Brand new to muscle. Well, almost..

Hello,

I've never been a muscle guy. Mustangs and camaros look sweet and they have power like no other. I've however been turned off by the the horrid rumors about unreliability, fit and finish problems, car falling apart(bumper, etc) after a few weeks, etc.

My friend has a 2015 GT that he wants to get rid of and I was thinking of taking it. Before i can make a decision, i need more information from you guys, the mustang experts.

These are the specs of my friend's GT:
Manual
40,500 miles
Flowmaster exhaust
Recaro racing seats
Cai
Bama tuning
Custom stripes
Custom hood
Custom rims
Blacked out rear and grill
Orange exterior
No techs

How are the 2015 models? Since it is the first year model of a redesign, would it be reasonable and somewhat accurate to think that they are plagued with problems that got ironed out in the later models? Is 2015 a recommended or an unrecommended year?

Also, i heard the v8 has some deadly unfixable problem that once you hear a knock from the engine, it is literally on a time clock to its death. Is there a way i can know if my friend's v8 will get that knock, before it actually gets it? Reminds me of rabies. Once you get rabies and symtoms show, it is too late and you will die a slow and painful death.

How's the overall reliability of these beasts? Can i expect to drive them into the 200k's? Or are they more of a "get your fun and sell them off" kind of cars?

Thanks everyone. I absolutely love the look of the new mustangs and i do want to try a muscle atleast once in my life. I just am not sure if my friend's is the one for me.

Atlanta has one of, if not the, biggest S550 group in the country so they must be decent. Find us on Facebook if you buy the car. Atlanta S550s.

I'd ask him if he's had any warranty or work done. At 40K miles most of the known problems would of already occurred by now that people post in the maint section.

Known big issues is driveshaft vibration, A/C evap core failing, panel fitment/alignment.

Monopoly said:

I'd ask him if he's had any warranty or work done. At 40K miles most of the known problems would of already occurred by now that people post in the maint section.

Known big issues is driveshaft vibration, A/C evap core failing, panel fitment/alignment.

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So is the engine knock not an issue for the 2015?

Lcbleu said:

Also, i heard the v8 has some deadly unfixable problem that once you hear a knock from the engine, it is literally on a time clock to its death. Is there a way i can know if my friend's v8 will get that knock, before it actually gets it? Reminds me of rabies. Once you get rabies and symtoms show, it is too late and you will die a slow and painful death.

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Where in the actual fvck did you hear that? Whoever told you that clearly doesn't understand engine knock. So I guess to actually answer the question, no this isn't an issue. Whatever that is...

How's the overall reliability of these beasts? Can i expect to drive them into the 200k's? Or are they more of a "get your fun and sell them off" kind of cars?

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There are Coyote engines with over 100,000 miles on them that are supercharged at reasonable boost levels (650 RWHP) with good tunes that keep trucking along without breaking a sweat.

Hopefully you didn't get your information from the import crowd. I only assume because of your current car. Mustangs aren't plagued with any issues any other car manufacture tends to deal with. Some cars are perfect, some come with a few issues that need to be addressed and well some people just have bad luck altogether. I had my first Ford/Mustang GT for 2 years, 31k miles and had no issues that weren't my own fault. On #2 and still have the same feeling of not being able to wait until the next time I get to sit in it and drive it. Mustang has one of the, if not, the BEST modding engines available in the tuning world. What other car that starts in the low 30k can make 800whp pretty safely without opening the block? There are people running 2011+ cars well over 100-200k, some of them pushing 500-700whp. As long as you know the car and the person who owned it and trust that they didn't dog the car go for it, assuming the price is right. Do you know if it's a performance package? Base (cloth?), premium? At that millage I wouldn't assume that car is worth much more than 22k at most, depending on the previous questions. Custom parts don't add to it's value so don't let them try to sell that to you.

nastang87xx said:

Where in the actual fvck did you hear that? Whoever told you that clearly doesn't understand engine knock. So I guess to actually answer the question, no this isn't an issue. Whatever that is...



There are Coyote engines with over 100,000 miles on them that are supercharged at reasonable boost levels (650 RWHP) with good tunes that keep trucking along without breaking a sweat.

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I think what he might be talking about is what has been referenced as the "BBQ Tick" issue. That's the one where, after the first (or one of the early) oil change, there is a sound that occurs at idle that sounds like a BBQ grill lighter snapping. From what I understand, it turns out to be a bad rod end bearing. But I didn't think this was a widespread issue. And if it hasn't happened by 40K miles, I don't think it's a likely issue.
One thing to consider, though, is how would you feel if some unforeseen issue crops up after you buy the car? Will your friend make good on the issue? If not, is this purchase worth risking your friendship? Any financial dealings with friends are fraught with risks like these. I'd think carefully before entering into a financial dealing with a friend. If he's willing to promise to make good on any unforeseen issues (within an agreed upon period of time), then fine. Otherwise, make sure you're prepared for the possibility that, no matter how honest and well intention-ed the deal, stuff breaks. No deal is worth risking a friendship.

Mustangs are not muscle cars. They used to be called Pony cars, now they're just Sports Coupes or Grand Touring cars.

If you decide to buy it, enjoy it. Nothing wrong with 2015 cars, should last you a good long time if properly maintained.

Check the build date..if March '15 or later probably gonna be good to go. The later part of '14 was trial and error for the manufacture.

I have an early built 2015 Mustang GT with 45000 miles. Daily driven at over 100 miles a day 5-6 days a week. No issues whatsoever and just regular oil changes and tire rotation. Like everyone says you either get lucky or not.

wireeater said:

Hopefully you didn't get your information from the import crowd. I only assume because of your current car. Mustangs aren't plagued with any issues any other car manufacture tends to deal with. Some cars are perfect, some come with a few issues that need to be addressed and well some people just have bad luck altogether. I had my first Ford/Mustang GT for 2 years, 31k miles and had no issues that weren't my own fault. On #2 and still have the same feeling of not being able to wait until the next time I get to sit in it and drive it. Mustang has one of the, if not, the BEST modding engines available in the tuning world. What other car that starts in the low 30k can make 800whp pretty safely without opening the block? There are people running 2011+ cars well over 100-200k, some of them pushing 500-700whp. As long as you know the car and the person who owned it and trust that they didn't dog the car go for it, assuming the price is right. Do you know if it's a performance package? Base (cloth?), premium? At that millage I wouldn't assume that car is worth much more than 22k at most, depending on the previous questions. Custom parts don't add to it's value so don't let them try to sell that to you.

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Agreed, as somebody who lived through the dark days of the 70's and 80's when cars came with 1 year 12,000 mile warranties and the cars were built like crap, we are spoiled today.

Having said that every single Mustang mechanically for me since 1985 has been fantastic, any failure was caused by me except for the T5, it was garbage and could break by looking at it wrong.

Build quality will be much better than your G37...you don't see Mustang guys repainting flaking steering wheels and grills lol..I know because when I needed 4 doors I had a g37s : )

NoVaGT said:

Mustangs are not muscle cars. They used to be called Pony cars, now they're just Sports Coupes or Grand Touring cars.

If you decide to buy it, enjoy it. Nothing wrong with 2015 cars, should last you a good long time if properly maintained.

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I was gonna say...it's usually the import crowd that thinks a Mustang is a Muscle car :lol:

Seriously, with the IRS in the S550, it's even more of a track machine that it's ever been. You couldn't track a modern Challenger-CG is too high, car is seriously overweight, and they can't touch what a Mustang can do on the skidpad.

Wow! This thread really took off. I appreciate each and every one of you that chimed in on my questions.

I have a question about the recaro seats. Are those height adjustable? Normal seats have head rests that can be extended or retracted but recaro head rests are a single piece connected to the body. Would short people be able to seat in recaro seats comfortably through adjustments to make the seat tailored to the driver's physique?

And my information is actually internet-gathered. I saw videos on youtube talking about fit and finish issues on mustangs and a few owners talking about how exterior parts of the car came loose soon after buying the car. As for the engine knock or tick or whatever problem, i think i might have picked that up from one of the car forums.

Recaros are height adjustable.