Is Ford Mispricing the Maverick on Purpose?

[TB84]

When I first read this there were like 3 posts. 6 pages later I'm questioning my intelligence. FWIW, I am a college educated ret mil veteran but I ain't no genius. I thought Ford simply built a truck for less thus sold it for less. Ain't that reasonable?

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[Drew]

When I first read this there were like 3 posts. 6 pages later I'm questioning my intelligence. FWIW, I am a college educated ret mil veteran but I ain't no genius. I thought Ford simply built a truck for less thus sold it for less. Ain't that reasonable?

That is a big part of it. The other is competition, market dynamics, supply/demand, & price discovery. When demand goes through the roof like it has with the Mav & continues to persist despite long waits for delivery, the market price decouples from the cost of production. That’s the main reason why any physically available Mav is priced much higher than MSRP.
Ford arranged less expensive materials into a design that buyers want more than more expensive materials that other manufacturers have “arranged” into lesser designs. In most cases that want/demand is an opportunity for profit. Ford has not, so far, capitalized on that, but has priced the Mav much less than supply/demand & aftermarket sales indicate it should be priced.

 

[TB84]

With respect to the Op, I'm sure Ford evaluated and researched things I'm completely oblivious to. Your understanding/knowledge of the process is appreciated. In line with your above explanation-the demand is my current dilemma. As I said, I'm satisfied with my 22k ish price and wouldn't choose anything over it at "that" price. The demand is such that I can make 9-10k (and haven't even tried) by selling/trading. I just haven't found anything to replace it with yet. If the Mav maintains this demand a price increase seems likely. I am actually kinda proud of myself as I now understand your original post. I have read this entire thread over and it seems a lot of the replies (like my first thought)are simply arguing why the Mav is cheaper yada yada. Op, if I understand, you aren't addressing build quality at all. You are simply saying the market indicates that Ford underpriced the Mav and questioning if Ford had some master plan (so to speak).

 

[Maverickman74]

If you went by what some people say on forums, you'd never use an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S-series flagship smartphone. You'd be convinced they were all the worst thing ever made.

Yes. Yes they are. I have never and will never use a smart phone, because the human body and mind has absolutely no need for it. I dont even use the calculator that much on my old waterproof flip phone that my job requires me to have. Smart phones are the devil and I dont even believe in religion. In the 90s alot of young people may have been "depressed", but it seems worse now even though they put alot of happiness online the rest of the time people are just bitching about stuff on their phones.

I know its not what you were talking about but those phones are useless and I would love my maverick to be $500 cheaper if it had zero connectivity what so ever, atleast outside of a radio.

 

[jsus]

Yes. Yes they are. I have never and will never use a smart phone, because the human body and mind has absolutely no need for it. I dont even use the calculator that much on my old waterproof flip phone that my job requires me to have. Smart phones are the devil and I dont even believe in religion. In the 90s alot of young people may have been "depressed", but it seems worse now even though they put alot of happiness online the rest of the time people are just bitching about stuff on their phones.

I know its not what you were talking about but those phones are useless and I would love my maverick to be $500 cheaper if it had zero connectivity what so ever, atleast outside of a radio.

That is a wild tangent only loosely related to a subject I brought up and is a woefully myopic and incomplete take, there. Fortunately, I'm not on your lawn so I needn't get off of it.

How about we stay on topic here?

 

[jsus]

If you want to call me out, then do it. Don't be passive aggressive.

Try to ignore the trolls, just report them, ignore them as needed, and move on. Not worth engaging with them.

There's a Report button at the bottom of each post. Hover over a username (don't click) then choose the Ignore button at the bottom of the popup.

Anyway, back to the subject of why a cheap truck is cheap...

 

[Drew]

With respect to the Op, I'm sure Ford evaluated and researched things I'm completely oblivious to. Your understanding/knowledge of the process is appreciated. In line with your above explanation-the demand is my current dilemma. As I said, I'm satisfied with my 22k ish price and wouldn't choose anything over it at "that" price. The demand is such that I can make 9-10k (and haven't even tried) by selling/trading. I just haven't found anything to replace it with yet. If the Mav maintains this demand a price increase seems likely. I am actually kinda proud of myself as I now understand your original post. I have read this entire thread over and it seems a lot of the replies (like my first thought)are simply arguing why the Mav is cheaper yada yada. Op, if I understand, you aren't addressing build quality at all. You are simply saying the market indicates that Ford underpriced the Mav and questioning if Ford had some master plan (so to speak).

Yes, not a nefarious plan, but a smart one that those that can wait benefit from, & Ford also benefits from while working to get their factories back on line. I’m very happy with my Mav, design, build quality, ride… all of it. I think Ford’s management is navigating this post CoVid era masterfully.

 

[A. Benjamin]

This thread is a fascinating read - appreciate everyone's thoughts. I bought a new '86 Ranger XL 2.9L fuel injected V-6, 5-spd, 2WD in Nov. 85. Drove it 14.5 yrs. I bought a new '00 Ranger XLT Sport 4.0L fuel injected V-6, 5-spd, 2WD in May '00. Drove it ~20 yrs. When the '00 was no longer good for commuting (w/out very major work), I picked up a 2012 Civic EX-L (in Oct. '13 w/8K mis. on it). But we kept the Ranger around for hardware store runs, beach runs, etc. As I headed toward retirement (this year) I'd wanted a "truck" that would get terrific mpg. When Ford brought back Ranger in '19 I asked about a hybrid - nope. When Hyundai finally built Santa Cruz I asked about a hybrid - nope. So, I had to wait a lot longer than I wanted. I put in a reservation for a baseline, ZERO options Maverick hybrid in mid-July 2021. Picked it up 7/23/22. Paid $23,600 cash out-the-door w/tax/license. Basically, window sticker plus tax/lic. Now I see the comments about build quality, etc. Early in my career I spent 14 yrs working automotive parts/service. I don't necessarily find Ford to be a quality/durability leader, but this "truck" drives and rides so nicely and passengers have commented on that being the case, too. It is delivering over 38mpg, which to me is incredibly cool - several mpg better than my 2012 Civic. I have found no faults with fit/finish anywhere on the truck. Of course I realize it'll have to prove itself in the LONG haul - I hope it does. Thanks again for so many cool posts on this topic!

 

[Maverickman74]

That is a wild tangent only loosely related to a subject I brought up and is a woefully myopic and incomplete take, there. Fortunately, I'm not on your lawn so I needn't get off of it.

How about we stay on topic here?

You can come over if you want. I put up a zipline recently, you wont drag ass if you are under about 225lb. I drag a little bit lol.

From what I can see the Maverick isnt underpiced at all. However I do expect its price to dramatically increase over the coming years buy atleast $1500 a year. Ford is still making a profit on them atleast a few thousand a unit.

 

[Mainer500]

I believe the Mav is underpriced by Ford as a strategy:

What price do other 4 Door Hybrids cost new?

What price do other 4 Door Turbo AWDs cost new?

…& they aren’t even trucks!

How is Ford doing it? Did Ford somehow discover a rift in spacetime that dropped their cost of materials & labor?
-No, in fact both are up!

So, the more important question is:

>Why did Ford price the Maverick so low?<

1. The advertised artificially low price gets huge attention, & brings people to Ford dealerships for possible upsells

2. Pulls buyers away from other vehicles & brands,

3. Incentivizes people to order & wait, & wait, & wait… locking them up, keeping them from purchasing other brands

4. While buying time for Ford to navigate it’s way through the supply chain nightmare & eventually get back up to speed…

5. Ford dealers are also given the opportunity to make some bucks on marking up cancellations & used Mavs, helping keep them afloat until Ford factories fully come back online.

Ingenious actually…

I think it might be a year from now before Ford is able to meet demand & deliver Mavs in a reasonable time frame, & I predict that by that time Ford will pivot to bring the Mav’s price more in line with other car companies’ offerings thereby reflecting the true cost of profitably manufacturing, marketing, & delivering the Mav in a timely manner to it’s customers… but for thousand$ more than the loss-leader, attention-grabbing, wait-placating price it is now.

Thoughts?

Edit: I don’t think Ford is intending to sell Mavs at a loss. My saying artificially underpriced means just that. The closest offerings from other manufacturers that are Hybrid or Turbos or AWD all cost substantially more. Our buying behavior, -your’s, mine, all the other thousands of buyers of Mavs behavior & the used market prices all demonstrate that Ford could charge much more for their Mavs. I’m exploring why they aren’t & why they choose to price them so low.

I don’t see a conspiracy, I see possibly an admirable business strategy that I myself am benefitting from. I’m not criticizing Ford. They’re not victimizing anyone. If I’m right I admire Ford management even more for making the best of the situation & getting a great little truck out of the factory every now & then. I am a very happy EB AWD XL owner & am waiting on 1 Hybrid XLT & 1 EB AWD 4K.

I think Ford's strategy is to get the young buyers into the Ford fold with a cost manageable option. And to introduce them to the functionality of a truck. Plus as the older Ford purchaser doesn't need an F-150 or even and SUV at this point, it's very enticing to both ends of the buying public. Heck I took my Wife out of a Ford Fiesta and put her in the Maverick and freaking LOVES it, plus it looks cute parked next to my 150

 

[TB84]

Yes, not a nefarious plan, but a smart one that those that can wait benefit from, & Ford also benefits from while working to get their factories back on line. I’m very happy with my Mav, design, build quality, ride… all of it. I think Ford’s management is navigating this post CoVid era masterfully.

Maybe others will reread and realize you made what seems to be an evidenced based assessment of the current market and simply questioned Ford's insight/future plan. I'm a big proponent of Truth vs opinion and I don't see any disputing the fact/s you noted.

 

[Blackbelt]

Reading through this thread, i see a lot of the nonsense "you only get what you pay for". In my 65 years on this planet, i have seen enough to know that this is complete and utter BS. I will be happy to throw a bunch of examples out there to support that.
Here are a few
Cadillac Cimmaron
Chryslers TC
Chrysler Crossfire
Chevrolet SSR
Fiat 500
Cadillac Allante
All pretty expensive. Did the buyer get what they payed for?
Ford is using the Maverick to help their CAFE, and it makes perfect sense. They can sell 12 MPG overpriced overweight F seriies trucks at huge profits. The Maeverick sales keep them from getting fined by our friends in DC.

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