Prepping for 2018 EB order

Hey all! First post, but nice been reading and researching here for a few months.

I've currently got a 2013 Raptor that's got around 75k on the odometer. I love my Raptor, and it being the last of the SVT branded models, I am not looking to get rid of it anytime soon (if ever). :-)

That being said I don't want to keep putting miles on it (especially on a daily basis at <12mpg). I'm looking for a good daily driver that's fun, with decent performance, comfort, and economy. Given that a loaded ecoboost is very comparable (in a lot of ways) to a Porsche 918, at half the price, and still has room for my 2 dogs in the back, I think it's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Never thought I'd ever consider anything with less than 8 under the hood, but damn the EB is tempting, considering the $10k price jump to the GT!

I went in to the local dealer last week for a preliminary talk about ordering an 18 ecoboost premium spec'd out as below:

Oxford White
Showstopper Red Interior
10 speed auto
201a
Performance Pack
Magneride
Spoiler delete (maybe... Debating the PP Spoiler or going after market GT350R Spoiler)
Safe and Smart package
Enhanced Security

MSRP is $41,375. After running the numbers through true car and doing some looking around on the web I came up with $38,000-38,500 as a pretty decent bottom end I could likely hope for.

The dealer quoted me $38,733 on the first try and gave me a guarantee that they'd match any better deal I could find.

So, either they're really on the level (which I tend to believe) or maybe my initial low end figure was off? Thoughts?

I know I went all out on the options, but a few of my wants/needs involved having other things, which ended up fully loading it. Lol I could probably save $3k by skipping the PP (which there isn't that much there that I couldn't live without), but I really want the Magneride, since I live in SD and drive lots of rough roads and gravel on a daily basis.

Only thing I left off was the shaker pro. I did a full upgrade on my Raptor, and it sounds great, but i'm hesitant to put the work/money into the audio in a vehicle I'll be trading off down the road. $900 seems steep for a small sub and a couple of coaxials, but upgrading the 9 speaker pack to anything decent would cost a lot more (and seems to be even more complicated than bypassing the Sony setup in my Raptor), so what I'm thinking is to try getting the dealer to come down on price a bit or get the shaker pro thrown in to the deal they've already made me.

Also trying to get the $750 customer cash incentive deal Ford tends to send out in emails and promotional brochures. That'd probably sell me on the shaker. ;)

Of course... All of this is contingent on me getting somewhere to actually Drive one. Nobody local has any on the lot and I want to make sure I actually fit in one comfortably, first. (Not exactly little here) lol ;)

Anyway, providing I go ahead with ordering, how good is the deal I'm currently looking at? Anything else I should be considering?

Thanks!

Assuming that they're including destination and haven't deducted rebates that's around $700 below Xplan which probably translates to around $500 below invoice, which is what I've been promised. That's pretty good for an order.

The dealer price did include rebates, but it was only the $500 one that expired on the 2nd. By my figuring they are $650 or so under invoice, before the rebate. They also told me they'll add on any new rebates between now and delivery. That could potentially be another $2500 (depending on how lucky I get getting Ford to email me $750-1000 cash back incentive). Then there's the 0.9% financing they're offering on a 36 month loan. That may not be applicable with some of the rebates, but would be pretty hard to beat elsewhere.

I'm hoping I can talk them into both. With $7000 down that would put me under $30k financed at 0.9% for 3 years and that would be a pretty great deal (as far as I'm concerned, anyway)!

in 3 years it will be worth 20k maybe lol

I couldnt even process in my head paying close to 40k for an ecoboost. Ive also walked onto dealer lots and been offered 5-6k off any mustang (granted these were not 18's but give it a year and youll be there) But if you got the money then sure go for it.

Over 3 years it'll save me upwards of $12k in fuel alone vs my Raptor. Not to mention cheaper rubber, maintenance, etc... And it'll still be on par with the performance and drivability of a Porsche Cayman (non s model) with similar tech features at less than half the price (even fully loaded). Sounds like fun to me. Add a few basic performance mods and you're within a few tenths of a second of a stock GT in a typical daily driving scenario. (At $10k-12k less out the door). What's not to like about that?

I will likely NEVER take it to a track for performance driving (Since there really aren't an overabundance of them in northeastern SD). It doesn't make a lot of sense for me to go up to a GT (unless a dealer can give me a TRULY outstanding price on a similarly equipped one). Even less sense for me to plunk down money on a gt350.

The only reason it's hitting close to $40k is because of a few of the features I really want.
1.) heated/cooled seats. Necessity when our yearly Temps range from -40 to 105. That means the premium package
2.) 10 speed auto. I haul several hundred loads of corn a year in a 13 speed split shift Volvo Semi. The Mustang will mostly be driven with the cruise control set, on 10-20 mile straight shot roads. I don't need the precise shift control I could get from a manual. Not to mention the 10 speed has better performance in certain scenarios (most of which I would encounter outside of a teack environment). And it's got the paddle shift if I ever want a sort of manual like sense of driving.
3.) Adaptive cruise. My dad's truck has it. It's flipping awesome! Especially on 2 lane roads with slow moving vehicles (tractors, trucks, Sunday drivers, etc...). Not to mention assistive braking might help save me from a deer here or there. Worth it!
4.) Magneride. Just because our roads are mostly straight doesn't mean they're smooth, or anything close to that. I want that extra ride comfort! (Which unfortunately means I need the PP as well. I'd save that money if I could.)
5.) heated steering wheel, sync connect, etc... All really nice stuff to have when the temp reads negative for half the year. And the 12 inch cluster and red seats are just freaking cool looking!

That leaves the shaker pro and enhanced security package as the only things I could take or leave (the auto locking console would make me feel better about traveling with my carry and conceal, however. And the shaker pro would be a nice bump in audio without dropping a ton of money, compared to a full custom self install.)

Considering all that, name me a vehicle that would match all that and still be comfortable and fun to drive while looking damn good, for less. (I've been looking for 3 months and haven't found it yet) Honestly, if I don't love the mustangs fit and feel on me after a test drive or two, I'm going looking for a reasonably priced/low mileage used Audi A5 or an Infinite q60 (or equivalent couple).

When I want HUGE power, I'll pull the Raptor out of the garage and go offroading. I'll put my Raptor up against any Mustang on this forum in the quarter mile... Providing I get to pick the specific quarter mile! Lol (There's a foot of snow in the field behind my house right now. I don't know how fast I could get across it, but it would be quite a bit faster than pretty much any rwd sports car out there!) ;)

1. Get the audio. Yeah you can get aftermarket but ...your ripping into a new car.
2. Never ask pricing questions on this forum. No matter how great a price you will get guys who will brag about better or quote prices on cars that have no relation to yours (like left over 17s) or at a dealer 2000 miles away in the dead of winter....
3. If you are in the area of XPlan your doing fine, buy it and don't look back--yes somewhere, someone, will get it cheaper..that always happens. BFD.
4. Seats haven't changed since the 15 Intro-- find one at a used lot and just sit in it and well as get in and out a couple of times. You will learn a lot about fit and comfort real quick.

Metallikahn said:

Hey all! First post, but nice been reading and researching here for a few months.

I've currently got a 2013 Raptor that's got around 75k on the odometer. I love my Raptor, and it being the last of the SVT branded models, I am not looking to get rid of it anytime soon (if ever). :-)

That being said I don't want to keep putting miles on it (especially on a daily basis at <12mpg). I'm looking for a good daily driver that's fun, with decent performance, comfort, and economy. Given that a loaded ecoboost is very comparable (in a lot of ways) to a Porsche 918, at half the price, and still has room for my 2 dogs in the back, I think it's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Never thought I'd ever consider anything with less than 8 under the hood, but damn the EB is tempting, considering the $10k price jump to the GT!

I went in to the local dealer last week for a preliminary talk about ordering an 18 ecoboost premium spec'd out as below:

Oxford White
Showstopper Red Interior
10 speed auto
201a
Performance Pack
Magneride
Spoiler delete (maybe... Debating the PP Spoiler or going after market GT350R Spoiler)
Safe and Smart package
Enhanced Security

MSRP is $41,375. After running the numbers through true car and doing some looking around on the web I came up with $38,000-38,500 as a pretty decent bottom end I could likely hope for.

The dealer quoted me $38,733 on the first try and gave me a guarantee that they'd match any better deal I could find.

So, either they're really on the level (which I tend to believe) or maybe my initial low end figure was off? Thoughts?

I know I went all out on the options, but a few of my wants/needs involved having other things, which ended up fully loading it. Lol I could probably save $3k by skipping the PP (which there isn't that much there that I couldn't live without), but I really want the Magneride, since I live in SD and drive lots of rough roads and gravel on a daily basis.

Only thing I left off was the shaker pro. I did a full upgrade on my Raptor, and it sounds great, but i'm hesitant to put the work/money into the audio in a vehicle I'll be trading off down the road. $900 seems steep for a small sub and a couple of coaxials, but upgrading the 9 speaker pack to anything decent would cost a lot more (and seems to be even more complicated than bypassing the Sony setup in my Raptor), so what I'm thinking is to try getting the dealer to come down on price a bit or get the shaker pro thrown in to the deal they've already made me.

Also trying to get the $750 customer cash incentive deal Ford tends to send out in emails and promotional brochures. That'd probably sell me on the shaker. ;)

Of course... All of this is contingent on me getting somewhere to actually Drive one. Nobody local has any on the lot and I want to make sure I actually fit in one comfortably, first. (Not exactly little here) lol ;)

Anyway, providing I go ahead with ordering, how good is the deal I'm currently looking at? Anything else I should be considering?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

$38K for an ECOBOOST?? HELL NO. I don't care how many options it has. That thing will be worth $25K the day you drive it off the lot.
If you're going to spend that much get a GT or a slightly used one.

If you're looking for better mileage and fun, get a Focus ST. I had one. Fun as hell. Room for the dogs. Quick. I paid under $20K for my ST1 (MSRP $26K).

Nomadic said:

$38K for an ECOBOOST?? HELL NO. I don't care how many options it has. That thing will be worth $25K the day you drive it off the lot.
If you're going to spend that much get a GT or a slightly used one.

Click to expand...

1. OP probably has a bigger wallet then you - get beyond it.
2. Can't buy an 18 GT with those options/build level for anywhere near that price.
3. The GT will lose the same percentage when driven off the lot- thus back to #1. Price of owning a car (reality).
4. New is new and used is just that...used. OP wants new; that has value.
5. OP appears to be a realistic person and not the typical poser. Knows what he realistically (real world) needs in a car, not the mental masturbation fantasy world of 'needs' usually claimed by posers.

Mustang1260 said:

1. Get the audio. Yeah you can get aftermarket but ...your ripping into a new car.
2. Never ask pricing questions on this forum. No matter how great a price you will get guys who will brag about better or quote prices on cars that have no relation to yours (like left over 17s) or at a dealer 2000 miles away in the dead of winter....
3. If you are in the area of XPlan your doing fine, buy it and don't look back--yes somewhere, someone, will get it cheaper..that always happens. BFD.
4. Seats haven't changed since the 15 Intro-- find one at a used lot and just sit in it and well as get in and out a couple of times. You will learn a lot about fit and comfort real quick.

Click to expand...

Good advice!

1.) I may or may not tear into the audio. I like to mod things and don't mind the wiring aspect of it, though I'm not that enthusiastic about doing too much on a car I'll only have for 4-5 years. Kind of comes down to how bored I get in the next year or so! Lol If I do, I'm doing it with a lot of quick disconnects for an easy swap back to factory when I eventually sell/trade. Either way, I am leaning towards the shaker pro.

2.) Yep! Should've known better. Lol

3.) All my research had me going in with $38k as good target. Dealer had me pretty damn close to that with zero haggling. Good enough for me. If I can wiggle a bit more out of it great. If not, no great loss.

4.) Definitely. Doesn't have to be the exact setup (or even year) I'm looking at. Just need to try one out first. Nobody close has one, but there is a dealer about 2 hours down the road with several 18's (EB's and GT's). Will be good to see the new panel and updated power, etc... Plus get a second quote while I'm at it. ;)

Mustang1260 said:

1. OP probably has a bigger wallet then you - get beyond it.
2. Can't buy an 18 GT with those options/build level for anywhere near that price.
3. The GT will lose the same percentage when driven off the lot- thus back to #1. Price of owning a car (reality).
4. New is new and used is just that...used. OP wants new; that has value.
5. OP appears to be a realistic person and not the typical poser. Knows what he realistically (real world) needs in a car, not the mental masturbation fantasy world of 'needs' usually claimed by posers.

Click to expand...

Big wallet and Ecoboost? LOL. Probably going to make payments on it too.
If he pays $38K for an Ecoboost that might be a world record.
The worst part is he'll realize he should have got a V8 and will get bored with a 4 banger Mustang like countless others do.
A new EB vs a barely used 5.0 for $10K less is a no brainer.

OP asked about the deal he's getting, so my answer is one answer.

Nomadic said:

$38K for an ECOBOOST?? HELL NO. I don't care how many options it has. That thing will be worth $25K the day you drive it off the lot.
If you're going to spend that much get a GT or a slightly used one.

If you're looking for better mileage and fun, get a Focus ST. I had one. Fun as hell. Room for the dogs. Quick. I paid under $20K for my ST1 (MSRP $26K).

Click to expand...

And a $48k Gt will be worth >$35k. So what’s your point. New cars Depreciate like crazy the first year/owner. If whatever i buy ends up being worth $10k less than yours when it comes time to trade, what’s it matter if I originally brought it home at $10k less to begin with?

You also don’t care how many options it might have, but I do. I kind of pointed out exactly what I’d be doing with it and why I wanted the options I’d be ordering. 0-60 in between 4-5seconds when I’ll be spending 90% of my driving in it at highway speeds (65-80mph). The V8 getting me there .4 seconds faster really worth an extra $10k? Not to me. I’m not saying I wouldn’t get a GT over an EB, but it would have to have all the options/colors I want on the 18 eco boost and be damn close to $40k certified with low miles. I haven’t even seen a used 18 gt yet, let alone one that meets my requirements.

Why would I get a Focus? Sure it’s cheaper, but doesn’t have half the options I was/am looking for. Honestly, if I just wanted the bare minimum to get from A to B I could do that for a helluva lot less than a focus. I want a Mustang because they look good, can have a pretty nice interior (for a non luxury brand), and even an EB can give a healthy kick in the pants when compared to the typical fuel efficient vehicles out there.

Nomadic said:

Big wallet and Ecoboost? LOL. Probably going to make payments on it too.
If he pays $38K for an Ecoboost that might be a world record.
The worst part is he'll realize he should have got a V8 and will get bored with a 4 banger Mustang like countless others do.
A new EB vs a barely used 5.0 for $10K less is a no brainer.

OP asked about the deal he's getting, so my answer is one answer.

Click to expand...

At 0.9% financing, it’d be really easy to put that yearly payment in the stock market (or wherever else you care to invest) and make back several percent more than you’d pay in interest at each due date. Might end up saving me a few thousand (or more) by the time I pay it off, but you’re right. That would be dumb.

I’m all in for the 5.0 at 10k less, but since it would have to be an 18 to have all the features I want (and Might take years before I can find that, if ever) ordering exactly what I want in the price range I want makes a lot more sense.

I don’t care about balls to the wall power. My Raptors got that and more. I just want something fun, sporty, and comfortable for daily driving. I’ve yet to come across a better bang for the buck (on paper) for my needs than the 18 EB Premium. Maybe my opinion will change after a test drive and if it does, frankly, for $50k, I can go find a certified used luxury coupe that would fit my needs better than a loaded up GT.

Whole point of my original post was just to see if I was in the ballpark for what I wanted. Big thanks to all those who stayed on point!

Hey all,
Quick follow up for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation as me.

I finally got a chance to test drive one this weekend and everything (including the interaction with the out of town dealer) was... pretty disappointing. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with the mustang (save for one area, which I’ll get to). It’s everything most people here say it is. Just be aware it is a very purpose built car for a pretty specific mission. Working as a daily driver for a bigger guy with 3 medium sized dogs and living in an area that is winter like for 8 months out of the year ain’t it.

I’m 6’ 230 lbs (not fat, but pretty wide through the shoulders). The Mustang isn’t uncomfortable and can be adjusted to fit me well enough, but is still pretty tight. I’d equate it to the cockpit of small single engine bonanza or Cessna 150. Sitting on the floor without much elbow room.

As for the dealer, the first guy that talked to us wouldn’t even let us test drive because “the roads were too icy.” having just driven 2 Hours on those same roads to get there and not having hit a single patch of anything that could be considered remotely icy, I was somewhat dubious. I told him me buying a car from them was pretty much contingent on test driving one, to which he mumbled something and walked away. After 15 minutes of standing there a second salesman (new kid that’d been there for a week and did not know Anything) finally came over and opened a gt350 in the showroom for us to look at and sit in. After explaining we just wanted to take it up and down the interstate a few miles to get a feel for it, the kid gets permission to let us take it out an eco boost for a short spin.

We all hop in (sales kid in the back), play with all the buttons for a bit. It wasn’t a fully loaded model, but was a 200a and had most of the typical options. I set the drive mode to “winter/snow” and away we went. I drove normal all the way out and onto the interstate. Not bad. No slop in the steering and the ride was ok, considering I’m used to riding around in a 7000lbs truck designed for soaking up bumps. It was a bit stiffer than I might have thought and seemed to want to lightly bounce a bit over cracks in the road.

Once in the interstate and clear of other cars, At about 40mph or so, I stepped on the gas a bit. I didn’t floor it, but I also did not hit it hard enough to cause the 10 speed to down shift or rpm to go up more than 1000 or so. That was apparently enough to make the mustang shake it’s ass around. On nearly dry, salted roads! 90% of the driving I do in the winter is in road conditions a damn sight worse than that! It’s like there was absolutely Zero traction control in that thing! Im no stranger to rwd on ice. I’ve been driving a rwd of some sort in this area since I was 13. I have to completely disable the Traction control in my raptor to get it to do what that ecoboost did. I tried it again, in what looked to be an even clear spot on the road. Same thing. WTH? I tried a few other drive/steering modes. Meh. Throttle response was good and I didn’t notice any turbo lag (though I never did get to open it up to really see). The 10 speed was pretty smooth and it seemed to have plenty of power.

Overall, I can see how it would be a great car for the track (and that’s where the GT would definitely be worth the upgrade price). The ecoboost would make a great weekend cruiser anywhere that never sees temps below 50 degrees. Neither of those are practical for me where I live. Combined with the minimal interior space for anything more than the pilot and there’s no way a mustang makes any sense for me. (No matter how good it looks or how much fun it might be in 5% of my total driving time).

3 months of obsessive research, planning and dreaming out the window. :-/ oh well.

Last week I’d started researching alternatives that would be a better fit in the same price range $40-50k should I find myself in the above situation. Really glad I did. We drove over to the local Audi dealership and took a ride in a new 2018 A5 Sportback. Looks like a 4door sport coupe. Whole back end lifts up and the rear seats fold true flat for a ton of easy load dog room! It’s got the total luxury interior feel and ride, but still has a lot of snap. Head to head with the ecoboost on a closed track it would probably lag behind a bit in performance, but on that particular afternoon on the “icy” roads it blew the doors off the ecoboost! No slip, instant power! Awd is freaking cool! ;-). I’m pretty well sold on getting one of these loaded up Certified Preowned (>7000 miles) for less than the price of a loaded up GT!

This is in no way a bash against the stang or Ford. It just didn’t fit my needs or wants as well as I expected on paper. Just thought it’d be good to share my take for others that might be on the fence with the same considerations as me. Better to know before buying a car that doesn’t put an absolute grin on your face every time you climb in it. The mustang wasn’t going to do it for me, unfortunately.

Finally, I just wanted to say a big thanks to all those on the forums sharing your experiences and information. It’s great to see and active community with so much collective knowledge. It makes things so much easier when you can walk into the dealership with more knowledge than the salesman. ;-)

sorry to hear that. a lot of daily our mustangs in winter and you need snow tires. and the gt isn't even in the same conversation as the EB. maybe go look at chargers if you need a bigger fun car

Do you know what tires were on the car that you were test driving? I would expect the summer tires to be pretty bad on cold, salt glazed roads. AWD with less HP is bound to be more manageable.

As I price them out an similarly optioned A5 runs a little more than $10k more than a loaded EB Mustang, so I can see a used A5 being about the same cost. Certified pre-owned is important. I wouldn't own an Audi out of warranty.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

I’m not saying they can’t be daily driven in the winter and I know snow tires make a difference. But this eco boost had all seasons and the roads were practically dry. What little bit of ice that was there, shouldn’t have been causing ANY fish tailing, especially given the fact that I wasn’t hammering the pedal and cranking the wheel.

The GT is really a moot point for me. I don’t see any of my issues with the ecoboost being any better in a GT and the extra power isn’t going to make winter driving any better. It just doesn’t work for me. For me I equate it to the same thing as a snowmobile, motorcycle, jet ski,etc... absolute blast to go out and drive, when the weather is right. And, like most of those things, I’d have to travel a ways to enjoy it in the best environment.

Not a fan of the chargers, personally. Really, most of the sub-luxury vehicles don’t excite me a whole bunch, with a few exceptions that are priced pretty high out of my budget. (New vettes, etc...) As I said, The Audi A5 sportback fits about 95% of my driving and needs. A bigger engine and a couple fringe extras (remote start, which can be done aftermarket) are about the only real things missing. The fact that it’s AWD with better mileage just sweetens the deal for me. :-)