Home / Ford News and Reviews
Image of Ford Mustang Mach-E by John Goreham
John Goreham's picture
By John Goreham Jan 15 2022 - 12:38pm

Poll: Nearly All Ford Mustang Mach-E Owners Paid MSRP or Less

Despite the buzz surrounding dealer markups, most Ford Mustang Mach-E battery-electric vehicle buyers paid MSRP or less over the past 13 months.
Advertisement

You can’t swing a dead catalytic converter on the internet without hitting a post showing a crazy dealer markup on a popular model. Electrified vehicles like the new Ford Mustang Mach-E, now in its 14th month of sales, are among those with many of the most shocking MSRP markup posts. The posts usually go something like, “I was at Happy Auto Ford today and saw this markup!” The post is accompanied by a photo showing a disturbing markup of $10K or more. What almost none of the posts show is an actually completed sale breakdown. The reason is that those markups are not what most people actually pay.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Poll results

Related Story: Huge Dealer Markups May Not Be What They Seem

How do we know the precise markups paid? We don’t. We suspect Ford doesn’t even know. However, Ford shoppers are savvy, and Ford has numerous programs designed to offer its loyal owners discounts. We polled the largest Ford Mustang Mach-E Facebook Owners’ club to see what the trend was for Mustang Mach-E purchases. Our goal was to see what owners say they paid for their vehicle. As you can see from the poll screenshot above, most buyers say that they paid the manufacturer’s suggested retail price plus destination and doc fees. A meme on social media saying “I paid exactly what Ford meant for me to and not one penny more!” isn’t one that is going to go viral. That’s a shame.

Related Story: Huge Dealer Markups May Not Be What They Seem

Many buyers participated in one of Ford’s discount programs and paid less than MSRP. Yes, not a dealer markup, but a price lower than Ford suggested the dealer sell the Mach-E for. By our count, Ford has four “friends and family” type plans that offer employees, dealer employees, and their friends and family members special discounts on Ford products. GM, Toyota, and pretty much every major automaker in America offer such plans. Ford’s are the AXZ and D plans. Since the Mustang Mach-E is primarily a vehicle one orders, because the landscape of vehicle buying has rapidly shifted over the past 18 months, these plans have taken on even more important than they have traditionally. Roughly a third of those who responded to the poll say they benefitted from one of the plans. All who mentioned the plans say they paid less than MSRP.

Related Story: Poll Results: Most Toyota RAV4 Prime Buyers Paid About MSRP For Their Vehicle

All but one of the respondents paid within $5K of the MSRP, and just a small number paid more than $2K over the MSRP and destination and doc fees.

There are many reasons why dealer markups make our blood boil. It is an emotional reaction, and many feel they are unfair. However, most folks don’t philosophically oppose a customer paying less than the advertised price for a vehicle. Nor do they create and share passionate social media posts saying “My sale was just what I expected and I thought was fair.” Funny how that works.

Related Story: Tesla's Market Adjustment Of Model Y Raises Starting Price 44% In One Year

If you purchased a new Ford Mustang Mach-E over the past year or so and wish to share your experience, please feel free to use the comments below. If you do, throw in your state and which trim you now own.

Image of Ford Mustang Mach-E by John Goreham. Chart courtesy of Facebook and the Ford Mustang Mach-E owners group.

John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. John's interest in EVs goes back to 1990 when he designed the thermal control system for an EV battery as part of an academic team. After earning his mechanical engineering degree, John completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers, in the semiconductor industry, and in biotech. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American news outlets and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on TikTok @ToknCars, on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin

Re-Publication. If you wish to re-use this content, please contact Torque News for terms and conditions.

Automotive News
Electric Vehicle News, Reviews and Analysis
News Opinion
Ford News and Reviews
Ford Mustang News

Subscribe to Torque News on YouTube.
Follow Torque News on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

Michelle wrote on January 15, 2022 - 1:54pm
I was the first car my dealership sold on February 8th 2021 and I used xplan. I expected it would be a simple transaction since I was not negotiating and I'd already made the decision to buy it and was pre-qualified but it took from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. They didn't know how to apply the x plan and I forgot to ask about my $100 rebate and let me sit there because they had more important customers in the showroom. Now this same dealership is adding ADM because they can and they sell them as soon as they put one out in front of the dealership. When I bought it the feeling was they really didn't care and wanted me to take it off their lot. There was absolutely no fanfare for selling their very first MachE but later the dealership owner sent me an email to thank me for showing his salespeople how to open the car doors and a little about the car and wanted to know if I could stop by for a photo for their social media page. It was not a great buying experience so I declined.
Eric C Post wrote on January 15, 2022 - 11:41pm
I purchased my Cyber Orange Mach-E GTPE from Hemborg Ford. I was not the first sale but one of the first 5. My GT was the first GT they sold. I was very upfront about what my expectations were when I ordered the car. Before ordering I was at the dealership and test drove the demo, an AWD SR Premium. I asked them ahead of time about the California Clean Fuel Reward Program (CCFR), Options pricing, Options Rebate and X-Plan Pricing. The knew nothing about any of the programs other than X-Plan but said they would have to verify the exact discount based on my specific model. I ordered my car on 04/27/21 from my computer. I called the dealership to verify that they received the order and would submit it and that there would be no ADM. They confirmed the order with no ADM and said they thought X-Plan would be about $1100 but the still needed to confirm. I directed them to the Ford Website regarding Options programs and California for CCFR. They were appreciative for the information and this was all new to them. They later reached out to me when Ford had sent me an email about the production delay for my car. They also said that they confirmed the CCFR program and understood how that worked and would be ready when my car actually came it. Due to the production delay the CCFR dropped from $1500 down to $750 but this wasn't the fault of the dealer. When my car finally arrived at the dealership (11/27) they asked me if I could pick it up by month end (11/30) so they could hit their numbers. I was happy to do so. When I showed up the car was ready, paperwork was ready. They said that they were no longer accepting X-Plan pricing, but because they had told me when I ordered the car they would honor it. They knew how Options worked and offered me 1.4% rate for either 36 or 48 months and a $2500 rebate. They told me I was the first person to request Options program. Not counting the Federal Tax Credit I received almost $4,500 off in total discounts. $3750 from Ford. $750 from California. Everything went very smoothly. They didn't try to add anything else to the sale. Before the paperwork was finalized I told them I was interested in the Extended Warranty but I had priced it online and could buy it from another dealership for less than the advertised price. I shared the link to the other dealer and they verified the information. They told me that the best price they would offer was $200 more than the other dealer but still almost $1000 less than "retail". I was happy with the experience overall and decided to purchase it from my dealership instead. I wrote a separate check for the extended warranty and did not make it part of the contract. I was very pleased with the sales rep and the dealer. They later called me a few times to see if I was happy with the purchase and asked if I have any questions. The sales rep also thanked me and said that because of the information I had provided he was able to sell a couple more MME GTPEs to some of their larger clients who buy a lot of cars from them...it made the sale much smoother for them.
John Goreham wrote on January 16, 2022 - 11:10am
Thank you for sharing all of that detail, Eric C. Clearly, it pays to be an informed consumer! Glad you were able to obtain one of the hottest new vehicles on the planet during times of unprecedented shortages at a discount below MSRP.
bouchard wrote on January 16, 2022 - 1:48pm
I havé Owned a first édition 2021 Mustang Mach-e since Juin 2021 they sold me the manufactturer’s retail price plus freigth and préparation without any discount. Very very satisfied with the car Canada Quebec ct
bouchard wrote on January 16, 2022 - 1:48pm
I havé Owned a first édition 2021 Mustang Mach-e since Juin 2021 they sold me the manufactturer’s retail price plus freigth and préparation without any discount. Very very satisfied with the car Canada Quebec ct
brandon hardy wrote on January 16, 2022 - 6:12pm
Hey I have a premium MAch E with extended range with RWD. Paid sticker for it. In Maryland April 29,2021.
Martin Lane wrote on January 16, 2022 - 6:21pm
I ordered a Mach E GT Performance in May 21, the order was approved by the dealer at MSRP. It came in the second week of January 2022. Went to pick up my car and the dealer informed me there will be a $4,000 mark up.
James Allen wrote on January 16, 2022 - 6:27pm
James, from San Diego, Ca. I was shocked and dreams of buying a mach-e with a upgraded sound system, excellent safety features, blue cruise, self parking, and keep up with the big boys speed vanished because of $7500 markup. I knew because of my income that it was a once in a lifetime moment and i will not get a car in 40-50k range ever again. I wanted the mach-e premium at $47k or so. Great if not fantastic featured car. Wirh the mark up i could only afford the mach -e select out the door at $46,500. Out the door was originally higher but bank backed out of the financing due to price being higher than value of car etc. Dealer told me i was first mach -e owner to avoid the $7500 mark up and get lower price. The select i thought at least for price parked by itself but it doesn't . It does have a slew of safety features though . Basically i had no research done on base model and i would not have got it if i knew all that it lacked (alot). My dreams was never meant to come true with the premium mach e. The select model at the time was 42,000 and some change before mark up. I hope it holds value so i can sell in a couple years.
JS wrote on January 16, 2022 - 7:29pm
Shopped for EV all last summer. Decided on the Mach-e and did not want to wait for web order, so checked local dealers. Closest one wanted $5K markup over MSRP. Contacted another a little further away and received a quote for $3K in rebates under MSRP. So difference between dealers was an $8K savings. Anyone not shopping around and going with a dealer that charges a hefty markup is a fool. They are also encouraging the practice. Ford has made a statement to dealers about overcharging and individuals flipping their new EVs and new rules are being made as this is bad business and reflects negatively on the brand.
Doug wrote on January 17, 2022 - 1:38am
When I purchased my Mach-E in mid-November, the dealer I bought it from had recently bought several off other local dealers at above MSRP. The only way I could get one less than $5k over, was to buy the dealer-driven car that the dealership owner had already put 2800 miles on. Even so, I ended up paying about $1500 over MSRP after taking them down from their $10k markup. Considering that was still below what you can get for a used Mach-E on used car sites and this one still had the EV tax credit intact (no previous registered owner), I considered it a win. It's still worth more than what I paid for it, which is not something you could ever say about any car 5 years ago. It also makes negotiating tough when MSRP=invoice for the Mach-E.
John Goreham wrote on January 17, 2022 - 3:58pm
On the Twitter post thus far, 18 people claim the story is untrue. Not one of those folks owns a Mustang Mach-E. Yet, they are so sure...
Ak wrote on February 22, 2022 - 7:51pm
This is the worst poll. There is literally no option for paying over 5k msrp. How could it collect data on those who paid well over, without even asking?
John Goreham wrote on February 23, 2022 - 7:14pm
"More than $5K over MSRP" was an original option. When I took the screen shot, nobody had chosen it. Since then 2 folks have. FB sorts polls top-down by most chosen options. You can participate in the poll at the FB Ford Mustang Mach-E owners group. As of today, 191 folks have reported paying Within $2K of MSRP, and 7 have reported paying more than $2K over MSRP.
Rob K wrote on July 6, 2022 - 4:49pm
Only 2K over MSRP? One can dream. Mossy Ford here in San Diego is marking up all machE models $20,000. They are marking the Raptor pick ups $30,000. I clearly told the salesperson no thank you and the odd thing was even though he knew I wasn't going to buy from him he offered to let me test drive it, which I did, and that was very smart of him because I'm hooked and can't wait to be able to order one for MSRP... Or find another dealer in San Diego who isn't marking them up $20 grand.