F-150 Lightning Order Invitation

[Iwantatesla]

Mine has explicitly said they're holding MSRP for all factory orders. If it makes it to the lot unclaimed (ie, if a reservation is cancelled) then they'll sale it with a markup. Which makes sense to me personally.

That's quite nice of them. I think they'll be offering to buy out people's reservations. I would absolutely want that in writing just to be safe. Money does crazy things to people.

Sponsored

 

[SeaGeo]

That's quite nice of them. I think they'll be offering to buy out people's reservations. I would absolutely want that in writing just to be safe. Money does crazy things to people.

That would be an interesting twist...

 

[Iwantatesla]

That would be an interesting twist...

Happened a ton w the broncos

 

[Cavalryscout18]

Hopefully they don't try to sneak that in there. In any case, if I sell at cost, I don't think they can withhold since there is no value taken away from them.

Actually, this very thing came out this morning that Ford dealers can opt in to not allow resale of the Lightning for up to one year. I would be careful buying it with the hopes of reselling it.

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/ford-f-150-lightning-customers-reselling-trucks-scalpers/

 

[SeaGeo]

Actually, this very thing came out this morning that Ford dealers can opt in to not allow resale of the Lightning for up to one year. I would be careful buying it with the hopes of reselling it.

https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/ford-f-150-lightning-customers-reselling-trucks-scalpers/

your State may prevent that shenanigan.

 

[Riviot]

Welp, Ford can consider me a lost cause. Thanks, failing dealership model.

Dealership sent me an order confirmation to sign today, after they accepted the order in their system, MSRP + $5k + taxes and fees. I asked for explanation on $5k, which we all know they're doing, and was told "Due to the limited supply of the new Lightnings we are charging an additional $5,000.00 over MSRP. We also upcharge on vehicles with very limited supply such as Broncos, Super Duty trucks, and any specialty vehicles."
Fine, it's capitalism in a dying sales model. Whatever.

BUT, when I asked about registering in my home state of record (military, active duty, not Washington state), I was fed the standard lazy dealership line of "the vehicle must be registered in Washington and and appropriate taxes and fees will be charged." Not my first purchase in Washington, not my first time registering a vehicle remotely. No, I don't have to register in Washington. Only pay sales tax.

I'm very curious to see how Rivian does this sale, since they can't technically sell in the state of Washington. Will they choose to sell to me from Illinois? Or Florida (my home of record)? Either way, I'm out for the Lightning. I requested they cancel my reservation.

 

[Scoiatael]

Dealer I selected didn't do markups for the mach e, so hoping they don't do it for the Lightning either. Really hoping I can be in one of the next couple waves, but so many people in my area have trucks and teslas, wouldn't be surprised if I'm too far down there list.

I have July to September date for R1T, but I think there is very little chance I'd that happening unless Rivian send a ton of trucks to California.

 

[LoneStar]

I reside in So.Cal. I've engaged a half dozen Ford dealers in the past few weeks while exploring a number of "pre-Rivian" rides that interest me. Vehicles being discussed Mach-e, Maverick and Bronco Sport. With no exception, all Ford dealers said they would honor MSRP on ordered vehicles and putting market-adj on all unassigned inventory. I heard this over & over again. They will even do X-Plan on new Mach-E's now (if you ordered it). The problem is lead-time presently. Hard to pin down specifics but in general got the impression that Mach-E's and Sports are a few weeks and Mavericks are months-out. One guy said Ford conveyed the FWD/Hybrid Maverick orders for MY22 are already sold-out.

My point here is that many dealers are willing to do MSRP on Customer-ordered vehicles. Certainly not saying they ALL will. Just that real evidence (my own experiences lately) supports it. Now initially its likely that some (many) Ford dealers will treat the Lightning like they are the new Bronco - some kind of unicorn that's worthy of extravagant markup. I don't believe that will last very long because Ford seems to be prepping for higher volume Lightning build rates from the get-to while the Bronco languishes on the production line with roof-related supply chain/design change delays. Saying the supply rate for LIghtnings should strongly outpace the drip-drip-drip of new Broncos.

 

[RWerksman]

Welp, Ford can consider me a lost cause. Thanks, failing dealership model.

I also have a Lightning reservation - a very early one - and I also consider myself a lost cause. I received a communication from my dealer stating that the majority of the early allotment won't be based on reservation holding dealers, but rather re-routed to zero emission vehicle (ZEV) states, which PA is not one of.

Considering I have a window of May-June for Rivian despite my 2020 reservation, that is the way I'm going. At least as of right now. I suspect when my name finally get's called for a Lightning I'm going to tell them to shove it and ask for my hundy back.

Disappointing.

 

[Monkey]

I reside in So.Cal. I've engaged a half dozen Ford dealers in the past few weeks while exploring a number of "pre-Rivian" rides that interest me. Vehicles being discussed Mach-e, Maverick and Bronco Sport. With no exception, all Ford dealers said they would honor MSRP on ordered vehicles and putting market-adj on all unassigned inventory. I heard this over & over again. They will even do X-Plan on new Mach-E's now (if you ordered it). The problem is lead-time presently. Hard to pin down specifics but in general got the impression that Mach-E's and Sports are a few weeks and Mavericks are months-out. One guy said Ford conveyed the FWD/Hybrid Maverick orders for MY22 are already sold-out.

We read all the horror stories online about dealerships adding insane markups on pre-orders for Broncos, Lightning, etc.. But most truly do not. Given the current market you can expect to pay MSRP on Lightning and the Bronco. Bronco Sport, Mach-E and other high-demand vehicles still qualify for X-Plan and other special pricing, many dealerships will deal on them close to X-Plan for a custom order because it’s an opportunity for them to make a direct sale with no inventory or stock considerations and they make a happy customer who will return for service and hopefully more vehicle purchases.

Lead times are insane right now. All automakers are struggling with supply issues in one way or another. Some, like Toyota, seemed less effected by the supply chain issues early on, but are now being crushed by it while Ford and GM are pulling through.

We bought a Bronco Sport last year. I ordered it in December 2020 and I took delivery in May ‘21. It was a 5 month wait, nearly to the day, from order to arrival at the dealership. The Bronco Sport is an awesome little SUV. Ordered a second one back in October — actually it’s our daughter’s, I’ll be co-signing and helping her buy it. It’s been produced and is currently en-route to the dealership, so the production situation is drastically improving. Ford has already produced over 9000 Bronco Sports for the ‘22 model year, so they’re clicking along. Several people who ordered a ‘21 BS last January thru April, had their vehicles get stuck for months waiting for chips or other components. Same with trucks. Anyway, didn’t mean to de-rail the topic…

My point here is that many dealers are willing to do MSRP on Customer-ordered vehicles. Certainly not saying they ALL will. Just that real evidence (my own experiences lately) supports it.

Yep. On the flip side of that, there are still dealerships who are taking advantage of the market and screwing customers. Ford really screwed up with the full size Bronco when they quit going off reservation time stamps specifically and gave most allocations to larger dealerships. Lots of extra ADM on Broncos as they make it to general inventory and get parked out front for all to see. All while others who reserved one in the beginning still can’t get an allocation to order through their chosen dealership. We’re hoping that Ford does better with the Lightning. Too early to tell at the moment since they just completed wave 1 of the invites and wave 2 should be next week. I’m hoping to get my invite in wave 2 or 3…. Although I’m really struggling with deciding to follow through or not. Have to spend $80K on a Lariat in order for it all to make sense, but that’s more than I want to spend…. And I can’t get some of the options I want, like heated rear seats, without going Platinum for $92K+ when I can get those features in an ICE/Hybrid F-150 for over $25K less…. I may be passing on/delaying the Lightning reservation and ordering a PowerBoost 150. :/

The R1T can’t get here soon enough! But I’m holding out for the Max Pack.

 

[DuckTruck]

Well, time to change dealerships...

And to think, all this time, I assumed your Parents had God-like prescience when they named you "Riviot". I was both jealous (why didn't my parents have a similar vision or Holy communique? Was it my own father's salty language that turned off our Father?) and crestfallen when you joined the forum late last March. I thought I had created that name last February, and briefly gave thought to legally changing my first name. I mean, there are billions of Ducks in this world, but now I can say there is likely not one real "Riviot" wondering the planet....yet.

Now, with two strokes of a Sharpie, you have restored both my deep sense of belonging and contribution to this community, and my own shallow self-validation. Life is good again!

I'm glad we live in neighboring states, not only so that each of us has a chance of capturing the coveted customized plate bearing "RIVIOT", but also because I hope we get the chance to meet one day, share stories over beers, and maybe set the table for dual RIVIOT plates in one pic to share here.

Cheers! ? (and Thank You!)

 

[Max]

Welp, Ford can consider me a lost cause. Thanks, failing dealership model.

Dealership sent me an order confirmation to sign today, after they accepted the order in their system, MSRP + $5k + taxes and fees. I asked for explanation on $5k, which we all know they're doing, and was told "Due to the limited supply of the new Lightnings we are charging an additional $5,000.00 over MSRP. We also upcharge on vehicles with very limited supply such as Broncos, Super Duty trucks, and any specialty vehicles."
Fine, it's capitalism in a dying sales model. Whatever.

My dealer put it in writing that they won’t charge MSRP and they will have only doc fees before I transferred my reservation to them. GM does not tell me how many reservations they have and after pushing for my spot on his list he made up a range I could be in and acted like he is doing me a favor by telling me this. He said he wanted me to do the order in person. I assume they have standard game they have to play but getting the final price signed by them is something I wanted to do before order as well.

Once I submit my order, the ball will be in their court so I made my build and emailed it to him so he can email me all of their paperwork including the out the door price ahead of time. No response at all. I will be dammed if I convert to an order and let them put my vehicle on their lot with a $15K-$20K markup. If I am going to cancel, I will cancel before converting to an order.

Ford is acting like they are trying to control the dealers and they do give them 10% of the sale with some conditions to get them to stick with MSRP but they have also enabled some bad behavior in their playbook. I wish there were a bunch of R1S real owner reviews online to solidify my commitment so I can wash my hands off of all other options.

As of now, not too excited about neither Ford nor Tesla. Rivian is the only company I am considering with direct order sale model which keeps looking more attractive every day. Other options for me all have dealer fun to deal with.

 

[Scoiatael]

My dealer put it in writing that they won’t charge MSRP and they will have only doc fees before I transferred my reservation to them. GM does not tell me how many reservations they have and after pushing for my spot on his list he made up a range I could be in and acted like he is doing me a favor by telling me this. He said he wanted me to do the order in person. I assume they have standard game they have to play but getting the final price signed by them is something I wanted to do before order as well.

Once I submit my order, the ball will be in their court so I made my build and emailed it to him so he can email me all of their paperwork including the out the door price ahead of time. No response at all. I will be dammed if I convert to an order and let them put my vehicle on their lot with a $15K-$20K markup. If I am going to cancel, I will cancel before converting to an order.

Ford is acting like they are trying to control the dealers and they do give them 10% of the sale with some conditions to get them to stick with MSRP but they have also enabled some bad behavior in their playbook. I wish there were a bunch of R1S real owner reviews online to solidify my commitment so I can wash my hands off of all other options.

As of now, not too excited about neither Ford nor Tesla. Rivian is the only company I am considering with direct order sale model which keeps looking more attractive every day. Other options for me all have dealer fun to deal with.

There is no way I would go with a dealership that wants to do the order in person. It makes no sense. Ford streamlined the process for a reason.

 

[Max]

There is no way I would go with a dealership that wants to do the order in person. It makes no sense. Ford streamlined the process for a reason.

Ford gave the option for dealer to opt for that. Reservation holder still have to accept it. Ford can use a lot of carrots and sticks but dealers have a lot of pull legally speaking in their own state. The whole thing is a big mess. People say if you do everything online, dealer still can pull a lot of ridiculous fees out of their hat the last moment. I am not sure what is true but not knowing what you can count on is another thing that makes the whole buying experience so unpleasant.

 

[Trekkie]

why cancel? change the dealer. Ford will change from what I've read.

I too am not a fan of the dealer model, but when you find a good one you stick with them, but that's harder to do when they're all starving right now.

Sponsored