Ford Dealerships are Making Enemies of Their Customers

It’s fall and future F-150 owners are watching for prices to lower on the 2023 models to make room for the 2024 models. Find out what deals Ford dealerships are offering today and why it has customers angry.

Ford is a Luxury Truck

Having been raised on a farm the first 18 years of my life, never has anyone I have known ever viewed a Ford F-100 or F-150…or possibly even an F-250 as a luxury vehicle. However, with a full-size camper shell or a shiny Airstream camper with a tow package on that F-250, at the time it looked like luxury living to some of us.

What got me thinking along these lines is a recent Motor Feed YouTube channel episode where the host made the comment that the F-150 has become a “luxury vehicle” based on markups of up to 30% over the MSRP. Not only has the F-150 morphed more-so on the owner convenience and luxury side and less on the workhorse side of what makes an F-150 an F-150, the sticker shock of paying between $70,000 and $80,000 this past year qualifies it as a luxury vehicle and is not recommended by Consumer Reports.

In other words, the cost of buying one today is outside the budget of the working man and is seeing more action as a mall crawler.

Semi-related article: Ford Dealership Says This Is a Normal Noise in the Ford F-150

Fall F-150 Deals

The host of the Motor Feed YouTube channel takes viewers on a walk around a Ford dealership lot with commentary about what kind of pricing he is seeing this fall compared to a short while ago when a customer had to pay top dollar to become a 2023 F-150 owner. In the video he points to that some models and trims still command that top dollar; however, discounts are there to be found on other models that are as high as $5,000 to $6,000 off the original price.

In fact, his tour shows that it is possible to get a 2023 F-150 for as low as $45,000---a big difference from having to painfully fork over $70,000-plus dollars for a higher trim model just to own an F-150. And, he points out that he believes these deals are attracting customers because there are fewer models on the lot today.

But is this true or accurate?

No-Deal Deals

“Not so fast,” say viewers in the comments section who although are appreciative of his dealership lot tour and showing what the prices are today, respond that fewer trucks on the lots are more likely dealership shuffling of vehicles to give the impression that fewer trucks are available due to shoppers are snatching them up as end-of-year sales making way for the next years’ models.

Rather, a more accurate point to make of the prices and models shown is that these $5,000 to $6,000 off the original price deals are not deals at all for the customer because as the host mentioned earlier, the trucks’ base prices are still up to 30% over the MSRP on some trims.

Follow along with the host and see what the sticker prices are showing today, and then be sure to read the comments section to the video. Many opinions are spot-on,  remarkably angry, and possibly a more realistic interpretation of what is going on to give you some food for thought before deciding if now is the time to become a new F-150 owner…or not.

For additional Ford-related articles, here are a few for your consideration:

• Ford Repair with a Coat Hanger
• Top Ten Weirdest Cars from Ford and Why You Should Grab One Today
• Why Ford Customers Don’t Trust Ford Dealerships to Fix Their Cars

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on  “Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair” website, the Zen Mechanic blog and on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites  and Facebook for daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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