Finding a FFE on a dealer lot

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jeffand

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Messages
441
Location
WI
I would use http://www.CARS.COM website to do the search.
Click on NEW
Select FORD
Select FOCUS ELECTRIC
enter the distance I would select 200 miles.
Then enter your zip code.
In the US it showed 193 FFE are available.
Only 8 are within 500 miles of my house.

Why the the rush.
This maybe the last year for the $7500 tax credit, also I think the $6000 discount Ford is offering on the FFE may end March 31, 2014.
 
jeffand said:
This maybe the last year for the $7500 tax credit, also I think the $6000 discount Ford is offering on the FFE may end March 31, 2014.

Unlikely that Ford is going to hit 200k total plug in vehicles sold anytime soon.
 
I had to drive about 200 miles to Atlanta to get to a dealership that had a FFE on the lot.

None of my local dealerships wanted to lift a finger to help me purchase a FFE, told me I could order one, pay a non-refundable deposit and could not lock in the 6000 bonus cash or 0% interest deal until my Ford had a VIN number. Also told me that they "checked" every Ford dealership and only LA had FFE's on the lot, I could buy one from LA and have it shipped for $2,000. In reality they wanted to sell me a C-Max left over from 2013 on their lot.

I negotiated the price I'd be willing to pay before driving to Atlanta. When I arrived I informed the salesperson what I required on my trade or I'd sell it myself.

I did the test drive, loved it, they gave me what I requested on my trade, bought the FFE, paid $300 to have it delivered to my house, and rented a one-way rental to get home.

My next challange is going back to my local "electric certified" dealer for service when the time comes.
 
kelver said:
I had to drive about 200 miles to Atlanta to get to a dealership that had a FFE on the lot.

None of my local dealerships wanted to lift a finger to help me purchase a FFE, told me I could order one, pay a non-refundable deposit and could not lock in the 6000 bonus cash or 0% interest deal until my Ford had a VIN number. Also told me that they "checked" every Ford dealership and only LA had FFE's on the lot, I could buy one from LA and have it shipped for $2,000. In reality they wanted to sell me a C-Max left over from 2013 on their lot.

I negotiated the price I'd be willing to pay before driving to Atlanta. When I arrived I informed the salesperson what I required on my trade or I'd sell it myself.

I did the test drive, loved it, they gave me what I requested on my trade, bought the FFE, paid $300 to have it delivered to my house, and rented a one-way rental to get home.

My next challange is going back to my local "electric certified" dealer for service when the time comes.

I think this is the challenge most of us had. The dealers don't care to sell the FFE and many don't bother to carry the car. I get why as the Electric car market is so small, but still, Nissan pushes the Leaf, Chevy pushes the Volt, and it's a night and day experience on their lots.

Once that credit gets cut, I'm not sure how many people would buy the FFE for close to $40K though. After credits and rebates, my FFE is like $25K. Anything more than that and I wouldn't have bought it.
 
Some dealerships did get burned on the FFE. Over ordered and the sales never came. Stuck with expensive inventory and no avertisement, and nearly total lack of consumer awareness.

A side note on Nissan Leaf. Here in Wisconsin I have seen no adds for the Leaf in the last year. In the Nissan regualar advertisements the Leaf no were to be seen in the TV spots.
 
No advertising for Leafs anywhere here either (southeastern Michigan) but I see them on the road--there are at least 3 of them in my city (and 3 FFEs--counting my own).
 
No Leaf TV ads here in Los Angeles County. And no dealer newspaper ads from what I've seen. Haven't seen a Volt TV ad since the Winter Olympics (they were pathetic anyway). A few dealer newspaper ads, though.

Seeing a LOT of Fiat 500e TV ads lately - every night during the news on local stations (Fox and CW networks). Pretty cool ads, too. Now there are three 500e EVs at work, and I'm seeing more on the freeway too.

As far as FFEs on the lot - my local dealer has four, with two more on order. They normally have only one or less (mine was a dealer trade). Within the Los Angeles area, there are 100+ available. No shortage here.

kelver - your persistence and determination is truly impressive. I hope your FFE is living up to your expectations!
 
Couldn't find a one here in Dallas. Ended up with a lease transfer which saved me about $125/month and it's a shorter term. If that's an option for you you might consider it.
 
Hey Goofygrin. Is the purchase price at the end of lease as sweet as the lease deal? A short lease is like an extended test drive. Number one you will know what condition the vehicle is in when the lease ends. If you had a good FFE experience, you will most likely purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease. The other is if the vehicle if problematic you will not incur the financial loss of owning a lemon. My advice on buying a first year of new model is to wait one to two years to allow for the manufacture to iron out any problems. I made an exception for the FFE because I didn't know how long Ford was going to make the car. So Ford has made a 2012, 2013, and a 2014 FFE. The quest is will Ford make a 2015 FFE? Ford may opt to make a hybrid and plug in hybrid versions.
 
I would NEVER buy this car at the end of the lease. Too much risk and very little upside -- and the lease end price will be more than the car is worth (residual set too high). In fact I'll go so far as to say that anyone that BOUGHT an EV (FFE, Leaf, Volt, i3, etc) is a fool unless they literally drive it until it's completely dead or they drive a jillion miles. For normal people (10-12k miles a year, going to get a new car in 2-4 years) a lease with the $7500 instant rebate is absolutely a smart financial decision. Now the i3 leases look terrible and the Model S isn't leasable (and it's depreciation curve honestly looks to be bucking the trend)... so be sure to run the numbers.

I also change cars every 6-24 months (yes it's expensive, but cars are my vice... I currently have 4 and one needs to go [it's a sweet, very fast, '12 CTS-V that I've not driven but 1 time since I got the FFE and I've not missed it]).

My personal opinion is that in the next 2-3 years we're going to see changes like we've seen in the last 3-4 years (remember all the negative press re:the volt and now the Volt, Model S and Leaf all have, IMO fantastic sales numbers). I'm hoping the Model E is affordable AND has good range. This is one of the reasons I didn't spend the money on a Model S (which I really wanted). My fear is that when the shine wears off and the new tech (Model E, next volt, I8, i3, etc.) starts to hit the market their value's going to drop like a rock.

As a data point, there are a lot of Leaf turn ins happening now. The residual is ~$15-17k on a lot of them, but the cars are selling at auction for $8-11k (so Nissan's taking a bath). Concerns about the battery life (and to be fair, the Leaf's battery WILL have a shorter life since there's no conditioning), new tech, etc. are holding the value back.

Just my opinion, etc.
 
jeffand said:
Geez Louise!
I did a search on my zip code and there are only 7 cars within 500 miles of me and 6 of those are at the dealer where I got mine. The next closest is 458 miles away in Petersburg, Virginia.

I feel really fortunate to have what is apparently the epicenter of FFE distribution in the Southeast right nearby. I had no idea there were so few dealers carrying these cars in my region.
 
FFE is not a real profit making vehicle for Ford. By dropping the price from $40000 to $36000 it took all the profit out of the car. Then mark it down another $6000 there is no way you are making money on the car. The Focus electric is 90% a Titanium trim level Focus. The battery pack alone is still most likely more than $10000. The few of us that were able to take advantage of the present discounts are very lucky. When I purchased my 2013 I paid $39250 for the car excluding Taxes and other registration Fees. I'm still very happy with my purchase.

$39,950 Original price
-$4,000 Ford price reduction
-$6,000 rebate (ends March 31)
-$7,500 Federal tax credit this should last threw end of 2014
$22,450 Final cost excluding fees and sales tax

The titanium Focus List price is $23,575 with no additional options.

Some states offer additional government sponsored savings like $2,500 for California.
Plus its possible haggle another 500 to $1000 dollar off the price.
We are talking about a price less than $20,000 for FFE is possible.
 
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