Keep or ditch my S550 Mustang

[Lionorion]

Unfortunately the V6 was never made in RHD, hence never was brought into the country here.

Oh as for the trackpad on the Lexus, my dads NX200T has that and its ruddy aweful ! But its better than having leaking oil...

Doh! I just noticed you’re in SA! That’s true about the V6 and RHD, however, countries like Germany didn’t get the V6 either. In fact I believe the V6 was only available in North America (Canada, US and Mexico).

Sponsored

 

[StealthStang]

I own an 18 718 GTS and also a 17 GT350. Cayman is faster in a straight line, corners better, steers better, rides better. It sure don't sound like a GT350 though.

The RCF is a brick. Nice car, but weighs over 4000 pounds and ain't all that fast. The new Mustang GT is faster zero to sixty and handles better.

The 2018 718's get the first service at 10,000 miles free. Porsche just started that. Second year will cost about 400 bucks. Long term they can be a bit pricey to maintain, but they do have a great reliability track record.

The model i would be looking at is the base cayman. The GTS is not much more but most of them come specced with extras that bring them into base 911 Carrera price range, and in that case id rather get the 911...but thats a lot of money for me to spend coming from an Ecoboost.

The RCF we get here is the V6 (RC350F), not the V8. It makes the same power as the ecoboost but its slower since its very heavy and not turbo so the torque is a bit low.

Oh also Porsche in SA comes with a standard 3 year service plan (which can be extended to 5 year with a fee) so you dont pay for any maintenance with them.

Im supposed to get my Ecoboost back today after it being at the dealership for 35 days now, im hoping they havent stuffed it up further. The first thing im going to do is get a valuation on it. Ill know what i can afford based on that.

 

[abmobil]

Despite being dated I think the 370 is a litte underrated around here. It’s V6 has been around since 09. Id day it was ahead of its time and is still a very modern powerful design. It does 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds and the car handles great.

It was the car I looked the hardest at before getting my GT. I do think loaded 370z’s are too expensive but the base models are well priced and still offer a fun driving experience.

I would test drive all of them and decide. Let us know your findings.

 

[Maggneto]

You've had simple, plain little issues, and you're freaking out. ALL cars have issues. Hondas and Toyotas have less, but even they still have issues.

Just relax. Buy the extended warranty, and enjoy your car. Stop obsessing and freaking out like a woman.

WTF is it with people thinking that a vehicle won't have any issues? All vehicles require maintenance and repairs, that's just part of owning one. Vehicles are disposable objects that wear and break-down, you can't get around that.

How old are you OP?

All cars have issues is the theme here, but Ford has a lot of quality issues.

My car has been in the shop longer than our last 6 cars combined so I certainly understand and appreciate the OP concerns about long term reliability. Some of the OP statements regarding a weak block, timing chain cover and AC in the sun are not accurate IMO but his car has been in the shop for a long time which is unacceptable. The OP is in South Africa and paid a hefty premium for his car and is rightfully angry that Ford can't make "quality job 1". It also sounds like dealership screwed up as well.

 

[NoVaGT]

.....The OP is in South Africa and paid a hefty premium for his car and is rightfully angry that Ford can't make "quality job 1". It also sounds like dealership screwed up as well.

Ford simply isn't quality, never has been and it isn't now. And anyone that buys a Ford product should understand that. I understand the OP's frustration, but buying a Mustang over-seas, out of it's native sales and service habitat, isn't like owning one here. The price premium isn't to be considered, it was the OP's decision.

 

[StealthStang]

Ford simply isn't quality, never has been and it isn't now. And anyone that buys a Ford product should understand that. I understand the OP's frustration, but buying a Mustang over-seas, out of it's native sales and service habitat, isn't like owning one here. The price premium isn't to be considered, it was the OP's decision.

In retrospect, a Mustang outside of the USA isnt the best idea, because yes traditionally Ford isnt a premium brand.

However if you followed anything about the RHD Mustangs, Ford has marketed the GT as a rival against the Porsche 911 and the Ecoboost as a rival against the Cayman/Boxster (this is why our cars are all fully loaded Performance Premium models, and Roush and Shelby conversion are also done locally due to the high demand for these cars). They only cost slightly less than their Porsche competitors at launch, and I bought a launch car which i waited 6 months for. I was assured that this car would be well supported and would not suffer quality issues compared to other cars in its price range. Now yes, thats sales talk but you'd expect they back it up to some extent.
The Mustang may be seen by US citizens as a normal mid level performance car, but in RHD regions its considered an exotic and since no part of it has local production or assembly its subject to high taxes.
To put things into perspective look at these sales charts:
https://www.wheels24.co.za/News/SA_...e-to-sell-the-most-sports-cars-in-sa-20170803
I probably paid more for my Ecoboost than you did your GT.

My car isnt the only one suffering these problems, the workshops are full of Mustangs here with various niggly problems. Its extremely annoying to have your car taken away from you for weeks at a time.

Its a shame because I took a lot risk buying this car, since on paper its not really a rival to a porsche...realistically its not even a rival to a C class coupe or BMW 4 series. Though I liked it enough to give Ford a chance, and buyers like me have made the car a success against all odds...yet we get treated like second class citizens. Its not something id expect youd relate to, but I hope you at least can understand.

Anyway, i have my car back now. It was delivered in person by the manager of the dealership after 35 days of them having it for the timing chain cover leak. Ive been "assured" that it wont trouble me again...but i have serious doubts still.
Im still going to take it to Lexus and Porsche to see if i can get a reasonable trade against it, ive ruled the Nissan 370z out due to rumors of a 400z coming out to fight Toyota's new Supra. Though it seems the value of my Ecoboost is dropping due to the facelift models being planned to released here in end of 2018 or early 2019...so i might be stuck with it for a while.

 

[Fatguy]

In retrospect, a Mustang outside of the USA isnt the best idea, because yes traditionally Ford isnt a premium brand.

However if you followed anything about the RHD Mustangs, Ford has marketed the GT as a rival against the Porsche 911 and the Ecoboost as a rival against the Cayman/Boxster (this is why our cars are all fully loaded Performance Premium models, and Roush and Shelby conversion are also done locally due to the high demand for these cars). They only cost slightly less than their Porsche competitors at launch, and I bought a launch car which i waited 6 months for. I was assured that this car would be well supported and would not suffer quality issues compared to other cars in its price range. Now yes, thats sales talk but you'd expect they back it up to some extent.
The Mustang may be seen by US citizens as a normal mid level performance car, but in RHD regions its considered an exotic and since no part of it has local production or assembly its subject to high taxes.
To put things into perspective look at these sales charts:
https://www.wheels24.co.za/News/SA_...e-to-sell-the-most-sports-cars-in-sa-20170803
I probably paid more for my Ecoboost than you did your GT.

My car isnt the only one suffering these problems, the workshops are full of Mustangs here with various niggly problems. Its extremely annoying to have your car taken away from you for weeks at a time.

Its a shame because I took a lot risk buying this car, since on paper its not really a rival to a porsche...realistically its not even a rival to a C class coupe or BMW 4 series. Though I liked it enough to give Ford a chance, and buyers like me have made the car a success against all odds...yet we get treated like second class citizens. Its not something id expect youd relate to, but I hope you at least can understand.

Anyway, i have my car back now. It was delivered in person by the manager of the dealership after 35 days of them having it for the timing chain cover leak. Ive been "assured" that it wont trouble me again...but i have serious doubts still.
Im still going to take it to Lexus and Porsche to see if i can get a reasonable trade against it, ive ruled the Nissan 370z out due to rumors of a 400z coming out to fight Toyota's new Supra. Though it seems the value of my Ecoboost is dropping due to the facelift models being planned to released here in end of 2018 or early 2019...so i might be stuck with it for a while.

Here is the North American perspective. You actually got me interested in a Cayman - until - I found out they go for just under 100,000.00 Canadian dollars here (the V6 stickers at 30 grand). I was actually putting it in the short list. But for that price and now with the loss of the six cylinder motor I can’t justify it. Back to Vettes and such.


At the end of the day I truly think Ford should have exported the V6 instead of the Ecoboost. They are known for being totally reliable and if they put the PP on the car as is you would have a cheaper car than the Ecoboost that arguably is a rival to the usual cars you find outside of North America. That engine you have now is just a run of the mill Mazda engine. The V6 is also run of the mill but more reliable and probably with a longer life span so if the GT was too pricy that would have been the car Ford should have exported. You can go past 600 horsepower with this engine for not much money so in markets outside of NA you really could have a go with the thing. But Ford has other ideas...

 

[The_Phantom]

My opinion is Cayman or bust. Not a fan of the 370Z at all.

 

[Bladex10]

I had a 370z for a bit. I loved it. Even though its been around for years and has been basically untouched, Its still one of the best bargains you can get at the price point. They are very reliable and very fun to drive. There is nothing like a true 2 seat sports car. I'm actually considering picking another one up for a daily.

 

[StealthStang]

At the end of the day I truly think Ford should have exported the V6 instead of the Ecoboost. They are known for being totally reliable and if they put the PP on the car as is you would have a cheaper car than the Ecoboost that arguably is a rival to the usual cars you find outside of North America. That engine you have now is just a run of the mill Mazda engine. The V6 is also run of the mill but more reliable and probably with a longer life span so if the GT was too pricy that would have been the car Ford should have exported. You can go past 600 horsepower with this engine for not much money so in markets outside of NA you really could have a go with the thing. But Ford has other ideas...

The 2.3L is quite good on paper, I was aware before I bought it that it was a MazdaSpeed DISI derived unit (and that unit was notorious for block failures), but on the Mk2 Focus RS Ford actually did a great job of getting high power out of that 5 cylinder Volvo derived engine without sacrificing reliability (I have a car with that motor).
So I felt they would have done the same with the Ecoboost 2.3L.
Possibly the Volvo motor was a better base than the Mazda (since Volvos T5 was already known to be very reliable) but I still felt the Ecoboost would be solid.
Id still say its okay, not bad, but I no longer see it as "bulletproof".
Knowing what I know now, I would probably have chosen the V6 too despite the lower tuning potential. GT V8 was never an option since I planned to use this daily, and the price of fuel is high here (as well as carbon emissions tax). Though I saw plenty GTs in the shop as well for various problems too...not sure exactly what reasons but I heard some get oil leaks as well.

 

[NoVaGT]

In retrospect, a Mustang outside of the USA isnt the best idea, because yes traditionally Ford isnt a premium brand.

However if you followed anything about the RHD Mustangs, Ford has marketed the GT as a rival against the Porsche 911 and the Ecoboost as a rival against the Cayman/Boxster (this is why our cars are all fully loaded Performance Premium models, and Roush and Shelby conversion are also done locally due to the high demand for these cars). They only cost slightly less than their Porsche competitors at launch, and I bought a launch car which i waited 6 months for. I was assured that this car would be well supported and would not suffer quality issues compared to other cars in its price range. Now yes, thats sales talk but you'd expect they back it up to some extent.
The Mustang may be seen by US citizens as a normal mid level performance car, but in RHD regions its considered an exotic and since no part of it has local production or assembly its subject to high taxes.
To put things into perspective look at these sales charts:
https://www.wheels24.co.za/News/SA_...e-to-sell-the-most-sports-cars-in-sa-20170803
I probably paid more for my Ecoboost than you did your GT.

My car isnt the only one suffering these problems, the workshops are full of Mustangs here with various niggly problems. Its extremely annoying to have your car taken away from you for weeks at a time.

Its a shame because I took a lot risk buying this car.......

I can't even understand what point you think you're making, other than to list the reasons why you made a bad purchase decision.

Whether you should keep it or sell it is a decision YOU have to make. Only you know all the variables and considerations within your life.

 

[Maggneto]

The 2.3 is a solid engine when left alone. 90% of 2.3 engine failures that I have read about were ECU tuned or had been modified in some other way. The 2.3 powers multiple vehicles from Ford and Lincoln and according to 2 Ford dealerships that I use, not a single 2.3 has failed in nearly 4 years.

The V6, please. I would have passed if the V6 was the only other option besides the V8. Turbo charged engines are superior to normally aspirated engines and are just as reliable when properly maintained and NOT ECU tuned or modified.

When you ECU tune or modify the engine and blow the engine that is on you, not Ford. The tuners who are blowing engines blame the engine? So why do they keep tuning the engine if the 2.3 is not a good engine?

I am going on 3 years with the 2.3 without a single mechanical issue with the engine. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the car.

 

[StealthStang]

When you ECU tune or modify the engine and blow the engine that is on you, not Ford. The tuners who are blowing engines blame the engine? So why do they keep tuning the engine if the 2.3 is not a good engine?

I am going on 3 years with the 2.3 without a single mechanical issue with the engine. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the car.

But what about Ford and Roush factory tunes ? Surely those shouldn't be detrimental to the engine, why release them as all then ? I'm not talking about aftermarket tunes that push the engine to breaking point. I'm wondering why Ford felt the need to drop the warranty by a year for their factory tunes. I think its nice that they offer them, but dropping the warranty seems like a sucker punch, to me it just seems like they are admitting it cant handle that extra power for long.

 

[Fatguy]

For a guy who used to berate the V6 and 4 cylinder folk back in the day, I really feel funny liking the V6. Mostly because it is now by far the most reliable car I have ever owned. Here is a list of the problems I have had in the past 15 months;


That’s right no problems. If I get picky to the extreme I could say I hear a rear spring compress when I back down the driveway at my parents place and back onto the street with a major incline going up. Once last year and once this year the starter took an extra second to get the car going. That’s it, perfect body alignment and no rattles and there is an obvious reason for this.


I bought it through fleet sales. Yes this is a rental car. Now if you are Ford and you have clients that will buy like 5000 units - errr - V6 Mustangs at a time; do you really want to put suspect parts in them? Let’s say you have some shitty evaporators where you can tell just by looking at the welds they will fail. Are you going to put that in the Herts fleet of cars and possibly lose that client when they all fail at the same time - or stick the crap component in the consumer cars. That’s right, they give it to joe blow and that is the way it always is.


They went out of their way to make you not want a V6 (as they had to keep production up for their fleet contracts) but ironically it was probably their best built product. Go figure...


But yes, in outside markets the V6 would have been perfect. In North America it makes no sense to procharge a new V6 Mustang as the cost is close to a base GT. In outside markets where the GT is prohibitively expensive, getting the V6 and have a pro supercharge or turbo the engine makes economic sense. But Ford took all that off the table. They even muzzled the Ecoboost in Europe with a filter that dropped horsepower by 30 points. Even with extra taxes our guys across the pond deserved to be able to get a V6.

 

[The_Phantom]

The 2.3 is a solid engine when left alone. 90% of 2.3 engine failures that I have read about were ECU tuned or had been modified in some other way. The 2.3 powers multiple vehicles from Ford and Lincoln and according to 2 Ford dealerships that I use, not a single 2.3 has failed in nearly 4 years.

The V6, please. I would have passed if the V6 was the only other option besides the V8. Turbo charged engines are superior to normally aspirated engines and are just as reliable when properly maintained and NOT ECU tuned or modified.

When you ECU tune or modify the engine and blow the engine that is on you, not Ford. The tuners who are blowing engines blame the engine? So why do they keep tuning the engine if the 2.3 is not a good engine?

As someone who builds cars for a living, I can not like this post enough.

If I had a dollar for everyone who came through with an EcoBoost and said, "I don't know what happened...it just blew" only for us to find out it had an EXTREMELY lean tune with way too much overboost, I would be a rich man.

Sponsored