Do you think the first edition is worth the premium price?

Jayally

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I have a Red 1st edition reservation with a MSRP of $60,300 which is a LOT of money. I ordered it because its cool, looks nice and thought it would be more likely I could downgrade to a premium later on.

Do you think the First edition is worth the extra money for brake calipers painted red, brushed aluminum caps on the brake and the accelerator pedals, contrast stitching on the seats, and a scuff plate labeled First Edition ? A premium Ex RWD in red is $55,600 (300 mile range) so a difference of $4700 over the 1st edition or or Red Ex AWD $58,700 (270 mile range) for a difference of $1600 over the 1st edition.

Is AWD important if I don't live in an area with snow? (Southern California) Does it give you any benefits being it has a shorter range?

I am concerned I may miss out on some rebates as some places are changing the eligibility to a MSRP of $60000 or less. Mine is $300 over with the color up charge (I wish they wouldn't change more for color). IF I can get X plan pricing or other discounts would that still mean the car is over the MSRP of $60,000 because of the color and make me ineligible for additional rebates? I would hate to miss out on $2000 rebate from California plus I would pay an additional $1600 for some exclusivity.

I think I know what I'm probably going to do when it comes time to order so thanks for talking me through this. :)

https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/faqs/how-often-do-cvrp-program-requirements-change-0
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silverelan

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I'd keep it if I were you. The novelty of it being a unique EV for at least a year will be worth it. Years from now, people may want it more than you do.
 

TheBluf

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I didn't think it's worth it - a lack of extra features is why I chose not to get the First Edition in favor of a Premium RWD. Plus, I'm also in CA and decided that I dont' need AWD (the extra speed seems great on paper, but I'll never use it - and it's not worth it for just a few snowboarding trips a year).
 

4pac

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I have a Red 1st edition reservation with a MSRP of $60,300 which is a LOT of money. I ordered it because its cool, looks nice and thought it would be more likely I could downgrade to a premium later on.

Do you think the First edition is worth the extra money for brake calipers painted red, brushed aluminum caps on the brake and the accelerator pedals, contrast stitching on the seats, and a scuff plate labeled First Edition ? A premium Ex RWD in red is $55,600 (300 mile range) so a difference of $4700 over the 1st edition or or Red Ex AWD $58,700 (270 mile range) for a difference of $1600 over the 1st edition.

Is AWD important if I don't live in an area with snow? (Southern California) Does it give you any benefits being it has a shorter range?

I am concerned I may miss out on some rebates as some places are changing the eligibility to a MSRP of $60000 or less. Mine is $300 over with the color up charge (I wish they wouldn't change more for color). IF I can get X plan pricing or other discounts would that still mean the car is over the MSRP of $60,000 because of the color and make me ineligible for additional rebates? I would hate to miss out on $2000 rebate from California plus I would pay an additional $1600 for some exclusivity.

I think I know what I'm probably going to do when it comes time to order so thanks for talking me through this. :)

https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/faqs/how-often-do-cvrp-program-requirements-change-0
I got the first edition with the blue, and without any other markups its at 15,900. I should be able to keep it under the magic 60000 threshold to get my state rebate That plus the x-plan rebate its a little more tolerable.
 

Brianbarn

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I chose the First Edition for a few reasons - I wanted Grabber Blue (which was only available on the First Edition at launch), I love the interior with blue stitching, and because I like the novelty of having a truly limited-edition vehicle that may have some collectible value in the future.
 


Marc

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For me the most important reason is the fact that the FE is Priority Build. In 2021 our tax system will change (again), resulting in a net tax increase of approx 160 Euro/180 USD per month when leasing the car... So I want to be sure that de Mach E is delivered to me in 2020...
 

dbsb3233

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Just a few more $$ items to consider...

The higher the initial purchase price, the higher the sales tax. That's typically calculated on the pre-tax credit price. 8% sales tax on an extra $5000 is $400 (for example).

Similar with license/registration fees. And insurance premiums. Higher purchase price usually pushes those higher too.

Also factor the cost of adding a 220v outlet in your garage (if you have one) for home charging ($500-$1000?). Doesn't effect FE vs Premium per se, but it does affect you total outlays.

And if you don't plan to keep it long-term, resale value could be meager, since batteries could continue to improve at a rather sharp pace. This is still a relatively early-wave BEV. In 4 years it cold be considered inferior and have low market value.
 

timbop

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Well, you are essentially paying a little extra in the gamble that at some point it will be a collector's item (or at the very least much more desirable than other trims). I put it in the similar category with the 50th anniversary badged GT's; you might compare the residual value of those vs "regular" 2015 GT's. I'm not really a collector but am definitely a cheapskate, so I had no interest in the first edition and reserved the select trim.
 

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I chose the First Edition for a few reasons - I wanted Grabber Blue (which was only available on the First Edition at launch), I love the interior with blue stitching, and because I like the novelty of having a truly limited-edition vehicle that may have some collectible value in the future.
I chose NOT to get a First Edition for the same reason. I wanted Shadow Black or Infinite Blue which was not offered on FE. I was going to get a Premium AWD/ER anyway, which is mechanically identical and probably similarly priced, but wanted a different color, so I decided not to get the FE.
 

eastern refugee

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I got the FE in Grabber Blue as well and yes I live in southern Cali. First I wanted AWD because Southern Cali is well known for the Santa Ana winds and I have driven both AWD and FWD and RWD. AWD is by far the best hands down in different weather conditions and especially wind. The extra stuff like badging etc I think is cool. Will it make it more valuable?? Likely/maybe 2--50 years from now. You do not buy a car for investment unless you plan to NEVER drive it and store it for near eternity. As for the cost of insurance, I am an insurance agent and the reality is the cost of the car is one of the LOWEST factors in the cost of insurance. In fact a MORE expensive car can be cheaper to insure then say a cheaper version. For example the Ford Focus ST versus the Focus RS. The Focus ST which ran about $25,000 compared to the Focus ST which ran about $45,000. The ST is cheaper and the demographics were kids in their 20's. The rS were older people in the 40+. Kids tend to modify and raise hell. older people tend to have mid life crisis and just drive the car. As such the insurance on the RS is cheaper then the ST. A ford Raptor which not counting the dealer mark up runs about $75,000 is cheaper to insure then a Toyota Tundra V8. Why?? A variety of reasons including labor and parts etc, but a BIG part is that the Tundra is considered high performance which is ENTIRELY based on the ratio of horsepower to weight ratio. The Tundra is lighter and the Raptor is heavier. The Tundra is high performance and the Raptor is simply a varied version of a Ford F150. My ideas is buy what you want. IN the end the difference in price is minimal when you finance the car. If you are paying cash then there is a difference, However on a 6 year loan you may be talking as high as $20 per month. It is not that much. I agree the tax credit based on $60,000 or less is perplexing and I assume that Ford will find a way around it because it is so close to the figure. Also California is one of the few that are HEAVILY marketing EVs. There are all kinds of discounts. For example there is the current $2000 state discount but there is also an $800 discount form PG&E plus ZERO tier pricing when you register with PG&E. I realize that there are different utility companies through out the state but I cannot imagine that all are not doing this. The Govenor is trying to pass a NO OIL DRILLING bill for California. Now this will destroy the economy here but the concept is all about EV.
 

dbsb3233

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Except we're not talking about a Raptor vs a Tundra. We're talking about a $55k Mach-e vs a $60k Mach-e. As you say, insurance rates are based on a lot of factors, but for the same driver, most of those remain the same. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that a $60k Mach-e will have a higher insurance premium than a $55k Mach-e.

Sounds like you and I buy a vehicle to hold long-term (and thus don't care about resale value). But not everyone does. Some people turn their cars over more quickly than that (and still prefer to buy rather than lease). Unless money is no object, they're gonna care about resale value. I was just pointing that out as another item to factor in IF one doesn't plan to keep it long-term.

Good point about looking for any other tax credits, power company rebates, special perks, etc too. That was my point -- remembering to factor in all the different items that impact the economics.
 
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Jayally

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Good point about looking for any other tax credits, power company rebates, special perks, etc too. That was my point -- remembering to factor in all the different items that impact the economics.
Based on my research I would be eligible for $7500 tax credit, $2000 clean vehicle rebate (this is the one with the max $60,000 MSRP updated as of 12/19) and $1000 rebate from my SCE utility for a potential savings of $10,500. If the MSRP is over $60,000 I would only receive $8500. There are other discounts to consider here: https://www.driveclean.ca.gov/pev/Incentives.php
 

eastern refugee

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Except we're not talking about a Raptor vs a Tundra. We're talking about a $55k Mach-e vs a $60k Mach-e. As you say, insurance rates are based on a lot of factors, but for the same driver, most of those remain the same. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that a $60k Mach-e will have a higher insurance premium than a $55k Mach-e.

Sounds like you and I buy a vehicle to hold long-term (and thus don't care about resale value). But not everyone does. Some people turn their cars over more quickly than that (and still prefer to buy rather than lease). Unless money is no object, they're gonna care about resale value. I was just pointing that out as another item to factor in IF one doesn't plan to keep it long-term.

Good point about looking for any other tax credits, power company rebates, special perks, etc too. That was my point -- remembering to factor in all the different items that impact the economics.
As for insurance my guts says very little difference. It is simply a trim level change. The REAL reality is that no insurance has ANY data on these cars in terms of history. As such they will be best guesses until claims start rolling in. I think the only thing that will create a difference in insurance costs will be AWD versus RWD. What will also be interesting is that I have no idea if the Mach E is a complete aluminum frame like Tesla. If so any car crash which causes a tweak in a aluminum frame like Tesla causes the car to be totaled out. Most Tesla’s involved in a fender bender get totaled out which is THE why the cost to insure one is VERY high. All aluminum frames HAVE to be completely replaced if they get tweaked because they are no longer structurally sound. Normal cars that are not all aluminum frame can be fixed. More expensive luxury cars like Tesla jaguar etc are all aluminum frame.
 

timbop

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I can't remember where I read it now, but one of the teardown/engineering blogs mentioned it is a steel frame - so it should be cheaper than a tesla
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