MME Not a long-term vehicle. How come?

Ravensfan1996

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I think a lot of people took the Options plan, planning on turning it back in or trading it for what’s the next best thing out there. I Plan on paying it off and keeping it for awhile.
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Raymondjram

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I plan on keeping the MME for the long term, but will make the switch when the Mustang Mach Econoline is released :p

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You can keep that Econoline van, and do a conversion on it. Chevy sells a motor, controller, and battery package from the Bolt EV. It will cost much less than a new EV (probably the e-Transit), and weigh much less.
 

Raymondjram

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Blame Dave Ramsey for my mindset :D. I'm debt free, worry free, and am not a slave to the lenders. When I had debt I CONSTANTLY worried about what I'd do with 3 kids in private school if I lost my job. Not anymore.

I haven't had a car payment in over a decade. How is that leaving money on the table? All that money is on MY table. :D I can usually get pretty decent deals paying cash up front too. Saved quite a bit on my motorcycle with that approach.
I listened to Dave Ransey on AM radio years ago. I smiled every time a listener called in and yelled that famous frase. I learned from my Dad to save at least 30 % of the target vehicle cost in a year before buying, using that savings as a practice for the loan payment, and as a real down payment. As of now, I have only 26 payments on my home mortgage, and no other loan or debt. So when I am really "debt free", I will buy my first EV, probably the 2023 Mach-E.
 
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Raymondjram

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The question is, what does one consider long term because not every persons view of this phrase is the same.
For me, long term vehicle ownership is over ten years. I had two GM cars before my present Ford Fusion Hybrid, and both ran over twenty years before reselling them. I take excellent care of my cars, and my Fusion was assembled Sept 2013, so next month it is eight years old. By 2023 it reaches the long term value, and then I may sell it and buy the Mach-E.
 

Raymondjram

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No more than in any other modern car. Module failure is exceedingly rare.
That is very true, unless someone can scientifically prove that electron flow does wear down the microscopic components in an integrated circuit.
 


Raymondjram

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I worked through college. Took me longer but it was worth not dealing with
I had to work summer jobs since high school and through all my college years, too. We are three siblings and our parents were from poor families, so we had many part time jobs. But the best side benefit was having all that experience on our resumes, and becoming better employees than a fresh newbie. I strongly recommend passing that requirement to your descendants from now on. It will make them better employees, bosses, and parents.
 

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I put a lot of thought into every new vehicle I have bought. My last car I kept for 19 years and woudn't have sold it except for life style changes and limited garage space. I plan to keep my MME a long time; its a great car.
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Oh, and I've kept my current wife 34 years.
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My wife and were classmates since 1963, so we like each other for 58 years, and married for 46.
 

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I've seen quite a few threads with comments indicating that people don't see the MME as a car they anticipate owning, "long term".

Curious - if you feel that way, what brought you to that conclusion? I buy vehicles to last (Current vehicle is an 07 Camry). Is it a reliability issue? Comfort? Technology becoming outdated?
I intend to 'keep'.... but am concerned about the longevity of all the electronics versus regular mechanicals for the simple wear items like door handles and all the sensor/display stuff that is a mass of microchips and computer with..... *limited life*.

I'm not worried about chips wearing out, but I am wondering what will happen on the OS and software compatibility side since we depend on compatibility between car and phone. Once we buy the car, the installed OS is 'static' unless updated by OTA or Dealership.... Our phones obviously evolve annually; and compatibility issues become more likely as time goes by.

I have a stack of laptops in my closet that have specific software/hardware they can still run, and then newer laptop(s) that cannot run or communicate with the older hardware. 10 years is a minimum expectation for a car, but nearing end of life for most computers.... So, I'm a little nervous about the phone/car connectivity 10+ years out.
 
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I guess I'm in the minority, but our intention is very much to keep our MME for a "long" time...hopefully at least 10 years. The car's tech, as it sits now, is good enough to suit 99% of our needs. The biggest concern re: tech is connectivity to future phones, but we expect those to be taken care of with updates. As for the battery tech...it'll do just fine for us. Safety tech as well.

As a younger man, I used to buy and sell a lot to experience a lot of different cars. I'm pretty much over that.

Note - as of this year both my wife and I work from home, so we don't rack up miles on our cars anymore. That should help. But even if the MME commuted, we'd be keeping it longer than our past cars.
 
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TheCats

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That is very true, unless someone can scientifically prove that electron flow does wear down the microscopic components in an integrated circuit.
It does happen, search for "electromigration in semiconductors".
But the effect is unmeasurably small -- effectively it doesn't happen -- with well designed semiconductors used within their rating.
 

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Depends. A lot of folks never really own a car but pay to drive them.

It is the Cash vs Credit thing. Studies show paying cash is actually more mentally painful as the buyer experiences the loss immediately and the credit folks are just getting killed by thou$ands of smaller cuts.

Our pickup truck has been in the Family since 1967. Maybe this Mustang, being the first year and in the 6000s on the Vin may also.
I guess that was the benefit of waiting the long 16 months for this car. It gave me plenty time to accrue cash for it. Felt good to walk away in the clear for a change. And I have a 10 year plan with this car, and can wait to see what it evolves into by 2031.
 
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The MachE is only the second car I've bought for myself. The previous was a Golf wagon with AWD and a decent number of bells and whistles. I intended to keep it long-term, but 3.5 years and 70k miles in, the itch to go electric and ditch all the maintenance was getting very strong. I drive a lot, probably a third of which is just for pleasure, and my personal car purchases are as emotional as they are practical.

I LOVE this car, and see it satisfying the utilitarian needs if my family grows, while also providing all the car-based fun I crave. It just doesn't feel like you're straining this car when you ask a lot of it, which only makes it feel more like a car that can endure. I got the 125k-mile warranty at a discount; got it due to the complexity of computerization and new-to-Ford stuff, and due to how critical it is to me that my car work when I need it. It came in handy majorly in my previous Ford, though it was ICE. Either way, I intend to keep this car as long as I still love it. I have always been strongly interested in cars, but I don't have space for a third car as a toy.
 

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This will be my 2nd new car purchase, the first being my ‘08 Subaru which I’m still driving. Before that it was a couple of used cars that I drove into the ground but the unpredictable maintenance was wearisome. I’ve never been attracted to the lease model but the Options plan is very appealing to me. I like having a way to bailout after a few years and possibly ‘upgrade’ to the newest model if the tech has significantly improved by then. Otherwise, I plan on keeping well past the time it’s all paid off.

The wait has been beneficial. I’ve been practicing my payments and using the money to upgrade my electrical service and get the charging infrastructure setup in my 100 year old house. Everything is going according to plan, as they say.
 

EVready

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It does happen, search for "electromigration in semiconductors".
But the effect is unmeasurably small -- effectively it doesn't happen -- with well designed semiconductors used within their rating.
Wow, didn't think I would see a post referencing 'purple plague.' This was a condition over 40 years ago when the semiconductor manufacturers were wire bonding gold wire from the package to the chip that was aluminum. Especially in an elevated temperature environment current flowing through the dissimilar metal junction caused a lot of problems (intermittent deterioration of signal among other serious reliability issues); they solved it by using aluminum wire. I'd like to think that they have learned a lot since then. : )

Anyhow, for me I am not sure yet. Depending upon whether the rate of serious service issues decline dramatically will determine if I buy, lease or the Ford option....or, pursue a different BEV vehicle.
 
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Scarpia

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I guess I'm in the minority, but our intention is very much to keep our MME fro a "long" time...hopefully at least 10 years. The car's tech, as it sits now, is good enough to suit 99% of our needs. The biggest concern re: tech is connectivity to future phones, but we expect those to be taken care of with updates. As for the battery tech...it'll do just fine for us. Safety tech as well.

As a younger man, I used to buy and sell a lot to experience a lot of different cars. I'm pretty much over that.

Note - as of this year both my wife and I work from home, so we don't rack up miles on our cars anymore. That should help. But even if the MME commuted, we'd be keeping it longer than our past cars.
We seem to have the same mindset. The hardware seems very solid and offers everything I need or want. The vast majority of issues right now seem to be software-related and will be fixed or refined easily.
That said, I am planning on purchasing an extended warranty because if there are issues, they could be expensive to fix.
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