Ordered 2022 Lightning - My Experience

[Pedaldude]

I should hope the early orders report back here! This is my first new vehicle and my first reserved vehicle.

I hope it goes smoothly, because if the experience of many Bronco reservation holders repeats itself with Lightning, it may be the last reservation of yours and many people like you.

Now, I don't know what to think. Maybe the dealers are clueless? Maybe Ford has a lot of wiggle room? Maybe most or all of my assumptions have been wrong about the "Reservation Process".

The reservation scheme is a shell game because your reservation is nothing but a sales lead to the dealership. As long as Ford is barred from selling trucks directly to consumers by the dealer cartel system, every single vehicle shipped to dealerships belongs to the dealer until they decide to sell it to you. Any special order or reservation is purely through the honor system. Some Bronco reservation holders found this out the hard way when 'their' trucks arrived at dealers to be sold to the highest bidder. To add insult to injury, at least one Bronco owner was sent a picture of 'his' truck on the assembly line with a cheerful congratulations by Ford a week after he told his dealership to go F themselves after being told that they would let him buy it at a $10,000ADM, this was after he got concerned because his 'friend' at the dealership stopped communicating with him around the time his vehicle was in shipping.

It's almost an advantage to be somewhere in the middle of the pack, because if your truck is among the very first; unless you have an incredibly honest dealership, it will almost certainly be sold for a huge markup to the person that wants to be first and is able and willing to pay for the benefit of cutting in line.* There is absolutely no legal recourse with Ford or the dealership and the only thing that can be done is writing a letter to your elected officials.

Ford made a huge disservice to their customers by electing to emulate Tesla, knowing full well that they couldn't honor reservations. Ford chose hype over substance and having a legal disclaimer which explains that your reservation doesn't actually reserve anything won't offer any consolation to those waiting for a truck for XX months, only to have the rug pulled out under them.

I hope everyone gets their trucks and aren't ambushed with ADMs when they do, a good start to find dealers who honor the reservation holders orders is to go on the Bronco forums and see which dealerships showed their asses and never order from them.

Another possibility is seeing what your individual state laws are and having an actual Option to Buy contract written up by a lawyer and have it signed by the appropriate agents of the dealership, normally they are done with real estate but with rising car prices and preposterous wait times with markups, perhaps it is time consumers protect themselves from surprises when they discover that in most cases dealer's Purchase Agreements are as worthless as the paper they're printed on. If everyone started doing this, it would force the dealer's hand to actually follow the reservation scheme.

*after your order is sold to another buyer, your order is considered to be filled and whatever deposits that you made will be refunded and you get to go all the way to the back of the line if you want to play the game again.

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[jbirdzee]

I emailed my dealer 3 days ago asking for an appointment to order my Lightning next week. There has been no reply so I contacted another much larger dealer in Lexington, KY (Pop. 350,000) thinking I might want to change dealers.

Today he emailed me back saying they had about 100 reservations and were allotted only 7 Lightnings so I would go to the end of the line.

Now, this raised my blood pressure a bit because I reserved about 10 hours after the May 19th event began and I was sure I had to be one of the first in Kentucky. Most of us had assumed that by reserving early our orders would be fulfilled first in line.

So, I went back to the Reservation Form and read the following under "DISCLOSURES" at the bottom:

Disclosure #177.
Reservation does not guarantee vehicle delivery nor priority for ordering a vehicle. See Reservation Terms and Conditions for important details.

(Underline and Bold I Added)

Now, I don't know what to think. Maybe the dealers are clueless? Maybe Ford has a lot of wiggle room? Maybe most or all of my assumptions have been wrong about the "Reservation Process".

I think you should leave room for that associate not knowing what they are talking about. Just my $.02. There's an abundance of people on this planet that chose to make up crap instead of saying that they don't know. It helps them with their self worth. If you digest everyone's BS it may drive you crazy.

 

[Snakebitten]

The reservation scheme is a shell game because your reservation is nothing but a sales lead to the dealership. As long as Ford is barred from selling trucks directly to consumers by the dealer cartel system, every single vehicle shipped to dealerships belongs to the dealer until they decide to sell it to you. Any special order or reservation is purely through the honor system. Some Bronco reservation holders found this out the hard way when 'their' trucks arrived at dealers to be sold to the highest bidder. To add insult to injury, at least one Bronco owner was sent a picture of 'his' truck on the assembly line with a cheerful congratulations by Ford a week after he told his dealership to go F themselves after being told that they would let him buy it at a $10,000ADM, this was after he got concerned because his 'friend' at the dealership stopped communicating with him around the time his vehicle was in shipping.

It's almost an advantage to be somewhere in the middle of the pack, because if your truck is among the very first; unless you have an incredibly honest dealership, it will almost certainly be sold for a huge markup to the person that wants to be first and is able and willing to pay for the benefit of cutting in line.*

I snipped a considerable amount of the post quoted above in order to reduce it to the portion that I am convinced is the way these things work.

I DO believe that MANY with a reservation assigned to a dealership that is completely ethical and committed to the reservation holder being treated fairly (receiving their vehicle at MSRP) will only be complaining about how long they waited. Much longer than they might currently want to believe.

 

[sotek2345]

I snipped a considerable amount of the post quoted above in order to reduce it to the portion that I am convinced is the way these things work.

I DO believe that MANY with a reservation assigned to a dealership that is completely ethical and committed to the reservation holder being treated fairly (receiving their vehicle at MSRP) will only be complaining about how long they waited. Much longer than they might currently want to believe.

Yeah, wait times are going to be bad. I am hopeful for mid to late 2023, will accept 2024 (but be disappointed),. It may have to jump ship if it goes into 2025. June 3rd reservation.

 

[Snakebitten]

Yeah, wait times are going to be bad. I am hopeful for mid to late 2023, will accept 2024 (but be disappointed),. It may have to jump ship if it goes into 2025. June 3rd reservation.

Ahhhh, a voice of reason. Lol

Your most pessimistic timeline might be true if someone is not willing to buy someone else's build. In order words, as the reservation holder the ONLY lightning you are willing to buy is the one YOU get to order with your reservation spot.

But I'm convinced that within the next 3-4 YEARS, there will be some percentage of Lightnings that got built and were not finally purchased by the reservation holder. There's all kinds of reasons that can interrupt the intended process. Some innocent. Many profit/greed driven. And some in between.

 

[sotek2345]

Ahhhh, a voice of reason. Lol

Your most pessimistic timeline might be true if someone is not willing to buy someone else's build. In order words, as the reservation holder the ONLY lightning you are willing to buy is the one YOU get to order with your reservation spot.

But I'm convinced that within the next 3-4 YEARS, there will be some percentage of Lightnings that got built and were not finally purchased by the reservation holder. There's all kinds of reasons that can interrupt the intended process. Some innocent. Many profit/greed driven. And some in between.

I would be willing, but based on the Mach-e, any non-reservation Lightning will likely come with a large ADM (10k+), which really changes the value proposition.

 

[techguydave]

Your most pessimistic timeline might be true if someone is not willing to buy someone else's build. In order words, as the reservation holder the ONLY lightning you are willing to buy is the one YOU get to order with your reservation spot.

I don't think the issue is them not buying a lot vehicle. It's the sticker shock that will accompany said vehicles. Even most of the dealerships who are promising no ADM on orders will still charge some amount, they'd be foolish not to.

My local dealership's lot is actually fairly empty today, they'll take whatever profit they can to people who want a vehicle now.

 

[Sdctcher]

I would be willing, but based on the Mach-e, any non-reservation Lightning will likely come with a large ADM (10k+), which really changes the value proposition.

To the credit of the dealership I was trying to switch to, the one who would place me at 100 units ahead of me, they said my price would be MSRP + ADM of $599, and would be agreed to at order.

 

[Snakebitten]

To the credit of the dealership I was trying to switch to, the one who would place me at 100 units ahead of me, they said my price would be MSRP + ADM of $599, and would be agreed to at order.

Exactly. Not all "ADM"'s are equal.
While NOTHING would surprise me when it comes to supply/demand these days, there ARE dealerships that don't fit the stereotype bad-guys.
I am not predicting or saying that I am betting on it, but my dealership would be one that would perhaps reach out to me if some circumstance came along and they had acquired a Lightning that was uncalled for. They would give me at least the opportunity. I probably am not the FIRST customer they would call, but it could happen. I obviously wouldn't expect a discount, but they know I wouldn't pay some silly bid game or big ADM.

By the way, I did reserve today. I suspect I'm at the end of a very long line relative to the rate of manufacturing the first 2-3 years.

 

[Sdctcher]

I woke up this morning to Lightning. Lightning, winds, and heavy thunderstorms.

But no Ford Lightning Ordering real news.

Ford Lightning is a lot like the weather.

The chances of Ford Lightning Ordering any given day is 50%.

50% I am going to order. 50% I am not going to order.

Need to factor in speculation, gossip, and insider news factoids at maybe another 5% but look at the big picture as you would with any weather report.

 

[FordLightning]

I hope it goes smoothly, because if the experience of many Bronco reservation holders repeats itself with Lightning, it may be the last reservation of yours and many people like you.



The reservation scheme is a shell game because your reservation is nothing but a sales lead to the dealership. As long as Ford is barred from selling trucks directly to consumers by the dealer cartel system, every single vehicle shipped to dealerships belongs to the dealer until they decide to sell it to you. Any special order or reservation is purely through the honor system. Some Bronco reservation holders found this out the hard way when 'their' trucks arrived at dealers to be sold to the highest bidder. To add insult to injury, at least one Bronco owner was sent a picture of 'his' truck on the assembly line with a cheerful congratulations by Ford a week after he told his dealership to go F themselves after being told that they would let him buy it at a $10,000ADM, this was after he got concerned because his 'friend' at the dealership stopped communicating with him around the time his vehicle was in shipping.

It's almost an advantage to be somewhere in the middle of the pack, because if your truck is among the very first; unless you have an incredibly honest dealership, it will almost certainly be sold for a huge markup to the person that wants to be first and is able and willing to pay for the benefit of cutting in line.* There is absolutely no legal recourse with Ford or the dealership and the only thing that can be done is writing a letter to your elected officials.

Ford made a huge disservice to their customers by electing to emulate Tesla, knowing full well that they couldn't honor reservations. Ford chose hype over substance and having a legal disclaimer which explains that your reservation doesn't actually reserve anything won't offer any consolation to those waiting for a truck for XX months, only to have the rug pulled out under them.

I hope everyone gets their trucks and aren't ambushed with ADMs when they do, a good start to find dealers who honor the reservation holders orders is to go on the Bronco forums and see which dealerships showed their asses and never order from them.

Another possibility is seeing what your individual state laws are and having an actual Option to Buy contract written up by a lawyer and have it signed by the appropriate agents of the dealership, normally they are done with real estate but with rising car prices and preposterous wait times with markups, perhaps it is time consumers protect themselves from surprises when they discover that in most cases dealer's Purchase Agreements are as worthless as the paper they're printed on. If everyone started doing this, it would force the dealer's hand to actually follow the reservation scheme.

*after your order is sold to another buyer, your order is considered to be filled and whatever deposits that you made will be refunded and you get to go all the way to the back of the line if you want to play the game again.

I can assure you I plan to make my chosen dealer (and Ford) regret their decision to treat me unfairly. My therapist said I need to find a passion…it seems like I found it! If nothing changes, I will never “reserve” a vehicle with Ford again, thanks for warning us!

Now it makes me want to research to see if Koon’s Ford of Annapolis took advantage of Ford Bronco owners as well…

 

[Pedaldude]

I can assure you I plan to make my chosen dealer (and Ford) regret their decision to treat me unfairly. My therapist said I need to find a passion…it seems like I found it! If nothing changes, I will never “reserve” a vehicle with Ford again, thanks for warning us!

Now it makes me want to research to see if Koon’s Ford of Annapolis took advantage of Ford Bronco owners as well…

Ford is really along for the ride just like yourself, the dealer network in each state has heavily influenced the laws that prevent Ford from selling directly to consumers. In Arizona one of our worst governors, Evan Mecham, was in office a little over a year before being impeached and removed from office. While a failure in politics, he ran successful car dealership franchises in several states for decades.

There are enough dealers that aren't selling Broncos over MSRP that you should be able to find one not super far away with a little research and calling around. Even if your truck winds up being a second year Lightning, you're getting one before most people. Ford looks pretty serious about BEVs, that they are building new factories for them and their components, so it's very possible that Ford will be able to churn out enough that incentives and dealer discounts will return.

If you really believe that you have the energy to go after the dealerships and their monopoly on selling new cars, then there's a lot of work to be done. Local political groups often hold meetings where they discuss political action and how to lobby elected officials as well as raising community awareness for certain issues. My guess is that everyone who wants a Lightning will have gotten their's by the time you become familiar with tilting at windmills, ask your therapist if that's what they meant.

The biggest key to Lightning ownership isn't going to be a low reservation number. It's going to be patience. Back in the day when new technology and radical new cars came out, most people weren't aware until they hit the big glass windows of dealer showrooms on Mainstreet. It was up to the dealers to educate the public and market the vehicles and explain to them why they needed that air cooled rear engine turbocharged Corvair. Now everyone knows more than the dealers before the cars even start hitting the lots.

 

[Snakebitten]

@Pedaldude
Who are you and what planet did you come?
Earth and its inhabitants aren't ready for your reality. It's too....... umm true. Too realistic. Too factual.

Seriously, great post. Someday in the near (relative) future the Lightning will be in the driveway of all those currently handwringing.

 

[greenne]

Ford is really along for the ride just like yourself, the dealer network in each state has heavily influenced the laws that prevent Ford from selling directly to consumers. In Arizona one of our worst governors, Evan Mecham, was in office a little over a year before being impeached and removed from office. While a failure in politics, he ran successful car dealership franchises in several states for decades.

There are enough dealers that aren't selling Broncos over MSRP that you should be able to find one not super far away with a little research and calling around. Even if your truck winds up being a second year Lightning, you're getting one before most people. Ford looks pretty serious about BEVs, that they are building new factories for them and their components, so it's very possible that Ford will be able to churn out enough that incentives and dealer discounts will return.

If you really believe that you have the energy to go after the dealerships and their monopoly on selling new cars, then there's a lot of work to be done. Local political groups often hold meetings where they discuss political action and how to lobby elected officials as well as raising community awareness for certain issues. My guess is that everyone who wants a Lightning will have gotten their's by the time you become familiar with tilting at windmills, ask your therapist if that's what they meant.

The biggest key to Lightning ownership isn't going to be a low reservation number. It's going to be patience. Back in the day when new technology and radical new cars came out, most people weren't aware until they hit the big glass windows of dealer showrooms on Mainstreet. It was up to the dealers to educate the public and market the vehicles and explain to them why they needed that air cooled rear engine turbocharged Corvair. Now everyone knows more than the dealers before the cars even start hitting the lots.

Great post. I think everyone needs to keep a level head and have a little patience. With some work you'll be able to find a Lightning somewhere to be bought within 6-9months of start of production(canceled orders).

It just much easier(and takes less effort) to come on here to whine and moan about how unfair dealers are and about how life is so unfair.

I hear all the complaints about the Bronco snafu...

Yet...there are literally more than 2,000+ Broncos on cars.com right now. Are some in transit? Yes. Are some "ghost cars" that have already been sold/allocated to someone else? Sure. Are some gonna be sold for more than msrp? You bet. Are there some shady dealers out there? Most certainly. But with 2000+ listed is it REALLY a problem finding one?

 

[FordLightning]

Great post. I think everyone needs to keep a level head and have a little patience. With some work you'll be able to find a Lightning somewhere to be bought within 6-9months of start of production(canceled orders).

It just much easier(and takes less effort) to come on here to whine and moan about how unfair dealers are and about how life is so unfair.

I hear all the complaints about the Bronco snafu...

Yet...there are literally more than 2,000+ Broncos on cars.com right now. Are some in transit? Yes. Are some "ghost cars" that have already been sold/allocated to someone else? Sure. Are some gonna be sold for more than msrp? You bet. Are there some shady dealers out there? Most certainly. But with 2000+ listed is it REALLY a problem finding one?

That works if you only want a Ford or a Lightning. Most people after getting bad customer service will just buy a different brand. If this doesn’t work out next week, that is exactly what I will do.

I’m just being nice enough to: give Ford a chance to intervene, let them know why/how they potentially lost me as a customer, and to warn others…

My feedback will not unfortunately help “fanboys”.

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