TheVerge: ‘I’m out’: Ford’s F-150 Lightning price hikes are costing it customers

[astricklin]

I am about two weeks away from having to decide what to do, truck is built. A lot of the excitement has already been consumed by disappointment. (Lariat SR)

Why?
1. I do not get what I originally wanted. Lariat ER with tow package. At my order date December 2022 it was already known that the tax credit will cut off at 80k. So I spec'd my truck to be slightly below 80k.
2. Then Ford screwed me over. Window Sticker MSRP is based on the CURRENT MSRP, not the MSRP at order date and Ford refused to remove the (useless) mobile charge station. Now I am $239 above the limit. @Ford Motor Company: Why was it not possible to remove the charge station before the built date?
3. Apparently there is some special incentive for cases like mine but I cannot get any details. A low APR would be a nice option.
4. I did sit on a Lightning a while ago and I was shocked by the "cheap Plastic" look. It was a Lariat and it looked worse than the cheapest possible Hundai. Something I would have not expected from a expensive "Luxury" truck.
5. Seeing a lot of remarks similar than my #4: People just expected more from a 80+k truck.
6, The entire process between ordering and maybe delivery took way too long.
7. Already having Range anxiety.
8. Seeing that any repair can take weeks and require multiple trips.

I do need a new car, so I need to weigh my options.

I am considering waiting to see if my dealer figures out the promised incentive and if it is not attractive, I may just cancel and wait for a equally prices used ER Lariat. Or just wait until Ford drops the prices to get the trucks off the lot. Prices are deteriorating fast and inventory is stuck at dealers for ever. They already start offering 3.4% financing!

But then... my 7 year old said; You where so excited for the truck. Just buy it.

As far as 4 and 5 are concerned, the interior is the same as on the ice F-150 of which there are plenty around to see/test drive. There is no reason for any surprise when it comes to interior fit/finish. Before you put in an order for an $80k F-150 you probably should have at least sat inside of a new F-150, if not driven one, even an ice version. People had plenty of time between the reveal/reservation open and when it finally came time to order.

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[chl]

If it were me I wouldn't spend that much on a pickup, but I understand some people are OK with that...so...

Be patient and demand the dealer drop the price below $80k or you'll walk away - make an offer under $80k. I have seen the pricey Lightnings languishing at dealers for months.

So many cancellations (est. over 80% of reservations) the market has softened it seems so dealers need to wake up and smell the roses.

No more backlog of reservations as of at least June 2023 - they've increased production and had many, many, cancellations.

Competition of sorts in on the horizon from the Chevy Silverado EV - a loaded one may cost the same as the Lariat you spec'd.

 

[chl]

Would some of you been more happy to have just had a "name on a waiting list" with no $100 deposit, and then if Ford had to change the price they wouldn't be claiming "bait and switch"? I mean, I knew it was simply a deposit and subject to change before I would actually get the truck, but there was no penalty for me if that happened as I simply got my $100 back. I don't view any of it as "bait and switch".

With that said, the one area I would consider a bait and switch is the various orders that had items removed such as massaging seats that negated the reason to even get a Platinum/etc. Had that happened to my order, I may have cancelled before delivery as it wasn't worth it to me for just an upgraded sound system.

The deposit/no deposit is not relevant - bait and switch, by definiton is:

the action (generally illegal) of advertising goods which are an apparent bargain, with the intention of substituting inferior or more expensive goods.

Maybe one could argue Ford didn't INTEND to raise the price by 40%...maybe.

 

[chl]

But then... my 7 year old said; You where so excited for the truck. Just buy it.
[/QUOTE]

Yes, my wife said the same thing before I cancelled my reservation - but I am the money person in the family so I try hard not to let emotions rule my decisions, even when it is hard not to.

 

[chl]

It’s all about cost to build, demand, availability and competition. If no one else is offering a 40k entry level truck why should Ford? The entry level Silverado WT is almost 2x that amount. Until there is more adoption and more production these will be niche vehicles that cost more to build.

Why? Because they said they would/could.

It's all about what the vehicle is worth to the buyer, not what it cost to build by to the manufacturer, and $40k was just about right. Even $50k would be fine with the $7.5k tax credit.

But over $80k means no tax credit, and a slew of cancellations.

They killed demand with the price increases, of course it is ECON 101 which, apparently, Ford forgot.

It's like asking: Why should Henry Ford have built the mass produced affordable Model T, nobody else was building such a vehicle.

 

[chl]

It’s all about cost to build, demand, availability and competition. If no one else is offering a 40k entry level truck why should Ford? The entry level Silverado WT is almost 2x that amount. Until there is more adoption and more production these will be niche vehicles that cost more to build.

PS: the entry level WT SIlverado is still estimated to be around $50k last time I checked.

 

[chl]

For a regular cab, 6.5 bed 2WD truck.

Just making it a SuperCrew it starts at $40,604.

Adding 4WD makes it $46,300.

Now, lets make it fair. With the power you get with the Pro, you need to have the Hybrid Powertrain. Now you're up to $49,015.

Co-Pilot 360 adds another $655 bringing it to $49,670.

Pro starts at $59,974. So, around a $10k difference. For that, with the Pro, you get options the gas truck doesn't get. 12" screen. Navigation. Heated seats. Center console. Power Frunk. Reverse sensing system. LED head and tail lights. and a $7500 tax credit.

I see how you got the $10k.

But to some buyers, a basic truck is a basic truck without all the things you added to the base model, which I for one don't need - don't need co-pilot, 4WD, SuperCrew, or more than a V6 or V8 power, 12" screen, navigation, frunk, etc.

Not to mention that they didn't even make enough Pro's to go around, I couldn't find a new one any where.

If they had made a Pro with less bells and whistles they should have been able to go below $58K even with all the supply chain, cost of materials, etc., issues they had which they used to justify the price increases.

An ICE truck doesn't need heated seats unlike an EV - without them, you run the heater and lose range.

And adding a heated steering wheel is also a good idea on an EV if you aren't going to heat the cabin and lose range - heated seats and steering wheel in my Nissan Leaf were standard and I never run the HVAC unless I need to defrost the windshield.

But they want an arm and a leg for the heated steering wheel on the Lightning because it is not offered in the entry level package.

It seems over 80% of reservation holders backed out because of price, not because it isn't a great product, but because it is too expensive.

 

[chl]

Most of the price difference is you can get an ICE Lariat with a lot less standard equipment than the Lightning Lariat.

If you wanted to compare the two evenly with similar equipment, you’d have to add 4x4, electronic locking rear axle, “high” package, trailer tow package, FX4 package, wheel liners, 7.2kw pro power and associated engine equipment, step bars, work surface etc to an ICE Lariat. Now the ICE Lariat costs $74k and the Lightning Lariat costs $79k (destination included).
So a $5k difference.

Take a $7500 tax credit and that wipes out the remaining difference.

Yes, but how about if you remove the stuff from the Lightning instead? Then you'd have a less expensive truck that I'd buy and I wouldn't have cancelled my reservation.

 

[MickeyAO]

Don't you just LOVE the people who come on here to give justifications on why the are canceling their order? Why do they do this? Are they looking for attention? Need to prove that they are smarter then us? If you don't want to buy it, DON'T! No one will be on here asking why so and so is no longer here. Life moves on.

I'm not on the Cyber Truck forums telling them why I canceled my reservation. I'm not on the Chevy EV Avalanche forums on why I'm not going to buy it. I'm not on the GMC forums telling them why I'm keeping my place in line. I seriously doubt they are wondering why I'm not on those forums.

 

[COrocket]

Yes, but how about if you remove the stuff from the Lightning instead? Then you'd have a less expensive truck that I'd buy and I wouldn't have cancelled my reservation.

From my understanding they tried to standardize the chassis as much as possible to ramp production quickly. I would assume if orders start to dry up do to the price increases, they’ll start to un-bundle options to get the base price of each trim down. Up until now they haven’t needed to do this when they were selling every truck they produced.

For example I’m sure they could slash several thousand dollars from the base price by removing the front motor and offering a 4x2 option, which would probably be very popular on the Pro trim. I would have preferred a truck without a moonroof and the Ford branded EVSE, but had to get one if I wanted a Lariat with the ER battery. Hopefully more volume production will allow customers to only add exactly what they need in the future.

 

[hturnerfamily]

right, Mickey, it's sad that 'mad' people have to vent on these forums - I agree that if you don't want something, don't buy it - but then, don't keep complaining 'why' you didn't buy it, and 'why' Ford should do this or do that. If the truck was not such a great EVENT in vehicle history, no one would be on these forums in the first place, and no one who 'cancelled' would continue to come back here and rant.

I love my Pro. I love my $39,994 PRO, just like Jim Farley and Ford advertised. I do understand that no, not everyone can get one, and I do understand the frustration of my OWN waiting 15 1/2 months, even, to finally GET one.
Ford can do anything they want. There is no 'bait and switch' if you had not reserved and already paid for what you 'supposedly' were being sold. You had a reservation to POTENTIALLY receive an order invitation, that's all. You didn't get invited to the party. It hurts.

The price of the truck, of EVERY truck, went up for the 2023 model year - and that's COMPLETELY normal, no matter how many of us had 'reserved' the ability to hopefully order one, at the 'old' price. It hurts.

And, it might make more 'cents' if there was a Silverado to order and buy and drive, but, there still to this day, is not. It might make more 'cents' if there was a Ram to order and buy and drive, but, there still to this day, is not. No cyber truck. Only maybe a Rivian. We have built-up expectations and we have been let down. It hurts.

You may not believe this, but my dealer called me last June, out of the blue, to come and 'test drive' their new LIGHTNING Demo, a Lariat. My PRO was still in production, and had been rescheduled no less than SEVEN times for an additional 2 MONTHS of waiting for it to be built. My summer had been ruined. My camping reservations for June and July were all nixed - my truck had STILL not been built. But, my dealer's truck came. Aggravating.
I went, tho, and 'drove' the Lariat. It was not the color I would have chosen. It had many of the features and upgrades I would not have wanted to pay for. The dealership was even asking 10% MORE as ADM.
Believe it or not, I was like a fish biting the bait.. I told them to forget the PRO and let me know the exact amount to write the $80,000.00 check for...

they wouldn't. It hurt.

they wouldn't, because 'Ford said' that they have to have a Demo on the lot, with no more than a 90 day spread between it being sold, and their next Demo arriving, or otherwise they would be charged a penalty of $25,000.00. They said that I did not have a clear Delivery Date for my PRO, to 'trade' for their demo, so I would just 'have to wait', at least until it arrived. It hurt.


I waited another two months, until August 23rd at 5:03pm, when the transport truck finally ARRIVED.
My paperwork and payment had already been done two weeks before.
Even then, when it was finally the LAST vehicle to be unloaded, the dealership would not 'check it in' for me to drive home, since all their 'shop employees' had already left for the day. I would NOT take no for an answer, and promptly and firmly told my salesman that I had $100 bill for the first person to check out my truck so that I could drive it home.
The truck was driving home, with me behind the wheel, in less than 15 minutes.


It hurts. But it is wonderful when it FINALLY happens. It will for you, too.

 

[MannyG20]

Don't you just LOVE the people who come on here to give justifications on why the are canceling their order? Why do they do this? Are they looking for attention? Need to prove that they are smarter then us? If you don't want to buy it, DON'T! No one will be on here asking why so and so is no longer here. Life moves on.

I'm not on the Cyber Truck forums telling them why I canceled my reservation. I'm not on the Chevy EV Avalanche forums on why I'm not going to buy it. I'm not on the GMC forums telling them why I'm keeping my place in line. I seriously doubt they are wondering why I'm not on those forums.

My guess is that they telling you why they canceled their reservation because that is what the thread is about.
how about this - if you don’t want to read their stories don’t read the thread.

 

[Amps]

I love my Pro. I love my $39,994 PRO, just like Jim Farley and Ford advertised. I do understand that no, not everyone can get one

But, I thought nobody got one!

 

[Amps]

Be patient and demand the dealer drop the price below $80k or you'll walk away - make an offer under $80k.

That’s not going to trigger a tax credit, if that’s what you’re thinking. So, gonna have to demand $72,500

 

[hturnerfamily]

right, and it's based on the MSRP, not what the dealer sells it to you for...

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