Rate lock - how does that work?

[FirstPony]

Count me among the lucky ones here. My dealer (Bredemann Ford in Glenview, IL) just told me I am locked in at 2.49% APR (the rate from February when I ordered), before I even mentioned rate locks or the like. All I did was ask what the current financing deals were like and he told me of the locked rate. Glad I have a dealer who seems to shoot straight.

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[macchiaz-o]

was surprised at the low trade in values for the ID.4 (I think $43K for a $50K MSRP AWD Pro). I severely doubt you will get near MSRP for the ID.4 as that EV has always been in low-demand and used car values are in the toilet

That's a great offer for a used car, especially a BEV where the used car buyer won't receive the $7,500 that the original buyer may have qualified for. How many miles did it have? What condition was it in?

I understand the used market was extremely over inflated for a year or two, but I'd argue that it's still inflated from "normal" just not as extreme as before.

 

[snowfreak]

UPDATE (for those that care):

I finally got through to the GM, and he assured me that they do, in fact, offer the protected rates. He still couldn't pull the rate sheet for me for some reason until the car arrived, but it was comforting that he understood what I was asking and reassured.

... then my car arrived this past Wednesday, and shit got weird again.

I show up, excited to pick up the car I ordered a year ago, and I told them I wanted to use Ford Options for the great rate (with a 2.49% loan I'm MAKING money leaving the cash in my 3.9% savings account) and the $2500 incentive bonus. I was also trading in a VW ID.4 (important for the post post script below)

Dealer: "... what's Ford Options? We've been delivering these for 2 years and never once had someone ask for that."​

To be clear, I confirmed with them before I ordered there that I'd be able to buy at MSRP, and that I could finance with Ford Options.

So, I explain, and they insist that they're unable to do that, that they just can't. I kept pushing, and they called some people, and then they said they figured out they CAN use Options, but that the rates for that aren't protected, and I'd paying 6.9% on that. I left, I was so frustrated that I whatever I said next wasn't going to be helpful or kind.

I had to get the GM involved again, and he made the finance guy go back to Ford Financial to get it in writing that they couldn't give me the protected rates. That must have triggered something somewhere, because then magically they figured out how to do it!

SO, (almost) the end of the story: I got my car, at my protected rate, on Ford Options. I just had to work REALLY hard and keep pushing and do a ton of research for the dealership to make it happen. To their credit, in the end, they were super apologetic about how dumb this all was and that they'd gotten snippy with me because they thought I was being unreasonable.

POST SCRIPT: When I got home, I noticed a big black mark on the bumper! Thankfully I'd taken a photo in front of my car at the dealer, and it showed it there too, so they're figuring out how they'll fix that.

POST POST SCRIPT: The next day I get a call and text from that dealer: "Hey Keith! Are you still interested in a Mach-E? We have a number of them here on the lot, and you can use the great Ford Options financing on those! If you're looking for other EVs, we just got a low-miles VW ID.4 in as well!" All I could do was laugh and tell them no thanks.

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