Any guesses on when XLT might become available again?

[pseudonym]

Let us know how it goes!

For what it's worth, my dealer tried that experiment for another customer in early January and it did not work at that time. But I hope to hear otherwise. Thanks

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[uniblab]

Lessons learned? Well hopefully you locked in today so any ordering hints are not relevant.

I went into the dealership and after both of us separately calling Ford and asking questions and talking it over for a good 20 minutes they convinced me there would be about a zero percent chance that I'd be able to get an XLT through the dealership in wave 7. I now believe that when the web page says the XLT is "Currently closed" that means that Ford's allocation of XLTs for this wave has already been ordered. So, I will probably wait for the next wave. Waiting does come with the risk of another price increase so I'm currently doing a deep-dive comparison between XLT and Lariat to see if just maybe, possibly I could live with the Lariat.

I've never had onboard scales or a smart hitch and got along fine without them.

Yeah, me too but IMO the scales are a unique feature that is worth pushing for. Also my understanding is that the range estimate will not be as accurate without them.

I included the mobile charge cord. No regrets, it works but it is a bit clumsy. If I did it again I would pass. I ended up ordering a Lectron L1 charge cord and keep that in the truck instead of the Ford charge cord.

I've heard that from others too and have decided not to order the Ford charge cord. Thanks for the tips!

 

[pseudonym]

I remember during the 2022 wave process, forum members had intel on the timing of estimated subsequent waves. Is there any insight now?

Even if we can't say when XLTs might be available, paying closer attention near the next estimated wave seems prudent and would save logging in every day, but until further notice I'm following this advice:

Around 1 pm each day take a look your ford.com reservation page, last year the early order waves an order/builder process appeared when you logged in to review your reservation.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

To be honest, as long as Ford gets enough orders for Lariats and Platinums, XLT allocation is going to be pretty far and few between.

If people are set on a Pro or XLT, your best bet (aside from trying to find mannequins, demos, or abandoned customer orders) would be to wait until MY24.

 

[pseudonym]

So I signed in this morning and found that it appears as though I can't place an order for the Lightning at all. I was originally invited to order in December of '22 and missed out on the few XLTs available at that time. Since then, order options were open for the Lariat and Platinum, but now it seems the ordering opportunity has completely closed.

Is this just a glitch on my end or have all prior waves been closed? I still have a reservation but now it reads "We will reach out when it is time to finalize your order. "

 

[TaxmanHog]

Is this just a glitch on my end or have all prior waves been closed? I still have a reservation but now it reads "We will reach out when it is time to finalize your order. "

They set narrow windows to place an order in each wave, next round you will get a fresh invitation to place an order.

 

[uniblab]

Well, I got tired of waiting for the chance to order an XLT. Three days ago I flew to Florida and drove a "new" 2022 Lightning XLT SR home to Texas. Atlas blue, Pro Power, Max Tow, Tow tech package (with scales!), tailgate step, spray-in bedliner and dealer-installed Katzkin leather seats. Paid $63K+TTL. This truck was a dealer mannequin with 3600 miles which was not ideal but the truck was exactly what I wanted and the price was compelling.

I had begun searching nationwide on cars.com and autotrader.com for new Lightnings, hoping to find an XLT on a dealer lot. I was surprised at how many were available. There were even two locally in Dallas/Ft Worth but both sold quickly and were not optioned how I wanted. I found the Florida truck, which was pretty much exactly what I would have ordered, had I had the chance. The dealer had the truck advertised for $10K over MSRP but it had been sitting there for a while and when I called them they said they would sell it for MSRP.

This was when I got excited because 2022 MSRP was thousands less than the current MSRP due to the two large price increases from Ford. I realized there exists a small window of opportunity to purchase new 2022 Lightnings (mannequins AND special order trucks where the buyer backed out) for the old prices. An additional benefit of a 2022 model is that they are pre-chip-shortage so you can get things like onboard scales, heated steering wheel and proximity sensors that are not available in 2023 models. Once these 2022s are gone, it will be back to current pricing + a long wait + unavailability of some features.

I'd encourage everyone who is frustrated by the current ordering situation to spend some time searching for in-stock trucks. There are a couple of dozen XLTs available now, along with tons of Lariats and Platinums. Most Ford dealership web pages allow you to check stock easily and for nationwide searches cars.com and autotrader.com both work. Pro tip: leave out the keyword Lightning and search for fuel type = electric. Also very helpful is the VIN lookup: forddirect-PDF . Swap in the VIN of the truck you're interested in (from the search results) and you will get a no-sh*t description of the truck. Never trust what is listed on the search results.

Finally, if anyone is interested in a truck almost exactly like mine, there is another Atlas blue 2022 XLT SR mannequin available at Taylor Ford in Michigan for $61K. Ask for Frankie Tucci. I would have bought this truck if the Florida one had not panned out.

 

[FordLightningMan]

Well, I got tired of waiting for the chance to order an XLT. Three days ago I flew to Florida and drove a "new" 2022 Lightning XLT SR home to Texas. Atlas blue, Pro Power, Max Tow, Tow tech package (with scales!), tailgate step, spray-in bedliner and dealer-installed Katzkin leather seats. Paid $63K+TTL. This truck was a dealer mannequin with 3600 miles which was not ideal but the truck was exactly what I wanted and the price was compelling.

I had begun searching nationwide on cars.com and autotrader.com for new Lightnings, hoping to find an XLT on a dealer lot. I was surprised at how many were available. There were even two locally in Dallas/Ft Worth but both sold quickly and were not optioned how I wanted. I found the Florida truck, which was pretty much exactly what I would have ordered, had I had the chance. The dealer had the truck advertised for $10K over MSRP but it had been sitting there for a while and when I called them they said they would sell it for MSRP.

This was when I got excited because 2022 MSRP was thousands less than the current MSRP due to the two large price increases from Ford. I realized there exists a small window of opportunity to purchase new 2022 Lightnings (mannequins AND special order trucks where the buyer backed out) for the old prices. An additional benefit of a 2022 model is that they are pre-chip-shortage so you can get things like onboard scales, heated steering wheel and proximity sensors that are not available in 2023 models. Once these 2022s are gone, it will be back to current pricing + a long wait + unavailability of some features.

I'd encourage everyone who is frustrated by the current ordering situation to spend some time searching for in-stock trucks. There are a couple of dozen XLTs available now, along with tons of Lariats and Platinums. Most Ford dealership web pages allow you to check stock easily and for nationwide searches cars.com and autotrader.com both work. Pro tip: leave out the keyword Lightning and search for fuel type = electric. Also very helpful is the VIN lookup: forddirect-PDF . Swap in the VIN of the truck you're interested in (from the search results) and you will get a no-sh*t description of the truck. Never trust what is listed on the search results.

Finally, if anyone is interested in a truck almost exactly like mine, there is another Atlas blue 2022 XLT SR mannequin available at Taylor Ford in Michigan for $61K. Ask for Frankie Tucci. I would have bought this truck if the Florida one had not panned out.

Are the Katzkin seats you have installed heated? I'd love some impressions of the Lightning with heated Katzkin seats.

I still think this is a 2-3 year truck for me, in which case I won't take the heated seat plunge. However, if factors begin to change my mind and I keep it longer, I'd like to put in heated seats.

 

[uniblab]

No unfortunately they are not heated. I called Katzkin and they recommended a local dealer who can install heat for $600, I will probably go that route.

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