Hello from Southern California! Why I'm getting a Mach E.

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Hello from Southern California! Why I'm getting a Mach E.

I’m finally upgrading from my 2011 Dodge Caliber. It’s really getting close to 100K miles, and every car I’ve owned has basically fallen apart at that point. I tend to drive my cars until they die. I was planning on getting a new car sometime last year, and it was absolutely going to be an ICE car (Either a Honda CRV or a Mazda CX5). I wasn’t even considering EV at the time. Because of COVID, I ended up working from home for the last year and a half and have put very few miles on my car, which allowed me to hold out for longer. I started looking into getting an EV and the more I looked into it, the more it appealed to me. My daily commute is 15 miles each way and there are some kind of chargers at my office, but I don’t know what they are. We’re expected to be back in the office full time in September and I wanted to have a new car before then.
A couple of weeks ago, I took the week off from work for a Staycation at home, and decided to do some car shopping. Here’s my experience over that week and why I decided to go with the Mach-E order.

Monday:
Test drove a Honda CRV. This was the only ICE car I was considering, but I was pretty sure I was going to go EV, so this was just a starter to confirm. I did like it. Loved the amount of space and the features. If I was going ICE, I would probably get this car. This had been the top of my list all last year, so I still wanted to check it out.
Test drove a Kia Niro. This was at the top of my EV list. I’ve never driven an EV before, but it was a lot of fun. Fairly comfortable and a decent size. At this point, I’d watched a lot of videos about it and thought it would be a good choice. On paper, it seemed like it was about the same size as my current car, but it felt smaller all around. Slightly less leg room in the back, and the trunk storage seemed a little smaller too. It was a hot day and the air was blasting, so I couldn’t really tell how quiet the car was.
Did a little more research on Tuesday night and discovered the Volkswagen ID 4. Seemed more in-line with the CR-V as far as size, so it became a contender. Especially considering the price for the Pro S is about the same as the Niro Premium.

Tuesday:
Test drove a Hyundai Kona. Not a fan at all. I couldn’t even get into the back seat until I moved the front seat forward. Even then, leg room was awful. I have a teenage son who is going to be in the back a lot, so I need some leg-room in the back. I did enjoy driving it. I liked the HUD, and this was the only car with one. Kind of a gimmick, but I thought it was cool. Dealer was really pushy. They called me every day for the rest of the week and I just ignored them. I told them I’d driven the Niro and they kind of pooh-pooed it. (“Oh, that’s our economy line”).
Watched some ID 4 reviews and discovered the Mach-E, because a lot of reviews were comparing the two cars. I didn’t realize before that the Mach-E was a compact SUV, because I assumed it was like a traditional Mustang, so I hadn’t even considered it. I was intrigued and wanted to check it out.

Wednesday:
Test drove the Volkswagen ID 4. I liked driving it, but I’m not a fan of the UI design, like the haptic buttons and sliders. It’s all kind of just weird. I did get to try out the Adaptive Cruise Control, which I didn’t get a chance to test with the other cars, and I liked it. Coming from a 2011 car that doesn’t really have any features like that, it was pretty cool. Liked the shade on the moonroof too. I could see myself buying this car.
Later in the day went to a Ford dealer to test drive the Mach-E. Their website said they had 3 in stock, but when I got there, they had none. They said their sister dealer in another city might have one, but it was late in the day and I didn’t want to go there.

Thursday:
Called a few dealers and found one that had a Mach-E to drive. Another dealer only had one in stock, but they would only let serious buyers drive it. Also, it had a $10K markup.
I liked driving the Mach-E, but it was rush hour in a very busy part of town, so I didn’t really get to test its capabilities, except on one street when the traffic cleared up a little. Just from the limited time I spent in it, I still liked it better than the other 3 cars. I really love the look, it was super comfortable, storage is better than my current car. For the same price, it beat the pants off the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Kona. The ID4 was still a contender at this point though.

Friday:
Called the dealer where I had driven the Mach-E. Turns out there was a $9,000 markup on it. It was a Select and going for over $50K. I really don’t want to pay that price for a Select.

Saturday:
Did a lot of thinking and watched a lot of videos (Shout-out to Mach-E Vlog!). Decided that the Mach-E was for me, but was not sure what to do about it.

Sunday:
Called a few more dealers. The ones that had Mach-Es on the lot all had pretty high markups ($7,500 or so). Decided to place an order instead. If I’m going to pay a premium price, I can wait 5 or 6 months and actually get a Premium.

So I put in a reservation for a Dark Matter Gray Metallic Premium, RWD, standard battery. I picked standard battery because my daily commute is only 30 miles and we don't really do road trips. I can count the number of road trips greater than 200 miles we took in my Caliber on one hand. The next longest drive for us is Disneyland which is a 160 mile round-trip from home. I don't know if it's worth the extra $5,000 for a handful of long drives. Plus, my wife has an ICE car (a Mini Countryman) and will probably have it for at least 5 more years.
I’m sure by the time my MME is ready, my Caliber will break 100K miles, so my trade-in/resale value will probably drop, but I can also save a few car payments between now and then and maybe put more money down. The anticipation at this point kind of sucks. I've got a few dealers looking for me (found a couple that don't do ADM on the lot), so if something comes in, maybe I can get a car ahead of my order. I'm not dead-set on the color. I don't want white or black. I haven't seen Infinite Blue in person, so I don't know if I will like it. My current car is silver, so I don't really want silver either, but it sure does look nice in pictures, so I'm not totally ruling it out. If Carbonized Gray was still an option, I would have ordered it. I would even go for red if there's one available at this point (My first car was a red 87 Toyota Tercel). I'd probably be willing to shell out the extra money for the extended battery too, depending on how desperate I get.

The astute reader will notice that I never mentioned Tesla above. It was never really a consideration. My neighbors just got a blue Model Y and there are a couple of others on my street (either Y or 3, I'm not sure). It's a very popular car in our area. I don't really like the look, I don't like the single screen only and I don't like the lack of the tax credit, which brings the price quite a bit higher for the Model Y than the MME. Charging networks aren't really an issue for me. I'll be charging at home nearly all the time. Plus, I expect they will get better. I get why people like it, it's just not for me. Just like I get why people like iPhone even though I prefer Android.

So that's it. I can't wait until I am actually an owner and can post pictures!
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Congratulations, and welcome (almost) to the club!
I hope that you enjoy your MME as much as I'm enjoying mine.

smp
 

krazieboy

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I'm in socal too, where did you order from? I personally think with this huge 24 week wait, I rather just grab one off the lot. I figured few months from now, there would prolly be more available. I've read a lot about mike levine helping people get mach e at msrp, so not too worried about it.

Personally i think the long range is worth it. You have the ability to go far if you want, and not have any range anxiety.
 

CyanLite

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I picked standard battery because my daily commute is only 30 miles and we don't really do road trips. I can count the number of road trips greater than 200 miles we took in my Caliber on one hand. The next longest drive for us is Disneyland which is a 160 mile round-trip from home. I don't know if it's worth the extra $5,000 for a handful of long drives.
You should factor in 30% battery degradation because that's what the warranty is assuming. Which means that 200 mile-range you're getting brand new is only going to be about 140 miles in a few years (30% range loss according to warranty)
 

Mach-E VLOG

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Hello from Southern California! Why I'm getting a Mach E.

I’m finally upgrading from my 2011 Dodge Caliber. It’s really getting close to 100K miles, and every car I’ve owned has basically fallen apart at that point. I tend to drive my cars until they die. I was planning on getting a new car sometime last year, and it was absolutely going to be an ICE car (Either a Honda CRV or a Mazda CX5). I wasn’t even considering EV at the time. Because of COVID, I ended up working from home for the last year and a half and have put very few miles on my car, which allowed me to hold out for longer. I started looking into getting an EV and the more I looked into it, the more it appealed to me. My daily commute is 15 miles each way and there are some kind of chargers at my office, but I don’t know what they are. We’re expected to be back in the office full time in September and I wanted to have a new car before then.
A couple of weeks ago, I took the week off from work for a Staycation at home, and decided to do some car shopping. Here’s my experience over that week and why I decided to go with the Mach-E order.

Monday:
Test drove a Honda CRV. This was the only ICE car I was considering, but I was pretty sure I was going to go EV, so this was just a starter to confirm. I did like it. Loved the amount of space and the features. If I was going ICE, I would probably get this car. This had been the top of my list all last year, so I still wanted to check it out.
Test drove a Kia Niro. This was at the top of my EV list. I’ve never driven an EV before, but it was a lot of fun. Fairly comfortable and a decent size. At this point, I’d watched a lot of videos about it and thought it would be a good choice. On paper, it seemed like it was about the same size as my current car, but it felt smaller all around. Slightly less leg room in the back, and the trunk storage seemed a little smaller too. It was a hot day and the air was blasting, so I couldn’t really tell how quiet the car was.
Did a little more research on Tuesday night and discovered the Volkswagen ID 4. Seemed more in-line with the CR-V as far as size, so it became a contender. Especially considering the price for the Pro S is about the same as the Niro Premium.

Tuesday:
Test drove a Hyundai Kona. Not a fan at all. I couldn’t even get into the back seat until I moved the front seat forward. Even then, leg room was awful. I have a teenage son who is going to be in the back a lot, so I need some leg-room in the back. I did enjoy driving it. I liked the HUD, and this was the only car with one. Kind of a gimmick, but I thought it was cool. Dealer was really pushy. They called me every day for the rest of the week and I just ignored them. I told them I’d driven the Niro and they kind of pooh-pooed it. (“Oh, that’s our economy line”).
Watched some ID 4 reviews and discovered the Mach-E, because a lot of reviews were comparing the two cars. I didn’t realize before that the Mach-E was a compact SUV, because I assumed it was like a traditional Mustang, so I hadn’t even considered it. I was intrigued and wanted to check it out.

Wednesday:
Test drove the Volkswagen ID 4. I liked driving it, but I’m not a fan of the UI design, like the haptic buttons and sliders. It’s all kind of just weird. I did get to try out the Adaptive Cruise Control, which I didn’t get a chance to test with the other cars, and I liked it. Coming from a 2011 car that doesn’t really have any features like that, it was pretty cool. Liked the shade on the moonroof too. I could see myself buying this car.
Later in the day went to a Ford dealer to test drive the Mach-E. Their website said they had 3 in stock, but when I got there, they had none. They said their sister dealer in another city might have one, but it was late in the day and I didn’t want to go there.

Thursday:
Called a few dealers and found one that had a Mach-E to drive. Another dealer only had one in stock, but they would only let serious buyers drive it. Also, it had a $10K markup.
I liked driving the Mach-E, but it was rush hour in a very busy part of town, so I didn’t really get to test its capabilities, except on one street when the traffic cleared up a little. Just from the limited time I spent in it, I still liked it better than the other 3 cars. I really love the look, it was super comfortable, storage is better than my current car. For the same price, it beat the pants off the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Kona. The ID4 was still a contender at this point though.

Friday:
Called the dealer where I had driven the Mach-E. Turns out there was a $9,000 markup on it. It was a Select and going for over $50K. I really don’t want to pay that price for a Select.

Saturday:
Did a lot of thinking and watched a lot of videos (Shout-out to Mach-E Vlog!). Decided that the Mach-E was for me, but was not sure what to do about it.

Sunday:
Called a few more dealers. The ones that had Mach-Es on the lot all had pretty high markups ($7,500 or so). Decided to place an order instead. If I’m going to pay a premium price, I can wait 5 or 6 months and actually get a Premium.

So I put in a reservation for a Dark Matter Gray Metallic Premium, RWD, standard battery. I picked standard battery because my daily commute is only 30 miles and we don't really do road trips. I can count the number of road trips greater than 200 miles we took in my Caliber on one hand. The next longest drive for us is Disneyland which is a 160 mile round-trip from home. I don't know if it's worth the extra $5,000 for a handful of long drives. Plus, my wife has an ICE car (a Mini Countryman) and will probably have it for at least 5 more years.
I’m sure by the time my MME is ready, my Caliber will break 100K miles, so my trade-in/resale value will probably drop, but I can also save a few car payments between now and then and maybe put more money down. The anticipation at this point kind of sucks. I've got a few dealers looking for me (found a couple that don't do ADM on the lot), so if something comes in, maybe I can get a car ahead of my order. I'm not dead-set on the color. I don't want white or black. I haven't seen Infinite Blue in person, so I don't know if I will like it. My current car is silver, so I don't really want silver either, but it sure does look nice in pictures, so I'm not totally ruling it out. If Carbonized Gray was still an option, I would have ordered it. I would even go for red if there's one available at this point (My first car was a red 87 Toyota Tercel). I'd probably be willing to shell out the extra money for the extended battery too, depending on how desperate I get.

The astute reader will notice that I never mentioned Tesla above. It was never really a consideration. My neighbors just got a blue Model Y and there are a couple of others on my street (either Y or 3, I'm not sure). It's a very popular car in our area. I don't really like the look, I don't like the single screen only and I don't like the lack of the tax credit, which brings the price quite a bit higher for the Model Y than the MME. Charging networks aren't really an issue for me. I'll be charging at home nearly all the time. Plus, I expect they will get better. I get why people like it, it's just not for me. Just like I get why people like iPhone even though I prefer Android.

So that's it. I can't wait until I am actually an owner and can post pictures!
Congrats! I really appreciate your detailed process. Hopefully, you won't have to wait too long to get in your Mach-E!
 


timbop

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You should factor in 30% battery degradation because that's what the warranty is assuming. Which means that 200 mile-range you're getting brand new is only going to be about 140 miles in a few years (30% range loss according to warranty)
That is HIGHLY UNLIKELY. Ford is using standard batteries with a liquid-cooled battery management system. The most you are likely to see in 8 years is a 5% to 10% degradation.
 

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That is HIGHLY UNLIKELY. Ford is using standard batteries with a liquid-cooled battery management system. The most you are likely to see in 8 years is a 5% to 10% degradation.
Agreed. That is a hugely pessimistic figure; the batteries are so expensive to replace that Ford is giving themselves a wide cushion.
 
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I'm in socal too, where did you order from?
I ordered from Gosch Ford in Escondido, just because they are the closest dealer to me. I confirmed that they don't add ADM on orders (I know nobody is supposed to).

About the battery, like I said above, if one come in at one of the non-ADM dealers, I probably won't be super picky. AWD + Extended battery is a little pricey for me though, but I might just jump on an extended battery. I don't think I would get AWD with the standard battery, as that would reduce the range a little more.
 
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jglor

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Congrats! I really appreciate your detailed process. Hopefully, you won't have to wait too long to get in your Mach-E!
Thanks! Your videos were one of the deciding factors. In fact, I think I found your Kia Niro and ID4 videos first while researching them, which lead me to the Mach E.
 

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I ordered from Gosch Ford in Escondido, just because they are the closest dealer to me. I confirmed that they don't add ADM on orders (I know nobody is supposed to).

About the battery, like I said above, if one come in at one of the non-ADM dealers, I probably won't be super picky. AWD + Extended battery is a little pricey for me though, but I might just jump on an extended battery. I don't think I would get AWD with the standard battery, as that would reduce the range a little more.
I'm here in Encinitas and they have a few in stock. I know one is red and maybe a white and gray one of some sort. Also no ADM
 
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jglor

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I'm here in Encinitas and they have a few in stock. I know one is red and maybe a white and gray one of some sort. Also no ADM
Interesting. When I called Encinitas Ford last month, they said they were adding ADM on cars on the lot.
 

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You should factor in 30% battery degradation because that's what the warranty is assuming. Which means that 200 mile-range you're getting brand new is only going to be about 140 miles in a few years (30% range loss according to warranty)
Ford has to protect for customers that almost exclusively DC fast charge because they live in an apartment, etc. Charging at home and avoiding long periods of time spent at very high or very low states of charge should result in minimal degradation (lithium ion batteries typically like to be around 50% charge). Plus socal should have plenty of charging for a little longer journeys unlike south texas.
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