IF you could do it all over... what would you buy?

[mr.Magoo]

All things being equal I would probably have done it again.

Hindsight is 20/20 and the insane deals that's been availible and the fact that my depreciation alone is 2-3 times higher than peoples lease payments makes a lease (to me anyway) a no brainer at this point unless you plan on keeping the truck "forever".

For me the choice was between a Rivian and Lightning and I (personally) think the headlights on Rivian is butt-ugly and their higher reservation fee at the time kind of sealed the deal.
The scout is interesting, but who knows if they have the same reliability as Electrify America (another VW product) plus I'm not a fan of the interior - it looks great in a broschure, but I'm pretty sure it'll age just as well as milk. Cybertruck is a non starter for many reasons.

So yeah, I probably would get a Lightning again.

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[lipnorth]

Agreed, Tesla is a no-go, ever, unless Elon drops dead.

Scout looks great. I like the idea of a gas-powered generator to extend range, interesting concept.

I also like the the VW Buzz and become a modern day hippy.

My family is now all electric. We traded in out 10-year old Toyota Highlander for a Kia Niro. early results are my wife LOVES it and she’s all in on EV.

We’ll see what happens with summer road trips!

 

[marc_hanna]

Had I known Ford was going to be so difficult to deal with and my truck would be in the shop so much, I would not have bought it. Don't get me wrong, I really like the truck . . . when it works. I don't like the attitude from service departments suggesting that I don't need certain features like DC fast charging, or that by using features like remote start I'm somehow misusing the truck. This is my first and last new Ford. They clearly don't want my business and I'm happy to take it elsewhere.

I test drove the CyberTruck a few weeks ago, and it is an incredible vehicle. If I can get a decent price for my Lariat ER with 26,000kms, I think I might go get it instead.

 

[StevenC56]

Had I known Ford was going to be so difficult to deal with and my truck would be in the shop so much, I would not have bought it. Don't get me wrong, I really like the truck . . . when it works. I don't like the attitude from service departments suggesting that I don't need certain features like DC fast charging, or that by using features like remote start I'm somehow misusing the truck. This is my first and last new Ford. They clearly don't want my business and I'm happy to take it elsewhere.

I test drove the CyberTruck a few weeks ago, and it is an incredible vehicle. If I can get a decent price for my Lariat ER with 26,000kms, I think I might go get it instead.

Have you tried other Ford dealers, or just your selling dealer?

 

[lipnorth]

My Ford dealer has been good. They only have one EV tech so appointments can take time but they are nice, professional and the work has always been done right. And most of my issues have been software related.

 

[farmtruck]

If I were to roll the clock back a year, I would still get a Lightning Lariat ER. The only change I would make is to lease for more miles. When I leased, I looked at the driving trends of EVs vs ICEs and leased on the low end of what I drive each year. Turns out I am going to hit the anniversary about 3000 miles over my leased miles.
To go forward four years, if Ford will let me, another Lightning will be in the picture. Can I get it on a one ton chassis with a 600 mile range? Ok, maybe just get the Lightning to maturity so we don't have anything to complain about on this forum.

 

[marc_hanna]

Have you tried other Ford dealers, or just your selling dealer?

Two dealers so far, but I see the same template of behaviour: alleviate the symptom quickly and cheaply and tell me everything is fixed without even attempting to address the root cause. Argue with the service department and show them that it isn’t working, until they agree to dig deeper to fix the problem. Then get irritated with me because O expect the problem to be fixed.

Case in point:
First service department, when my DCFS was not working, suggested that I didn’t need it anyways
Second service department suggested that me using remote start/cabin preconditioning off-plug was misusing the vehicle

I think that ultimately, this is the result of an endemic issue between Ford and the dealers, incentivizing dealers to point blame somewhere else because it’s costly for them to do warranty repairs under Ford’s framework.

 

[gregoryhcain]

Would do it all over again. This truck is so much better and tons more fun than my ICE truck. Will never buy another ICE truck again and likely will sell the one I have; just don't use it anymore.

 

[Brons2]

Would do it all over again. This truck is so much better and tons more fun than my ICE truck. Will never buy another ICE truck again and likely will sell the one I have; just don't use it anymore.

I agree, with the exception of, this truck is the replacement for the ICE truck I had before! We have a Mach-E and I loved it so much that we got the Lightning to replace my old Navigator that I used to haul stuff around with. Bye bye 5.4 3V and 13 mpg!

When I turn in this XLT on the lease, I'm thinking I might look to purchase a used Lariat ER outright. Or go down to a Pro ER for the vinyl seats. Either way something more kid friendly.

 

[Smokewagun]

If I could be Cher, I’d get a Lariat ER. I have aspirations of a Platinum someday, but now with the new administration aborting support of EV’s and the tax credit going bye-Byrne, it probably won’t be worth going EV next time. ?
I’ve had well over two dozen Ford trucks over the years, and I’m too jaded to want an ICE truck anymore, but I might be forced to. If a perfect world, I’d have a Platinum Lightning and a Bronco. I had a Lariat SR in ‘23, needed range, so I traded it for an STX. The biggest POS Ford I owned in my Ford history.
This Lightning saves me enough each month in fuel to hopefully allow me to pay it off in 2-1/2 to 3 years, and be debt free. Although I had plans to get a Bronco, Susie Talk-A-Lot driving the Chinese Barbie car at Ford is driving Ford into the dirt. There won’t be a dependable vehicle rolling off the belt soon enough. Might be looking at a Scout.

 

[Smokewagun]

Re-railing this thread, has anyone heard if ford is even going to keep the Lightning? With 2025’s stalled, and the T3 program chucked, I’m thinking our only thoughts on the Lightning can be related to the past or current. Not holding out the Lightning will have a run much longer since Suzy Talk-A-Lot thinks Ford should be the “Porsche of Off-Road”. ???

 

[StevenC56]

I thought the 25's started production this month and the T3 program was delayed, not scrapped?

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

I wonder if anyone's calculated how much time you waste throughout a year going to a gas station to fill up an ICE vehicle? When you have a charger at home, and you only occasionally go on 300+ mile trips, maybe you still come out ahead with an EV for all those times throughout the year with in-town commuting that you didn't have to spend gassing up. For really long trips, I'd rather fly and rent a car at my destination, as driving for hundreds and hundreds of miles isn't much different in terms of entertainment than twiddling my thumbs at a charging station. I'd rather spend more time at my destination and have less depreciation on my vehicle.

I prefer the road trips and scenery.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

When I priced out my Lariat as an ICE, the price difference was small when factoring the tax rebate. And that was before they even lowered the EV prices.

How many times have I waited an hour to charge. Zero. I’ve waited 20 minutes about 5 times (time for a pee break). The rest I charge conveniently at home as needed.

And a number of times, I found slow, free chargers that I can leave the truck on the night before my trip and not even pay for the electricity!

So for example, when I go to Vegas from S. California I have to stop in Baker CA to charge up to 90%. It takes about an hour to charge. Are you not going on long trips that require you to charge up for that amount of time?

 

[Jim Lewis]

I prefer the road trips and scenery.

California is more scenic than much of the Midwest, at least as seen from Interstates...

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