Ordered vs. Buying Off The Lot

[JasonDroninAround]

I was in kind of a rush when I was looking for a vehicle. I had an older 7 passenger Ram Van that I used for camping and half commuting. I also had a newer Mitsubishi Mirage that I used the other half of the time commuting. I really loved the compactness and efficiency of the Mirage but I also loved the ease of camping and comfortable ride of the van. The Mirage was slated to be a graduation present for my grand daughter. Then, the van developed a misfire that the mechanics told me was going to need an engine rebuild to remedy. After a second opinion and the tags expiring over not passing California smog, I decided to take the money that I may have sunk into fixing the van and look into buying my first ever new vehicle. I wanted something that was compact but able to be camped in. I was looking hard at Ford Transit Connects but they were discontinued and hard to come by. Then, I found the Mavericks and became very interested. I can camp in the bed and maybe someday buy/make a tiny overland camper to tow. I really wanted that CoPilot 360 because my daughter had something like it in her Nissan Kicks and I loved it. I was leaning towards hybrid but not stuck on it. At my local dealership, the only "Lariat" with the CoPilot 360, hybrid or not, was a fleet white 2025 Tremor. I love to dispersed camp and the further you can get into the woods, the better, and the Tremor was right up my alley. Thanks to a slick car salesman somehow working miracles with my credit score, I drove off with the Tremor on the first day I walked on the lot. As I'm driving away, I'm thinking what the hell did I just do? LOL but I do not regret it and I have been having a blast with the truck ever since. I would not trade it in for nothing ... except maybe if they ever bring that Maverick Van to the States hehe

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[HenryFord]

Mavericks are starting to show up on dealer lots now as inventory so if I could find one that had what I wanted on it I certainly would have gone that route provided the dealer was legit and prices fair. I searched and nothing came up with the options I wanted. So I decided I better just order one. For some odd reason used Mavericks are selling for as much as a new one I can order. It didn't take a calculator or a night staying at a Holiday Inn Express to figure out what to do... So now I am waiting for my truck to be built.

 

[Aleks]

I'm settling a bit ... I really wanted a velocity blue lariat 4k and was on the fence about the bap, but I found a space white lariat 4k [no bap] about 3 hours away and I'm picking it up later this week.

Regardless I wasn't ever going to order one, I don't have the patience to wait that long.

I watched a few videos on the space white and like how it looks lightish gray, I am coming from a blue car already, and white is the easiest color to keep clean.

I completely turned down the same spec locally because it was eruption green, it looked nice but not a color for me.

 

[kevink]

I just bought one off the lot due to the uncertainties WRT tariffs at the end of March. Decided that it was a gamble I didn't want to take with possibly $10000 extra for taxes getting what I wanted.
Essentially, the stuff I gave up was the Drivers Assist 2, 4K towing, and AWD.
Most of my life I have lived without the features of Drivers Assist, and I still have that in my sedan for road trips. The 4K towing, when I don't know if I'll ever actually tow, and the AWD, which again I can drive my sedan in inclement weather.

But if someone were to steal my truck, and I needed to replace it, I would just order it. The tariffs may not be in effect then anyway.

And FWD may save me money over the long term in tires. Won't have to buy 4 if I have a non-repairable tire.

 

[Happy Doc]

Built one with exactly what I wanted on Ford's website, took it to the dealership who submitted the order and three months later I drove it off the lot. Best way to get exatly what you want

 

[Traegorn]

Those of us who bought 2022s and 2023s new probably have a very different experience than everyone else.

Like I ordered my truck in September of 2021... and didn't get it for 504 days after it got rolled to a 2023, and I picked it up exactly to the spec I wanted in February of 2023. I didn't compromise on what I wanted, because I figured it would be better to wait than take things off my order and get a truck that I'd be disappointed with faster.

 

[umpkey]

Last August when I wanted to upgrade from my XL to a Lariat for all the nice features and especially adaptive cruise control, I told the dealer I wanted a Lariat Hybrid, Atlas blue, with sunroof. They found one an hour away, but had problems getting it transferred and right when the transfer was finally slashed a 24 Lariat Hybrid in Azure Grey with BAP and sunroof just came off the truck and my salesman working with me said how about this one and I couldn't refuse and so happy I went with that one. I really like the Azure Grey better than the Atlas Blue now that I have it.

 

[Toddman45]

No regrets I bought the exact one I wanted color and everything off the dealer's lot they had it sitting there for 63 days and I wound up getting 1525 off.

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

I bought mine off the Lot i had a 2023 BS BB before the Maverick and should have looked at the Mavericks back then in December of 2023 since i had a bunch of F-150's before the BS BB but Mavericks seemed very scarce at that time. The BS BB only had 6,600 miles on it but the dash rattled like crazy,the fuel gauge would only register 7/8's of a Tank and not full, system off to save battery would come up at least once a week and it had a bunch of recalls.

So in the Middle of April i called the Salesman i Bought the BS BB from since Ford Had the Employee pricing going on. He said he Tried to call me to tell me about the Employee pricing but the Number came up Unavailable and not the Dealerships Name so i didn't answer.I found a 2024 XLT AWD with the 2.0 Eco Boost and the FX4 Package.I didn't really like the Black wheels on the 2024. I liked the color and the wheels more on the 2025 XLT AWD 2.0 Eco Boost i have now more than the Silver on the 2024 and it was only like $500.00 more than the 2024.

 

[Triangle6887]

I bought off the lot because at the time I was looking to buy, they had stopped taking orders for 2024 models and were starting 2025. I am not a fan of the 2025 because they put the climate controls on the touch screen. I wanted a silver 2024 ecoboost XLT with luxury interior, FX4, and tow package. Unfortunately, since I couldn't order I had to look for models sitting on lots. I looked about 300 miles in any direction from where I live and put together a list of vehicles. They all pretty much required some sort of sacrifice on my wants. Closest I found had everything I wanted except the tow package - and the tow package was something I really wanted.

Eventually I found my azure gray 24 ecoboost XLT w/ lux interior, tow package, and co-pilot 360. What drew me to this model was the dealer wanting to clear inventory to make room for 2025 models, so they immediately knocked $3k off the price in addition to $1k in rebates from Ford for military/law enforcement. Then, I got $1500 in trade in value on my current car + an additional $500 from Ford for some promotional rebate for switching brands. So in total, I got the truck for like $25,000 - which was what I was about what I was wanting to pay for a new car.

I'm happy with the outcome and although I really wanted silver, the azure gray has grown on me quite a lot.

 

[JaSully34]

I live in Wisconsin and I just searched the Ford website every night for a few weeks. A truck came in one day 100 miles from where I live. I called the dealer the next morning and said I would like to look at it that afternoon. They held it for me and then delivered it the next day. I never expected a 100 mile delivery. All I needed was 4K towing, and I ended up with an FX4 that fit the bill. The FX4 package is an extra $800 and I got it free. Cannot argue with that.

I did the same (except I live in MN). We'd been casually watching the Maverick for the last few years hoping for Ford would release the AWD Hybrid with the 4k package and they did for '25. When I saw that I started watching my local dealers via Ford.com for a month or 2, off and on.

An XLT popped up that met our needs. Talked to the dealer on Monday, and had it paid for and home a few days later. Getting the bed sprayed slowed down delivery a bit.

Paid sticker price as well. This was via Boyer Trucks in St. Paul MN. Great experience, they didn't pile on trying to sell me all the BS stuff.

 

[Surly Old Bill]

Technically, mine was like ordering it, because I searched online through CarGurus for a couple of months. I knew what I wanted and 2 or 3 dealerships near me had what I wanted (Cactus Gray XL hybrid with tow hitch, copilot360, and onyx/black interior).

Same. Car Guru/AutoTrader are great resources to find out what the "going rate" is. My previous two vehicles, '03 Sprinter and '15 Transit, were found on those type sites, and I flew one-way to TX and MO to pick them up and had a great roadtrip back home. Saved many thou$ands over trying to buy locally, where everyone is "rich" and the dealerships know it ($5k "additional dealer markup" is typical).
I was all prepared to do that with a Maverick, like fly to flyover country or FL and drive home across the country to save $4-5k, but then the employee pricing thing happened and they were the same price everywhere. I was kind of looking forward to the roadtrip...

 

[Lone Ridr]

I've seen all the threads about regretting buying an XL or an XLT or a Lariat. I've seen the threads about problems with ordering (delays, bait & switch, etc.) But what I couldn't find was any posts about ordering your Maverick or just buying one off the lot. I can't get a sense of how many members special ordered their trucks vs. those that just went and picked one out. It seems a lot of people had to compromise on their orders to avoid delays. I just found the one I wanted with the options that I wanted and bought it straight out - no waiting, no dealers adding on stuff before I could bring it home. I'm very satisfied with how it worked out for me, but I would have probably ordered one if I was buying new ('25). I just got lucky that I found one exactly how I would have ordered it and managed to get a '24 right after the camera recall was settled. So if you bought one off the lot, do you wish you would have ordered one instead? Or if you ordered one, was it a good experience compared to the old "drive to the local dealer and buy one today"? I just wondered if it was about 50-50 ordering vs. buying off the lot, or if it was higher or lower in either direction?

I spent a month searching Ford dealerships in the area. One dealer marked a used 2024 with 3000 miles $3000.00 over new invoice and said they would give me a $3000.00 discount. That is just ONE of the nightmares I had to deal with. I went to a local dealership on the 29th of November, '24 to view a Gray Lariat. I didn't drive it. I didn't care for the wheels or the color. The salesman asked what I was looking for. I said blue Lariat all the bells and whistles, towing package, moon roof. He called me the next day saying the truck was on his lot, "come take a look." I looked, examining it closely for imperfections. There were none. I checked the oil and took it on a one-mile test drive. I told him what I would give with my trade-in. I left with the Maverick about an hour later. The truck was built on November 7 and I took delivery November 30. The dealer had the truck on there sister lot in Louisville, Ky. He had it trailered to their lot in Evansville ( 100+ miles) the next morning. It had 8 miles on the odometer. I was under no obligation or commitment to purchase. It wasn't fully serviced and he told me to bring it in the next day so they could finish it, which I did. I am very happy with the purchase! If there had been one blemish on the truck, I wouldn't have taken it. I personally would never commit to a vehicle sight-unseen but that's just me.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

I wouldn't have taken it. I personally would never commit to a vehicle sight-unseen but that's just me.

You don't have to accept any ordered vehicle. Free to walk.

Early on, ordering one was the only way to get one.

Ford was selling every single truck they made, and dealers didn't even have the chance to order any for their lots. When they got an abandoned order, many dealers marked up the price to ridiculous levels. And they still sold.

 

[adam110102]

I had a lease expiring on a Subaru, so ordering my '25 allowed proper timing for the trade. Beyond that, it was kinda nice to be able to just specify what I wanted rather than spend months searching for a match.

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