Ford's epic Lightning bait-and-switch is complete (the official "I'm out" thread).

[FordMaster]

Ford offers their leasing-alternative so you can actually take advantage of the $7500 tax credit or whatever the BBB offers if it passes, which you can't leverage with a lease. https://www.ford.com/finance/finance-options/ford-options/

Dealer told me no lol

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[FordMaster]

After building a $74k XLT ER Im gonna defer the first few rounds or even year to see if the price comes down. Without the Tax Credit it's not a good buy. I've never seen one in person, test drove one, know anything about charging cost, etc.! They're not offering a lease on them so you have to buy them. The payment would be $1200-1400 per month! I'll buy another house......better investment! If they don't adjust the price or offer a lease, I'll cancel my reservation

I'm not playing the waiting/guessing game. I ordered a XLT High instead and got almost $5k in rebates! Good luck to the rest of ya!

 

[adoublee]

I'm not playing the waiting/guessing game. I ordered a XLT High instead and got almost $5k in rebates! Good luck to the rest of ya!

I guess you cancelled for reals this time versus Nov. 22nd when you said you were cancelling?

 

[Thepaperlion]

I don't see the need to cancel yet but I'm 99% certain I will go in another direction than the F150 Lightning. Ford really messed up by making the large battery pack start at $74,000. I also feel like that this truck will be outdated by the time I get it, with the slow charging and lack of basic EV features without going to the Lariat or platinum trim.

 

[Blainestang]

With a lease, the tax credit is taken off the top of the purchase price if the lessor chooses to pass it through to the lessee. Most of the financing companies I've interacted with are doing this with Hyundai/Kia being a notable exception. I'm not sure what the domestic manufacturers have been doing.

Yes, this is how both of my BMW i3 leases worked.

Chevy did it, too.

Tesla didn't last I looked, and I assume they still don't because their lease pricing was terrible last I looked.

 

[Sapphire]

Dealer told me no lol

The dealer said no to what, being preapproved, or using Ford Options? Is it for them to say how you finance, I thought that wasn’t their call? Ford’s option page definitely indicates they want to offer Ford Options for a Lightning.

 

[ExCivilian]

Yes, this is how both of my BMW i3 leases worked.

Chevy did it, too.

Tesla didn't last I looked, and I assume they still don't because their lease pricing was terrible last I looked.

I think Ford does *not* pass the credit through and one of the reasons they offer an alternative "X-plan" that *does* pass the credit through to the "purchaser" (customer).

I'm not sure why they did that as opposed to simply passing the credit through, but that's my understanding of the salient difference between a "lease" and "X-plan" although I don't know all the details.

 

[sotek2345]

I think Ford does *not* pass the credit through and one of the reasons they offer an alternative "X-plan" that *does* pass the credit through to the "purchaser" (customer).

I'm not sure why they did that as opposed to simply passing the credit through, but that's my understanding of the salient difference between a "lease" and "X-plan" although I don't know all the details.

I think you are confusing "X-plan" and "Ford Options". X-plan has nothing to do with the tax credit. It is a discount program for Ford Shareholders and members/employees of certain organizations. X-plan is not available on the Lightning.

Ford Options is the balloon payment loan that Ford is using instead of a lease for their EVs - it let's you keep the tax credit. Honestly I think it is a better approach than a lease as it give the buyer more rights and flexibility(you own the vehicle) while still keeping the risk with Ford. The only reason I can think why a lease would be preferred over Ford Options is if you can't take advantage of the full tax credit due to income.

 

[ExCivilian]

I think you are confusing "X-plan" and "Ford Options". X-plan has nothing to do with the tax credit. It is a discount program for Ford Shareholders and members/employees of certain organizations. X-plan is not available on the Lightning.

Ford Options is the balloon payment loan that Ford is using instead of a lease for their EVs - it let's you keep the tax credit. Honestly I think it is a better approach than a lease as it give the buyer more rights and flexibility(you own the vehicle) while still keeping the risk with Ford. The only reason I can think why a lease would be preferred over Ford Options is if you can't take advantage of the full tax credit due to income.

Yes, I was confusing the two. Thank you for the clarification.

While I can understand why a purchaser might choose Options for the reasons you stated, my comment was that I don't understand why Ford offers it. They could pass the tax credit through to their lessees if they wanted to and didn't need to create an "Options" option to do so. Did Options originate with the Mach-E/hybrids or has it always been a third option alongside traditional purchase and lease for ICE sales?

 

[Sundancer330]

I am so happy I didn't get caught up in all the hype over this EV. I am still on the fence leaning toward a big NO on these fitting my needs for towing until they can increase the range. Good luck to all waiting in line but this isn't for me. Happy with my ICE.

 

[sotek2345]

Yes, I was confusing the two. Thank you for the clarification.

While I can understand why a purchaser might choose Options for the reasons you stated, my comment was that I don't understand why Ford offers it. They could pass the tax credit through to their lessees if they wanted to and didn't need to create an "Options" option to do so. Did Options originate with the Mach-E/hybrids or has it always been a third option alongside traditional purchase and lease for ICE sales?

It is a recent thing as far as I know. Maybe Ford just didn't want to pay to set up the infrastructure to deal with all the tax credit paperwork.

 

[FordMaster]

I guess you cancelled for reals this time versus Nov. 22nd when you said you were cancelling?

I was waiting to see pricing and options but yeah I cancelled for real now ?

 

[LightningShow]

I'm going to hold my reservation for a while but I'm definitely not ordering with the current pricing. I'll wait to see if they break up the 312A option and remove the requirement for 312A for the ER battery when they release the 2023 pricing.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

Are people really upset that the Pro model isn’t available to the general public, a model which Ford clearly stated you had to have a fleet account with 10-15 vehicles to order any Pro model?

Or did the price change more than I am aware of. Pretty sure on day 1 of lightning announcements said that the high end models would be 90k+.

If regular consumers being told they can’t purchase something for the base price because they aren’t fleet is bait and switch, then ok. Lol.

Am I totally missing something here folks?

 

[F150ROD]

Are people really upset that the Pro model isn’t available to the general public, a model which Ford clearly stated you had to have a fleet account with 10-15 vehicles to order any Pro model?

Or did the price change more than I am aware of. Pretty sure on day 1 of lightning announcements said that the high end models would be 90k+.

If regular consumers being told they can’t purchase something for the base price because they aren’t fleet is bait and switch, then ok. Lol.

Am I totally missing something here folks?

People are upset Ford bundled everything into packages instead of doing it the same as the ICE counterpart. Pretty much a Pro with Extended Range would have probably been sold out by now followed by XLT. Personally I was looking at $65K for an XLT with extended range. Not even close.

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