Would you buy a tuned car?

[jpjr501]

4 owners in that short time is a flag. However, not scared of it being tuned, can easily call the Tuner (which I've done).

Coyote's are tough, that's not a lot of mods. I would look for signs that it had more like a supercharger, turbo, fuel system, etc. and they just left these bolt on's on the car.

But if you call the Tuner they will tell you by VIN what they tuned for. If it just had these mods then that's fine.

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[sms2022]

Dammit OP now I have buyers remorse about my car! Swap the seats for recaros and get it re-tuned and for maybe $36k you have a hell of a track car.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

Local dealer has a 2019 PP2 with resonator delete and long tube headers, so I'd assume it's tuned as well. Short throw shifter installed. Back tires are brand new and mismatched from the fronts so I'm assuming the car was ran hard...like all Mustangs are. I'm pretty sure the upper intake is aluminum...the engine cover was off. I don't think it was that silver plastic.

Not seriously interested in the car but it has me thinking. Not knowing who tuned it or how long the parts have been on the car, etc. makes me leery. ...But then again, it's a bunch of money that I wouldn't have to spend to upgrade the car.

Thoughts? Car has 33k miles. 4 owners, the first one put 2100 miles on it and the last one bought the car in Jan of this year and already traded it.

Pre-Owned 2019 Ford Mustang GT 2 Door Coupe in Warner Robins #TK5138011 | Five Star Ford Warner Robins (fivestarfordga.com)

I imagine different people look for different red flags.
To me, that short-throw shifter is a sign that a previous owner thought very differently from me and maybe I don't want that car.
4 owners in 33,000 miles is also a strong sign. The first one probably cluster-****ed the break-in.
The last one might have found some resulting quirk he doesn't want to deal with.

I'm the kind of guy that's kept his Evo for 163,000 miles, and it still has the original engine...
If I buy a used car, I want signs I'm buying from a like-minded owner

 

[K4fxd]

The first one probably cluster-****ed the break-in.

Honestly they are broke in at the factory. The taking it easy for 1000 miles is mostly for the rear and other moving parts to mate together.

The way we broke in new engine builds it to run a heat cycle, take care of any leaks or whatever then hammer them.

 

[sms2022]

Honestly they are broke in at the factory. The taking it easy for 1000 miles is mostly for the rear and other moving parts to mate together.

The way we broke in new engine builds it to run a heat cycle, take care of any leaks or whatever then hammer them.

Yeah the old take it easy for 1000 miles is pretty bogus when it comes to engines. Modern engines are machined so tightly that break in isn’t really an issue for the rotating assembly and the piston rings like being beat on a little bit for best seal.

 

[fast306stang]

Does it have cats?

If not I'd point out it is not legal to sell without and see if they would drop 5 or 6 K off the price. If so I'd buy it if it passed my inspection and road test.

These should be the cats I'm assuming? I guess with catted headers you might not need a tune? I'm assuming if someone did full exhaust and possibly and intake, they most likely tuned it as well. Sorry for sounding like a newb, I'm really not up to speed on this lol

 

[Cobra Jet]

Nope.

You don’t know the history of the tune or how the car was used…

There’s quite a few prior threads of people buying used S550’s with preloaded tunes where:
- they don’t have the tuning device or know anything about the tune type

- they do not know “who” tuned it and what tune was loaded

- they cannot pass their State emissions provisions and have a hell of a time doing so

- they experience multiple drivability/performance issues

- they go to take it to a Ford Dealer for XYZ warranty repair work OR just any other type of major work and usually find that the Dealer can’t or won’t work on the car because the PCM has a loaded tune OR they will get charged additional fees so that the PCM can be wiped and reloaded with a stock tune …. And IF that happens, then the stock tune isn’t working with other XYZ mods the PO did to the car….

I mean for me, and this is just my opinion, in today’s Mustang arena with anything from S550 forward, it is not as easy to “undo” or “work around” aftermarket tunes where you don’t know any history of the tune and don’t know what impact there will be if reloading the factory As Built PCM parameters on a vehicle that has other mods that were tailored for the “tune”.

In years past, sure, you could throw on heads, swap cams, throw on ANY exhaust or swap any intake (upper and/or lower) and the Mustang would still run/drive and function great without having to deep dive into the PCM for such (then) “simple” mods. Today, there are way too many up and down links to multiple modules and sensors for the S550+ PCMs and that is where all the liability lays…. That is why some Ford Service Centers will not touch a vehicle where the PCM has had tunes loaded because it’s a liability if the PCM is flashed back to stock and then there are additional issues with the other mods to the car not playing nice with the factory PCM logic.

The other concern too is this:
Just because a tune was loaded doesn’t give you any background to IF that tune was also accompanied by forced induction components such as a supercharger or turbos…. It’s easy for an owner to remove those exterior components before selling but leaving the tune embedded…

Some of the Dealerships selling 5.0 or VooDoo S550’s either were not told the car had a tune OR are not transparent with a potential buyer but fully knowing what they have is an issue but pass it along to the buyer….

I’ve also owned prior Mustangs with major modifications - but in those instances, I also knew the owner who added them and knew the history of the vehicle, its use and the parameters surrounding the mods.

I just would never buy a modified vehicle off a Dealer lot (Major Manufacturer or mom-n-pop shop) or Private Party not knowing any of its history, what was done to it, and the lack of “tune” history.

For all anyone knows with used unknown 5.0 or VooDoo S550’s is the tune on it isn’t 100% right and there could be underlying issues waiting to happen that could cost the new owner some major headaches and costs.

Now I’m in no way saying all used S550’s with mods are a time bomb waiting to happen - all I’m saying is - do your due diligence before letting emotions take over and before dropping any hard earned money on it. Try to dig into the car’s history as far as you can go to determine what was done to it and identify those mods. Also if it’s at a Ford Dealer, ask them for an OASIS report on it so you can see its Ford service history.

 

[Angrey]

Honestly they are broke in at the factory. The taking it easy for 1000 miles is mostly for the rear and other moving parts to mate together.

The way we broke in new engine builds it to run a heat cycle, take care of any leaks or whatever then hammer them.

I've had multiple reputable engine builder's indicate that most of the engine wear/breakin/mating happens in the first few minutes of the engine running (at any rpm). The best piece of advice that I can give for anyone worried about "breaking in" a new engine is to run conventional for the first bit (which helps the rings hone and seat better) and do some good, low-mid range pulls in higher gear that gets the most load on the motor and rings to help them seat good for good compression.

I do recommend however that most people take it easy in the first 500 miles or so, but as you pointed out, to heat cycle the ring/pinion and to bed the clutch properly. If you flog a manual too soon, the clutch will work, it just won't have quite as much clamping/holding force.

With modern polishing of ring/pinion (isotropic finishing) even break in of gears isn't all that necessary.

Truth be told, there's guys that roll the tires going out of the dealer lot with a brand new car that have no issues and guys that treat it like a teacup it's entire life and have issues.

Just drive the damned thing.

 

[Dinokill3.7]

4 owners could mean anything. Nowadays, people are buying cars just to trade it months later down the road for the next new shiny model. I bought a 2017 GT in 2021 with 18k miles and 3 owners hadn’t had any mayor problems besides leaking water from the roof($100 to fix it myself) a loose hand brake($0 to fix it myself) and bad TO bearing that it broke while I was drag racing.

 

[Cobra Jet]

These should be the cats I'm assuming? I guess with catted headers you might not need a tune? I'm assuming if someone did full exhaust and possibly and intake, they most likely tuned it as well. Sorry for sounding like a newb, I'm really not up to speed on this lol

I can tell ya right now - that exhaust header on pass side smacked right up against the A/C line will make noise - and has the possibility to eventually wear a hole in the header tube rubbing metal against metal for a length of time….

ugh…. Why do people lack such simple common sense with doing modifications any more…. I mean if it’s visually like that, no one questions it after an install??

EDIT:
Another thing RE long tube headers. In some States those will not pass a visual inspection. The only way they might pass is if the owner also has the CARB certification showing they are within parameters defined by the Govt for replacement exhaust components. This is no joke - if you’re in a nanny State like that, they won’t pass you until they are gone… as in removed from the vehicle. So I would also check your State DMV inspection laws if you’re not up to snuff on the DMV emissions laws or regulations for your state.

If you’re going to buy a car like that from a Dealer - get it in writing from that Dealership that they WILL 100% guarantee the car WILL pass State emissions for your home State or the State the car is sold in….

 

[CarmeloS]

Not at all.

Im already iffy when I see intakes and exhausts, so unless its a friend or friend of a friend, Im not interested

 

[fast306stang]

that exhaust header on pass side smacked right up against eh A/C line

I saw that and thought it was pretty close, but I've read that pretty much all long tubes are going to have some tight clearances somewhere. Since I have no experience with LT's, I wasn't sure what to think about it when I saw how close it was

edit: I see the pic looks like it's right against it but there's actually a small gap there

 

[robvas]

Engine looks stock other than the longtubes doesn't it?

 

[fast306stang]

Engine looks stock other than the longtubes doesn't it?

Upper intake looks aluminum, should be plastic?

 

[Skye]

Too many horror stories of tunes and tuning issues.

Multiple owners is not too concerning. Multiple that hold the car only briefly, is.

The vehicle doesn't present well. Poor paint and scratches throughout.

Any one of these concerns would be a deal-breaker for me. A car with all three? Definite, "No."

The current market favors the buyer. I'd keep looking.

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