and there would be no room left for anything else.

 

I doubt a tire would fit on the shelf over the battery and it's not strong enough to support the weight.  It's a very thin fiber material held in place by four plastic push pins.

 

I don't do much driving at night but I did not have any problems when I did.

[Dag]

5yr 50,000 mile roadside assistance.

[Russael]

Welcome to the forum.

 

I have a spare tire with my Expedition and never used it (and I've had well over 2 dozen flats with the truck).  I find it far more convenient to just carry a tire plug kit and to do the fix while the tire is still on the car.  Never done it yet with the Fusion.  Hopefully won't have to for a while.  Unless you expect to have a blowout or slicing a tire, I personally don't find a spare tire useful.

 

I noticed you own a C-Max... are you looking to get rid of it or looking to get a Fusion Energi in addition to it?  If the former, I'm very curious as to the why.  Both vehicles have extremely similar tech, so I'm hoping it's the latter. :)

 

As far as headlight performance goes... I'd have to say I find them on the weak side, at least for side viewing.  My Focus, Escort, and Expedition all lit up the sides very well for turning, but with the Fusion... I'm pretty sure I'm going to run over a curb at some point.  Frontal light output is good.  I have considered buying an HID light kit, but I've only driven the car maybe 3 or 4 times at night.  I've also noticed that my ambient lighting is extremely weak in comparison to my friend's 2012 Focus.  I have the intensity all the way up and it's about half of what my friend's Focus has.

[jza80]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

I did not realize that the shelf was so flimsy- I just reviewed the trunk situation at a dealer yesterday. So that option is probably out.

 

Russael: I do have a C-Max Energi, we just got it and I like it a lot which is why I am considering the purchase of another Ford plug-in product to replace a vehicle that is coming off lease. The deals are very good for 2013's right now so the only thing holding me back right now is the small trunk...I will either just have to get my head around it and accept it or forget this vehicle...

[Russael]

Ahhh, so it's going to be an addition.  At least you're not sacrificing a huge amount of utility since you do have a C-MAX.  I kept my Expedition around for the utility and because it isn't worth anything in trade, plus I'm the original owner and I love the thing.

 

2013 deals are quite remarkable right now, especially if you find a dealership that is offering up their OWN sale price on top of the Ford rebates.  The Gov't rebate will go until they say otherwise.  If you're planning to lease again, then that discount will be rolled in to your lease deal.

 

Since you already have a C-Max Energi, another thing to consider... does your garage have enough power to charge both vehicles at the same time?  If you have 2 separate 15A circuits, then both cars can charge at 120v no problem... but if you only have 1... it's going to be one or the other unless you can get more power installed.  Of course, you could always charge them separately.

[jza80]

I also have a small SUV that I am keeping, so hauling things around will not be an issue. I actually have a lot of power in my garage, so charging both cars will not be a problem. One thing I do have to confirm is the ability to claim the IRS tax credit for more than one vehicle - I have the tax liability for sure but have to make sure that there is no "single vehicle" limitation.

Edited September 30, 2013 at 06:14 PM by jza80

[apm]

I also have a small SUV that I am keeping, so hauling things around will not be an issue. I actually have a lot of power in my garage, so charging both cars will not be a problem. One thing I do have to confirm is the ability to claim the IRS tax credit for more than one vehicle - I have the tax liability for sure but have to make sure that there is no "single vehicle" limitation.

Hi jza80,

 

I don't think this is a problem, but you may want to double check with you tax accountant... I bought two hybrids in 2009, a 2010 Fusion Hybrid and a 2009 GMC Yukon Hybrid. I claimed the tax credit for both cars in my 2009 tax return.

 

Regards,

APM

[jeff_h]

I also have a small SUV that I am keeping, so hauling things around will not be an issue. I actually have a lot of power in my garage, so charging both cars will not be a problem. One thing I do have to confirm is the ability to claim the IRS tax credit for more than one vehicle - I have the tax liability for sure but have to make sure that there is no "single vehicle" limitation.

 

I doubt there is a single vehicle limitation since the form has blocks for two vehicles, and I read through the instructions and didn't see any mention on limit.

 

Form -

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8910.pdf

 

Instructions -

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8910.pdf

Edited September 30, 2013 at 09:44 PM by jeff_h

[Dag]

I also have a small SUV that I am keeping, so hauling things around will not be an issue. I actually have a lot of power in my garage, so charging both cars will not be a problem. One thing I do have to confirm is the ability to claim the IRS tax credit for more than one vehicle - I have the tax liability for sure but have to make sure that there is no "single vehicle" limitation.

Even though you covered it, I'm posting this for the sake of others.

 

My accountant said the tax credit is a non-refundable tax credit. So if your total tax liability doesn't cover the credit, you don't get the whole credit.

 

In my case my tax liability for 2012 was $6000, so if I were to purchase 2, I'd be missing out on $2k.

[murphy]

An unused tax credit should carry forward to the following year.

[Dag]

An unused tax credit should carry forward to the following year.

Interesting - that I didn't know.

[meyersnole]

Interesting - that I didn't know.

 

An unused tax credit should carry forward to the following year.

 

Actually I do not think it can.... http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/the-ins-and-outs-of-electric-vehicle-tax-credits.html

 

From the link:

 

"Up to" is the critical modifier. The federal incentive is usually referred to as a flat $7,500 credit, but it's only worth $7,500 to someone whose tax bill at the end of the year is $7,500 or more. If the buyer of a Volt, a Nissan Leaf or any of the other eligible vehicles owes, for example, only $5,000 in income tax for a particular year, that's all the tax credit will be. Uncle Sam's not writing a refund check for the other $2,500. And an unused portion of the credit can't be applied against the following year's taxes.

Edited October 1, 2013 at 01:34 AM by meyersnole

[EnergiCCAATS]

Wait a minute. So the $4007 doesn't apply if you would already be getting a refund on your return anyway? I have 5 dependents and a mortgage, so I always get a tax refund. I was thinking if we buy an Energi, then I could count on $4,007 more back from Uncle Sam.

[meyersnole]

Your tax liability has to be more then the credit. Remember there is money being withheld from your paycheck. Just because you are getting a refund does not mean you will not be eligible.

[Taylorjd]

Hi all,

 

I am seriously thinking about picking up a Fusion Energi and have a couple of questions.

 

First, I would want to pack a spare tire in the trunk.  I can see that a temp spare could be placed in the well towards near the bumper but doing this will use up most of the limited space.  Has anyone tried to place a temp spare on the upper shelf area?  There are a couple of speakers there but it looks like a temp spare would fit although part of the tire would be hanging out in the air. Any thoughts on this and is anybody keeping a spare in their Energi?  

 

Next, I have read that the headlight performance is weak.  I have not been able to test drive one at night (and probably will not be able to) so I'd like to know the opinions of some actual owners.  I have read that the Fusion seems to accept aftermarket HID ballast without causing an error or shutdown so I know this is an option but I would prefer to keep the HL stock of possible.  What are your opionons on this?

 

Thanks in advance! 

 

I have a fully loaded 2013 Fusion Energi Titanium, I love the car completely (except maybe the small trunk space).  I think the lights work very well. On low beams it has a very dramatic cut off, where the road and sides are lit up and above that there is a sharp cut off to dark. Good for oncoming drivers and looks cool. The other thing I like is the auto high beams. They work better then any I have had before. Usually I get frustrated with auto high/low beams because the turn to low too late and back to high to late, the Fusion reacts very fast, even faster then I would in most cases.  

[jza80]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[Dag]

Wait a minute. So the $4007 doesn't apply if you would already be getting a refund on your return anyway? I have 5 dependents and a mortgage, so I always get a tax refund. I was thinking if we buy an Energi, then I could count on $4,007 more back from Uncle Sam.

Look at last years return. For me, they withheld 10k ,my liability was 6k , so my refund was 4k

 

Assuming everything is the same it would look like this.

 

Withheld 10k - liability 6k - credit 4k, new liability 2 k - refund 8k

[meyersnole]

Look at last years return. For me, they withheld 10k ,my liability was 6k , so my refund was 4k

 

Assuming everything is the same it would look like this.

 

Withheld 10k - liability 6k - credit 4k, new liability 2 k - refund 8k

 

You can buy a lot of goodies for the car with $8K  :hi5:

[FusionDad]

Headlights: we dove across the county and back this Summer.  Headlights are fine.

 

Tax credit: this applies to you "adjusted earned income" BEFORE any taxes.  So, unless what you paid all year in monthly tax deductions is less than the tax credit fo this car, you will get a large refund, retuning some of you already-deducted taxes back to you.

 

Multiple cars & tax credit: the credit is cumulative. In other words, should your total Federal tax bill for the year be $30,000 and you buy five Fusion Energi cars this year, you would get back $18,755 (you annual federal tax would be automatically credited with $18,755 before any other calculations are applied to you tax return).  So, in this hypothetical example, the rest of your return would apply against a remaining tax bill of $11,245.  Does this help?

[jeff_h]

Tax credit: this applies to you "adjusted earned income" BEFORE any taxes.  So, unless what you paid all year in monthly tax deductions is less than the tax credit fo this car, you will get a large refund, retuning some of you already-deducted taxes back to you.

 

I don't believe the above is true, though maybe it's two different things -- "deductions" are normally made before the tax liability is figured, and "credit" are normally claimed after the tax is figured, again not sure if the above refers to something else?  Once the Form 8910 is filled out, the appropriate credit is entered on Line 53 of the 1040, which is after the taxpayer's amout of tax liability is computed.

[apm]

I guess people make the mistake of associating the credit with a refund. As stated by jeff_h the credit is used to figure out you total tax liability irrespective of how much taxes you paid during the year. You could use the credit to offset money that you owe money to the IRS at the end of the year or if you paid more than your liability after adding the credit then you would get a refund.

 

If your liability is between $0 and $4007, then whatever that amount is, that is the maximum you are allowed to claim, effectively making your liability $0.

 

Regards,
APM

[shaggy314]

And don't forget the sales tax credit as well. Luckily, TurboTax will ask you if you made a LARGE purchase last tax year, so maybe there some $ there too.