MachHunter
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- AC
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2022
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 116
- Reaction score
- 125
- Location
- Texas
- Vehicles
- Mach E... I hope soon.
- Thread starter
- #1
My long journey has come to an end. Or just begun? Today I picked up my Mach-E.
The bats*** rollercoaster is over. Full story below. If it helps you to read it, great. Happy to give tips to anyone just now starting the ride.
(I’m linking to this in a few different threads where I have commented on my insane journey, so if you’re a forum junkie you may see this twice.)
The story began with the pandemic. I have only ever bought used cars because of depreciation. The math on buying used is pretty bullet-proof, especially factoring in really long-shot probabilities getting a lemon if you do your homework and have a mechanic check the car. But when COVID hit, chips were in short supply and PPE/stimulus money was flowing, so new cars at MSRP were actually a BETTER deal. Insane. Plus I drove a friends Tesla and fell in love with electric.
Then I learned about dealers. True slime. (Except for the rare few who are perfectly nice people. Damn they take effort to find.)
It was a dark dark time of ADM and short supply. Ford’s inventory website was pure lies. And so I scavenged. I would find a no-ADM only to be told when I went to pay that there were “add-ons”. “Clear coat” (like Fargo-level garbage) and my favorite “free oil changes” (the car had no oil)… that added up to more than ADM.
So it’s time to order. Around this time I find the forums. It was a godsend. Took a little time to piece together from different threads how to do this, and the no-ADM list was maybe 50% right, but after walking out of 3 dealers I found a straight shooter who punched my details into the computer and gave me a written order. Thanks to the forum for inspiring me to ask for paperwork. I’m due in July/August at the latest.
Then word comes I’m getting a 2023. No word on price though. That’s stressful. And if I miss Jan 1, no tax credit. Because I used to be a lawyer I read the IRA and rush to my dealer to get them to convert my deal into a binding contract and take a deposit. Probably the only buyer in America who knew his state contract law and federal tax law well enough to achieve that. Now all I need is the car by Jan 1.
I find out I’m a code 01! Maybe I get here in time. But oh wait, the ‘23s have no comfort tech and software requires an extra $1900. I’m paying more money for less car even if they price protect me… which still no word. I’m so pissed.
Eventually we find out about the PCO. This is actually a really good deal, because it’s tied to the final order. I can fry a bigger discount. So I can jump from a select to a premium to get my wife’s heated seats. And cool white interior. I make the change and go to the new Vapor Blue. Great news!
Only problem… I lose my 01 status. Which I was not told would be a problem. This just cost me my $7500 credit!! Jesus.
Happy New Year! No car. Built in late Dec. will I buy it or not? Let’s see what the irs does.
Thank God! Rules aren’t coming until March! I have 2 more months to get a decent deal on this car before the mineral requirements!
And then word comes it’s a car, not an SUV. Are you frickin…!!!! How could Ford’s joint lobbying efforts of the UAW (Dems) and corporate (GOP) bungle this???? I am definitely not buying this car. My PCO gets me way below $55k, but because of my jump to Premium my sticker is over $55k, and that’s what the IRS cares about. I start browsing ICE vehicles. This is infuriating.
And then Elon strikes. Drops below $55k.
At this point I’m getting almost no communication from Ford. They seem to screw up at every turn, on the communication side, on the national policy side, and the “get the car made anywhere close to our estimate” side… and that’s to say nothing of this massive battery recall. So I take my $250 and order a Model Y. Maybe it gets here before the new battery rules and maybe it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, I’m buying a combustion engine. I’m so completely over this roller coaster.
The Tesla people were actually insanely easy to deal with and their timeliness was magnificent. The range was WAY ahead of my AWD-SR, the charging network and charge times way better… Mach-E won my original head-to-head, but that was when Tesla was WAY more expensive. Now it was actually cheaper bc of the credit. The only problem is I’m a big guy, and it always felt a little small. Even though technically it had more room. I loved the minimalist aesthetic, but there was something really cheap and rattley about the car.
And who the hell knows where my Mach-E is. It’s been built for weeks and the delivery date changes like the wind.
I’m not buying this now way too expensive Mach-E. If the Tesla doesn’t make it by Mar 1, I’m going ICE. But Tesla tracker needs say it should get here early.
But then, like some kind of savior army riding over the horizon at the end of an epic film, two things happen. Ford drops prices. And the IRA is re-interpreted to make Mach-E an SUV. My price drops a LOT. Even though I expect the PCO to be taken away at least in part since it was there to cover the price increase.
My delivery window is getting smaller and closer. Thanks to forums I start using more advanced tracking. The Mach is in Kansas. Mid-Feb is here.
And the forums say “You get the price drop AND the full PCO”. Wow. And the tax credit if it’s here by March 1. AND the PCO paperwork said $6000, but my dealer has it at $6500.
The car is here. I head to the dealer.
I have been monitoring my dealer and a few others in the area for a while. I saw no inventory turn into people abandoning their cars like crazy because of the price increase in the IRS rulings turn back into scarcity. If you’re a big free market nerd it was living proof of price driving consumer choices. My dealer had several MMEs on the lot two weeks earlier but was now back down to just two over-specced crazy expensive GTs.
I arrive to find my salesman quit or was fired. Which explains him never getting back to me.
New guy gives me paperwork with an $800 doc fee. Because I got paperwork before the order and I was very explicit to demand all fees be included (even recoding my convo with the salesman and photographig the deal on his desk), I was pissed to be robbed of my “sweet deal” high. But after some homework on state law and average price paid for doc fees I knew my choice was to walk away and let them ADM this sucker which they would be happy to do or eat the fee. I actually did a little bit of homework and figured out a way I could’ve sued them and almost certainly won. I just didn’t want that toxicity in my life. If I want to sort out assholes who rip people off for the purpose of cosmic balance, I could get a better return on my investment doing it elsewhere. Plus I had $500 of found money in the PCO increase. And it was stacked on the Elon-fighting price reduction. So like all roller coasters it ended with a slight increase at the end as the ups and downs slowed in magnitude.
I drove away and what would be my first and last ever new car. The price was pretty off the chain at the end of the day. Someone jokingly called it the Joe-mobile because so much of it was funded by legislation.
I’m going to walk away from my 250 deposit at Tesla. To be honest with you I really do love the way the car drives, especially the quiet. It’s insanely quiet. Those Bjorn Whathisname tests are true. Luxury car silence. And it’s not just another Tesla. It has some personality.
My only regret, and I felt this when I rented both a MME and a Model Y coming down the homestretch, is range. I had that window of time where I could’ve switched to an extended range and I should’ve done it. I was going off the published ranges, but when you factor in that you shouldn’t charge it to 100% and how much I’m going to eat up with climate control as well as the fact that I tend to be a stop and go driver… I know I’m going to have range anxiety and issues. I don’t know if the extended range current price is worth it but when the PCO was on the table I should have grabbed it.
Without the PCO I think the model Y is probably still a better play for a normal sized person. There are some really good points on this in the forum about how tesla real-world range is way lower than EPA while MME real world is higher, but Tesla still wins by a lot when comparing the AWD SR MME and MY AWD ER, which are each other’s price point comparisons. And Teslas charge faster. And they have that supercharger network.
…but that’s for others to consider. I got my PCO, tax credit, and price drop, so my choice was right for me.
May the force be with those waiting for delivery, watching the news for the IRS show to drop. I hope you too get off the ride when prices are super low and incentives are super high.
I hope my experience owning a Ford is a hell of a lot better than my experience buying a Ford. Fingers crossed. They’re not off to a great start after just now doing my homework on the privacy issues that come with using FordPass. Let’s turn it around guys. I’m cheering for you as a car company because I’m on your team for the foreseeable future.
The bats*** rollercoaster is over. Full story below. If it helps you to read it, great. Happy to give tips to anyone just now starting the ride.
(I’m linking to this in a few different threads where I have commented on my insane journey, so if you’re a forum junkie you may see this twice.)
The story began with the pandemic. I have only ever bought used cars because of depreciation. The math on buying used is pretty bullet-proof, especially factoring in really long-shot probabilities getting a lemon if you do your homework and have a mechanic check the car. But when COVID hit, chips were in short supply and PPE/stimulus money was flowing, so new cars at MSRP were actually a BETTER deal. Insane. Plus I drove a friends Tesla and fell in love with electric.
Then I learned about dealers. True slime. (Except for the rare few who are perfectly nice people. Damn they take effort to find.)
It was a dark dark time of ADM and short supply. Ford’s inventory website was pure lies. And so I scavenged. I would find a no-ADM only to be told when I went to pay that there were “add-ons”. “Clear coat” (like Fargo-level garbage) and my favorite “free oil changes” (the car had no oil)… that added up to more than ADM.
So it’s time to order. Around this time I find the forums. It was a godsend. Took a little time to piece together from different threads how to do this, and the no-ADM list was maybe 50% right, but after walking out of 3 dealers I found a straight shooter who punched my details into the computer and gave me a written order. Thanks to the forum for inspiring me to ask for paperwork. I’m due in July/August at the latest.
Then word comes I’m getting a 2023. No word on price though. That’s stressful. And if I miss Jan 1, no tax credit. Because I used to be a lawyer I read the IRA and rush to my dealer to get them to convert my deal into a binding contract and take a deposit. Probably the only buyer in America who knew his state contract law and federal tax law well enough to achieve that. Now all I need is the car by Jan 1.
I find out I’m a code 01! Maybe I get here in time. But oh wait, the ‘23s have no comfort tech and software requires an extra $1900. I’m paying more money for less car even if they price protect me… which still no word. I’m so pissed.
Eventually we find out about the PCO. This is actually a really good deal, because it’s tied to the final order. I can fry a bigger discount. So I can jump from a select to a premium to get my wife’s heated seats. And cool white interior. I make the change and go to the new Vapor Blue. Great news!
Only problem… I lose my 01 status. Which I was not told would be a problem. This just cost me my $7500 credit!! Jesus.
Happy New Year! No car. Built in late Dec. will I buy it or not? Let’s see what the irs does.
Thank God! Rules aren’t coming until March! I have 2 more months to get a decent deal on this car before the mineral requirements!
And then word comes it’s a car, not an SUV. Are you frickin…!!!! How could Ford’s joint lobbying efforts of the UAW (Dems) and corporate (GOP) bungle this???? I am definitely not buying this car. My PCO gets me way below $55k, but because of my jump to Premium my sticker is over $55k, and that’s what the IRS cares about. I start browsing ICE vehicles. This is infuriating.
And then Elon strikes. Drops below $55k.
At this point I’m getting almost no communication from Ford. They seem to screw up at every turn, on the communication side, on the national policy side, and the “get the car made anywhere close to our estimate” side… and that’s to say nothing of this massive battery recall. So I take my $250 and order a Model Y. Maybe it gets here before the new battery rules and maybe it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, I’m buying a combustion engine. I’m so completely over this roller coaster.
The Tesla people were actually insanely easy to deal with and their timeliness was magnificent. The range was WAY ahead of my AWD-SR, the charging network and charge times way better… Mach-E won my original head-to-head, but that was when Tesla was WAY more expensive. Now it was actually cheaper bc of the credit. The only problem is I’m a big guy, and it always felt a little small. Even though technically it had more room. I loved the minimalist aesthetic, but there was something really cheap and rattley about the car.
And who the hell knows where my Mach-E is. It’s been built for weeks and the delivery date changes like the wind.
I’m not buying this now way too expensive Mach-E. If the Tesla doesn’t make it by Mar 1, I’m going ICE. But Tesla tracker needs say it should get here early.
But then, like some kind of savior army riding over the horizon at the end of an epic film, two things happen. Ford drops prices. And the IRA is re-interpreted to make Mach-E an SUV. My price drops a LOT. Even though I expect the PCO to be taken away at least in part since it was there to cover the price increase.
My delivery window is getting smaller and closer. Thanks to forums I start using more advanced tracking. The Mach is in Kansas. Mid-Feb is here.
And the forums say “You get the price drop AND the full PCO”. Wow. And the tax credit if it’s here by March 1. AND the PCO paperwork said $6000, but my dealer has it at $6500.
The car is here. I head to the dealer.
I have been monitoring my dealer and a few others in the area for a while. I saw no inventory turn into people abandoning their cars like crazy because of the price increase in the IRS rulings turn back into scarcity. If you’re a big free market nerd it was living proof of price driving consumer choices. My dealer had several MMEs on the lot two weeks earlier but was now back down to just two over-specced crazy expensive GTs.
I arrive to find my salesman quit or was fired. Which explains him never getting back to me.
New guy gives me paperwork with an $800 doc fee. Because I got paperwork before the order and I was very explicit to demand all fees be included (even recoding my convo with the salesman and photographig the deal on his desk), I was pissed to be robbed of my “sweet deal” high. But after some homework on state law and average price paid for doc fees I knew my choice was to walk away and let them ADM this sucker which they would be happy to do or eat the fee. I actually did a little bit of homework and figured out a way I could’ve sued them and almost certainly won. I just didn’t want that toxicity in my life. If I want to sort out assholes who rip people off for the purpose of cosmic balance, I could get a better return on my investment doing it elsewhere. Plus I had $500 of found money in the PCO increase. And it was stacked on the Elon-fighting price reduction. So like all roller coasters it ended with a slight increase at the end as the ups and downs slowed in magnitude.
I drove away and what would be my first and last ever new car. The price was pretty off the chain at the end of the day. Someone jokingly called it the Joe-mobile because so much of it was funded by legislation.
I’m going to walk away from my 250 deposit at Tesla. To be honest with you I really do love the way the car drives, especially the quiet. It’s insanely quiet. Those Bjorn Whathisname tests are true. Luxury car silence. And it’s not just another Tesla. It has some personality.
My only regret, and I felt this when I rented both a MME and a Model Y coming down the homestretch, is range. I had that window of time where I could’ve switched to an extended range and I should’ve done it. I was going off the published ranges, but when you factor in that you shouldn’t charge it to 100% and how much I’m going to eat up with climate control as well as the fact that I tend to be a stop and go driver… I know I’m going to have range anxiety and issues. I don’t know if the extended range current price is worth it but when the PCO was on the table I should have grabbed it.
Without the PCO I think the model Y is probably still a better play for a normal sized person. There are some really good points on this in the forum about how tesla real-world range is way lower than EPA while MME real world is higher, but Tesla still wins by a lot when comparing the AWD SR MME and MY AWD ER, which are each other’s price point comparisons. And Teslas charge faster. And they have that supercharger network.
…but that’s for others to consider. I got my PCO, tax credit, and price drop, so my choice was right for me.
May the force be with those waiting for delivery, watching the news for the IRS show to drop. I hope you too get off the ride when prices are super low and incentives are super high.
I hope my experience owning a Ford is a hell of a lot better than my experience buying a Ford. Fingers crossed. They’re not off to a great start after just now doing my homework on the privacy issues that come with using FordPass. Let’s turn it around guys. I’m cheering for you as a car company because I’m on your team for the foreseeable future.
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