Ford F-150 Lightning’s popularity has continued to remain white-hot long after the first deliveries took place earlier this year. Even before that, we reported on a policy that limits Lightning customers from selling or otherwise transferring ownership of the truck to another person for a year from the date of purchase. Now, we’re finding out that it’s actually up to the dealer whether or not that policy is put in place.
When we first mentioned this policy back in January of this year it came along with other information regarding markups and additional dealer fees surrounding the Lightning. A bulletin from Ford Corporate to dealers basically said that the parent company would be willing to back a no-sale provision like the one implemented on the Ford GT supercar.
This is one reason why we were so surprised to see a Lightning land on Cars & Bids recently. In fact, one keen-eyed user on the site specifically brought up the potential resale issue and received this reply from the seller “I believe that was up to the dealers or it might not have even been implemented.” We had to know more about the situation.
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We reached out to Ford directly, and here’s what they had to say about resale rules: “Dealers requested language from us last year about having the ability to have customers hold on to their vehicle for one year from purchase. It is up to dealers to work through local state laws should they decide to implement something between the dealer and the customer.”
What this means is that Ford dealers requested this policy, not Ford itself, and it makes it seem as though dealers really don’t want customers to have the chance to buy and flip their own trucks for a profit. In other words, they want to be sure that they don’t miss out on the biggest cut possible. At the same time, it’s also clear that some dealers aren’t requiring any such contract to be signed.
We should also point out that the original bulletin to dealers said “In order to prevent the re-sale of 22MY F150 Lightning, Ford is offering support for a No-Sale Provision to be signed by the customer at the time of purchase. Dealers may add this language to existing closing forms or create a new standalone document” so it was never a hard requirement. Ford was simply providing a little support to the dealers who requested it.
Are you a reservation holder for the new F-150 Lightning? We’d love to hear about your personal experience, so let us know in the comments below.