I don't think ford wants to actually sell these cars.

Ford Focus Electric Forum

Help Support Ford Focus Electric Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

triangles

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
1,232
Location
Toledo, Ohio
Originally I was going to wait for the 3rd gen Tesla before jumping on the EV bandwagon but they are still years away. I recently decided to pull the trigger and buy a FFE after taking a test drive in a used one. The dealer with the used one wasn't authorized to sell new ones. I've talked to at least a half dozen dealers and came up empty handed. I had one dealer pretty much tell me they didn't have one, never had any and can't get one. They said this with out even making the attempt. I supposed it's possible they had tried in the past with other customers, but they didn't seem to want my money when I told them I was only interested in the FFE. I don't under stand this since dealers like this paid the extra money to be a certified electric dealer! One dealer worked very hard to try and bring one in from as far as 400 miles away but I don't want one bad enough to pay extra for the transport plus it wasn't the color I wanted. If ford wanted to sell these, they should be available and I shouldn't have to go to extraordinary lengths to get one. This dealer also tried order one from the factory but was told the factory wasn't taking orders for 2014's anymore yet the 2015's are going to be available until sometime next year! I live near Detroit which is one of the markets where they are supposed to be available. I think the Nissan Leaf is fugly but I am now considering one since Ford doesn't seem to have a desire to sell the FFE. I stopped at one Nissan dealer. They had one I could test drive and they could actually order one with the options I wanted or get one from another dealer! I've come to the conclusion that as much as Ford denies it, the Focus Electric is either truly just a compliance car to them or they are grossly incompetent. My current Ford car may be my last.
 
I know of at least 8 in the Metro Detroit area (mine and my coworker's are two of those). This is based on ones I've seen driving around, posts on here, and posts in Ford's My Ford Mobile forum.

Indeed we are in that lull between model years: Ford is in the midst of retooling the Michigan Assembly plant for the 2015 ICE Focus and has stopped building all the 2014's. They have also stated in press releases about the 2015 FFE that it won't be available until very late this year (or as you state sometime next year).

If you are willing to get one from Wisconsin there is a dealer there that posts on here with some inventory.
That thread is here:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1824&start=20
 
triangles said:
I've come to the conclusion that as much as Ford denies it, the Focus Electric is either truly just a compliance car to them or they are grossly incompetent. My current Ford car may be my last.

Limited production (and thus availability) doesn't necessarily mean compliance car. Sure Ford is making these, and selling these for CARB credits. But the nationwide availability points to the fact that the FFE is more than a compliance car (they don't get anything for selling the things in Georgia). It also implies (although it could be wrong) that the FFE isn't being sold at a significant loss like the Fiat 500E.

What Ford is able to do is get some dealerships ready for electric cars. Get data, and real world complaints/complements and maintenance/warranty requirements of Electric cars. Going small volume to start allows for them to plan for larger volume electric vehicles.


Don't blame Ford for dealerships. They are affiliated but not the same. You could blame Ford for the lack of advertisement, but not dealers not wanting to sell them.
 
jmueller065 said:
I know of at least 8 in the Metro Detroit area (mine and my coworker's are two of those). This is based on ones I've seen driving around, posts on here, and posts in Ford's My Ford Mobile forum.

Indeed we are in that lull between model years: Ford is in the midst of retooling the Michigan Assembly plant for the 2015 ICE Focus and has stopped building all the 2014's. They have also stated in press releases about the 2015 FFE that it won't be available until very late this year (or as you state sometime next year).

If you are willing to get one from Wisconsin there is a dealer there that posts on here with some inventory.
That thread is here:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1824&start=20

The WI gentlemen is the New Car Inventory Manager at the dealership I work at. We generally team up on the FFE deals, and we are both active on here whenever we can be. We currently have a white FFE with the cloth interior in transit to our lot, I believe JAchady posted in his sticky thread about it. We are the main reason they are hard to find in your area, because we didn't just invest in the EV certification, we have invested our personal time into learning all about these vehicles. That time has certainly paid off, because Ford has given us the lion's share of the allocation for the Chicago region due to the fact most of them are being sold here anyways.

If you would like to work out a deal with us here at Havill-Spoerl in Fort Atkinson, WI, we are no strangers to out of state transactions. In fact for a number of years now we have delivered two Vehicles per year to a regular customer in Las Vegas, so if you just want it shipped to your door we can make it happen, for probably less cost than what you are imagining. PM myself or JAchady and we can get things going!

-Zjlange12
Havill-Spoerl Ford Lincoln
Fort Atkinson, WI
 
Zjlange12 said:
If you would like to work out a deal with us here at Havill-Spoerl in Fort Atkinson, WI, we are no strangers to out of state transactions. In fact for a number of years now we have delivered two Vehicles per year to a regular customer in Las Vegas, so if you just want it shipped to your door we can make it happen, for probably less cost than what you are imagining. PM myself or JAchady and we can get things going!

-Zjlange12
Havill-Spoerl Ford Lincoln
Fort Atkinson, WI

Thanks for the great information! I've just been floored by the number of dealers that essentially refuse a customer with money in hand! I guess I picked a bad time to buy since the MY change over is at hand.
 
michael said:
Sunrise Ford in North Hollywood, CA is very willing to sell FFE's and seems to make good deals.

I had a great experience with Darlene from Sunrise Ford -- much better than with the other two local Ford dealerships. The salesman at Airport Marina Ford was nice during my test drive, but his fleet manager wouldn't let me leave with a solid number because I wasn't ready to buy that day. The Internet salesman at Star Ford (Glendale) wouldn't give me a price over email for days...until I had another offer. Darlene was great to deal with -- all questions and negotiations were over email.
 
Thanks for the info guys, but I couldn't get Sunrise Ford to budge below $29,000 with leather, on a purchase (with the $6,000 customer cash incentive applied). That's $32,500 with tax and license. Was anyone able to do better on a purchase at Sunrise? South Bay Ford and Galpin wouldn't deal either. I've walked out of three dealerships so far with deals left on the table.
 
studio460 said:
Thanks for the info guys, but I couldn't get Sunrise Ford to budge below $29,000 with leather, on a purchase (with the $6,000 customer cash incentive applied). That's $32,500 with tax and license. Was anyone able to do better on a purchase at Sunrise? South Bay Ford and Galpin wouldn't deal either. I've walked out of three dealerships so far with deals left on the table.
Do you have a Costco membership? Earlier this year one forum member was able to get $1000 under invoice through their car buying program.

If not, let me know... maybe there's some way I can "shop" through my membership, and if the deal is good, you can pick up a Costco membership and work it from your end.
 
Thanks v_traveller! Here's how the deals seems to be working out:

Southern California dealer price:

MSRP: $36,990
Invoice:$34,882
Difference: ($2,108)
Subtotal A: $34,882
Invoice + tax/license (9% + 1%): $38,370
Less $6,000 customer cash: $32,370 OTD (before federal and state tax credits).


Costco discount price:

MSRP: $36,990
Invoice:$34,882
Costco discount: ($1,000)
Difference: ($3,108)
Sub-total B: $33,882

Invoice + tax/license (9% + 1%): $37,270
Less $6,000 customer cash: $31,270 OTD (before federal and state tax credits).

[Both prices are calculated without leather ($995).]
 
I purchased my FFE through the Costco Auto program. It eliminated all negotiating and the lease was based on the invoice price, plus the cost of shipping from CA. Will use it everytime I purchase an automobile as it eliminates most of the negotiating process. I recently purchased a 2015 Yukon and actually went with a Credit Union (invoice -$1200) pricing instead of Costco (invoice -$1000), but got me in the door and started negotiating from Invoice instead of MSRP. A Costco area Rep follows up with all the dealers and customers to insure a good experience. If there is a problem, the dealer can loose future referrals. Good program but may not always be the best deal.
 
I recommend everyone check out both the Costco and Auto Club deals (if a member). As noted above, you can often do better than these, but they represent the worst deal you should even consider.
 
studio460 said:
Costco discount price:

MSRP: $36,990
Invoice:$34,882
Costco discount: ($1,000)
Difference: ($3,108)
Sub-total B: $33,882

Invoice + tax/license (9% + 1%): $37,270
Less $6,000 customer cash: $31,270 OTD (before federal and state tax credits).

[Both prices are calculated without leather ($995).]

Are you sure it's without leather? I just checked on ford.com - did the build & price thing - looks like $36990 is a price that includes leather...
 
Yes, you can lease or purchase through Costco Auto Program. I have doen both. Leased an Elantra and purchased a Optima Hybrid through them. It came down to the Optima vs. Focus, both were great.
 
studio460 said:
Are you sure it's without leather? I just checked on ford.com - did the build & price thing - looks like $36990 is a price that includes leather...

I just leased an FFE, and as far as I remember leather is standard. Maybe the extra $995 is the Oxford White paint.
I remember being more for that color, but I don't remember how much more it was.
 
No leather on my FFE--it wasn't standard in 2013.

If I attempt to build a 2014 FFE up on ford.com it shows leather as a $995 option.
leatheroption.jpg
 
studio460 said:
Thanks for the info guys, but I couldn't get Sunrise Ford to budge below $29,000 with leather, on a purchase (with the $6,000 customer cash incentive applied). That's $32,500 with tax and license. Was anyone able to do better on a purchase at Sunrise? South Bay Ford and Galpin wouldn't deal either. I've walked out of three dealerships so far with deals left on the table.

Seems like a good deal. That's what I paid for it at the end of 2012. I hear they are going for more now.
 
The leather seats option (also includes power driver seat adjustments) is $995 extra cost compared to the standard cloth seats (with manual driver seat adjustments).
Oxford White color has no extra cost, though there are a few other colors (Platinum White and Blue Candy) that add an extra cost around $300-500.
 
Back
Top