Glad I wasn't driving a convertible...

[Computer Guy]

Matt get a 350, you wont regret it, you loved the one you review and it was a base. Just do it

GT350s are awesome cars, but just be prepared for sticker shock when seeing the insurance bill. Six months of insurance on my 2011 Mustang GT premium has been hovering at about $520 since I bought the car new. When I bought the 2017 GT350 in July 2016, its insurance was just over $1000 for 6 months. Late last year the GT350's insurance cost symbols were updated by the insurance company, resulting in the 6 month insurance cost increasing to $1689 - so three times as expensive as the insurance on the Mustang GT. These rates are through Michigan Farm Bureau for a 40+ year old person who has never received a ticket, has never had an at fault accident, has multiple vehicles and a home insured through the same company, has had a policy with the company for 15+ years, and I am the only driver on the policy (in other words, I qualify for all of the available discounts).

I had a lengthy discussion with the insurance agent yesterday about the price hike. The best that we could determine is that when the insurance was first put on the car, it was treated like a $61,000 Mustang GT, but now it is in its own cost category lumped into a new "most expensive Mustang" group that also covers the GT350R that with dealer markups has an insurance calculated replacement cost of $80,000 to $100,000. The insurance agent advised that his insurance company will be switching to a new insurance calculation system that is based on the car's full VIN, so there is likely to be another jump up or down in October.

The recent ~70% jump in insurance rate for the GT350 is not specific to Michigan Farm Bureau, as other people reported seeing similar jumps with other insurance companies.

Just throwing this out there as a potential warning for people who do not quality for the maximum insurance discounts due to age, tickets, accidents, etc. - owning a GT350 is not cheap.

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[Bullitt]

Hey Matt if you got a regular 2018 Mustang GT what color would you get? What sucks is guard is back on the F150 for 2018. I saw a '15-'17 GTPP in guard and thought it looked great with the black wheels. Even my dad who isn't a car guy at all told me he saw a new Mustang in a "beautiful" green. It's definitely a very unique color.

If I had to get a regular 2018 I'm not sure what color I'd get. I do really like Lightning Blue and Ruby Red, but I'm thinking I'd probably just get a wrap that's close to highland green put on it.

 

[El Diablo]

GT350s are awesome cars, but just be prepared for sticker shock when seeing the insurance bill. Six months of insurance on my 2011 Mustang GT premium has been hovering at about $520 since I bought the car new. When I bought the 2017 GT350 in July 2016, its insurance was just over $1000 for 6 months. Late last year the GT350's insurance cost symbols were updated by the insurance company, resulting in the 6 month insurance cost increasing to $1689 - so three times as expensive as the insurance on the Mustang GT. These rates are through Michigan Farm Bureau for a 40+ year old person who has never received a ticket, has never had an at fault accident, has multiple vehicles and a home insured through the same company, has had a policy with the company for 15+ years, and I am the only driver on the policy (in other words, I qualify for all of the available discounts).

I had a lengthy discussion with the insurance agent yesterday about the price hike. The best that we could determine is that when the insurance was first put on the car, it was treated like a $61,000 Mustang GT, but now it is in its own cost category lumped into a new "most expensive Mustang" group that also covers the GT350R that with dealer markups has an insurance calculated replacement cost of $80,000 to $100,000. The insurance agent advised that his insurance company will be switching to a new insurance calculation system that is based on the car's full VIN, so there is likely to be another jump up or down in October.

The recent ~70% jump in insurance rate for the GT350 is not specific to Michigan Farm Bureau, as other people reported seeing similar jumps with other insurance companies.

Just throwing this out there as a potential warning for people who do not quality for the maximum insurance discounts due to age, tickets, accidents, etc. - owning a GT350 is not cheap.

What people are charged for insurance is totally variable. We are all at the mercy of where we live, age, driving history Etc...

You got hit with a ridiculous increase.

I would dump the insurance company if they jacked me 70%. Shop around.
Geico rates were much much higher than my current rates with Progressive.

My GT350 went up only marginally from my 15 GT.

I have a clean record, age 40+

I pay $827 every 6 months. Some pay more and some pay less.
Here is a screen shot directly from my Progressive account.

 

[Maggneto]

Glad you are OK. Perhaps the lack of a sun roof also helped shield you from some type of injury. Our other car has a panoramic roof and I was driving under some trees yesterday hoping that a tree branch didn't crash thru the roof.

 

[Computer Guy]

What people are charged for insurance is totally variable. We are all at the mercy of where we live, age, driving history Etc...

You got hit with a ridiculous increase.

I would dump the insurance company if they jacked me 70%. Shop around.
Geico rates were much much higher than my current rates with Progressive.

My GT350 went up only marginally from my 15 GT.

I have a clean record, age 40+

I pay $827 every 6 months. Some pay more and some pay less.
Here is a screen shot directly from my Progressive account.

El Diablo,
Thanks for sharing your line item insurance rates - very interesting. I do not want to be the cause of this thread derailing too far into a discussion about insurance rates - the intention was to give the OP and others a heads up that it appears that several insurance companies are in the process of reclassifying the GT350 so that it is no longer just a more expensive version of a Mustang GT, but instead a special Mustang that is expensive to repair and/or replace (possibly due to the carbon fiber parts on the GT350R, the comparatively low production of the GT350R, and the high dealer markups on that model). My original insurance rate seemed high but still reasonable considering the cost of the car. The unexpected insurance adjustment a few months after purchase is not situation that I would want someone else to experience without fair warning.

For anyone interested, the link to the recent discussion about GT350 insurance cost spikes, and a summary of the insurance price changes that I found in that thread:
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84913
Amica +$250 for 6 months
Amica +$500 for 6 months
State Farm +$138 for 6 months
Progressive +$20 for 6 months
Progressive +$280 for 6 months (change within last 2 weeks)
USAA + (not specified)
Geico + (not specified)
Geico + $60 for 6 months
Liberty Mutual $2500 for 6 months vs. $700 for Ameriprise

I will personally wait to see what happens to the insurance rates in the coming months with my current insurance provider and others to see if it is still beneficial to switch. If the attached picture is visible, you will see that my coverage is similar to El Diablo's coverage, except that I have actual replacement value coverage (adds $20 per 6 months), and also emergency road service - several of the individual line item charges are lower on my policy for some reason. The individual line item costs for the 2011 Mustang GT and 2017 GT350 for 6 months (ex: $39.30 for bodily injury liability, $2.55 for property damage liability, $8.41 for property protection insurance, $167.77 for personal injury protection (might be a Michigan only charge)) are identical (but higher than the line item charges for the 2013 F150 Lariat 4x4). It is just the line items where the insurance company calculated the cost of repair/replacement where the bills for insurance differ significantly, which suggests that the $15,000+ replacement cost of the carbon fiber wheels on the GT350R may have been a factor in the cost calculation.

To the OP: a 2018+ Mustang GT with magnetic ride control might not have the looks, exact feel, or the audio quality of a GT350, but the GT's long-term total cost of ownership will certainly be much lower that of the GT350. That said, fixing and keeping your current car is probably the best approach.

 

[NoVaGT]

Well at this point insurance is saying they're gonna fix it unless the body shop finds way more expensive damage once they start taking stuff apart. Pretty bummed, I'm worried this car is going to basically be worthless at this point.

Relax.

My last car was hit 8 times.

8.

Friggin'.

Times.

I got over Blue Book trade in towards my current car.

 

[Bullitt]

Relax.

My last car was hit 8 times.

8.

Friggin'.

Times.

I got over Blue Book trade in towards my current car.

Wow, that's impressive. All showed on CarFax and dealer didn't mind?

 

[Bullitt]

So, interesting development with the car. It's still in pieces and I'll post photos later after my visit to the body shop this afternoon.

So, I know the owner of the body shop through a mutual friend and worked with him last year when the car was sideswiped. When I was in today to look at it, he offered to buy the car from me. He said he'd pay whatever I owe on my loan ($26k). So I'd sign the insurance check for the repairs over to him (I was gonna pay him the same amount anyway obviously once the repairs are done), and then he'd write me a check for $26k. So in effect, it's almost like it has the same effect as if it were totaled. I could walk away owing nothing, wash my hands of the car, buy another car this weekend and be back to enjoying a Mustang with a clean carfax instead of waiting another 11 days for my car, and then having the challenge of trying to trade it in next year if Ford makes a Bullitt.

The owner said he'd actually keep the car for himself for a while so I don't think this is really about making money to him. The only possible downside I can see is starting a new loan on a new car and then being upside down on that loan in 9 months if a Bullitt arrives next spring. I'd do a 60 month loan on it with basically nothing down probably.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before? Any opinions or advice would be appreciated.

 

[jasonstang]

The sucky part is you wasted the money you already have paid into your loan and you have nothing for it.
I think if the insurance totals it, they would value it higher so you can actually get some money back.

 

[BmacIL]

So, interesting development with the car. It's still in pieces and I'll post photos later after my visit to the body shop this afternoon.

So, I know the owner of the body shop through a mutual friend and worked with him last year when the car was sideswiped. When I was in today to look at it, he offered to buy the car from me. He said he'd pay whatever I owe on my loan ($26k). So I'd sign the insurance check for the repairs over to him (I was gonna pay him the same amount anyway obviously once the repairs are done), and then he'd write me a check for $26k. So in effect, it's almost like it has the same effect as if it were totaled. I could walk away owing nothing, wash my hands of the car, buy another car this weekend and be back to enjoying a Mustang with a clean carfax instead of waiting another 11 days for my car, and then having the challenge of trying to trade it in next year if Ford makes a Bullitt.

The owner said he'd actually keep the car for himself for a while so I don't think this is really about making money to him. The only possible downside I can see is starting a new loan on a new car and then being upside down on that loan in 9 months if a Bullitt arrives next spring. I'd do a 60 month loan on it with basically nothing down probably.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before? Any opinions or advice would be appreciated.

I would take this deal. Find something cheap to drive for a while to wait it out. You may be able to find a '17 GT on huge discount that will negate some of the depreciation. Alternatively, find a lightly used GT that's already had most of its depreciation hit out of the way so whatever loan you may get will be small.

 

[Muff Muff]

So, interesting development with the car. It's still in pieces and I'll post photos later after my visit to the body shop this afternoon.

So, I know the owner of the body shop through a mutual friend and worked with him last year when the car was sideswiped. When I was in today to look at it, he offered to buy the car from me. He said he'd pay whatever I owe on my loan ($26k). So I'd sign the insurance check for the repairs over to him (I was gonna pay him the same amount anyway obviously once the repairs are done), and then he'd write me a check for $26k. So in effect, it's almost like it has the same effect as if it were totaled. I could walk away owing nothing, wash my hands of the car, buy another car this weekend and be back to enjoying a Mustang with a clean carfax instead of waiting another 11 days for my car, and then having the challenge of trying to trade it in next year if Ford makes a Bullitt.

The owner said he'd actually keep the car for himself for a while so I don't think this is really about making money to him. The only possible downside I can see is starting a new loan on a new car and then being upside down on that loan in 9 months if a Bullitt arrives next spring. I'd do a 60 month loan on it with basically nothing down probably.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before? Any opinions or advice would be appreciated.

Take the deal, get a beater off of Craigslist, and wait for the 2018s to come out.

 

[MyFirst5.0]

while losing what you paid into it sucks, i would walk away from it. its been in for 2 major repairs and the issues with trading it in if/when that time comes is something i wouldnt want to deal with.

 

[Ecoboosted]

Yea having a car with 2 major fixes sucks and doesn't look good on a car fax report. Selling it for what you owe and having nothing to show for it or have money to help with another car sucks too. Tough call. Good luck. Let us know what you decided.

 

[JohnDoe]

You should get the new Camaro, but stay on this forum so you can tell us all the differences over time.

 

[Bullitt]

I would take this deal. Find something cheap to drive for a while to wait it out. You may be able to find a '17 GT on huge discount that will negate some of the depreciation. Alternatively, find a lightly used GT that's already had most of its depreciation hit out of the way so whatever loan you may get will be small.

Driving a beater is risky to me still since there's no guarantee a Bullitt is coming, and I still think IF there is no Bullitt coming I'd rather have a Guard 2016 over a different colored 2018 (call me crazy). Amazingly there's 1 car almost identical to mine for sale that can be had with a short fly-in-drive-home trip. It's another Guard 2016 with 15k miles. Clean carfax, former corporate fleet car. They want 30k.

Buying that car would give me a little security too so I wouldn't feel forced into a Bullitt if the new 5.0 ends up having teething first year problems that scare me away, I can just keep the 2016.

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