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IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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2007 Mercury Montego Luxury Sedan Packages & Options
2007 Mercury Montego Luxury Sedan Packages
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53F
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Safety Package
- $595
Front and rear roof airbag; Front side airbag
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53G
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Safety & Security Package
- $795
Front and rear roof airbag; Front side airbag; Peripheral anti-theft protection; Driver and passenger heated door mirrors; Door entry light
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85C
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Interior Comfort and Convenience Package
- $795
Electrically adjustable driver seat with height adjustment, four adjustments and tilt adjustment; Height adjustable pedals; Disc autochanger dashboard and 6; Air conditioning with climate control 2; Headlight control with time delay switch-off and dusk sensor; External temperature; Audio system with AM/FM, Disc Autochanger and six-disc remote changer CD player reads MP3; Excludes: [62S] Satellite System
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2007 Mercury Montego Luxury Sedan Options
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153
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License Plate Bracket, Front
- $0
Licence plate bracket
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41H
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Engine Block Heater (Fleet)
- $35
Block heater
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439
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Moonroof
- $895
Glass electric front sunroof; Excludes: [96E] Family Entertainment System
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44A
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6-Speed Automatic Transmission
- $0
Automatic six-speed transmission with lock-up, electronic control, shift lever on floor, 4.150:1 first gear ratio, 2.370:1 second gear ratio, 1.560:1 third gear ratio, 1.160:1 fourth gear ratio, 0.860:1 fifth gear ratio, 0.690:1 sixth gear ratio and 3.390:1 reverse gear ratio Aisin AW; Standard transmission
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58N
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Navigation System
- $1,995
Navigational systems : information type: full map and voice DVD; Requires: [85C] Interior Comfort and Convenience Package
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60C
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Cargo Management System
- $200
Cargo Management System
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62S
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Satellite System
- $195
Audio system with satellite; SIRIUS Satellite Radio; Excludes: [96E] Family Entertainment System And [85C] Interior Comfort and Convenience Package
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63H
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Heated Seats
- $240
Heated driver and passenger seat; Requires: [H] Leather Trim And [85C] Interior Comfort and Convenience Package
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64H
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18 inch Chrome Clad Wheels
- $895
Front and rear alloy chrome wheels with 18 inch rim diam and partial wheel covers; Front and rear tires with 225 mm tire width and 55% tire profile
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76R
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Reverse Sensing
- $295
Parking distance sensors rear and radar
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96E
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Family Entertainment System
- $995
DVD/VCD; Display screen single rear middle; Requires: [85C] Interior Comfort and Convenience Package
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97M
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All Weather Floor Mats (Dealer)
- $75
Floor mats
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991
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3.0L Duratec V6
- $0
2967 cc 3.0 liters V 6 front transverse engine with 88.9 mm bore, 78.7 mm stroke, 10.0 compression ratio, double overhead cam and four valves per cylinder 991; Standard engine
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FLT
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Special Fleet Account Credit
- $0
Special fleet account credit
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H
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Leather Trim
- $895
Leather seat upholstery with additional vinyl; Rear seat center armrest integral box; Height adjustable head restraints on rear seats
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J004
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Standard Paint Type
- $0
Black paint; Excludes: [J005] Standard Paint Type
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J005
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Standard Paint Type
- $0
Gloss paint; Excludes: [J004] Standard Paint Type
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