Newbie (well almost) - looking for advice

[passwords]

What are the tell-tale signs that an R has been tracked?

Rubber (from other people’s tires on track) everywhere, especially in the cracks, crevices, and underbody area. The service history will also tell some of the story if the owner had a dealership do the service for track use. Pull an Oasis report if you can.

If you haven’t driven an R before, I highly recommend you do. You’ll find these cars punch WAY above their price class.

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[Raffro]

Fair enough. It’s all good. Believe it or not I don’t look at my R as an asset. I had a couple buyers that were almost double msrp, but ultimately it wasn’t about the money for me. I had a built 20/350 that I still really miss. I sold that car to buy my 500HE cftp. I just wanted the pair. Before you get wrapped up in the market price’s and if you haven’t already, go drive one and see if it suits you. That could be a blessing or a curse depending on what your perspective is on it. I do completely get the monetary side of this equation. For perspective there’s only two things I’ve ever paid over msrp for in my life. One is my R and the other is my Cftp. I don’t regret either one bit. The unfortunate reality with these cars and the 500’s is most(including myself back then) think there’s more then a few to chose from. The reality is when you start looking with the few stipulations you may have the pool gets real small real quick. But I think you already know that. These are very specisl cars as are the 500’s, which I truly don’t think we’ll ever see the likes of again. Especially the 350R.

Very good points, thank you. My brothers wife has a 500 and she loves it. She’s a raucous beast….wow! The car, not his wife….haha!

I drove a 350 but not an R. It was different from what I’m used to (911 turbo). I wasn’t a big fan of the clutch pedal feel. It felt too soft and notchy but supposedly that’s fixed with a new spring (?). Otherwise I liked the ride and loved the soundtrack. The transmission was perfect too. Visibility wasn’t as good as my turbo and it’s not nearly as fast but I don’t need crazy speed. I’m looking for a NA driving experience. Other than a 911 GT3 I don’t know what else would deliver that.

I do wish I could see more colors however. Looking at cars online doesn’t always portray the live in person color. I really like the white on the HEs. Kona blue with white stripes and red pins is probably my favorite. I’d prefer to stay away from blacks and silvers anyway - although the black R linked above is very nice. Nothing nicer than a shiny black car but keeping it shiny is time consuming. Reds are a difficult color to like. They need to be a certain tone for me. Maybe I need to check one out in person because pics online aren’t doing it justice - in my opinion of course.

I’ll continue my search. Hopefully I can circle back here soon with a pic!

 

[lunatect]

Very good points, thank you. My brothers wife has a 500 and she loves it. She’s a raucous beast….wow! The car, not his wife….haha!

I drove a 350 but not an R. It was different from what I’m used to (911 turbo). I wasn’t a big fan of the clutch pedal feel. It felt too soft and notchy but supposedly that’s fixed with a new spring (?). Otherwise I liked the ride and loved the soundtrack. The transmission was perfect too. Visibility wasn’t as good as my turbo and it’s not nearly as fast but I don’t need crazy speed. I’m looking for a NA driving experience. Other than a 911 GT3 I don’t know what else would deliver that.

I do wish I could see more colors however. Looking at cars online doesn’t always portray the live in person color. I really like the white on the HEs. Kona blue with white stripes and red pins is probably my favorite. I’d prefer to stay away from blacks and silvers anyway - although the black R linked above is very nice. Nothing nicer than a shiny black car but keeping it shiny is time consuming. Reds are a difficult color to like. They need to be a certain tone for me. Maybe I need to check one out in person because pics online aren’t doing it justice - in my opinion of course.

I’ll continue my search. Hopefully I can circle back here soon with a pic!

Not nearly as fast? Curious what your 911 would do for a lap time at Willow Springs. Have not driven my 350 there, but think it would break 1:30 based upon my laps there in my BMW at 1:32.

 

[Raffro]

Not nearly as fast? Curious what your 911 would do for a lap time at Willow Springs. Have not driven my 350 there, but think it would break 1:30 based upon my laps there in my BMW at 1:32.

Haha I figured my comment would stir the emotions! I don’t know what my car would turn there - never been. But at 550 hp (which is probably underrated) and AWD with cups I think it’ll do well. But from driving both I can tell you the power build up on the turbo is instant and it’s way more brutal. The 350 was a linear build. Now I didn’t thrash it with the salesman in the back seat but I got on it and my butt dyno tells me my 911 is faster. But for me it’s not what I want. There’s no time to enjoy the shifts because it hits redline so quickly. When I run with a friend who has a GT3RS I’m well into 3rd gear and thinking about 4th while he’s enjoying 2nd!!

 

[wingnutt]

Very helpful, thank you.
So the benchmark for what’s presented on the site is mid $80k. That’s about what I was thinking. + / - from there.

read it again…mid 80s is benchmark for ALL years, 2020 models is significantly higher

 

[young at heart]

No offense. I’m not interested nor do I need advice on the economy or how it works. I‘ve been self employed my entire adult life, since I was 19. I’ve started and sold several business’s. You’re not the first nor will you be the last to come in and tell us that own these cars there not worth this or that. Basically looking for a deal(which I get) and how what’s going on outside(your view) justifies the price for the car you think it should be. Then there’s reality. It is what it is. What does it tell you when the dealers in the secondary market are buying 20r’s in the 90k range. And there relisted at north of a 100k. No need to answer. I wish you the best in finding a 20r that fits your description. I‘m after another one or a cftp as well, whichever pops up first.

I‘m in the TLDR zone on this thread so apologies if this has already been pointed out. But there exist certain items, by definition always on the low supply side of the supply and demand continuum, which are completely unrelated to the economy in any shape, form or fashion definable. The reasons are obvious but if they need to be pointed out, well, you know…

While waiting for the economy to tank so 350Rs will get cheap, perhaps one could wait for the next dip to grab a deal on a Rolex Daytona.

 

[Raffro]

While waiting for the economy to tank so 350Rs will get cheap, perhaps one could wait for the next dip to grab a deal on a Rolex Daytona.

That is not at all what I said. I was comparing “today” with pandemic pricing where everything went nuts, but has cooled since. Look at the number of RNM auctions or days on the lot analyses. That doesn’t imply an R will be cheap but it does imply they may no longer be trading 25% above msrp. Maybe it’s 20% now - I don’t know and is the reason I posed the question here.

 

[Raffro]

So I took the plunge on a 2020 silver R, no stripes. ~4k miles and so very well maintained. Wasn’t sure how silver would compliment the car but my goodness it’s beautiful!!

 

[Champale]

Congratulations! Iconic Silver is amazing in person. And no stripes makes it even cooler to my eyes. You will love your new 350R.

 

[Raffro]

Thank you. I am excited! Catch can and rock guards will go on shortly. Maybe even gloss black ppf on the roof. But that’s it - she’s staying bone stock.

 

[UpACurb]

Thank you. I am excited! Catch can and rock guards will go on shortly. Maybe even gloss black ppf on the roof. But that’s it - she’s staying bone stock.

if that is the one on Autotrader.com you got yourself a beautiful car.. extremely clean and looks to be well taken care of.. congrats!!

 

[Raffro]

if that is the one on Autotrader.com you got yourself a beautiful car.. extremely clean and looks to be well taken care of.. congrats!!

That’s the one! It’s exactly what I was looking for! Love it! And the prior owner really took care of it - true car guy…

 

[NPTR]

Final model year of a super special the car, the likes of which we may never see new again, so the "premium" is well justified...high 80s is my gut generally for a standard color, 90s for a more rare color, low 100s for HEP. All of this assumes low but not museum level miles, solid service and owner history, no accidents/body work.

Aside from what has already been mentioned (mileage, track time, etc.), I think color matters a lot. We can debate the value of HEP (I bought one...yes, more expensive now but likely holds value better over time given special edition), but other colors that are more rare and came out in later years will be more valuable than the standard gray, white, etc.

Owner / service history is huge on a 350 - maintenance, service history matters a bit more for this car for me than others, given the care it needs to stay running well. I chose my car over some others in part because the prior owner was clearly a car nut (he even had a custom vest and window sticker frame made for the car). You really don't want a 350 that was owned by some kid road racing to red line after cold starting the car and doing oil changes few and far between. NOT knowing the owner history would be a bigger problem for me with this car in particular, and would impact it's value.

Mods also matter - OEM+ and simple bolt-ons, fine...but stock / clean examples are without doubt worth more and tell you something about how the car was likely driven and potentially cared for.

Regarding mileage, if you want to drive it, I'd look north of 3K+ on the odo...cars with less than 1500 selling with somewhat of a collector premium and that doesn't matter to you.

I don't see other options mattering that much on this car or impacting value, but I personally think the carbon trim significantly raises the feel of the cabin (glare is not an issue for me) and the B&O sound system is incredible (sounds better than all the premium sound systems in my German cars...so for your enjoyment, I'd say go for it.

I'd strongly prefer one that comes with all the goodies from Ford originally - I think that will impact future resale value as these cars age and the enthusiast owned versions stand out more and more from the beaters.

 

[Raffro]

Final model year of a super special the car, the likes of which we may never see new again, so the "premium" is well justified...high 80s is my gut generally for a standard color, 90s for a more rare color, low 100s for HEP. All of this assumes low but not museum level miles, solid service and owner history, no accidents/body work.

Aside from what has already been mentioned (mileage, track time, etc.), I think color matters a lot. We can debate the value of HEP (I bought one...yes, more expensive now but likely holds value better over time given special edition), but other colors that are more rare and came out in later years will be more valuable than the standard gray, white, etc.

Owner / service history is huge on a 350 - maintenance, service history matters a bit more for this car for me than others, given the care it needs to stay running well. I chose my car over some others in part because the prior owner was clearly a car nut (he even had a custom vest and window sticker frame made for the car). You really don't want a 350 that was owned by some kid road racing to red line after cold starting the car and doing oil changes few and far between. NOT knowing the owner history would be a bigger problem for me with this car in particular, and would impact it's value.

Mods also matter - OEM+ and simple bolt-ons, fine...but stock / clean examples are without doubt worth more and tell you something about how the car was likely driven and potentially cared for.

Regarding mileage, if you want to drive it, I'd look north of 3K+ on the odo...cars with less than 1500 selling with somewhat of a collector premium and that doesn't matter to you.

I don't see other options mattering that much on this car or impacting value, but I personally think the carbon trim significantly raises the feel of the cabin (glare is not an issue for me) and the B&O sound system is incredible (sounds better than all the premium sound systems in my German cars...so for your enjoyment, I'd say go for it.

I'd strongly prefer one that comes with all the goodies from Ford originally - I think that will impact future resale value as these cars age and the enthusiast owned versions stand out more and more from the beaters.

Completely agree on all points. It’s exactly what drove my decision to buy this one. I initially wanted more of a loud color but to be honest the silver does it justice! I’ll let the pipes be loud!! This car came with everything and then some. FP Catch can and ZL1 rock guards never installed but in the box, full owners kit, cover, extra oil filter, window sticker, and so on. It even has weathertechs with a matching dash/plaque number! It’s amazing actually!! I’m more than happy. Now I need to sell my 911 turbo…

 

[NPTR]

Wow, the chassis specific weather techs is notable…but think my guys custom frame and vest takes the cake haha! Got in touch with him actually, great dude and kept the car in one of the storage bubbles in his garage…love it!

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