Leasing or Buying another Ford after Ford Options term

[ridgebackpilot]

I think we are forgetting what Ford Options actually is. It was created as a loophole because before 2023, the ev tax credit was only for purchased vehicles, not leased. It's a lease with a financed lipstick. The advantage is that, if you want to keep it, you don't have to pay any title transfer fees. And I didn't need any payment down at signing.

That's it. I fully expected values would come down hard and, at the end, the most likely scenario was just to return the car. I'm sorry for you, but if you knew you were going to put on 100k miles, you were buying it, not returning it.

My take is a little different. Legally, Ford Options was a balloon purchase contract with lease lipstick. The motivation, as you suggest, was to ensure the buyer received the EV tax credit. In 2022, all individual buyers were eligible and I got $7,500 times two.

Dealers often misunderstand this and think of it as a lease. But many balloon contracts are similar, such as BMW’s EasyRide program for motorcycle purchases.

I expected my wife would put a lot of miles on her MME, and that’s what happened. It’s been a good car, and we can certainly purchase it at the end of our Options contract. But if Ford wants to incentivize us to trade it for a new Ford EV, I’d certainly be open to that. We all know Ford Credit is a relationship lender, which makes a difference to me. It’s why I may stick with Ford rather than the other EV options out there.

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