15 to 18 GT, Worth It? Deadline 4/2 to Decide

Hello, looking for some Mustang Forum friends advice...

I have been shopping a few dealers the last few weeks about ordering an 18 from the factory and I need to decide this weekend if it's worth it because Tuesday morning is order deadline?
The only reason I would be trading in my moderately modded and very well taken care of, beautiful Mustang is so my wife can drive when I need her Jeep for certain things. She just can't get the hang of Manual Trans so I need to go to the boring Automatic.
I would keep my summer wheel/tire setup and every other bolt on I can remove from the car that's in my Signature. Warranty is up on mine as well.
Here's the Best Deal I can get...
My Car:
I owe $16K 3 years later on a $33K car loan that I put $2k down on.
Dealer offered $25K for my car
Leaves me $9k in pocket!

New Order:
18 Royal Crimson, 400A, 3.55 10 Speed, Active Exhaust, spare - MSRP ~$43800
Dealer price: $39K ($5k off msrp)

Basically back to square one on my loan 3 years later with a brand new 10-speed 18 from factory

Would you do it??

ChitownStang said:

Hello, looking for some Mustang Forum friends advice...

I have been shopping a few dealers the last few weeks about ordering an 18 from the factory and I need to decide this weekend if it's worth it because Tuesday morning is order deadline?
The only reason I would be trading in my moderately modded and very well taken care of, beautiful Mustang is so my wife can drive when I need her Jeep for certain things. She just can't get the hang of Manual Trans so I need to go to the boring Automatic.
I would keep my summer wheel/tire setup and every other bolt on I can remove from the car that's in my Signature. Warranty is up on mine as well.
Here's the Best Deal I can get...
My Car:
I owe $16K 3 years later on a $33K car loan that I put $2k down on.
Dealer offered $25K for my car
Leaves me $9k in pocket!

New Order:
18 Royal Crimson, 400A, 3.55 10 Speed, Active Exhaust, spare - MSRP ~$43800
Dealer price: $39K ($5k off msrp)

Basically back to square one on my loan 3 years later with a brand new 10-speed 18 from factory

Would you do it??

Click to expand...

opcorn:

Well, I did. No buyer's remorse whatsoever.

That much better huh?

No. I'd rather row gears, versus having the tranny do it, itself.

Happy wife = happy life.

1) If the boss isn't comfortable with manual transmission, and 2) the numbers regarding the trade and/or new purchase make sense to you... Then it's time to pull the trigger and hope your '18 gets in the order bank in time.

Edit:

And threads like this CLICK HERE don't make the A10 sound bad at all... once paired with the 3.55 rear.

if the numbers are right then go for it! i drove a 10spd the other day, and my 15gtpp is gonna get traded! hell even my 04 cobra maybe be on the block.

So you're looking to sell the Mustang because your wife cannot drive it. Note that it's taken three years to finally consider her needs. Hmm... Me thinks somebody is trying to justify an 18' purchase.

My take it on it is this: If you love the car that you have now and genuinely do not wish to sell it, then keep it and buy her an inexpensive (gently used?) automatic sedan. If however, if you've driven the new 18' and feel like it's worth the loss that you'll take on your current car, then go for it! Other people on this forum have made the same move and, as you can see above, there don't seem to be too many regrets. Either way, I wish you luck on the decision making process!

edit: It's also worth noting that experiences vary. For example, just yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time with an (a10) 18' GT with 3.55 gears and PP1. I also have some seat time in the base auto 18' and a gussied up premium auto 18'. I really enjoyed my time with all three cars and can see why people are so hyped up about them. That said, I feel like my lowly base 17' with 3.15 gears, a FPP power pack 2, and a throttle response controller, is a lot more fun to drive. Particularly in real world conditions. Now... if I lived my life one quarter mile at a time, then I'd be singing a different tune.

I made that choice and have no remorse what so ever! I didn't find the need for the extra bells and whistles though. My 18 I got for 32k (base auto) so my payments actually went down. I love this auto and it only takes a little while to get used to how to swing it around without the clutch. I certainly don't find it boring at all! I have been driving manuals for 25+ years now. I also don't mind that it will be perfect for the occasional trip to the drag strip either. The 18 makes more power with less mods and gets better fuel mileage to boot. Of course I also went from only using the GT on the weekend to using it (enjoying it) as a daily! Good luck with your decision!

ChitownStang said:

Would you do it??

Click to expand...

Seems like about 40k is the going rate. No issues there.

But you still owe on a car that is three years old?

If we were really friends, I'd probably push into your finances more to see if you can really afford the car... see if your 401k is maxed out, if you are stable in other areas financially. Could be you still owe on this car and it works (use it for work/videos so it makes money, etc... anything is possible, I don't assume the worst because someone decided to make payments). Will she honestly want to drive "your car" even if an automatic? How many times a year? Would you be better off with another vehicle? Lots of boring questions that no one really wants to answer...

I saved up for a new car last month and "spent" part of the money maxing out my roth IRA and other savings for the year (on top of the 401k). I'll keep savings and get new (or newish) car sometime in May or June. I generally like paying a car off within 12 months of purchase (I know... if you have 0% interest and can use the money to invest other places, yada, yada, yada... )

At any rate, my "forum friends" answer is: Go for it! If it is what you want, do it... make your wife happy now... yourself happy with a new toy. You have 9k in your pocket! Ha ha....

Anyway, life is short, do whatever you want.

So did you order it?

Boring automatic? :frusty: trust me i'm a manual guy but the 10R80 is far from boring it almost has a mind of it's own esp in sport mode it even rev matches, youll be surprised

There’s also an opportunity cost in pulling the trigger now. You have to assume there won’t be better choices available for you and your wife in the next year or two.

How often do you need to use the wife’s jeep? Can you rent a car for her (or have her use an Uber) for those days? A lot cheaper than buying a new car (and less painful than undoing your mods).

ChitownStang said:

Hello, looking for some Mustang Forum friends advice...

I have been shopping a few dealers the last few weeks about ordering an 18 from the factory and I need to decide this weekend if it's worth it because Tuesday morning is order deadline?
The only reason I would be trading in my moderately modded and very well taken care of, beautiful Mustang is so my wife can drive when I need her Jeep for certain things. She just can't get the hang of Manual Trans so I need to go to the boring Automatic.
I would keep my summer wheel/tire setup and every other bolt on I can remove from the car that's in my Signature. Warranty is up on mine as well.
Here's the Best Deal I can get...
My Car:
I owe $16K 3 years later on a $33K car loan that I put $2k down on.
Dealer offered $25K for my car
Leaves me $9k in pocket!

New Order:
18 Royal Crimson, 400A, 3.55 10 Speed, Active Exhaust, spare - MSRP ~$43800
Dealer price: $39K ($5k off msrp)

Basically back to square one on my loan 3 years later with a brand new 10-speed 18 from factory

Would you do it??

Click to expand...

No, because 3 years from now you may or may not be back at square one.
Nothing beats a paid off car. I’d imagine once paid off it will be 2021/2022, at that point the refresh or maybe another power bump maybe on the horizon. Maybe a dct mustang?

Nope. I can put the TFT cluster and Sync3 in my '15 and continue to rock it.


If the '18 had a panoramic roof then I might consider it. I am waiting on the C8 Corvette.

Don't do it. Pay off your loan then reevalute if the 2021 model is worth it.