So I decided to cancel my order…and now I’m being ghosted

[f150lntng]

I put my order within a couple hours after launch in May of ‘21 and I was excited for 21 months to get this truck, but when the battery fire happened and my truck got held up for 2 months in a rail yard just minutes from the dealership, I started to change my mind. I no longer had confidence that the battery in my truck would be ok. I was not worried about a battery fire, but a battery that might degrade faster than normal. There were no assurances from Ford that my truck was OK. So when the dealership called finally two weeks ago to say my truck was ready, I said I was going to cancel my order. I asked if I could get a refund and the stunned and disappointed person at the dealership turned short on me and said she would ‘check’ and get back to me. Meanwhile two weeks later and several unreturned voicemails and emails later (she was quick to respond before), I don’t have an answer. Does anyone know if I’m entitled to a refund? I know it’s only $600, but it’s still $600. All I want is an answer and unfortunately dealership is being extremely unprofessional.

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[astricklin]

Check the laws in your state and also whatever paperwork you have from placing the order to see if the deposit is refundable. From there, go to the dealership in person, they cannot ignore you then. Lastly, contact your state's attorney general office and file a complaint if you are still unable to receive a refund.

 

[Maquis]

Refund policy varies by dealer. They all have their own. You might try going up the food chain…sales manager, the GM, etc.

As an aside, I think your battery fears are unwarranted. It has an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty. The battery chemistry is not unique to the Lightning. There is history to support current lifespan projections.

 

[Zprime29]

I had to start adding the general sales manager to emails when I shipped getting replies. The GM was way more responsive (might have helped that I let them know I edited my Google review down after a month of no communication).

Fingers crossed for ya.

 

[f150lntng]

Yeah, my battery fears might be unwarranted. But there were other factors at play like the reality of high interest rates that wasn’t an issue 23 months ago as well as the price hikes which kept chipping away at my interest. Yeah my next thoughts was walking into the dealership, just thought a simple answering of a phone call should be enough enough!

 

[RickLightning]

Contact the GM...​

 

[tubby]

I concur. I would advise you to proceed to the dealership and speak with the general manager. I am confident that they will be receptive to your reasons for declining delivery. If they claim that you signed a document that absolves them of liability, request that they place the funds on account or reimburse you the $600 once they sell the truck. They will sell it. These trucks should no longer be selling with markups, so you will not be able to flip the truck as some have done in the past.

 

[JoebeachNH]

I put my order within a couple hours after launch in May of ‘21 and I was excited for 21 months to get this truck, but when the battery fire happened and my truck got held up for 2 months in a rail yard just minutes from the dealership, I started to change my mind. I no longer had confidence that the battery in my truck would be ok. I was not worried about a battery fire, but a battery that might degrade faster than normal. There were no assurances from Ford that my truck was OK. So when the dealership called finally two weeks ago to say my truck was ready, I said I was going to cancel my order. I asked if I could get a refund and the stunned and disappointed person at the dealership turned short on me and said she would ‘check’ and get back to me. Meanwhile two weeks later and several unreturned voicemails and emails later (she was quick to respond before), I don’t have an answer. Does anyone know if I’m entitled to a refund? I know it’s only $600, but it’s still $600. All I want is an answer and unfortunately dealership is being extremely unprofessional.

I totally get that, pretty much the same story with my Lariat ER I ordered. But in my case it was the dealers $10K ADM he placed on my order that was just too much greed for me. Now my truck has finally arrived but I have the same doubts given the issues raised in this forum and others about the lightning. I will probably walk away from the deal even if offered at MSRP. They have another lightning that arrived way before mine, and that customer walked away also. That truck has been sitting on the dealer's lot for over 2 months now with the same $10K adm. Too bad ford totally blew this launch.

 

[jimfigler]

I'd go to the dealership in person. But I do believe the $100 reservation fee is 100% refundable but the dealer deposit is up to the dealership.

 

[Maquis]

I'd go to the dealership in person. But I do believe the $100 reservation fee is 100% refundable but the dealer deposit is up to the dealership.

The way I understand it is that the $100 reservation deposit is completely refundable until you convert it to an order. Once it’s applied to the order, it’s subject to the dealership’s refund policy.

 

[Heliian]

I put my order within a couple hours after launch in May of ‘21

This doesn't make much sense.

I reserved in Nov. 2021, ordered Aug. 2022 and had a 2023 model delivered end Jan 2023, before the battery problem.

If you were that far up the line you should have got an order in 2022.

What happened? Did you push your first chance back?

 

[jimfigler]

This doesn't make much sense.

I reserved in Nov. 2021, ordered Aug. 2022 and had a 2023 model delivered end Jan 2023, before the battery problem.

If you were that far up the line you should have got an order in 2022.

What happened? Did you push your first chance back?

It was all about the dealer you chose and very little with date of reservation

 

[RickLightning]

This doesn't make much sense.

I reserved in Nov. 2021, ordered Aug. 2022 and had a 2023 model delivered end Jan 2023, before the battery problem.

If you were that far up the line you should have got an order in 2022.

What happened? Did you push your first chance back?

There are several factors that you don't understand given that statement. But let me start by saying my reservation was 6 months before yours, and I couldn't order until 2 months after you...

First, there are ZEV states. 15 states that have zero emission laws. It benefits an auto company to ship vehicles to those states. If you aren't in one of those states, you're further down the list.

Second is dealer allocation. Dealers got allocated vehicles based upon many factors, including how many vehicles they move for Ford. So, a dealer like Granger in Iowa that solicits out of state orders aggressively, gets more allocation than a dealer that does not.

Third, the dealers had an opportunity to move people up their own lists. Spoke with a guy this weekend at an EV event, who was nowhere near the top of his dealership's list, but got moved to #1 because he basically educated his dealer on the Mach-E, so they thanked him.

I was 73 on my dealer's list, with a reservation put in 11 hours into the event. I got the opportunity to order a 2023 in mid-November 2022. Non-ZEV state.

That said, I have no idea how Canada fits into ZEV-like circumstances.

Since my dealer had no options, I am buying a 2022 demo with less than 500 miles on it, still untitled, so qualifies for the tax credit.

 

[chl]

Does anyone know if I’m entitled to a refund? I know it’s only $600, but it’s still $600. All I want is an answer and unfortunately dealership is being extremely unprofessional.

If you signed a contract you should have a copy of it somewhere? It will probably say "non-refundable" deposit, most of them do, they are standard contracts with standard boilerplate and legalese.

However, a dealer that cares about 'good will' and reputation should refund the deposit even if the contract says they don't have to.

Ford is going to switch to "lithium iron phosphate chemistry that it says are more durable, faster charging, and more affordable than its current lineup of EVs."
https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/13/23597622/ford-ev-battery-factory-lfp-chemistry

So, assuming they won't give you a refund, maybe you could ask your dealer to hold the $600 deposit and apply it to a next generation Ford Lightning when they are available. The next generation COULD be less expensive as well as having better battery tech, depending on the market conditions, competition, etc.

I cancelled my reservation for a Lightning before the order stage.
When I received the notice that I could order one, and looked at what my choices were, I got sticker shock - the $39.9k MSRP starting price had jumped 40% and there was no option to even buy the least expensive model the Pro's were all gone.
I searched around dealers within 200 miles of Washington DC and found nothing under $65k, some had $10k plus markups as well. Some were priced at over $90k. What The Ford?
Then the battery fire happened and I also saw reports of battery failures on forums like this one, as well as other glitches.
So I decided that perhaps Ford had rushed the Lightning to market without working out all the bugs, all too typical these days for so many things, and thanked my lucky stars I didn't buy one.
I have had zero problems with my 2012 Nissan Leaf.
I wanted to sell my Leaf and Ford Ranger and have an EV truck.
I put in a reservation for the Cybertruck when it was announced, and now have a reservation for a Chevy Silverado EV as well.
However, if Tesla and Chevrolet pull the same game Ford did and mark them up sky high, I will be cancelling those as well and wait for what I consider a reasonably priced EV pickup.

 

[ivan256]

I totally get that, pretty much the same story with my Lariat ER I ordered. But in my case it was the dealers $10K ADM he placed on my order that was just too much greed for me. Now my truck has finally arrived but I have the same doubts given the issues raised in this forum and others about the lightning. I will probably walk away from the deal even if offered at MSRP. They have another lightning that arrived way before mine, and that customer walked away also. That truck has been sitting on the dealer's lot for over 2 months now with the same $10K adm. Too bad ford totally blew this launch.

IMO You should start offering $10k under and start looking for a lightly used 2022. Then when you find one you should stop by and rub his nose in it.

It's an amazing truck, but a Lariat ER isn't worth $100k.

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