Has Anyone Sold a Mach-E that was financed with Ford Options?

[hybrid2bev]

I had thought I read somewhere that you could also keep the car, after the 36 months and just keep paying the same payment for an additional 3 years or something. Is this not the case? So you have to refi if you want to keep the car and cannot just pay the lump sum balloon?

If you want to keep the vehicle past the monthly payment term then yes you would need to either refinance or pay off the final balloon payment amount.

You'll want to read the language on your contract before signing.

Here is an example of what my contract says (see the "Second" option):

Here is another example with slightly different language.

Sponsored

 

[yngwenli]

My plan is to finance through ford options to get the $2500 then immediately refinance into a local bank at 2.24%. The 1.4% options on the GT is great but the balloon payment at the end is a bit much to deal with especially since we drive over 20,000 miles a year and tend to keep cars 6-8 years.

Plus with options, I don’t think most people realize you pay the interest on the balloon balance throughout the term. What’s left at the end is just principal….so if you were to refinance the balloon at the end rather than pay it off with cash or sell it you are likely doubling your interest cost….depending on your rate.

I wanted to just confirm again that even if the interest of the balloon balance is added to the regular 36 month payments, (assuming you are doing a 36+1 payment), if you pay off the Ford Options note early (like in 3 months), you aren't paying anymore interest other than 3 months right?

 

[RhodyGT]

I wanted to just confirm again that even if the interest of the balloon balance is added to the regular 36 month payments, (assuming you are doing a 36+1 payment), if you pay off the Ford Options note early (like in 3 months), you aren't paying anymore interest other than 3 months right?

the interest for the entire balance is amortized over the 3 or 4 year term you pick. So you pay interest on the balloon balance plus the remaining principal yet to be paid over the 3 or 4 year term. If you pay off early then you only pay interest for the term you had the loan. The key as I noted earlier is for people to realize once the 3 or 4 years is done all that is left is principal. Refinancing that is a poor financial decision.

 

[yngwenli]

the interest for the entire balance is amortized over the 3 or 4 year term you pick. So you pay interest on the balloon balance plus the remaining principal yet to be paid over the 3 or 4 year term. If you pay off early then you only pay interest for the term you had the loan. The key as I noted earlier is for people to realize once the 3 or 4 years is done all that is left is principal. Refinancing that is a poor financial decision.

Thanks.

I guess if I plan to pay it off in 1-2 months, going with 4 years at 7500 mileage is best since that's overall, the least dollar amount of interest.

 

[Nklem]

Options is figured as follows. The 3 year is a 72 month loan at 2.2%. The balloon is the remaining principle at payment 36. 4 year is the same, 2.2% loan for 84 months, balloon is the balance at payment 48. There is a small adjustment for mileage but the overall cost of the plan is the same if you Keep going and buy it out the balloon at the end. Finally the contract states you can keep going for 3 years beyond the selected term as long as you are in good standing, at the same payment and rate. So Options, if you are not turning it in, is a 2.2% 6 year or 7 year loan with a Rebate ($2500) that negates a bunch of the interest. If you look at it with the interest and rebate, it’s a less than 1% loan for 6 or 7 years. If you have a lemon or do not like in in 3-4 years, you can walk away for $475.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Options is figured as follows. The 3 year is a 72 month loan at 2.2%. The balloon is the remaining principle at payment 36. 4 year is the same, 2.2% loan for 84 months, balloon is the balance at payment 48. There is a small adjustment for mileage but the overall cost of the plan is the same if you Keep going and buy it out the balloon at the end. Finally the contract states you can keep going for 3 years beyond the selected term as long as you are in good standing, at the same payment and rate. So Options, if you are not turning it in, is a 2.2% 6 year or 7 year loan with a Rebate ($2500) that negates a bunch of the interest. If you look at it with the interest and rebate, it’s a less than 1% loan for 6 or 7 years. If you have a lemon or do not like in in 3-4 years, you can walk away for $475.

Most of the above is not accurate. Or at least, it does not describe the terms of the Options loan on my vehicle, nor any other ones I've seen folks report on the forum.

Options is not a 72 or 84 month loan. Options is either a 3 or 4 year loan whose last payment is higher than the other payments, and an optional way to forgo that last payment. That is all...

 

[RhodyGT]

Most of the above is not accurate. Or at least, it does not describe the terms of the Options loan on my vehicle, nor any other ones I've seen folks report on the forum.

Options is not a 72 or 84 month loan. Options is either a 3 or 4 year loan whose last payment is higher than the other payments, and an optional way to forgo that last payment. That is all...

No this is accurate. I confirmed it last night I spent some time playing with the Ford finance calculator and can confirm the 3 yr is amortized like a 6 year and 4 yr is amortized like a 7 year. All they are doing is using a 6 year simple interest calculation to determine your monthly payment and setting your balloon based on a residual. You pay the 6 yr payment for 35 months then in the 36th month you pay that months interest plus the remaining principle, aka balloon payment. I was able to create my own calculator and get the exact numbers Ford shows. What I thought was you paid the full interest over the 3 or 4 years but I was wrong. It’s just for the term and if you pay the balloon you save interest. As many have posted you can continue to make the same payments for 3 more years because they already figured a 6 or 7 year loan but those are long terms for a car. Hope that helps. Here are the residuals I was able to back into.

 

[markboris]

I'm eager to hear about owners who have sold their Mach-E that was financed with Ford Options. While the Ford Options program is treated as a retail contract but similar structure to a lease, I'm interested to learn how Ford treats these contracts.

I just sold a Ford lease (Ford Edge ST; what a nightmare that was) and am hoping some members could share their experience selling/trading-in with Ford Options. It would be great if this finance program was treated like a regular financed vehicle and I could sell it wherever/to whomever I'd like...

This will be useful when I want to refresh for a newer MY and am not locked down to only selling back to the originating Ford dealership (can dump it to a service like Vroom, Carvana and even Carmax).

I "sold" my Mach-E to a friend, however, it went like this:

I purchased my Mach-E Premium in March with Ford Options. I put down $10K and had paid 7 months worth of payments. I told my friend he could assume my Ford Options lease and continue with the same monthly payments. All I wanted was $10K to put down on my GT because I was going with the same Ford Options plan. I logged into my Ford Credit account and requested a "Transfer of Equity" form. We both filled it out and sent it back to them. Two weeks later Ford approved the transfer of my car and my friend has the same Ford Options contract I had, no changes. Then Ford contacted CA DMV to request the title papers. After they got them, they sent them to the Arizona MDV where my friend lives and transferred the title into his name. All of this took about 5 weeks from start to finish. I could have asked for more money but beings he is my best friend, I didn't.

I actually had three friends and two forum members that were interested in my car. These cars are definitely in demand.

 

[macchiaz-o]

No this is accurate. I confirmed it last night I spent some time playing with the Ford finance calculator and can confirm the 3 yr is amortized like a 6 year and 4 yr is amortized like a 7 year. All they are doing is using a 6 year simple interest calculation to determine your monthly payment and setting your balloon based on a residual. You pay the 6 yr payment for 35 months then in the 36th month you pay that months interest plus the remaining principle, aka balloon payment. I was able to create my own calculator and get the exact numbers Ford shows. What I thought was you paid the full interest over the 3 or 4 years but I was wrong. It’s just for the term and if you pay the balloon you save interest. As many have posted you can continue to make the same payments for 3 more years because they already figured a 6 or 7 year loan but those are long terms for a car. Hope that helps. Here are the residuals I was able to back into.

It may feel similar to a 6 or 7 year simple interest loan, but it is not the same thing. This is a simple way to simplify the math into very rough ballpark numbers, but it's inaccurate.

I'll take my own Ford Options loan as an example here. It's structured with 13,500 annual miles, a 43% residual after three years, and a 2.25% interest rate.

If I assume the same Amount Financed on a 6 year simple interest loan at 2.25%, each of the 72 monthly payments on that 6 year loan is $104 less than each monthly payment for months 1 through 35 with my Options loan.

The total cost of financing is $1,003 higher (in today's dollars) with this 6 year simple interest loan compared to me fully paying the Options loan on its normal schedule.

What I thought was you paid the full interest over the 3 or 4 years

The partial sentence I just quoted is a true statement.

As many have posted you can continue to make the same payments for 3 more years because they already figured a 6 or 7 year loan but those are long terms for a car.

This isn't always the case. It depends on the terms of your loan. Definitely read your contract to understand the terms you are signing into. Here is the text from my own contract with Ford Credit, which I signed in March 2021. I've emphasized the relevant sentence...

B. Balloon Payment Contracts: If your last scheduled payment under this contract is a balloon payment as indicated on Page 1 of this contract, you have three options to handle the balloon payment.​

First, you may pay all that you owe, and keep your motor vehicle.​

Second, you may refinance all that you owe unless you are in default under this contract. If the Creditor has advanced funds to cure any default, you must pay back the Creditor before the refinancing. You also must provide proof of insurance acceptable to Creditor before the refinancing. The refinancing Annual Percentage Rate (APR) will be agreed to by you and the Creditor at the time of refinancing and will not exceed the maximum APR permitted by law. Your refinanced monthly payment will be the same as in this contract if the refinanced amount will be fully paid in 36 months or less. Otherwise, your monthly payment will be the amount needed to fully pay the refinanced amount in 36 months. If you wish to refinance, you must notify the Creditor in writing no later than 30 days prior to the balloon payment due date.​

Third, you may transfer ownership of the vehicle to the Creditor, and an amount equal to your originally scheduled balloon payment will be applied toward the satisfaction of all that you owe. Creditor will add a $475 Disposal Fee to the amount that you owe and, if applicable, will add any excess mileage charges (as described on Page 1 of this contract) and any estimated costs of vehicle repairs that are the result of excess wear and use (as described in Paragraph C). If the amount of your originally scheduled balloon payment does not satisfy all that you owe, you will pay the difference. You must take the vehicle to a place selected by the Creditor for inspection no later than 15 days prior to the balloon payment due date. After the inspection, if you decide to transfer ownership of the vehicle to the Creditor, you must give the vehicle to the Creditor no later than the balloon payment due date. At that time, you must provide the Creditor a title, which shows no liens other than the Creditor’s lien, transferring ownership to the Creditor or a person selected by the Creditor. You must also provide other documents as needed. If you decide not to transfer ownership of the vehicle after inspection, you must immediately inform the Creditor if you want to refinance under the second option above.​

 

[RhodyGT]

It may feel similar to a 6 or 7 year simple interest loan, but it is not the same thing. This is a simple way to simplify the math into very rough ballpark numbers, but it's inaccurate.

I'll take my own Ford Options loan as an example here. It's structured with 13,500 annual miles, a 43% residual after three years, and a 2.25% interest rate.

If I assume the same Amount Financed on a 6 year simple interest loan at 2.25%, each of the 72 monthly payments on that 6 year loan is $104 less than each monthly payment for months 1 through 35 with my Options loan.

The total cost of financing is $1,003 higher (in today's dollars) with this 6 year simple interest loan compared to me fully paying the Options loan on its normal schedule.



The partial sentence I just quoted is a true statement.



This isn't always the case. It depends on the terms of your loan. Definitely read your contract to understand the terms you are signing into. Here is the text from my own contract with Ford Credit, which I signed in March 2021. I've emphasized the relevant sentence...

B. Balloon Payment Contracts: If your last scheduled payment under this contract is a balloon payment as indicated on Page 1 of this contract, you have three options to handle the balloon payment.​

First, you may pay all that you owe, and keep your motor vehicle.​

Second, you may refinance all that you owe unless you are in default under this contract. If the Creditor has advanced funds to cure any default, you must pay back the Creditor before the refinancing. You also must provide proof of insurance acceptable to Creditor before the refinancing. The refinancing Annual Percentage Rate (APR) will be agreed to by you and the Creditor at the time of refinancing and will not exceed the maximum APR permitted by law. Your refinanced monthly payment will be the same as in this contract if the refinanced amount will be fully paid in 36 months or less. Otherwise, your monthly payment will be the amount needed to fully pay the refinanced amount in 36 months. If you wish to refinance, you must notify the Creditor in writing no later than 30 days prior to the balloon payment due date.​

Third, you may transfer ownership of the vehicle to the Creditor, and an amount equal to your originally scheduled balloon payment will be applied toward the satisfaction of all that you owe. Creditor will add a $475 Disposal Fee to the amount that you owe and, if applicable, will add any excess mileage charges (as described on Page 1 of this contract) and any estimated costs of vehicle repairs that are the result of excess wear and use (as described in Paragraph C). If the amount of your originally scheduled balloon payment does not satisfy all that you owe, you will pay the difference. You must take the vehicle to a place selected by the Creditor for inspection no later than 15 days prior to the balloon payment due date. After the inspection, if you decide to transfer ownership of the vehicle to the Creditor, you must give the vehicle to the Creditor no later than the balloon payment due date. At that time, you must provide the Creditor a title, which shows no liens other than the Creditor’s lien, transferring ownership to the Creditor or a person selected by the Creditor. You must also provide other documents as needed. If you decide not to transfer ownership of the vehicle after inspection, you must immediately inform the Creditor if you want to refinance under the second option above.​

It is the same thing, just they cut it short at 3 or 4 years and you make a balloon payment to end the loan. Like I said I recreated the Ford calculator and I get the exact monthly payments as Ford down to the penny for each and every term and mileage you pick. They run the 3 yr like a 6 year to find the monthly payment but they are goalseeking the balloon payment to the residual that results from the mileage you pick. So yeah if you run a simple amortization using 6 years it won’t match. But run a 6 year with the 36 month being only the interest for that month and the remaining principal balance and then goalseek your payment such that your month 36 payment equals the residual and you will find it works.

 

[macchiaz-o]

It is the same thing, just they cut it short at 3 or 4 years and you make a balloon payment to end the loan. Like I said I recreated the Ford calculator and I get the exact monthly payments as Ford down to the penny for each and every term and mileage you pick. They run the 3 yr like a 6 year to find the monthly payment but they are goalseeking the balloon payment to the residual that results from the mileage you pick. So yeah if you run a simple amortization using 6 years it won’t match. But run a 6 year with the 36 month being only the interest for that month and the remaining principal balance and then goalseek your payment such that your month 36 payment equals the residual and you will find it works.

I've been using the PMT function in Excel. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/pmt-function-0214da64-9a63-4996-bc20-214433fa6441. My calculation match's Ford Credit's to within a buck or two.

I guess I'm missing something here. Can you demonstrate how your approach works with these numbers? (some info blurred for anonymity)

 

[RhodyGT]

I've been using the PMT function in Excel. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/pmt-function-0214da64-9a63-4996-bc20-214433fa6441. My calculation match's Ford Credit's to within a buck or two.

I guess I'm missing something here. Can you demonstrate how your approach works with these numbers? (some info blurred for anonymity)

Sure, here is what I did. I had to back into some of your number based on what you provided. Based on your residual your MSRP must have been $48,500. Based on your financed amount you must have had a mix of fees/taxes and down payment that resulted in a net reduction of MSRP for financing of $2.113.88 in order to get a financed amount of $46,386.12. I ran this 3yr loan at 72 months to get a payment of $689.32. In order to get a balloon payment of $20,855.00 they tack on an additional $105.20 to get a final payment of $794.52.

Payment Calc:

Ford Options
	0.43
MSRP	$48,500.00
Down payment	$2,113.88
Deposit	$0
Residual	$20,855.00
Tax, Title, Reg	$0
Financed	$46,386.12
Amort Term	72
Rate	2.25%
Payment	$689.32
Residual Payment	$105.20
Extra Payments	$0.00
Total Payment	$794.52
Calculated Residual	$20,855.00
Difference	($0.00)

Amortization table:

Balloon 3 yr
		$2,277.22​	$25,570.15​	$48,663.34​
1​	$46,386.12​	$86.97​	$707.55​	$794.52​
2​	$45,678.57​	$85.65​	$708.87​	$794.52​
3​	$44,969.69​	$84.32​	$710.20​	$794.52​
4​	$44,259.49​	$82.99​	$711.53​	$794.52​
5​	$43,547.95​	$81.65​	$712.87​	$794.52​
6​	$42,835.08​	$80.32​	$714.20​	$794.52​
7​	$42,120.88​	$78.98​	$715.54​	$794.52​
8​	$41,405.33​	$77.63​	$716.89​	$794.52​
9​	$40,688.44​	$76.29​	$718.23​	$794.52​
10​	$39,970.20​	$74.94​	$719.58​	$794.52​
11​	$39,250.62​	$73.59​	$720.93​	$794.52​
12​	$38,529.69​	$72.24​	$722.28​	$794.52​
13​	$37,807.40​	$70.89​	$723.63​	$794.52​
14​	$37,083.77​	$69.53​	$724.99​	$794.52​
15​	$36,358.77​	$68.17​	$726.35​	$794.52​
16​	$35,632.42​	$66.81​	$727.71​	$794.52​
17​	$34,904.71​	$65.45​	$729.07​	$794.52​
18​	$34,175.63​	$64.08​	$730.44​	$794.52​
19​	$33,445.19​	$62.71​	$731.81​	$794.52​
20​	$32,713.37​	$61.34​	$733.18​	$794.52​
21​	$31,980.19​	$59.96​	$734.56​	$794.52​
22​	$31,245.63​	$58.59​	$735.93​	$794.52​
23​	$30,509.69​	$57.21​	$737.31​	$794.52​
24​	$29,772.38​	$55.82​	$738.70​	$794.52​
25​	$29,033.67​	$54.44​	$740.08​	$794.52​
26​	$28,293.59​	$53.05​	$741.47​	$794.52​
27​	$27,552.12​	$51.66​	$742.86​	$794.52​
28​	$26,809.25​	$50.27​	$744.25​	$794.52​
29​	$26,065.00​	$48.87​	$745.65​	$794.52​
30​	$25,319.34​	$47.47​	$747.05​	$794.52​
31​	$24,572.29​	$46.07​	$748.45​	$794.52​
32​	$23,823.84​	$44.67​	$749.85​	$794.52​
33​	$23,073.98​	$43.26​	$751.26​	$794.52​
34​	$22,322.72​	$41.86​	$752.66​	$794.52​
35​	$21,570.05​	$40.44​	$754.08​	$794.52​
36​	$20,815.97​	$39.03​		$20,855.00​

 

[macchiaz-o]

Sure, here is what I did. I had to back into some of your number based on what you provided. Based on your residual your MSRP must have been $48,500. Based on your financed amount you must have had a mix of fees/taxes and down payment that resulted in a net reduction of MSRP for financing of $2.113.88 in order to get a financed amount of $46,386.12. I ran this 3yr loan at 72 months to get a payment of $689.32. In order to get a balloon payment of $20,855.00 they tack on an additional $105.20 to get a final payment of $794.52.

Payment Calc:

Ford Options
	0.43
MSRP	$48,500.00
Down payment	$2,113.88
Deposit	$0
Residual	$20,855.00
Tax, Title, Reg	$0
Financed	$46,386.12
Amort Term	72
Rate	2.25%
Payment	$689.32
Residual Payment	$105.20
Extra Payments	$0.00
Total Payment	$794.52
Calculated Residual	$20,855.00
Difference	($0.00)

How do you arrive at $105.20? How does this number relate to the balloon amount?

 

[Nklem]

Most of the above is not accurate. Or at least, it does not describe the terms of the Options loan on my vehicle, nor any other ones I've seen folks report on the forum.

Options is not a 72 or 84 month loan. Options is either a 3 or 4 year loan whose last payment is higher than the other payments, and an optional way to forgo that last payment. That is all...

.

Sorry for the misunderstandings.

When I bought my first Mach E, I found this way to calculate the payment options since the Ford Calculator went “off line” in mid May just before I purchased. It also could only be used on desktop browser, not a mobile device. It came back in a few days. I spent several evenings calculating the options before I purchased being the most expensive car I ever bought. Just to be clear, I figured out that it is only CALCULATED this way.

I did not state it was a loan for that period or term, but I certainly am taking advantage of the low rate and I have no intention of turning my car in unless it is problematic.

Mine has the “Option” to: “ Your refinanced monthly payment will be the same as in this contract if the refinanced amount will be fully paid in 36 months or less”.

To me that sounds and calculates like it’s the same interest rate, since the payment is the exact same as it was in the contract for 36 more months.

You are correct it is certainly not a 72 month or 84 month loan, but it is the way I found it is calculated, so folks can easily calculate it on their own for a payment approximation.

The Ford calculator is quirky and I got tired of having to adjust everything (down payments etc) and I did a full Excel sheet to see which way I wanted to go, extra principle, more down and compare with my credit Union rates, which are terrible in Maine.

Calc it on Ford.com and run it a Loan calculator as described above. You get the pretty much the same numbers, less or more depending on the mileage options. I actually figured out how the mileage formula worked and how it effects the payment as well, but have forgotten since.

As stated above, my contact has the option of continuing for 36 more months at the same payment if in good standing, refinancing it, paying cash or turning it in.

I think Options is the best new car financing plan I have ever seen. I liked it so much, I did it twice.

Enjoy and I am glad I created so much activity for the forum.

 

[RhodyGT]

.

Sorry for the misunderstandings.

When I bought my first Mach E, I found this way to calculate the payment options since the Ford Calcualtor went “off line” in May just before I purchased. It came back in a few days. I spent several evenings calculating the options. Just to be clear, I figured out that it is only CALCULATED this way.

I did not state it was a loan for that period or term, but I certainly am taking advantage of the low rate and I have no intention of turning my car in unless it is problematic.

Mine has the “Option” to: “ Your refinanced monthly payment will be the same as in this contract if the refinanced amount will be fully paid in 36 months or less”.

To me that sounds and calculates like it’s the same interest rate, since the payment is the exact same as it was in the contract for 36 more months.

You are correct it is certainly not a 72 month or 84 month loan, but it is the way I found it is calculated, so folks can easily calculate it on their own for a payment approximation.

The Ford calculator is quirky and I got tired of having to adjust everything (down payments etc) and I did a full Excel sheet to see which way I wanted to go, extra principle, more down and compare with my credit Union rates, which are terrible in Maine.

Calc it on Ford.com and run it a Loan calculator as described above. You get the pretty much the same numbers, less or more depending on the mileage options. I actually figured out how the mileage formula and how it effects the payment as well, but have forgotten since.

As stated above, my contact has the option of continuing for 36 more months at the same payment if in good standing, refinancing it or turning it in.

I think Options is the best new car financing plan I have ever seen. I liked it so much, I did it twice.

Enjoy and I am glad I created so much activity for the forum.

Sounds like I did exactly what you did trying to figure this out…lol

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