Used Ford F-150 Lightning Trucks Aren’t Selling in 2023: An Electrifying Disappointment
As one of the hottest and most talked-about EVs of the year, used Ford F-150 Lightning trucks are moving slowly. A recent study showed that some of the more popular vehicles from the last few years are having a time on the used market. As one of the slowest-selling vehicles on the used market right now, what’s going on with this Ford truck? If I had to hazard a guess, people don’t want to pay $80,000 for a used electric truck. Is that shocking? Not really.
The Ford F-150 Lightning was almost too popular
During the initial release of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the automaker couldn’t fill orders fast enough. The first batch of electric trucks was one of the first of its kind, and the initially low starting cost was a big selling point. As usual, prices increased, and the trucks were hard to find. Ford priced the first batch of EV trucks reasonably, but the high trims received eye-watering prices that most truck drivers can safely skip over.
A recent iSeeCars study looked at the length of time some vehicles are sitting on the market. Used electric cars are selling at an average of 52.4 days, which isn’t too bad. However, the F-150 Lightning is taking an average of 78.4 days on the market to sell. That is coming in behind the Kia EV6 at 95.9 days. What could cause such a long time lingering on used dealership lots?
If I had to guess, many early buyers of the all-electric Lightning planned to flip it. That means keep it for a bit, try it out, and then sell it for a profit. While that might have worked for some initial buyers of the $40,000-ish price, it has not worked for others. Even though the Lightning is still sort of hard to come by, I don’t think many people are paying over market price for a used electric truck.
Ford’s F-150 Lightning price starts high for 2023
Looking at some used Ford F-150 Lightning models for sale on Edmunds, most are priced around $50,000 to $60,000. Many of the 2022 Pro models are lingering around that $55,000 mark, while some Lariat trims are sitting just under MSRP. There are only a few 2023 Pro Lightnings available, most of which are also priced under MSRP. I can’t blame folks for trying to recoup some of those costs (I do it with Taylor Swift merchandise; sometimes you lose money on a shirt or a truck).
| Ford F-150 Lightning Year | Pro | XLT | Lariat | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $39,974 | $52,974 | $67,474 | $90,874 |
| 2023 | $55,974 | $63,474 | $74,474 | $96,874 |
For those who paid $90,000 for a 2022 F-150 Lightning Platinum, we salute you. On Edmunds, the cheapest Platinum is $57,999 with 20k miles. The most expensive is $77,499 with only 3k miles. Both of those are losing at least $10,000, all the way up to $30,000 or so. It gets even worse for the 2023 models, with the cheapest sitting at $72,900 with only 15 miles on it. That is basically a brand-new truck selling for $24,000 under MSRP. A few are listed for $90,000 or more, but there is no telling how long those will take to sell.
Enjoy your Lightning truck if you already own one
When it comes down to it, people don’t want to spend a bunch of money on the Ford F-150 Lightning. In the beginning, one of the most significant selling points was that it could be an affordable electric truck for the non-EV driver. Once prices shot past $80,000, the hype seemed to dwindle. At the end of Q3 2023, Ford sold 12,260 Lightning trucks, while it sold 8,760 units by this time in 2022. Those are similar numbers to the brand’s heavy-duty trucks.
Automakers have implemented stipulations into some recent sales agreements that try to keep buyers from flipping vehicles for cash. The Hummer EV Pickup and the Toyota Land Cruiser are two options that come to mind. If you are trying to flip your $70,000 Lightning, you may as well keep and enjoy it.
