How my first reservation ever for a car, made me $50,000!!!

From the monent I saw the ad for this car, I wanted it. So when they opened the doors to putting down a deposit, I figured, let's do it! From the website, I clicked the link, and I told them, ready when you are. This was 2020, and the timeline was that the Fisker Ocean One, the limited edition release, would occur sometime in late 2023. My current lease would expire Oct 2024. I figured, another 12 months after the Ocean One, they would get around to releasing the lower models and my lease would end just as they woulkd release the Ocean Ultra, the trim level for my budget.

Wow! Hard to be believe that was 4 years ago. Granted, at the time, I had just entered into my lease with my Polestar 2, so I was in no hurry, and the expectation was that my car lease would expire just as the new car would be available seemed like a match made in heaven.

I was excited for several reasons: At the time, the Fisker had an EPA estimated range of 360 miles, the second longest behind Lucid's Touring Coupe, but at half the price. And with a sunroof. Fisker and Lucid started advertising about the same time, and both cars seemed next generation beyond the offerings of the stagnant Tesla and the smallish Polestar.

“We’re on a journey to a clean future for all – and we invite you along for the ride. We see a future where skies are blue, the air is pure, and your conscience is clear whenever you go out for a drive in your Fisker EV. Our mission is to create the most sustainable vehicles on Earth.  ”

Henrik Fisker, Designer of the Fisker Ocean

To be honest, I really don't know what grabbed me about this car. The front grill seemed over the top. California Mode, the feature that rolled down all windows at once? My cars have been rolling down windows from the key fob since my 2000 Mercedes CLK Convertible. A sunroof? Didn't seem like a big motivator. And yet, something drew me to this car above all others. Above the Tesla, which I actually had a deposit on, and backed out for reasons due to color changes and price increases. Above the Ford Mach-E, which was listed to match the 300-mile range mark I needed. But I also knew that EPA estimated are as much as 20% over real world stats. Above the Volkswagen ID.4., and others.

I don't know what ecxactly got me going on this car, but something did, and I gladly charged the $250 deposit to my Visa on that September morning. Or was it evening? Not realy sure. But little did I know what I was in for.

Originally, my price range $50k for a new car. I pondered as to how I should pay cash for it, or continue leasing/renting my cars. leasing is always so annoying, worrying about every little scratch, every little windshield chip. But I figured that was 3 years away, no worries. To stay in budget, I originally opted for the Ocean Ultra. It still had impressive features: 340 mile EPA estimated range, the hyper motor which aligned with a 400+hp drive, and a nice sunroof roof. But I was worried, what it didin't have was Adaptive Cruise Control.

This feature had become my savior, my 'Go To' car gadget for even just driving around town on the LA freeways which are so stop-and-go. Adaptive driving slowed the car down when I wasn't paying attention to the driver in front of me. Adaptive driving accelerated when I wasn't paying attention to the car in front of me. It used used everywhere from the 405 fwy heading home to the 15 hwy heading to Las Vegas. To me, it was the single most important, life saving feature on a car. More than ABS brakes. More than power steering. More than bluetooth even. And now, I was going to lose it becuase it was out of my price range. The Adaptive Cruise Control would only be featured in the Ocean One and the Ocean Extreme, which started at $68,999. My Ocean Ultra, starting at $49,999 would only come with standard Cruise Control.

I kept this on the back burneer. Maybe things would change in 3 years. Maybe social pressure, manufacturing processing or a gift from God would revise options and make this available. I figured what the heck, I'll see what happenes and maybe there will be a price drop by the time it's my turn to purchase the car. Afterall, it was still 3 years away.

Then the news started coming out about production issues and maybe not making delviery dates. And stock started droppping. Then reviews were coming out from owners about cars not working and no one around to fix them. The stock starts dropping. And dropping. And dropping. Then the coffin was nailed shut: A federal recall regarding the brakes failing in an unexpected manner, and a water pump issue causing cars to stop in mid drive. Oh brother! My first thought wasn't about the $250 deposit, it was the $10k investment in Fisker stock! At the time, BofA analysts said the stock would climb from $18/share to $26/share in the near future. But alas, 'twas not to be.

Then came news that Fisker was slashing prices. The $70k Ocean One was now being offered for around $40k. Wow! What was happening!

In a flash, it was all gone. The money. The company. The car. Fisker Inc., at one point was valued at $9B. That's B for Billion. And now, it was all gone. But then news surfaced of a company buying the cars that were already manufactured. Something called American Leasing was buying something like 4,000 cars at $15k a pop to help solvency of the Fisker company. Now these would be for sale to the public at even deeper discounted prices. Yay me!!!

The car that I had ordered was now available for half the price. And better yet, the car I wanted was now 66% off. For $25k, I could now afford the car of my dreams. But with no warranty or tangible support, will this become the car of my nightmares? Stay tuned...