2016 GT premium or 2023 GT base

[young at heart]

I didn’t parse this entire thread so there’s that. Also, consider that my ‘stangs are not DDs but nice day toys.

Having said that, my own personal rule says if $ is similar I always buy a new car over used, and newer technology beats old.** Added features on an older car don’t mean much if you’re broke down.

Case in point: a few months ago I decided to get a manual trans car just for fun. I found a black GT 301A car with only two options, BAP and AE and I snapped it up. i loved that car. It was nice not to have all the options to fool with and the simplicity was liberating. I thought the interior was very nice and did not miss the leather. I later traded it on a Mach but that’s another story. Here’s a pic:

**The S650 may blow my “newer tech beats old” theory all to pieces. We’ll see…

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[Food847]

2016 gt premium all day baby!

 

[Joshephooper]

Get the 2016 if you're comfortable with the AC it has. The 3.73 gears are great, sure you could swap gear in the new car, but that's extra work.

If you want 4.03 gear then you might as well look at the newer car, since you're committing to the change.

As long as it is a 16 or 17 you really won't notice a difference between them and the newer ones till you start adding forced induction.

 

[Jstang23]

The 15-17 will have AC issues. I replaced my condenser twice on my last mustang ($3000 total). They fixed it in 2018 with the new gen. The 2018+ are also faster especially in the top end.

 

[illadvised]

The 15-17 will have AC issues. I replaced my condenser twice on my last mustang ($3000 total). They fixed it in 2018 with the new gen. The 2018+ are also faster especially in the top end.

What happened with your condenser? My (2015) compressor clutch died recently and I was calling places yesterday to have it replaced. One place offered to replace compressor and condenser at the same time for a discount, but I assumed my condenser was fine because it was just the ac clutch, I was going to keep the stock one. What failed on yours?

 

[Jstang23]

What happened with your condenser? My (2015) compressor clutch died recently and I was calling places yesterday to have it replaced. One place offered to replace compressor and condenser at the same time for a discount, but I assumed my condenser was fine because it was just the ac clutch, I was going to keep the stock one. What failed on yours?

Well actually it was my compressor both times that went bad first and sent metal shards into the condenser! I was lucky to have it stop at the condenser and not the evaporator ($3500 just for the evaporator and a week of service)! If they offered to replace both I would do it, as if material winds up in your evaporator you will regret it.

 

[MrMike]

The 15-17 will have AC issues. I replaced my condenser twice on my last mustang ($3000 total). They fixed it in 2018 with the new gen. The 2018+ are also faster especially in the top end.

Actually my first time hearing about a condenser fail. The evaporator is what was defective.

What happened with your condenser? My (2015) compressor clutch died recently and I was calling places yesterday to have it replaced. One place offered to replace compressor and condenser at the same time for a discount, but I assumed my condenser was fine because it was just the ac clutch, I was going to keep the stock one. What failed on yours?

There is a good chance your compressor died from running low and you have a leak in the evaporator. If your evaporator hasn't been replaced, you should have that done also.

Edit: Just saw Jstang23's reply, yep, a compressor can grenade the whole system. That adds up.

 

[Jstang23]

Actually my first time hearing about a condenser fail. The evaporator is what was defective.



There is a good chance your compressor died from running low and you have a leak in the evaporator. If your evaporator hasn't been replaced, you should have that done also.

Edit: Just saw Jstang23's reply, yep, a compressor can grenade the whole system. That adds up.

In my experience everything is bad on those AC systems, lol! Just a bad design from ford and choosing to use cheap parts! Either way it's an expensive repair that is guaranteed to happen at some point.

 

[MrMike]

In my experience everything is bad on those AC systems, lol! Just a bad design from ford and choosing to use cheap parts! Either way it's an expensive repair that is guaranteed to happen at some point.

It took me 5 dealership visits to get mine correct.

The problem is a combination of the evaporator and ignorant service departments IMO.

The only reason my compressor blew up was because they never replaced the evaporator at the start, and they kept refilling it, doing other crap and it kept leaking. They believed it was a leaky valve going into the evaporator, which was clearly not true so the leaking continued.

Had they just replaced the evaporator in the first place, I would still be on my original compressor.

 

[illadvised]

There is a good chance your compressor died from running low and you have a leak in the evaporator. If your evaporator hasn't been replaced, you should have that done also.

Edit: Just saw Jstang23's reply, yep, a compressor can grenade the whole system. That adds up.

For me, it was just my clutch (as far as I can tell). It looks similar to this picture from the DIY AC clutch replacement thread. The compressor still spins by hand, so I assume it didn't internally die and send metal all throughout the system. I have 120k miles on my car but as far as I know it the system wasn't leaking or low.

So you think I should just replace both?

 

[WonderDud]

im in a similar but different dilemma... trade in my 2017 6spd manual with 45k miles and 8k owed on the loan.

get a 2023 6spd manual with 15 miles. Not 15k just 15 lol. 90% of my mods can be taken off and used on new car.. would be in a new loan and longer terms obvious.. but is 15 miles on the odometer and 20 extra HP worth the commitment. Especially knowing I can throw on wheels and tires, headers, short throw, suspension parts, etc right away...

on my 2017 so far is
project 6gr wheels
2018 intake mani (I know this won't move over)
tune (or this)
oil catch can
corsa sport exhaut (or this)
some cosmetic stuff.

purchased but not yet put on
barton short throw
texas speed headers
Steeda shock/struts
Steeda springs

choices man....

If you hold onto vehicle's and you like your 17' pay it off, keep it, mod it, love it, and don't look back.
If you would like a fresh start with a vehicle that might hold a bit more equity in the short term maybe cash in and get the new vehicle, personally if you aren't planning on buying cash or paying the loan off real soon its a wash. You will waste money on interest and all that equity you have built up for 30k less miles. Drive the 23' and you decide if its worth it to you. To some it is, to some its not.

 

[MrMike]

For me, it was just my clutch (as far as I can tell). It looks similar to this picture from the DIY AC clutch replacement thread. The compressor still spins by hand, so I assume it didn't internally die and send metal all throughout the system. I have 120k miles on my car but as far as I know it the system wasn't leaking or low.

So you think I should just replace both?

If it's just the clutch, you're lucky. It's not impossible. Throwing away my superstitions about the A/C system: Logically if it spins by hand, the compressor is not dead / seized.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

I'd go for the newer Mustang because it starts with more power, and a warranty.
I didn't care about gadgets or leather seats; I just wanted the GT Performance Package.

When I saw the specs on the 2018 Mustang, I too was a little wary of the high compression.

Before I bought my Mustang, I asked a lot of questions at the shop that works on all my cars. They work on Mustangs as old as the Fox body. They work on Subarus, Mazdas and Chevys and are very aware of the issues with their direct injection engines. The Gen III Coyote still has "dual injection" and solves all the problems Subaru (and others) made for themselves.

When I asked about the Gen III Coyote, the senior guy basically said Ford addressed all the weaknesses of previous Coyotes. If my Evo had lasted 159,000 miles (and counting) on the original engine, a Coyote would probably last me even longer.

I asked if it would overheat if I went and ran laps with it, and they said No, we have customers that run laps in the summer and they don't have a problem.
"So I don't need a differential cooler?"
No, but I'd need different brake pads for track day.

 

[furdfan2018]

If you plan to keep the car stock or near stock, the OBVIOUS answer is Get 3 18+. The gen 3 motor is a fookin absolute gem of an engine. Vs Get 2 it has larger diameter head studs (further prevents blowing head gaskets), higher flowing cast runners in the heads, higher lift cams, stronger block, better cooling, dual fuel, larger valves, more compression, bigger bore; the list is long.

A/C problems are pretty much gone on this gen 3. The 10 speed auto turns this car into an overachiever in stock or near stock form.

How many N/A vehicles in the $40k price range do you know that will run 130mph in the quarter with truly only bolt-on mods?


Now... if you plan on boost and 900-ish horsepower or more -- I'd go Gen 2 with the 6r80. The platform is proven to take colossal amounts of abuse, especially the trans.

 

[cerbomark]

if your going to do a lot of driving get the new 23. drive it first to be sure.

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