Is there a way to prequalify for lease rates with Ford? I’m trying to get a Lightning from out of state (I’m in SoCal) and I’d love to have a way to nail down what the rate is going to be (or could be) from Ford to make the process a little easier. Wasting a ton of time with folks who come back with rates that are way out of line.
Thanks for any help or guidance.
Pre-qualifying doesn’t guarantee the dealer will offer you that rate. They can mark-up the MF/APR if they want.
Know your target and make knowledgeable offers until one is accepted.
Thank you both. I get the dealer agency in this - I just would love to get a “here’s what ford says they will do” so I’m not flying completely blind. I see what the MF and residual is but I would love a baseline from the folks who are actually providing the $$. Because every dealer has a “well that rate is only for people whose last name begins with Q” or some such. If I were just trying to deal locally, that would be one thing - I’d love to be able to say ‘I get you’re going to do what you’re going to do, but Ford financing said x’
It goes to the “make knowledgeable offers” point.
Just looking for efficiencies.
Prequalify is a marketing tool to get you locked into a certain brand even though they can reject you at the dealership
pull your all three of your fico auto8 scores from myfico.com. i think ford uses experian but it’s regional, wouldn’t hurt to pull all 3 anyway. just do a one time order, don’t sign up for the recurring subscription.
but remember:
Knowledgeable offers start with knowing the dealer discount that is achievable mostly through research on prior “Signed” deals posted here on LH.
The second step is typically obtaining mf, rv, and the incentives / amounts you qualify for so you have a knowledgeable offer. Those come from either being a super supporter here on LH or going to the appropriate Edmunds forum, posting a request and getting a response.
Those two above steps can be swapped as well. I’m not sure saying, “this is what Ford Finance says” to a sales manager is going to yield much in the way of progress.
Thanks, I’ve already done the steps you suggest. Just trying to be belt and suspenders.
Let me ask this question in the opposite direction, any downside to calling Ford Finance?
Is their harm? No, it’s your time so no not sure I see the harm so to speak. I’m not certain your going to get anything in writing to then take to a completely separate entity such as a dealer that could be honored.
What question are you hoping Ford Finance will answer? If you pre-qualify with Ford Finance and a dealer decides to mark up the rate, that’s well within one of the levers a dealer can pull.
I guess I want to understand what the qualifications are for the rates that I see for MF.
While I’m not sure of the exact cut-off for Tier 1 rates at Ford, if you have great credit it makes you eligible for whatever deal you put together at the base rate.
It does not entitle you to the base mf rate. People with 800 credit scores receive a marked up mf every day on vehicles. It’s one of the many ways dealers profit on a vehicle transaction.
When you’re putting together your knowledgeable offer, you structure or price it with the base mf. If they need to increase the discount in exchange for a marked up money factor to get to your deal then you let them. No dealer wants to be dictated to on how to structure your deal, as long as they get to your numbers or an agreeable to both sides point.
Thank you. Really appreciate the time and the insight.
Making knowledgeable offers = takes MF anxiety out of the equation.
You don’t care if it’s buyrate or marked up if they hit your target payment.
What’s your target?
Post a LH calculator link.
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