Sell car and wait for Mach-E?

p_haze

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Hi,
I have only been looking at the MME for 2-days and been on this forum for 1-day. So please go easy on me.

I need to make a decision within 5 days and hence trying to crowdsource some response vs. combing through all of the threads.

My dealer is offering to buy my current car (Honda Clarity PHEV) for the same price that it actually cost me back in 2018 (after dealer discounts, tax rebates). However, I need to decide within 5-days. I am considering selling the car, ordering an MME, and investing the $ I get from the sale while I wait for the delivery so that I can put more down.

The catch is that I would not have a car until the MME arrives. We do have a 2nd car, a beat up Audi. We are in the NE and hoping to finally do some road-trips with our 1-year old this summer given that we were at home for the past year. I also would return to working from the office in September and would need a car daily for my commute. We will need the 2nd car to be available at home.

What do people recommend? I don't know what the current wait times are for MMEs..

Thanks!
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I don't view vehicles as part of any personal investment strategy. But more importantly, I despise being pressured into time boxed sales strategies.

So I would most likely pass on selling my current vehicle until I was ready to sell it on my own schedule.

Yes, the used vehicle's resale value may be thousands less than it is today. Or somehow, it might go up further... But I would not try to predict that (it's impossible) and just stick with the original plan.

All this being said, I only have one vehicle so that simplifies this decision quite a bit, too.
 

generaltso

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I sold my car to Vroom before purchasing my MME. But I knew my MME was only a few weeks out. If you're planning to place a new order, you're likely 6+ months out from arrival. I would just wait until you're closer to getting the MME before selling the Honda. With the used market like it is, I doubt it will be worth a whole lot less later this year. If you haven't already, try to find a cancelled order somewhere within driving distance.
 

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I wouldn’t touch anything based on Mach-E delivery expectations. Ford can’t be trusted to make any commitments let alone meet them.
 

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Why not wait and trade it in? When you trade it in for your Mach-e, you will save on sales tax. For instance I traded in my Mustang for 18.5, which saved me nearly 1.5k on Mach-e sales tax, which puts the trade in at 20k value... Slightly less than what I could have sold on my own.
 


Ma9573

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Hi,
I have only been looking at the MME for 2-days and been on this forum for 1-day. So please go easy on me.

I need to make a decision within 5 days and hence trying to crowdsource some response vs. combing through all of the threads.

My dealer is offering to buy my current car (Honda Clarity PHEV) for the same price that it actually cost me back in 2018 (after dealer discounts, tax rebates). However, I need to decide within 5-days. I am considering selling the car, ordering an MME, and investing the $ I get from the sale while I wait for the delivery so that I can put more down.

The catch is that I would not have a car until the MME arrives. We do have a 2nd car, a beat up Audi. We are in the NE and hoping to finally do some road-trips with our 1-year old this summer given that we were at home for the past year. I also would return to working from the office in September and would need a car daily for my commute. We will need the 2nd car to be available at home.

What do people recommend? I don't know what the current wait times are for MMEs..

Thanks!
Have you taken a look at the dealer inventories nearby? Yes, the wait will be long if you order now, but I was able to grab a car with X-Plan and no ADM off the lot, netting me the car about 6 weeks or more earlier than if I'd waited for my reserved car.

Regardless, the reservation is refundable, so I'd place the order now ?
 

louibluey

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Hi,
I have only been looking at the MME for 2-days and been on this forum for 1-day. So please go easy on me.

I need to make a decision within 5 days and hence trying to crowdsource some response vs. combing through all of the threads.

My dealer is offering to buy my current car (Honda Clarity PHEV) for the same price that it actually cost me back in 2018 (after dealer discounts, tax rebates). However, I need to decide within 5-days. I am considering selling the car, ordering an MME, and investing the $ I get from the sale while I wait for the delivery so that I can put more down.

The catch is that I would not have a car until the MME arrives. We do have a 2nd car, a beat up Audi. We are in the NE and hoping to finally do some road-trips with our 1-year old this summer given that we were at home for the past year. I also would return to working from the office in September and would need a car daily for my commute. We will need the 2nd car to be available at home.

What do people recommend? I don't know what the current wait times are for MMEs..

Thanks!
In NY (it might be the same in MA), the final sales tax is reduced by a trade in, so that might make it worth considering a trade in at the dealer. I traded in my 2018 Clarity when I picked up my MME. That said, I have also used Carvana and Vroom in the past.

Agree with previous posts, hold on the Clarity for now. If you are in a hurry, look for declined MME on places like AutoTrader. I found my declined FE in grabber blue that way, bought it "off the lot". Look for no dealer markup on a declined MME.
 
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p_haze

p_haze

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thanks all!

@generaltso @Ma9573 Good idea about checking dealer inventories. I wasn't sure if what I see in the search is canceled orders or just cars that automatically get listed but are actually sold already. Is there a way to figure out whether a particular vehicle is available for purchase outside of calling the dealership?

For the X-plan, I thought there is a waiting period i.e., isn't there a 90-day requirement?

@maxmach thanks! I did not know about the savings on sales tax!
 

louibluey

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I had to call each dealer from Autotrader listings, also see https://shop.ford.com/inventory/mach-e/

Most of the time it was a demo (Ford FCTP) that they could not sell right away. Sometimes, I was able to leave my contact information incase they had a declined order, once I got lucky.
 

Timelessblur

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Hi,
I have only been looking at the MME for 2-days and been on this forum for 1-day. So please go easy on me.

I need to make a decision within 5 days and hence trying to crowdsource some response vs. combing through all of the threads.

My dealer is offering to buy my current car (Honda Clarity PHEV) for the same price that it actually cost me back in 2018 (after dealer discounts, tax rebates). However, I need to decide within 5-days. I am considering selling the car, ordering an MME, and investing the $ I get from the sale while I wait for the delivery so that I can put more down.

The catch is that I would not have a car until the MME arrives. We do have a 2nd car, a beat up Audi. We are in the NE and hoping to finally do some road-trips with our 1-year old this summer given that we were at home for the past year. I also would return to working from the office in September and would need a car daily for my commute. We will need the 2nd car to be available at home.

What do people recommend? I don't know what the current wait times are for MMEs..

Thanks!
The current wait time for an order is 4-6 months. They are pretty back logged.
now you can take the risk place the order so it is in your back pocket then proceed to just keep looking and hoping for an order cancellation or a dealer gets the one you want in and buy that. From there cancel your order or work out a deal with the dealer that they will get get your order when it arrives if it is the same dealer. A lot of them are pretty willing to see you a car today and take your order and sell it later.
 

generaltso

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Is there a way to figure out whether a particular vehicle is available for purchase outside of calling the dealership?
Not really. Once you find prospective cars on a site like Autotrader, you pretty much have to call around to the dealerships to see if they're really for sale.

For the X-plan, I thought there is a waiting period i.e., isn't there a 90-day requirement?
If you join Mustang Club of America to qualify for X-Plan, there is a 90 day membership requirement. It remains to be seen if that's actually enforced. My dealer didn't ask for any proof after I gave them the X-Plan PIN printout.

@maxmach thanks! I did not know about the savings on sales tax!
This depends on your state, so you should check to see how MA handles sales tax with trade-ins. In Vermont, you get the sales tax credit as long as you sell another vehicle within 90 days before or after buying a new vehicle. That's how I was able to get the sales tax credit by selling to Vroom, and didn't have to trade it in at the dealer.
 

ChasingCoral

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I don't view vehicles as part of any personal investment strategy. But more importantly, I despise being pressured into time boxed sales strategies.

So I would most likely pass on selling my current vehicle until I was ready to sell it on my own schedule.

Yes, the used vehicle's resale value may be thousands less than it is today. Or somehow, it might go up further... But I would not try to predict that (it's impossible) and just stick with the original plan.

All this being said, I only have one vehicle so that simplifies this decision quite a bit, too.
Used car values are going up because of the chip supply shortage. You may even get a better price if you wait.
 

ChasingCoral

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Hi,
I have only been looking at the MME for 2-days and been on this forum for 1-day. So please go easy on me.

I need to make a decision within 5 days and hence trying to crowdsource some response vs. combing through all of the threads.

My dealer is offering to buy my current car (Honda Clarity PHEV) for the same price that it actually cost me back in 2018 (after dealer discounts, tax rebates). However, I need to decide within 5-days. I am considering selling the car, ordering an MME, and investing the $ I get from the sale while I wait for the delivery so that I can put more down.

The catch is that I would not have a car until the MME arrives. We do have a 2nd car, a beat up Audi. We are in the NE and hoping to finally do some road-trips with our 1-year old this summer given that we were at home for the past year. I also would return to working from the office in September and would need a car daily for my commute. We will need the 2nd car to be available at home.

What do people recommend? I don't know what the current wait times are for MMEs..

Thanks!
I recommend:
1. Order the Mach E you want but this could take months. Remember that the chip shortage is hitting Ford, too. Make sure the dealer you go with will assure you in writing they will take X-plan pricing and charge no ADM.
2. If you don't already have a way to get X-plan pricing, sign up for the Mustang Club of America to get X-plan.
3. Check around for Mach Es that become available. This will be your fastest way to get a car but may take a lot of work.
3. Hold into your current car. 1-3 may take too long for your needs. Summer is possible but becoming less likely by the day. Fall delivery may be more like it.
 

BadgerGreg

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I'd hold onto your car. I sold my car in late March, as my MME ETA is (was) April 7, and I figured I could get by a couple of weeks with only one car (my wife's car). Unfortunately, I'm now coming up on three weeks without my car, and I fear that I might be waiting a couple more weeks due to shipping/delivery delays.

The best advice (already provided on this thread) is to buy from available dealer stock and trade or sell private party at that time.
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