Build & Buy for Lightnings survives even though the Model E program is dead

[climateguy]

From the Ford Video Guy youtube, episode 148 “Ford Model E Program is Dead”

Partial transcript: [Regarding how to order Ford Evs now that Model E is dead]:

Mach-Es are still ordered just like any other vehicle. You order it. Dealers can get stock. We have stock Mach-Es here that came in, that we ordered.

Regarding Lightnings: [Ford is] using the “RRC”. “Retail Replenishment Centers” is what they're calling them. Eg: we have four lightnings that are here. One [that a customer ordered] came in, and [the customer] didn't take it. But the other three were ones we got at the RRC. Ford loves abbreviations. So their Retail Replenishment Center is where we received those.

[Ford is] basically going to build all these Lightnings in certain configurations. You can't order one the way you want it. You have to basically look on ford.com Build and Buy and see what's available at a dealer or what's available at these RRC facilities, and then work from your dealer to go and get one of those and bring it to to the dealership.

With ours - we purchased those three [that we have on our lot now], [selected from Build and Buy]. We got them within two weeks. [Build and Buy] will say “available in three to four weeks” [but at least in our case] it really doesn't take that long. It's only the time it takes to basically ship it from there to us. It only took a couple weeks for us to get those. That's how you're going to get Lightnings right now. You don't custom order Lightnings.”

The comments on Build and Buy are between 1:23:54 - 1:25:29

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[KickingGas]

Went to check it out on Ford.com. Mine didn't really have many options to choose from to begin with, so I guess it makes sense. I like building my own vehicle though, even if there are thousands out there that are exactly the same, it's just satisfying saying that you "built" it...

Edit: after actually browsing through the 100's of matches, it looks like practically every configuration possible is showing as "Available in October ". Looks like you just browse through until you find the exact one you want. Seems annoying to me....

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

I would never by any vehicle that way. For decades, I've always custom-configured my vehichles to be exactly what I want. I cannot imagine doing it any other way.

 

[Jake24]

Dealer order came off the truck late Wednesday. Manager called - drove it home Thursday morning.
$14k CAD discount including $9k combined federal/provincial rebates.
XLT SR, Pro Power, Mobile Power Cord, Tray style mats.
Build & Price still live @Ford.ca.
Traded a '23 Grand Cherokee L Limited.

 

[climateguy]

I originally placed an order using Build & Buy in late April. I live in Washington state, but I chose a dealer 278 miles away from my home, in Oregon.

I had visited a number of dealers in Washington, but all of them were singing the same song: we lose money on every Lightning we sell because the Ford invoice price to us is higher than the MSRP, etc. I'd walk away, and they wouldn't pursue me at all.

I learned enough about how to use Build & Buy that I could take a look at a number of different dealers to see if they had posted anything in the "dealer adjustment" section of the details price popup. All Washington dealers were offering nothing. A dealership in Idaho posted he would reduce the MSRP by more than $3K.

A forum member told me he had placed an order using Build & Buy in Oregon. I checked. That dealer had posted $4K. So I ordered, specifying that dealership.

Build & Buy actually doesn't place an order. The website just sends an "order request" that the dealer can accept or reject. The Oregon dealer didn't accept or reject the request. They just sat on it for more than a month, maybe it was two months.

Washington state dealers were telling me "no one wants" the EVs they had sitting on their lots, while at the same time they were pretending they could not come down one cent from the MSRP. But, I knew that Ford had ended their "quality assurance" hold on all Lightnings, which meant that some of these dealers would be getting up to 40 2024 LIghtnings all at once. The market would respond in some way.

I was ready to forget about buying a Lightning until the fall. Maybe there would be something like the clearance sale that went on with the 2023's. But I didn't withdraw or cancel my "order request" sent to Oregon by Build & Buy.

Eventually, when the forum member who had placed his Build & Buy order with the Oregon dealership got his Flash, I texted the dealer saying it was time to deal with my order request.

I didn't end up getting the Flash through Build & Buy, but it did facilitate the deal.

The salesman at the Oregon dealer sounded just like or worse than the Washington state dealers at first. He tried telling me there was nothing in the regional replenishment center to fulfill Build and Buy orders, as if there never would be or never had been. He proposed selling me a Flash from his lot, or one that he could bring in from another dealer, but, he had to sell at the old window sticker MSRP, i.e. $5000 more than the current Flash MSRP. Why his dealership loses money on every sale, etc.

I was just about ready to cancel my order request and forget about a Flash for a while. I repeated, your dealership posted terms on Build & Buy, and I'm willing to make a deal on those terms. The salesman may not have ever seen the posted terms. He pretended he had not. I had him bring up the page. He said he had to consult with a manager.

A few minutes later, he said OK. He would trade with another dealership to get a Flash just like what I had wanted through Build & Buy, and I could pick that up in a few days at the Build & Buy terms. I drove it home the other day.

Maybe someone else can walk into a dealership and come out feeling good, like their ignorance of all possible details did not allow the dealership to take advantage, but that's not me.

I respected this Oregon dealership: they were very experienced and competent. Transferring the federal clean vehicle credit to them so it could be deducted from the sale price was easy. Sales tax and fees for an out of state transaction was no problem. I've got the Flash now, and I'm glad to leave the whole process of getting it behind.

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