Would you have ordered the Mach E if there was no Tax Credit available?

[mfbrown]

I started looking at the Mach-e instead of Tesla Y, because of the tax credit. Now I'm looking at getting a second one for my wife, because I love the car!

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[Chicago-E]

Long answer... NO

 

[Keeperofthe7keys]

Most likely not, the only competitor I considered that might have recieved more weight is the ID.4.

 

[Jim_In_Mass]

I would have to say the tax credit strongly influenced my decision to pull the trigger on the MachE.

I had wanted to get a vehicle which had much higher MPG. I had looked at hybrids a few years back, but was underwhelmed. Then, last year, I've got two cars and three drivers, which isn't so bad when you're working from home, but still means compromises.

So the search for a third car resumed, and I started looking at full EVs - Hyundai Kona (which wound up under a recall), the Tesla (no credit), the Leaf (too small). But the MachE looks awesome and got awesome reviews. When I test drove it the MachE behaved like a normal ICE car, the blended braking was smooth, the acceleration was instant.

$50k is a lot of money for a car, the federal & state rebates help rationalize the cost. A six month wait, and now with gas prices spiking up it seems like an even better decision.

So the reviews put it on the list, the test drive clinched that I would enjoy the car, and the rebate helped justify the price.

And, it's a MUSTANG!

 

[Lola2004]

I’m hoping I will get the tax credit as my Mach is due here (so they say) in October. Did the government tax credit affect your decision to buy the Mach E or another EV?

Have to honestly say no, I was committed to move to an EV, I look at the credit as a bonus, it did not affect my choice of the Mach E, over any other comparable EV.

 

[MisterSofa]

That question is going to get invalid answers, because people say one thing and do another. There will be a few people who say it did. If they do, ask them what they would have bought instead.

Some, including myself, had to generate tax liability to use the credit. In other words, had I not bought an EV, I wouldn't have done a Roth conversion, and wouldn't have had tax liability to offset the EV tax credit.

With 90% of our retirement funds already Roth, I didn't need to do any conversions, but I did so as to not waste the tax credit.

Are you saying that people are not truthful on this forum?

 

[NoMoreGTI]

This should be a poll!

yes

 

[MisterSofa]

This should be a poll!

yes

I’m new here. No clue how to do it.

 

[New2EV]

No, I don't think I would have bought the MachE without the credit. But I don't know what I would have bought instead. I wasn't really interested in electric and the price was more than I wanted to spend for a work car. But with the tax credit it got close enough to my budget that I was curious. Once I test drove one, I was all in.

 

[P. T. Magoo]

Long answer: Yes.

I'd have ordered the car without the tax advantage. Over the years I've enjoyed borrowing my wife's Volt for short jaunts before the ICE kicks in. Actually I still like driving it in hybrid mode. When my Coupe bit the dust, the student PT I was supervising pointed out this was my chance to stay with the Mustang aesthetic and go full electric. Found a GT (non PE) to test drive and I was hooked, but skeptical I could afford the investment. Got online and found out I could get a CA-R1 closer to my budget, and ordered a couple days later.

The tax incentive is nice, but it won't affect my car payment, so I had to budget as though it didn't exist. What it will do when it comes is let me pay the loan off early. Sweet!

 

[Raymondjram]

Nope...would have bought it anyway.

I would have to buy it without any Federal tax credit because I pay no Federal taxes. I prefer a point of sale rebate.

 

[ChuckA]

The $7500 tax credit helped me decide to buy my MME in ‘21. I still would have purchased without a tax credit but probably a few years later.

But with the price hikes, my future decision may have been affected. I just retired.

 

[swim203]

I’m hoping I will get the tax credit as my Mach is due here (so they say) in October. Did the government tax credit affect your decision to buy the Mach E or another EV?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I don't qualify for any of the tax credits so I approached all the options knowing that wasn't going to be a factor for me. When I saw the MME in person I thought it was a nice looking EV that checked a lot of the boxes for what I wanted in my next EV. Living in the Bay Area, Tesla is everywhere. I do think they're great cars and I did loosely consider going in that direction but I wanted something different. When my MME is delivered next month, if the dealer adds a markup I'll probably walk away and just order a Tesla to avoid a hassle.
My requirements going in:

• Do not look at any EVs over $100k as I personally just don't believe in spending that much on what is usually a depreciating asset
• Sufficient space to pack the car with my wife, cats, and other gear to move between houses
• Something that offers colors that aren't standard black, grey, white
• Has to offer some sort of semi-autonomous driving
• Don't buy the first production model (I just don't have the patience for working out the kinks but I'm thankful to all the people who are)
• Has to have 200+ miles of range somewhat reliably. I have chargers at my houses as well as at work so I've never had to deal with fighting for chargers over the 8 years I've had various EVs.
• Ability to get service in the event of an issue (I think given where I'm located this shouldn't be a problem for any of the EVs)
• Be quick off a light

I went to a dealership and sat in a GT and GTPE but didn't bother driving either. I wasn't particularlly impressed with the interrior materials but that wasn't one of my requirements going in. I also didn't care so much for the visibility. All other EVs I've had dropped off pretty quickly in the front and had great visibility. I feel even my Range Rover has better visibility over the hood but I'm sure it's easy to adjust to.

So, I am buying the Mach E with no tax credit available. It met all my criteria. None of my other EVs have been particularlly attractive (Lead, Chevy Spark, 2xBolt) but they have been so reliable and fun to drive. The Bolt has been a great car but I like the look of the MME far better than the other EVs that met my criteria. Had the BMW i4 M50 been larger it may have beaten out the MME as I don't want a sedan. By the time you customize an iX it exceeds my first criteria around cost. I'm excited for it to arrive next month, but I'm also prepared to walk away if there's any funny business or dealer tricks. I'll just be very annoyed when I'm walking away and will immediately place an order on something else.

 

[Eraser]

The rebate was the major factor in even considering spending this amount of money on a car. Had the rebate not been available back when I pre-ordered in 2019 I wouldn't have put the MME on my list to even consider.

HOWEVER. Based on how much gas costs in 2022 from what it was in 2019, and how much I actually miss driving my MME anytime I have to drive an ICE vehicle. Current me would tell my past self,
Self:"screw the rebate and buy the damn car, it's worth every penny. Trust me you'll thank me later."

 

[OON7]

Yes it did, but the alternative would have been not buying an EV yet. The combination of a high trade value for my 2019 Honda Insight plus the tax credit made this car affordable for me when it would have otherwise been out of reach for me financially for a bit longer.

I'm happy to have gone electric a few years earlier than I thought I would be able to and I love this car.

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