Poll: How many R owners bought a non-R first?

Tomster · Nov 24, 2017

chitlins37 said:
My interest waxes and wanes priodically...the most (and only) exciting rumour I have seen is the one involving a naturally aspirated 7.0L V8. Now that would be hard to ignore...even if I had to negotiate some perilous waters with my wife

OTOH I will say I love that my R is numbered and exclusive...HR414 on the dash. So if what you say about the GT500 being avaliable to anyone who wants one is true that would be a slight mark against trading my R for it.

In any case it is very exciting to think about with all of the stellar engineering coming out of Ford lately. They are doing some amazing things on all platforms imo and I cant wait to see what they spring on us for the next big dog!:ford:

The only thing, and I mean the only thing that would keep me from ejecting one of these R's is the FPC NA 5.2L V8. I honestly think this is the last of its kind and probably one of the better examples at that price point.

You mentioned the next latest and greatest being some kind of eco boost or something. I think that is inevitable. I have no problem with that. HOWEVER, the 350 is an example in time that people will look back on. Now factor in the R rarity..... The next latest and greatest will have to be something for me to let go of one of them.

So, as many have noticed in this cadre of initial 350 owners, the poll overwhelmingly favors "I bought a GT350 first, then realized I wanted an R". Look around, it seems to be the trend. I see others doing exactly that. You can't get a car like that at that price point anywhere else.

Tomster · Nov 24, 2017

H6G said:
You could always relocate to the Hub. You can get a nice spread somewhere north of ATL.... with a large garage to accommodate both R’s and the upcoming GT500 ;)

Yes, I'm sure I'd fit right in.

My golf cart would come in handy over in the "bubble"

swedensky · Nov 24, 2017

“I bought a GT350 first and would have been fine but it was a lemon and sucked and I replaced it with an R”

Rated R · Nov 24, 2017

I would have bought a GT350R but wouldn't pay an ADM for one. Now that I've had it for a while the GT350 suits me just fine and not sure if I'd sell it if I had an opportunity to buy a GT350R for sticker.

enzo101 · Nov 25, 2017

Had a 16 350 and loved it. Got hit in a hit and run, fixed it, traded and was going a whole nother route but came across a 350R in the exact combo I wanted. Couldn't say no.

PP0001 · Nov 25, 2017

Tomster said:
Of course we have to wait and see what it is. If you have been following the 500 section, information is starting to leak out. If it is what I think it is going to be, then absolutely, I will dump an R to get it. If I get propositioned with a large ADM, then its probably going to be a no-go. I will just have to wait and see.

The wife and I had a long talk about it, she is of the mindset to keep both R's and go from there. One will be paid off this Feb and that will leave me with only one car payment. However, the problem is room in the stable. 3 mustangs (2 R's and a 97 cobra) in a 3 car garage means that one will have to go. Somehow I fit my souped up 30 MPH golf cart into that 3 car garage as well, so there is ZERO room.

So, lets see how fair my dealer is with me when the info is out and we will see. I've got about 10K sunk into the TY R with all the mods and stuff. You know how that goes, you never get all of it back. The new 500 or whatever it is going to be probably wont have any limited production associated with it like the R, so my initial impression is to not pay a significant markup on it.

Just me but I have to agree with your wife with respect to keeping both R's and would let the '97 Cobra go unless that car is a "just have to keep it car".

Did Ford not produce ~10,000 Cobra's in 1997 so it is not like it is a rare car but then again there may be a lot more to the story on that car.

Even though I am not in the hunt for an upcoming GT500 I think it would be very cool to have a brand new GT500 flanked by 2 GT350R models with those 3 Mustangs having close to 2000 HP combined and that estimate is based on pure conjecture!!:eyebulge:

Whatever you decide it will be a winner as they are all cool cars!

:thumbsup:

Spacebird · Nov 25, 2017

I did consider a non-R, but it was under odd circumstances:

I tried to buy a ‘15 Track Pack from my local dealer. I offered $10K over and they wouldn’t take it. They said they’d get me a ‘16 R and we landed on $4K over (a “deal” for a mid-2016 market).

The ‘15 ended up selling to an out of state collector for $12K over. Seems that ‘15 Track Packs have sold well at auction.

Demonic · Nov 25, 2017

Spacebird said:
I did consider a non-R, but it was under odd circumstances:

I tried to buy a ‘15 Track Pack from my local dealer. I offered $10K over and they wouldn’t take it. They said they’d get me a ‘16 R and we landed on $4K over (a “deal” for a mid-2016 market).

The ‘15 ended up selling to an out of state collector for $12K over. Seems that ‘15 Track Packs have sold well at auction.

"Would you take 10k over for the GT350?"
"Are you crazy?! We can't go that low, but we'd settle for 4k over on a 350R."

Man do I wish that was my local dealer haha.

Zitrosounds · Nov 25, 2017

I always wanted the R. However due to practicality I ordered a track pack in June 2015. At the time there was no such thing as an MSRP deal on a gt350r. I was very excited to have bought early on and paid MSRP on my car. About a year later I found an R and no longer needed the practicality. I did not pay ADM on either car. The way I looked at it by the time I invested the money to get my track pack to R level of performance I would have invested much more than I did buying the gt350r.

Front Runner · Nov 25, 2017

I purchased my GT350 with no ADM. That's what I wanted. I would've purchased the R if (and only if) my dealer had the exact same color combo that I have with NO ADM whatsoever and it had the radio/AC package. IMO the GT350 and the GT350R is simply not worth the ADM. Actually, no car is worth the ADM in my opinion. It'll sit on the lot and rot.

CSL · Nov 25, 2017

I got my msrp allocation for my track pack in 1/16, which was a time when 10k over for a regular 350 was the norm. I had just sold my previous GT500 and wanted/needed a track car. At that time the R was not even a thought due to ADMs. I have since tracked my car pretty extensively and never looked back. I run wheels that are within a couple pounds of the R wheels on Cup2s, have upgraded rear bushings, and am going with FP springs and sway bars. These mods cost me far less than an R with ADM, and I would have ugraded the bushings in the R anyway. If an R performs better than my car on the track, it’s certainly not by much.

I drove an R on an awesome mountain road in highly spirited fashion. The R was great, but my 350 is great too. The R felt lighter than mine (while on stock 350 wheels), but otherwise the feel was very similar. For me, there just wasn’t enough distinguishable dfference between the 350 and the R. As a guy who bought the car to track it, and could care less about exclusivity, the luxury tax on the R just didn’t make sense for me.

Hack · Feb 2, 2018

I like the idea of the R, but the GT350 is right for me. Less money. I feel like I already spent too much on the GT350, much less paying a bunch more money for the R. Also, I like the suspension settings in the GT350 a lot. It's a perfect daily driver in my opinion. The R will be stiffer and I think the GT350 is stiff enough.

I also don't want to sit on top of Recaro bolsters every day. It's a bit of a pain how low the splitter on the GT350 is. I don't really want a car with a splitter that is significantly lower.

Also, buying a car that comes with track tires and wheels that I couldn't easily afford to replace seems like a bad idea for me personally.

Would I love to have an R? Yes, but my common sense says I'm better off with my GT350. If I had no limit of money and storage space I might have an R just for track days or something. However, that's not my situation at all.

ShadowBlackR · Feb 2, 2018

I ordered both an R and a non R on the day order banks opened in 2015 from 2 different dealers. The R order "blew up" after 6 months (dealer did NOT have an R allocation). About that same time the yellow car was built and I took delivery in early January 2016. I was lucky enough to be able to secure a 2nd R order through Ford (in Jan, 2016) and it arrived about 5 months later. Sold the yellow car after the R was sitting safely in my garage.

Trackaholic · Feb 2, 2018

I ordered my GT350 track pack in June of 2015, when the order banks were first opened. Someone from this forum helped me find a dealer in Oklahoma who was doing a deal for $2500 over MSRP. After dealing with many California dealers asking $20,000 over for a non-R, I was very happy with $2500.

If I could have found an R with similar markup, I would have gone for it, but wanted the rear seats (there was no seating kit when I ordered). I also didn’t want to deal with the CF wheels and PSC2’s, as the car was going to be a daily driver.

I am now very happy with the regular GT350, have 27,000 miles on it, and no regrets. I do entertain the idea of an R at times, but when it comes down to my use case it just isn’t worth it. Maybe some day I will change my mind, but not yet.

-T

Poll: How many R owners bought a non-R first?

GT350/GT350R owners- Which best applies to you?

I bought a GT350, still own it, and don't want an R.

I bought a GT350 first, then realized I wanted an R.

I bought an R first, never considered the standard GT350.

I bought an R but would honestly be happy with a non-R if I couldn't have found the deal I did.

Tomster

Beware of idiots

Tomster

Beware of idiots

swedensky

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Rated R

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enzo101

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PP0001

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Spacebird

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Demonic

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Zitrosounds

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Front Runner

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CSL

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Hack

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ShadowBlackR

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Trackaholic

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