I know I have posted this here before, but maybe it is time to do a refresh.
Anyone can sign up for Ford's X-plan. Just send an e-mail to
stockinf@ford.com
you will get a reply asking you for details about your stock purchase. I think it is a true statement that all of us here have some sort of ability to trade stocks, be it either with a 401K account or personal account.
To first get on the Ford plan, I bought 100 shares, and e-mailled the folks at Ford an attachment showing the trade details.
Truth be told, I have made a lot of money trading (F) a few times since its low around one dollar. (I think today it is trading around 10 bucks) I have probably save 8-14K on Ford purchases in the years since being an X plan member. All of us could put a different price value on what it means to be able to go into a dealer and get about the best possible price right away without have to play the deal game with the salesmen.
The stock plan is not a good as an employee plan because YOU are the only one who can benifit from the stock plan. You can get one PIN# a year, but the car has to be purchased in your name. You can't get a PIN for a reletive or a friend like the employee plan allows.
Also, I have made four purchases though the plan. The F150, F350, F550 and the current Focus were all purchase at plan savings. (the Focus is a lease, X plan works for leases too, but you have to make sure the F/I guys don't try to jack the paperwork back up to MSRP) The purchase of the F350 was the only one where the dealer actually used my PIN. The three other purchases I just said I had a PIN, and I got the lower price, I never had to make a PIN printout.
I do not know how much stock you have to own, I used 100 shares, and it worked. You don't need to keep the stock, you will be setup up with your own log in @
www.myplan.ford.com