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Why did you sell your GT350?

Austinj427

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Some guys just don't keep cars for very long either, even if they like them. It's like a drug.

While I don't like the payment on this, it's pretty doable, it's going to stay for a long time.
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Hack

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I've considered selling mine due to all the negativity I read here, but my experience with my car has been great. I'm not criticizing people who have had problems. I definitely empathize with them. I also worry that at some point I might have one of those issues. I wish I knew the actual percentages of failures. Am I foolish to worry, or would I be foolish to keep the car out of warranty?

I also have test driven other cars and I haven't enjoyed driving any of them as much as I do the GT350. IMO it's a perfect dual personality vehicle for me. I don't want to own a nice car that I don't drive. If I spend a bunch of money on something I want to be able to drive it as much as possible. The GT350 is great for everything. It can be tame and super comfortable on the street when I drive to work, and crazy at the track - passing almost every other car there.
 

TDC

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The track is definitely where this car comes alive. I am surprised how the boosted cars like the new Camaro ZL1, Turbo S 997, and some C7 Z06's have difficulty pulling on my GT350 down a straight.

Now that my car is used primarily for the track thoughts about selling occur from time to time and they revolve mostly around the cost to replace the engine. Corvette has a much cheaper drivetrain if something was to go south after the warranty expires plus more second hand parts/cars. If I was to sell it would be for that reason.
 

cosmo

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After having the first one bought back for a seized engine w/ only 3K miles on it I had to wait 6 months for the '17. During that time the integrity of the FPC was put into question by many owners experiencing the same as I did, even Ford performance stopped racing the engine. As such I questioned the FPC as well. Couple that with poor build quality, panel gap inconsistency, very annoying rattles, droopy rear bumper, thin crappy paint, stripes that won't last and swirl easily etc I got rid of it. It just wasn't going to last imo. Out of the Mustangs I've owned the GT350 has been the most poorly built.

I just recently bought a '19 Carrera T, took delivery of it in Stuttgart and toured Europe for two weeks. That trip was one of the most pleasurable trips of my life. Looking back at the Porsche factory tour and how they build the cars, the quality of materials and the precision of it all, there is a stark difference in quality. The car was delivered in perfect condition to me. Compare that to Ford's delivery, how I had to spend an hour with a razor blade in getting the smeared silicone off of the inside of the windshield, poorly fitted side window gasket on the driver's side, small imperfection swirl marks from the factory and a scratch on the rear deck lid cover that couldn't be replaced at the time without replacing the entire trunk lid.

Having said this I know Ford can make a better product. I love my Raptor and Ford makes great trucks. I just think they cheaped out on the quality from the base S550 all the way up to the R model. My Carrera T is just one step up from the base model and the level of quality is consistent all the way up to the GT2RS. Unfortunately for Ford the same is true for their Mustang line of cars. Through the years I've enjoyed the Mustangs that I've owned but now I'm doubtful I'd get another. I guess we'll see what kind of quality the S650 has to offer.
Stop. Just stop. The GT350 is sent down the same assembly line with essentially the same components as a $25k base model. The tooling that bolts these components together are the same, whether it be the base Ecoboost bumper, the GT350 bumper, whatever. That means you don't get special alignment tools, you don't get an extra assembly station to do this, nothing. That creates these problems.

The truck plant is entirely different. They spend the money there because the net profit on the typical truck transaction is 5 figures. No a few thousand like it is on a mustang.

The "one step up from base" Carrera T is walking from an $85k base vehicle. Porsche is also in top 3 automakers when describing profit. They can spend the money on all the special stuff.
 

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AirBusPilot

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Traded mine in on a Porsche Turbo S.

Nothing was wrong with it. Absolutely nothing.

Where the GT350 comes alive is the track, and I don’t track my cars. On the street, besides being the best looking mustang ever, it’s just a quick mustang that can be beaten by many other cars. Including a base GT with the the 10 speed auto. That kinda did it for me.

The Porsche Turbo S is a high ten second car stock. Mid ten’s with just a tune and exhaust. At a stop light, I fear no car, including the new ZR1 and Demon. Granted, this level of performance is expensive, but I know of a few who own two GT350’s who could have bought this Porsche for the same money.

I’m not bashing the GT350, it’s just too specialized a weapon for what I want.
 

JoelinNOVA

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Not being a troll; serious question.

I understand that some GT350 owners bought when they just came out, and even paid the mark-ups, and eventually sold or traded for another vehicle.

In my city there were a few that I would see often, letting everyone hear how good the exhaust sounds. All of them ended up on the used lot of a local dealer. I even saw one at a Toyota dealership.

Even a few local clubs had some GT350R owners that paid the full mark-up. They got rid of them as well.

I have a 2017 GT350 with the convenience package in Grabber Blue, and I have thoughts about letting it go as well. Everytime I drive the car it is an exciting experience, but its just feels like its missing something. It gets the adrenaline going, but its not enjoyable. I plan to do a few track days with the car, which is what I planned from the beginning, but I have to keep reminding myself why I bought the car instead of the car convincing me it was worth the $60,000 it cost.

I just dont want to get in my feelings, and sell/trade the car and regret it later, because I wasnt using the car right.

So my question to yall that bought a 350 and parted ways with it... Why did you sell it?
No power below 3500. And where I lived means never enjoying the car. Didn't have time to track it. Did the track attack and no doubt its a great track car. Just not for the street. Great handling and awesome looks. Exhaust best ever. Hoping the GT500 makes up for the weak bottom end.
 

cosmo

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So we're in agreement then? VW makes the Golf and the Jetta. The base price on both is less than a base Mustang and the quality, fit/finish of those cars are markedly better. Also, Porsche has figured out how to provide a quality product and profit handsomely from it. Sounds like a great business plan to me. Ford should figure out how to make a more profitable, higher quality Mustang. Porsche quality in an American product, sign me up. I would have paid more for that for certain.
The build quality on those vehicles are not markedly better than a mustang. Even a base vehicle.

The problem with going to a higher tier vehicle like a Porsche is losing the common man. Cadillac tried making premium performance vehicles with their V series for years and it has horribly failed commercially. Lexus has tried it, Acura, everyone. Only a few make it really work.
 

Strokerswild

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So we're in agreement then? VW makes the Golf and the Jetta. The base price on both is less than a base Mustang and the quality, fit/finish of those cars are markedly better. Also, Porsche has figured out how to provide a quality product and profit handsomely from it. Sounds like a great business plan to me. Ford should figure out how to make a more profitable, higher quality Mustang. Porsche quality in an American product, sign me up. I would have paid more for that for certain.
Agreed.

A few months ago I paid $19K for a brand new, leftover AWD VW Tiguan S for a disposable DD in the fleet. The fit and finish is far better than that of my Mustang. There isn't a single body prep or paint blemish anywhere on the thing, as I found when I clayed and sealed it, and the panel gaps are crazy consistent. And solid and rattle free. Two for two, had a 2010 before this one.

My Mustang has misaligned panels and, in one spot, grind marks under the paint, etc. Plenty of small interior rattles at under 8K miles.

There's no reason Ford can't do better than they do in the fit and finish department. None, zero, zilch, nada.
 

honeybadger

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I'll never understand why folks buy a car from a brand well-known for cheap interiors/mediocre QA and then complain about it?
 

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Colleton

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I DD mine for the 1st year, then bought another car to use as a daily. My GT350 is a fantastic driver's car, and I have never had any issues with it.

That said, it spends most of it's time now in the garage, just sitting there looking pretty. It probably only gets driven 2-3 times a month. I routinely think "I should sell it because I'm not driving it" as I walk past it in the garage, then I drive it and remember why I bought it in the 1st place. I'm still considering selling it, but not because it's a bad car. It is a fantastic car.
 

AirBusPilot

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I'll never understand why folks buy a car from a brand well-known for cheap interiors/mediocre QA and then complain about it?
While the interior is a little cheap, I had thought Ford had a decent rep for quality. While mine never had any issues, I admit I became a little worried by the stories I read here about poor quality.
 

honeybadger

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My Raptor=great quality as well as both of the '13 Boss 302's I had (other than the MT82 and the stick axle design) I thought the GT350 would be of the level of the past cars, I was wrong.
Raptor is nice...but not on par with a $70K European or Japanese car by ANY means. A Lexus or BMW or Merc is LIGHT years ahead of Ford in interior quality. But that's because it's all in the drive train. Just like the 350.

While the interior is a little cheap, I had thought Ford had a decent rep for quality. While mine never had any issues, I admit I became a little worried by the stories I read here about poor quality.
Guess it depends on what you're used to and using as a reference. But I've NEVER been in a Ford, Chevy or Dodge that even approached the interior quality of most nicer European brands for a comparable price.
 

AirBusPilot

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Raptor is nice...but not on par with a $70K European or Japanese car by ANY means. A Lexus or BMW or Merc is LIGHT years ahead of Ford in interior quality. But that's because it's all in the drive train. Just like the 350.



Guess it depends on what you're used to and using as a reference. But I've NEVER been in a Ford, Chevy or Dodge that even approached the interior quality of most nicer European brands for a comparable price.
Hmm. Well, I’ve never owned a Mustang, particularly one that cost $65k. I wrote off the cheap interior as not that big a deal because of the higher end performance hardware.

I sold a 335i MSport to buy the GT350, and while it had obviously higher quality materials, it was a little spartan. But it didn’t have the performance of the 350, at roughly the same price. Trade offs.
 

honeybadger

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Hmm. Well, I’ve never owned a Mustang, particularly one that cost $65k. I wrote off the cheap interior as not that big a deal because of the higher end performance hardware.

I sold a 335i MSport to buy the GT350, and while it had obviously higher quality materials, it was a little spartan. But it didn’t have the performance of the 350, at roughly the same price. Trade offs.
Absolutely. A GT350 is a fairly cheap car with a REALLY kick ass drive train. My Mustang costs more than my wife's car, but her car has better materials on the inside and better panel fitment, less road noise and higher quality paint. But guess what, it's a bit slow and you can't work on it yourself. Like you said, you can't get the best of both worlds without putting down some serious coin (and even then, it's not truly the best of both, but a good compromise).
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