"Ford Options" Mach-E Lease vs standard lease - similarities and differences

[hybrid2bev]

Again, thank you all for the information. I'll be speaking with my salesman today, I just want to be prepared to corroborate the information as this dealership already stated they've never handled a FO financing program and would be at the beginning of the learning curve with it. I went through a similar situation last summer when I bought my first MME, but the dealer was local to me. This one is 8 hours away and in another state so I'm approaching everything a bit more skeptically before I commit to spending a weekend driving.

@hybrid2bev When you have a moment, can you tell me how Ford evaluates best rate tiers? I assume it's by credit score cutoffs.

My salesman indicated that the threshold was 720, you apply for credit approval and Ford Motor Credit does the check,

There is no specific FICO score cutoff that will score Tier 0/1 to get the best rates.

And here's partly why. You could have 2 years of bureau history with 3 tradelines (2 credit cards and a student loan) and score a 750 FICO. Or you could have 20 years on the bureau with 30 tradelines, multiple autos and mortgages and also be a 750 FICO. The FICO score alone is not a good indicator of credit worthiness.

The scorecards are vastly more complex than just looking at a FICO score. There are dozens of scoring attributes and FICO is not even the most important one.

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[treasy]

True.

Turns out my employer doesn't let me specify a dollar amount that I want them to use to reduce federal withholdings on my bi-weekly paychecks. I don't file a paper W-4 with them, instead it's a weird web site that doesn't look the same as the form.

But they do let me specify a "deductions" amount, which they don't explain at all. So after I purchased the Mach-E (last March), I immediately put in a large-ish figure into my W-4 "deductions" and then monitored my pay stubs to see how it impacted the figures. I observed and adjusted it a few times over the next several paychecks, and then I set it back to $0 once I was confident I'd gotten close enough to the $7,500 credit.

I agree with Rick's warning... This was not easy. If my employer allowed me to just reduce withholdings by a direct dollar amount it would have been more straightforward.

Anyway, I filed taxes a few days ago and ended up owing about $800 in federal taxes so it worked out perfectly for me.

just use the irs withholding calculator

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

 

[macchiaz-o]

just use the irs withholding calculator

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

I did, but at the end it tells you how to adjust a traditional W-4. My employer uses a completely different form with different fields.

 

[Rudy Bega]

There is no specific FICO score cutoff that will score Tier 0/1 to get the best rates.

And here's partly why. You could have 2 years of bureau history with 3 tradelines (2 credit cards and a student loan) and score a 750 FICO. Or you could have 20 years on the bureau with 30 tradelines, multiple autos and mortgages and also be a 750 FICO. The FICO score alone is not a good indicator of credit worthiness.

The scorecards are vastly more complex than just looking at a FICO score. There are dozens of scoring attributes and FICO is not even the most important one.

Does having the A Plan matter at all? Curious, thanks

 

[hybrid2bev]

Does having the A Plan matter at all? Curious, thanks

Yes. It's a positive factor but it only helps if the dealer adds a comment indicating A-Plan when submitting the application (which they often don't do). Several dealer bulletins have been sent out in the past to remind dealers to include the A-Plan comment when appropriate.

 

[treasy]

I did, but at the end it tells you how to adjust a traditional W-4. My employer uses a completely different form with different fields.

Oh ok, I thought you were talking about the W-4 change that took effect after trump's tax changes where they completely changed the W-4

At my job there's a simple "app" that will fill out the W4 for you after asking you some questions, but you can choose to just directly fill out witholdings and extra witholdings if you prefer

 

[Rudy Bega]

Yes. It's a positive factor but it only helps if the dealer adds a comment indicating A-Plan when submitting the application (which they often don't do). Several dealer bulletins have been sent out in the past to remind dealers to include the A-Plan comment when appropriate.

Thanks! You have been a great resource for questions, I have appreciated your posts these past 9 months as I was waiting for delivery. I’m enjoying my Red Pony now!

 

[Dancefreak]

@hybrid2bev
I see 2.49% and bonus cash is still available, but would you happen to know if the March options residuals remain the same as Feb?

 

[hybrid2bev]

@hybrid2bev
I see 2.49% and bonus cash is still available, but would you happen to know if the March options residuals remain the same as Feb?

Yes, the residuals are quarterly. So they are good through 3/31/2022.

 

[Dancefreak]

Yes, the residuals are quarterly. So they are good through 3/31/2022.

got it. Thank you.

 

[lindseybp]

Is Ford Options still available on NEW 2021 model year Mach e's even though they are on to building 2022's?

 

[generaltso]

Is Ford Options still available on NEW 2021 model year Mach e's even though they are on to building 2022's?

Yes.

 

[tBookkeeper]

Hi everyone,

May be the wrong spot, but I haven't seen a thread on it yet. Is April or 2Q going to bring any changes to the Ford Options being available or any incentive changes? I am supposed to take delivery (hopefully) in the next 6 weeks so I'm hopeful that there's still an incentive and Ford Options will still be available. My dealer mentioned there could be programmatic changes from Ford. Curious if that's true or a tactic to get me to do a traditional loan.

Thanks for any intel!

 

[hybrid2bev]

Hi everyone,

May be the wrong spot, but I haven't seen a thread on it yet. Is April or 2Q going to bring any changes to the Ford Options being available or any incentive changes? I am supposed to take delivery (hopefully) in the next 6 weeks so I'm hopeful that there's still an incentive and Ford Options will still be available. My dealer mentioned there could be programmatic changes from Ford. Curious if that's true or a tactic to get me to do a traditional loan.

Thanks for any intel!

Ford Options has been active for over a year now. I don’t see it going away until after the Federal tax credit is gone.

Future incentives are highly secret. The dealer has no way of knowing what they are until the day the program is published/effective. Could there be changes, yes. Could I win the lottery, also yes. No one (certainly not the dealer) publicly knows what will happen with future incentives.

 

[kennethjk]

Hi everyone,

May be the wrong spot, but I haven't seen a thread on it yet. Is April or 2Q going to bring any changes to the Ford Options being available or any incentive changes? I am supposed to take delivery (hopefully) in the next 6 weeks so I'm hopeful that there's still an incentive and Ford Options will still be available. My dealer mentioned there could be programmatic changes from Ford. Curious if that's true or a tactic to get me to do a traditional loan.

Thanks for any intel!

You should be eligible for the option plan available when you ordered the car.

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