Just got my 2008 itour base, no option, drive out cost $17,800 (tax/tags/dealer rebate whatnots all included) after $2500 rebate and $2600 trade in. located Wilson, NC. Wondering how much others are paying. This October 08 and 09 tribute is already out.

Heard about bad transmission on mazda 626, which is the tribute based on. Anybody has any idea about how to do better with the tribute, in maintenance-wise or diagonsis-wise?

TIA,

bun

 

The Tribute & 626 (6) do not share the same transmission. The transmission used in the Tribute is the CD4E, which was first introduced in the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique in 1996. According to Consumer Reports, this tranny has an excellent reliability record.

 

Thanks for the new info. That made me feel better. How the purchase cost. With GM shutting down SUV plants and add overtime to chevy "small cars", tribute $ will continue to go down? yes and no?

bun

 

Well, the Tribute is a small SUV that probably doesn't share the preceptions of high fuel consumption as much as other SUVs. Tribute sales have been extremely weak since the re-design, and really weren't that great before 2008. I think they sold only 20,000 in 2006, the last year of the older style. When they were first introduced in 2001, Mazda couldn't keep them in stock. All of the recalls from 2001-02, plus the popularity of the 4-cylinder CR-V and RAV-4 made a narrow market for the mostly V6 powered Tributes.

As for general SUV sales, with the exception of Toyotas and Hondas, you can practically steal one right now. I have seen ads here in upstate NY for full-size SUVs up to $10,000 off! You can probably buy a $35000 Chevy Tahoe right now for mid-$20s. Same thing with pick up trucks, minivans, any gas guzzling vehicle.