Considering Purchasing >20 Track Day 2017 Gt350 With Over 55k Miles

[Muligan]

Back to the OP..... dang, 20+ track days is just getting started. The Rented Mule had four seasons, 16,000 miles, and untold drivers under its belt at the Ford Performance Racing School GT350 Track Attack program before I became it's new caretaker.

C'mon in..... the water's fine.

Enjoying a day along the windy shores of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin after attending a car show in Williams Bay last fall. The Mule sees a little street use from time-to-time, just for fun.

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[Lorne34]

Back to the OP..... dang, 20+ track days is just getting started. The Rented Mule had four seasons, 16,000 miles, and untold drivers under its belt at the Ford Performance Racing School GT350 Track Attack program before I became it's new caretaker.

C'mon in..... the water's fine.

Enjoying a day along the windy shores of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin after attending a car show in Williams Bay last fall. The Mule sees a little street use from time-to-time, just for fun.

your my shelby gt350 track hero chris! It's guys like you and kevin (honey badger) that inspire me to keep going!

 

[Kachow]

Can you buy an extended warranty through a dealer in california? That would be a pre-requisite for me if buying one of these cars with 56k on the clock.

Personally, I would spend some extra coin and find a lower mileage example. Interested to hear your feedback once you get it - I also had a 1SS1LE.

 

[StangersInTheNight]

Why can’t you buy the Ford ESP on-line. I’m in CA (unless you mean Canada not California ) I’ve bought my ESP from flood Ford on-line for both new (2022 Mach) and used (2018 Raptor) never an issue, honored by ford, both attached to my vins never a problem.

I believe you have to buy ESP within 41 months of start of original warranty. So if car is out of 3/36 month warranty by more than 5 months, no ESP.

 

[Bikeman315]

I believe you have to buy ESP within 41 months of start of original warranty. So if car is out of 3/36 month warranty by more than 5 months, no ESP.

That's for a new car ESP. There are also used car ESP's.

 

[mustang5o]

... The positives are it has a powertrain warranty until next year, but since I'm in CA, I can't buy the Ford ESP warranty online...

What state is the car in now? Maybe the current owner can buy an ESP? They are transferrable. It would probably help with the sale of the car anyway if for some reason your deal didn't go through.

 

[19-kilo]

My thoughts.
$50k for an R is a steal! Assuming maintenance and service changes all been performed. But mileage is wear and tear and should be deducted from value


Track miles are about 10x harder than street miles. So at 20 track days you could estimate 3,000 track miles. ~30,000 miles of wear and tear. Making the car more like a ~70,000 mile wear and tear car.
If maintenance is done and we’ll cared for, I’d be more comfortable with more miles vs a lower mile car that wasn’t loved.

PPI for sure !
The GT350R is the most fun car I’ve ever driven (and I’ve driven some good ones )

 

[Whopperman]

I've got just over 31k miles on my R and it's awesome. As long as you know its been serviced and have driven it you should be good. Just check the normal stuff like speakers, transmissions, heat/AC, body lines, paint, rims, and the short throw dipstick ;)

 

[Johnnydarkgt350]

Some thoughts on a high performance car with miles , they have adjusted the price for sure . Great deal to get into a GT350 if that you’re budget limit area . The thoughts of your mentioning 50 k rang opens up a lower mile more Re-sellable Shelby or an R . Sometimes spending enough can save you money when resale miles : confidence for the next owner costs to operate come into mind . There’s a lot of moving parts to consider on a high performance car , more costly and higher wear factors when pushed . Some consider 25-30 k miles high and might let there’s go very reasonably. Shopping more is a no cost option and increases your knowledge. At 56 k your only 4 k from 60 and 14 from 70k Miles’s where it value will be only in how cheaply the next owner can buy it for .

 

[Hobdul]

Can you buy an extended warranty through a dealer in california? That would be a pre-requisite for me if buying one of these cars with 56k on the clock.

Yes, but they just don't compete on price like Flood, Lombard, etc. do. For example, I just got a quote from a Bay Area dealer on a five-year/30K mile used ESP (I'm out of bumper to bumper, just under powertrain), and it was $5900 with a AAA discount, compared to $4200 for the same plan from Lombard.

 

[mustang5o]

You can add Granger Ford to the list of dealers offering discounted Ford ESP https://grangerfordextendedwarranty.com/

 

[CANTWN4LSN]

Just a few thoughts although not determinative for you as emotions tend to rule car purchases:
1) Agree wholeheartedly with Tomster's earlier reply. The number indicated in other posts is 40 hrs of track time per engine refresh. For 20 track days at three 20 minute sessions you're halfway there. Throw on the other 50+k miles and that added expense could become very real.
2) Just a guess but a non-tracked GT350 probably has a lower average engine lifespan than a non-FPC car just because of NVH unique to it. Nevertheless still probably good for over 150,000 miles with timely maintenance. But if the engine does crap out because of the higher risk with track use, could be looking at up to $30k as already mentioned vs. salvage hunk of metal. Whether you can afford that or willing to risk is up to you.
3) Is there a reason the most recent owner wants to unload it after one year as presumably he/she didn't put the track miles on it? Does it burn much oil as 2017s more prone to that ( I own a 2017)?
4)Are you planning on tracking it?

Personally I think $43,900 is a lot considering those risks unless you can afford it. Might be worth it if it was untracked. You might want to look for a non-tracked newer model if you can't get a lower price on this one.

 

[km1075]

Not sure if you ended up purchasing the 20+ track day GT350, but maybe the question is less a direct answer to your question about whether purchase price is fair on a track day GT350 and more perhaps a separate post soliciting feedback from high mileage owners who also track their GT350s? As odometer hits 20K, 30K miles on a track day car, I too am curious the magnitude of repairs and dollars invested.

 

[Lorne34]

Not sure if you ended up purchasing the 20+ track day GT350, but maybe the question is less a direct answer to your question about whether purchase price is fair on a track day GT350 and more perhaps a separate post soliciting feedback from high mileage owners who also track their GT350s? As odometer hits 20K, 30K miles on a track day car, I too am curious the magnitude of repairs and dollars invested.

You may want to check out Honey Badgers thread or you tube videos. He did a complete tear down of a high track mileage gt350 and showed the condition and level of wear that you might typically find. Great thread and videos

 

[km1075]

You may want to check out Honey Badgers thread or you tube videos. He did a complete tear down of a high track mileage gt350 and showed the condition and level of wear that you might typically find. Great thread and videos

Thank you. I had seen those. I do enjoy his posts and videos. My impression is that Honey Badger is a seriously advanced 9 or 10/10ths driver. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about extra wear caused by the intermediate or low advanced driver - your average five or six times a year track day person.

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