Wait times dropping - Will used prices too?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

As they say,,"Time is money".....!

Actually time is finite. We never know how much we have and once it's gone is gone for good. You can't make more time, but you can always make more money, even if that means not spending what you have.

Because I know time is finite, I try to NEVER delay pleasure. I'm a big planner. I'm planning (and make reservations) to winter in Arizona next year... three months. And I've started planning my summer trip of 2025.... three months travel to/from Alaska.

Every day and every year is a gift. Don't waste them waiting....

[gabeck]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

As they say,,"Time is money".....!

and way more precious than money ...

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Actually time is finite. We never know how much we have and once it's gone is gone for good. You can't make more time, but you can always make more money, even if that means not spending what you have. ....

All true and wise, but still subject to a great Gary Larson cartoon ...

(this thread tangent started by moderators )

[gabeck]

We aren't actually seeing any real price drops ... although newscasts are saying real estate is down ... not so much in our city ( and area ). ( Also not seeng price drops in vehicles )

Resale prices on used Escapes may get cheaper if wait times shorten , but that may also depend on models and turnover of certain models ....

[gabeck]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I do think the used Escape (actual purchase) prices will go down somewhat this year, but not dramatically. A person might save a grand or two by waiting. Meanwhile that shopper will spend another Escape-less summer. It's not worth the wait for me to maybe save a little bit; I want to have a trailer that I can use this spring for some business traveling and this summer to attend a family gathering in MI. As of yesterday I have a purchase pending-- finally!!!

Congratulations ... still seems to be a lot of luck in finding a used Escape in a manageable travel distance.

[Grasshog]

Bikezest—. I am in the same boat ,, buying in the tip top of the market is not something I am used to.

I feel like 35% increase is a lot? You can’t lock in the price until u sign the build sheet and I feel like there’s a rock and hard spot. If u order today you would be able to sign and lock it. I understand that things have gone up but when I gave deposit I feel like there should be some way that ETI could meet somewhere in between, when I told friends about price increase they thought that since a deposit was made they would be in the price range of what prices were at that time? But all deposit did was save u a place in line, which now means nothing since the wait time is minimal. But bottom line is time is money,,which only applies to the buyers,,

[mlowther]

As with anything used, sometimes luck with your timing plays a big part. We were a day away from our due date for signing off on our build sheet for a 2023 21C - I had happened upon a 2017 21C for sale on Kijiji - the owner didn't know about this forum, didn't want to deal with Escape's used site, just wanted it GONE - which showed as he had priced it $25K less than what we were going to pay for our new trailer. An email and phone call later my husband was on his way out to Kamloops and we are now ecstatic owners!

The used market will adjust - there will be these lucky deals like we found; there will be those who price accordingly and are reasonable with negotiations; and then there will be those who will always price their trailer close to retail pricing.

As for Escape's new trailer pricing, I doubt it will ever go down - maybe not go up in October (since the current year's locked-in pricing is to the end of September) but it won't go down. I think that until the only wait time for a trailer is the production time will a whiff of price slashing be a remote possibility.

[Small but Sweet]

When it comes to the value of a used Escape compared to a new one, I would think that the location of the trailer would factor in. Here in Oregon, Washington or British Columbia many of us can easily reach Sumas/Chilliwack within hours to pick up a new Escape. Anywhere else it would be more of an advantage to find a used one that's local to you, than to have to transport one out.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by mlowther

As with anything used, sometimes luck with your timing plays a big part. We were a day away from our due date for signing off on our build sheet for a 2023 21C - I had happened upon a 2017 21C for sale on Kijiji - the owner didn't know about this forum, didn't want to deal with Escape's used site, just wanted it GONE - which showed as he had priced it $25K less than what we were going to pay for our new trailer. An email and phone call later my husband was on his way out to Kamloops and we are now ecstatic owners!

The used market will adjust - there will be these lucky deals like we found; there will be those who price accordingly and are reasonable with negotiations; and then there will be those who will always price their trailer close to retail pricing.

As for Escape's new trailer pricing, I doubt it will ever go down - maybe not go up in October (since the current year's locked-in pricing is to the end of September) but it won't go down. I think that until the only wait time for a trailer is the production time will a whiff of price slashing be a remote possibility.

Just remember the current year's locked-in pricing to September is base price only. The option price is not lock in.

[davidmurphy02]

Sounds like things are slowly coming full circle. We ordered our 5.0 in the summer of 2018 and chose a late December production date because at that time they were giving a $1,000 discount just to keep the production line going in what was usually a very slow period in December.

I doubt prices will come down significantly, so many other materials and components have increased dramatically. Back in 2018 plenty of people were agonizing over which options to get in order to keep the price under control. It makes me sad that lots of folks who could manage $30K for an Escape are priced out of the market now, but I guess that's just the way of the world - look at home prices. We feel very fortunate to have, through no extra smarts of our own, lucked into buying our Escape and truck just before things went crazy.

[bikezest]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Sounds like things are slowly coming full circle. We ordered our 5.0 in the summer of 2018 and chose a late December production date because at that time they were giving a $1,000 discount just to keep the production line going in what was usually a very slow period in December.

I doubt prices will come down significantly, so many other materials and components have increased dramatically. Back in 2018 plenty of people were agonizing over which options to get in order to keep the price under control. It makes me sad that lots of folks who could manage $30K for an Escape are priced out of the market now, but I guess that's just the way of the world - look at home prices. We feel very fortunate to have, through no extra smarts of our own, lucked into buying our Escape and truck just before things went crazy.

The thing is, is that prices are coming down on many items. Ocean freight alone has plummeted from its high point. My industry is seeing dramatic downward pricing corrections as demand softens and supply rises. It may not happen as much in RVs, but the raw materials are coming down, and the supply is obviously softening it. The worst part is that we were figuring about 40K all in, which has risen to 60K with delivery (which was quoted as $500 higher than stated on the website), including taxes and registration. While we can technically afford it, the price has crept up to a point we have been reassessing the purchase, as the trailer is simply a tool to safely store our dog while exploring, along with a bed, toilet, fridge, and means to cook when we are out hiking, mountain biking, fishing etc. I always viewed Escapes as about as wise of an RV purchase one could make do to the simplicity, resale value, longevity etc. In contrast, they now feel like a financial luxury item a few months out from plunking down the cash.

[GeorgeB]

Bikezest, great discussion.
I would like to add to your question if you don't mind. I feel trucks and escapes go hand and hand.

What will happen to all the trucks waiting for chips when the computer chips arrive? I have seen pictures of tens of thousands of trucks waiting for a chip. Will these companies sell the three year old like new trucks in the USA, overseas, or destroy them? I don't see Ford selling a three year old like new truck at a discounted price next to a new 2024 model. That would be competing with yourself. Just curious if anyone has any insider knowledge or couch opinion. :-)

[Centex]

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

What will happen to all the trucks waiting for chips when the computer chips arrive? I have seen pictures of tens of thousands of trucks waiting for a chip. Will these companies sell the three year old like new trucks in the USA, overseas, or destroy them? I don't see Ford selling a three year old like new truck at a discounted price next to a new 2024 model. That would be competing with yourself. Just curious if anyone has any insider knowledge or couch opinion. :-)

No insider knowledge but I've been following some threads on F150 forums about the 'chip hold' backlog, including some where folks post aerial pics tracking those 'thousands of trucks' holding areas.

It seem that there's now (finally) a fairly steady ebb-and-flow at those locations - with first-in-first-out being the scheme to the extent possible as 'missing' chips become available.

Yes, there's still 'chip holds' occurring for certain current production model year 2023 F150s but the backlog of 2022's seems almost completely cleared according to many observers who follow such matters diligently. In some cases Ford continues to implement 'forced removals' (i.e. simply not delivering certain non-critical 'convenience features' with no expectation that those will ever be added to vehicles delivered in that condition, missing some things like enhanced driver assist features, navigation features, massaging seats, etc).

Of course Ford has no option but to publicly acknowledge the situation and even publicly acknowledge it will continue to some degree for a while, as they also try to paint a picture of optimism forecasting an end to the mess eventually. They've learned to not make any, or at least very heavily hedged, prognostications about dates.

None of this an 'acceptable' situation by anyone's measure including Ford's, all of it very embarrassing and potentially damaging for Ford's reputation and sales, but nothing to indicate that vehicles will be shipped out-of-market or destroyed.

I don't follow other manufacturers to know what their situations may be, similar or otherwise.

It might be a good time to shop for or order an F150 if one isn't interested in features dependent on those chips, but likely not a good time to order if looking for a 'fully loaded' truck with lots of those convenience features. If looking at dealer inventory at least you know that what-you-see-is-what-you-get (and there may be some deals to be found as inventories are picking up a bit).

There are several forums which seem to have good info on exactly what features are impacted by this, though it is still a moving target to a great extent (info current today may change tomorrow without warning).

[GeorgeB]

Centex, thanks for your thoughts. They align with my own on truck prices. I didn't know that they started to get their inventory down. Thanks for your response.

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

Will these companies sell the three year old like new trucks in the USA, overseas, or destroy them? I don't see Ford selling a three year old like new truck at a discounted price next to a new 2024 model. That would be competing with yourself. Just curious if anyone has any insider knowledge or couch opinion. :-)

We live about an hour from the Kentucky Speedway, where one of the massive staging lots for delayed new F-150s is located. We’ve driven past there on a few trips south, and I can say with confidence that those trucks haven’t been sitting there for three years. There have been at least two or three “cycles” of the Speedway filling and emptying then filling again that I’ve seen. This is the case for that staging area, at least, but it’s a HUGE one.

Edit: I might also add I suspect the 2021 F-150 we bought new in March of 2022 was a “Speedway truck.” I found that our hard copy manual for the Pro Trailer feature was packaged the previous August. I’m not too worried about it though.

[emers382]

Our new 2022 F150 was built around Oct. 24 and was supposedly in Winnipeg before the end of November, and we finally picked it up January 12 after having the rear bumper replaced (damaged in transit). It was ordered Aug. 9. We did get a credit for no navigation (did not want anyway) and no Sirius (would have been nice), and credit for auto stop removal.

[Doug2000]

I don't expect the price of the Escape to come down at all and I don't expect to see the used price of Escapes to change much either which is unfortunate because we wanted the 5.0 for retirement but at 2019 prices not todays.

[GeorgeB]

YakRV, Thanks for your eyes on task information.

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

YakRV, Thanks for your eyes on task information.

You’re welcome, George!

[RF Paul]

Assuming there are still a decent number of folks interested in Escapes, is it possible that the shortened wait times have occurred because folks backed out of buying a new one because of the price increases, and instead are looking at purchasing used? If demand for used Escapes increases (or at least stays the same), wouldn’t the prices of used remain strong?