Soon to be first time buyer - your help deciding year, trim and options?

[belfast1933]

Good morning all

I have recently been lurking here quietly and learning from all of you and would appreciate your advice.

I am a 59 year old first time truck buyer and am developing quite the man-crush on the Lightening.

I will be a very light duty user - weekend projects, once/year camping trips and (true story) will likely add a removable logo/sign promoting my vintage baseball card business.

I will post photos here when it’s all done, as long as that is allowed.

here is my very basic question - which year, trim and feature/options would you all suggest with a budget around $40k, give or take?

I plan/hope to have this truck for many years, if that influences your advice.

thx for any thoughts and I look forward to sharing my final outcome whe. The dust settles on it all.

thx

jeff

Sponsored

 

[Egg]

Welcome! I looked at these trucks for years before pulling the trigger recently. I paid a little under $40k for a used standard range XLT with 9.6kW pro power and towing packages.

How much daily driving do you do? My commute is quite short so I‘m able to slow charge at home and it’s sufficient to keep my battery at or close to 80%. If you drive long distances often, you may want to look at an extended range, but I believe that would put it past your $40k budget.

It sounds like for your use case, as long as you don’t need to tow, a used Pro or XLT would suit your needs pretty well.

 

[Attorneyslattery]

I bought 24 Flash because it has the extended range battery. I can do without all the other bells and whistles but I like the extra distance. I live in Wisconsin and often travel on the interstate for work and, even with the bigger battery, my functional range on the highway 4-6 months out of the year is going to be right around 200 miles. It might be hard to find an ER in your budget. I am not sure if this is still true, but I bought earlier this year you could get 0 pct financing, a pretty steep discount and apply the tax credit so buying new was really attractive.

 

[21st Century Truck]

I don't see Your location in Your avatar box. Unless You live in southern Florida or Arizona or another mostly hot climate, I suggest You DO NOT get one with a pano roof.

This is especially important if You live in the Northern tier with cold Winters.

I learned this the hard way on my former Mach E Mustang... the pano roof is really good at rejecting solar UV rays but it is terrible at retaining cabin heat, i.e. the cabin 's lower IR (heat) rays go right thru it and out to space. Since these trucks have no engines and thus their heat in Winter comes from the big traction battery, it's the functional equivalent of driving a convertible in cold Winter months with the roof folded open (or nearly so). The Winter range impact is pretty significant because of this, in addition to overall cold weather traction battery range loss that every EV gets.

Because of this, I went with the 2023 XLT Option 312 (now kinda-sorta the Flash trim) when I bought my truck... it was the highest available trim without the pano roof.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[belfast1933]

This is all really helpful, advice and experience! To answer a few questions already asked, I live in the Boston area, work for myself, so my daily commute is down the stairs into my basement office!
I actually am a bit of a fan of technology, bells and whistles by the way.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Welcome to the LIGHTNING forum.

Hmmmm, 40k!!

Pro or XLT with many incentives new or used, good luck finding one.

 

[Joe Dablock]

I have a 22 MME Er and a 23 Lightning xlt Er and I strongly suggest an Er battery. If you live in an area where winters get below or near freezing an Er battery is a must.

Pro power, though you will seldom use it, comes in really handy those few times you need it. I have powered my house during power outages about one a year.

 

[RickKeen]

You mention wanting to add the business logo. Please be aware that the Lightning's aluminum skin will not work with magnetic signs. You will have to go with an adhesive sign or lettering.

For local commute and no long distance towing, my 2022 Pro-SR has been plenty of capability. The sticker started at $39,500k back then (mine has a few added options like Max Tow & Tow Tech). The SR battery is plenty of range for everything I do with the truck. I actually like the Pro's plastic floor in the winter. The plastic seats while perhaps not the most comfortable for long rides, have been durable and easy to keep clean. I like the smaller screen with manual knobs for radio volume and climate control.

 

[Mashedtators]

You’re not making a bad choice. Mine has been awesome. Nothing better than pulling out of the garage with a warmed up truck and a full tank of charge.

 

[htobin]

Just my 2 cents. Get the extended battery. Never know when you need the extra range

 

[ScottyMcQueen]

I bought a 2022 lariat standard range with tow package about 6 months ago. I absolutely love the truck and I'm sure you will love yours too. I paid 43k for one with 18k miles at the time. Fwiw, I wish I would have spent another 5k to get a platinum to get the bigger battery and massaging seats. I recently tried to go to vegas and I had to turn back as I didn't have enough charge to make it. They have since added rivian chargers in wickenberg but at the time I was just out of luck.

 

[MotoGary]

Welcome to the forum! When searching for a truck in the $40K range, it might be helpful to note that it's spelled "Lightning".

You may need to decide which is most important: Range, Bells & Whistles, or $40K budget. It could be hard to find a clean one with all three. Personally, I'd give up tech features for Extended Range. That said, mine is a XLT SR and the range is good enough for my use which is a daily commuter (80 mi) and errand runner. I have an ICE for road trips.

Good luck and post pics when you get it!

 

[Bwanapete]

I have a 22 Lariat ER. My thoughts are, insist on an ER. You will generally only charge to 80%. 80% of a SR truck is not that great especilly in winter when your range will drop 30-40%. In my experience, the early models were carefully made. Also I have features that were dropped in later years to reduce mfg cost. On this forum most common problems are not ln the ‘22s. To me it seems as though Ford designs are good and quality control issues stem from work by subs as production ramped up. I live in a colder climate than you and the glass roof is not a problem for me.

 

[Richpal]

I got my 2023 XLT in December purely as a work truck. It had 9,000 miles on it, and depending on what you find at any time, and various deals, etc, I may have paid a bit more for it. But regardless, I wanted to get one before the end of the year to satisfy 2024 write-offs. It was in perfect condition. I love this truck. It's perfect for my needs. I only do 20 to 50 miles a day, and I charge it with my Emporia charger when necessary. It has most of the creature comforts I desire, and is my home from home for 8 hours a day.

 

[Henry Ford]

I don't see Your location in Your avatar box. Unless You live in southern Florida or Arizona or another mostly hot climate, I suggest You DO NOT get one with a pano roof.

This is especially important if You live in the Northern tier with cold Winters.

I learned this the hard way on my former Mach E Mustang... the pano roof is really good at rejecting solar UV rays but it is terrible at retaining cabin heat, i.e. the cabin 's lower IR (heat) rays go right thru it and out to space. Since these trucks have no engines and thus their heat in Winter comes from the big traction battery, it's the functional equivalent of driving a convertible in cold Winter months with the roof folded open (or nearly so). The Winter range impact is pretty significant because of this, in addition to overall cold weather traction battery range loss that every EV gets.

Because of this, I went with the 2023 XLT Option 312 (now kinda-sorta the Flash trim) when I bought my truck... it was the highest available trim without the pano roof.

Hope this is helpful.

This is good information for a MachE and it is good information for a Lightning if you don't close the shade. When the shade is closed radiant cooling is a non-issue.

Sponsored