Keep it or return my MachE 2021 FE?

[UW2]

I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary. Love the car, but the financing is about to run out. I can pay off and keep it or return it. What do others think/do?
Thanks for any feedback.

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[MachEJoe]

Might be worth it to upgrade to a 24 or 25 GT if possible, if you have the money and kick the can 39 months down the road.
If anything, for the new motors and cooling.
If sport isn't that important, keep it until the wheels fall off and the warranty expires

 

[SonicBlue]

I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary. Love the car, but the financing is about to run out. I can pay off and keep it or return it. What do others think/do?
Thanks for any feedback.

Kinda depends on how soon you want to replace your car. If you prefer to keep cars for the long haul - 8+ years - then by all means keep it.

If you prefer to upgrade every 5 years or so, and assuming you paid the minimum payments on a Ford Options plan, you might seriously consider dumping that thing. I mean, look at the depreciation.

 

[Deleted member 19354]

Kinda depends on how soon you want to replace your car. If you prefer to keep cars for the long haul - 8+ years - then by all means keep it.

If you prefer to upgrade every 5 years or so, and assuming you paid the minimum payments on a Ford Options plan, you might seriously consider dumping that thing. I mean, look at the depreciation.

2025 maybe a turbulent for EVs. I love mine so I’d take advantage of any potential tax break and or incentives that maybe currently offered.

 

[Scooby24]

I decided to keep mine. If I returned it, I would have lost about 30k in equity and have had nothing to show for it. The values seem to have stabilized a BIT right now...and I saw it as...I'm buying the nicest car I could possibly imagine for 25k (the balloon payment).

If I traded in on another Mach-E I would have lost that 30k on the first car, and immediately start depreciating 10s of thousands of dollars starting all over again on a new one. That just made...zero sense.

 

[Mach1E]

I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary. Love the car, but the financing is about to run out. I can pay off and keep it or return it. What do others think/do?
Thanks for any feedback.

What are the numbers? Model, options, mileage? And what’s the buyout price?

 

[UW2]

What are the numbers? Model, options, mileage? And what’s the buyout price?

About $25K left. 2021 FE extended range. About 25K miles.

 

[tfun]

If you must, buy a recent used one and gain from someone else's depreciation. Used EV's are an amazing bargain

 

[TheCount2]

I decided to keep mine. If I returned it, I would have lost about 30k in equity and have had nothing to show for it. The values seem to have stabilized a BIT right now...and I saw it as...I'm buying the nicest car I could possibly imagine for 25k (the balloon payment).

If I traded in on another Mach-E I would have lost that 30k on the first car, and immediately start depreciating 10s of thousands of dollars starting all over again on a new one. That just made...zero sense.

How could you lose $30k in equity by returning a leased or Ford Options car? Your “equity” (asset) would be offset by the buyout (liability). Please show numbers so I can see if I’m missing something about my ‘21.

 

[Alan]

Kinda depends on how soon you want to replace your car. If you prefer to keep cars for the long haul - 8+ years - then by all means keep it.

If you prefer to upgrade every 5 years or so, and assuming you paid the minimum payments on a Ford Options plan, you might seriously consider dumping that thing. I mean, look at the depreciation.

The KBB and Edmunds both report the fair market value of the FE is as high as the Options residual in the Phoenix area, while the non-FEs are underwater. I may just keep my FE in a couple months at the lease end. I was very surprised to see the FE keeping a higher percentage of purchase price.

 

[Scooby24]

How could you lose $30k in equity by returning a leased or Ford Options car? Your “equity” (asset) would be offset by the buyout (liability). Please show numbers so I can see if I’m missing something about my ‘21.

I don't recall the exact numbers but Purchase Price + Tax was somewhere around 65k - less federal tax credit roughly 58k

Buyout was roughly 28k - so I lost roughly 30k in 3 years. Balloon payment was around 26k...so the buyout was pretty much a wash.

It's not like if I turn it in I was in a different position with respect to the equity. That money was just gone. But the rate of depreciation is now much slower on my 21. So...I could buy a new car and restart the depreciation clock and start losing money fast again...or for 26k I could buy my car and have the nicest vehicle available for 26k and have a much slower rate of depreciation which helps offset the 30k.

 

[AKgrampy]

I will be in the same position in a year. I intend to upgrade to a newer vehicle. Normally I keep a car for 10 years. If I lived in the lower 48 I might hang on to it but the heat is marginal for winter conditions here in Alaska and the newer versions have an upgraded heater. I am a bit concerned how well the heat pump will perform at -30F. I may change my mind though as I have had zero issues so far with my 22GT.

 

[Blue highway]

Crystal ball says - EVs like the MME, EV6, and others are going to settle in around ~20K used value as a floor with much slower depreciation after that... we will see.

 

[Alan]

I will be in the same position in a year. I intend to upgrade to a newer vehicle. Normally I keep a car for 10 years. If I lived in the lower 48 I might hang on to it but the heat is marginal for winter conditions here in Alaska and the newer versions have an upgraded heater. I am a bit concerned how well the heat pump will perform at -30F. I may change my mind though as I have had zero issues so far with my 22GT.

Heat pumps are great when you need 30 or less degrees of added heat. When the need is much greater, then they are just some minimal extra weight to be towed around.

 

[melissphillips]

I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary. Love the car, but the financing is about to run out. I can pay off and keep it or return it. What do others think/do?
Thanks for any feedback.

If the numbers make sense I'd switch it out for a '24 or '25 that way you can take advantage of the improvements and we still don't know what the long term battery life on these cars will be.

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