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

[Adventureboy]

I test-drove the MY - It rides like a tank. Suspension needs lots of work before I'd be happy with it. Wife settled on the MME and it rides really nice compared to the MY but I really use the utility of the F150 so I'll likely be looking at the T3 when the dust settles. Until then will happily drive my Lariat ER F150L.
The dealer tried to stiff me with the price increase a year after I ordered since it was a 2023 model year. I held out for a couple of months and told them to figure it out with Ford - they did. I wouldn't have paid the inflated price - the value proposition just wasn't there and I was quite happy with my 2018 Lariate F150 ICE.

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[Warp Asylum]

I recently saw a USED Lightning with over 8,000 miles on it for sale at a dealership - they were asking MSRP of $58,294! (see sticker) Can't get the $7,500 tax credit since it's used, can't get the used EV tax credit either due to the rules. (That dealership was putting a $10k surcharge over MSRP on Lightnings when the first came out, so no surprise I guess.)

There are definitely dealers asking a ton for Lightnings (new & used), but there are also some deals to be had if you look nationwide. The one I bought was from the St. Louis area and shipped here for $1k, which was still a good price even with shipping. I wouldn't call it a great price, but well under MSRP minus tax credit for an ER with ~5500 miles on it. A lot of other used Lariats, especially at dealers in my area, were SR for the same price or more.

 

[Pod]

More and more, my SR XLT looks like a unicorn…..also….

I love it!!!

 

[ericpullen]

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.

 

[lakeguy55]

You can't just compare a base truck to the Lightning Pro and call it a fair comparison. Even if you don't need all the features on the Lightning, you have to compare it to the closest gas truck that is buildable.

I haven't done it in about 3 months, but a few times I built online an ICE Lariat with features and options as close as I could get to my Lightning Lariat order. Each time the differential was about +$10K for the Lightning, a difference I'm willing to pay for the EV.

 

[chl]

Hard to know what GM will actually offer the entry level Silverado at. Like Ford, they may be missing an opportunity to sell a lot of trucks...

"...during a media first drive event of the Silverado EV, Chevrolet representatives told InsideEVs that the $39,900 Silverado EV WT won't be offered anymore, but at the same time promised that they would offer "competitively-priced" variants starting in 2024...

...While there may not be a sub-$40,000 Silverado EV as of the moment, General Motors promised that there will be various trim levels of the electric pickup with prices set to start at $50,000. With the $7,500 tax credit, that will be reduced to $42,500, and if you live in the state of Colorado, you will benefit from an additional $5,000 tax credit for EVs under $80,000. The dream of an affordable Silverado EV is still alive--provided that you are a taxpayer in Colorado, of course...."

https://www.topspeed.com/entry-level-chevy-silverado-ev-retired-before-arrival/

So, I would go for a $42k EV pickup after tax credit in a heart-beat...but talk is cheap, and promises are made to be broken it seems.

 

[chl]

I haven't done it in about 3 months, but a few times I built online an ICE Lariat with features and options as close as I could get to my Lightning Lariat order. Each time the differential was about +$10K for the Lightning, a difference I'm willing to pay for the EV.

I'd like to see some of your on-line numbers showing only a $10k price difference.

What I found was...

Ford F-150 ICE: "The base XL trim starts at $33,695, and the XLT model begins at $41,800. The Lariat trim starts at $57,480, and the King Ranch model starts at $63,005."

The Lightning Lariat starts at: $76,974, ICE version starts at $57,480.

The PRO Lightning starts at: $59,974

So a $59,974 to $33,695 = $26,279 difference in price.

You could almost buy TWO base XL trim F-150 ICE trucks for the price of one lightning Pro.

Comparing Lariats: $76,974 (Lightning) to $57,480 (ICE) = $19,494.

Just not worth it to me, anyway.

 

[TechTutor]

I was under the impression from articles I have read, that EV’s were less expensive to build due to less moving parts and complicated systems ( e.g. catalytic converter and other components). This should have resulted in Ford being able to maintain reasonable pricing for not just the Pro but all trims. Especially since they recycled many ICE interior and body parts.

If the government is going to mandate that we all purchase EVs, then the manufacturers need to make them affordable.

If the big 3 don’t get their $hit together, then Asian companies are going to repeat history and kick their butts again…...

 

[COrocket]

I'd like to see some of your on-line numbers showing only a $10k price difference.

Comparing Lariats: $76,974 (Lightning) to $57,480 (ICE) = $19,494.

Just not worth it to me, anyway.

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.

 

[Pioneer74]

base XL trim starts at $33,695

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.

 

[FordTough98198]

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.

 

[viennaxmas]

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.

 

[KevinC]

I feel like the pricing of most of the manufacturers is going to be in the same neighborhood for all the ev trucks in '24 model year but I feel like Ford is going to be lagging behind in the standard range Miles once all the trucks are on sale. They may have T3 in the plans but the next 2 years of lightning are going to be pretty grim if they only keep up up raising prices and not keep up increasing the miles/range with chevy/tesla.

 

[grimlock49]

I canceled by day 1 preorder when It was time to order due to the price increases and interest rates. The pricing on the Lariat ER pushed out of the rebate and not worth it.

 

[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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