GT350: Caveat Emptor

[DrumReaper]

I firmly believe that a blown 5.0 is more reliable than any vintage of Voodoo. The concept of the GT350 is very appealing, but they can't keep them alive and that makes the cost of ownership insane due to depreciation.

Nah, nope, negative...

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[SplawnDarts]

And yet they keep failing, year after year. It's almost like there's some sort of problem...

 

[DrumReaper]

And yet they keep failing, year after year. It's almost like there's some sort of problem...

Me thinks you were sitting and waiting for someone to pick up the bait, and silly little ole me did. Sheesh.

Every manufacturer has engine failures, year after year.

Move along little doggie... nothing to see here.

 

[shogun32]

It would seem infant mortality is the failure mode. So buy one, put 1500 honest miles on it every month for 3 months and if it's still alive, you should be good to go. Otherwise you may have to go thru an engine or two at Ford's expense.

 

[Lorne34]

 

[JAJ]

Me thinks you were sitting and waiting for someone to pick up the bait, and silly little ole me did. Sheesh.

These posters are mostly, if not entirely, a group of folks who don't have GT350's who are looking for a way to feel superior to people that do. It's weird to watch because having or not having a GT350 doesn't actually make anyone superior or inferior to anyone else. Very odd.

 

[Lorne34]

These posters are mostly, if not entirely, a group of folks who don't have GT350's who are looking for a way to feel superior to people that do. It's weird to watch because having or not having a GT350 doesn't actually make anyone superior or inferior to anyone else. Very odd.

Yeah, I really get dismayed sometimes on this forum when arguments break out between GT and GT350 people trying to justify their stance... I don't feel at all superior to anyone buying a Mustang in any iteration (yes, the 350 is classified under the Mustang banner). It's not a Lambo, Ferrari, etc costing 1.5 mil... If you get a chance, check out the show "the fastest car" on netflix. It's a reality show featuring 4-5 older model custom built cars (sleepers) pitted against a super car in a drag race, the winner goes on to the finals at the end of the season with prize money involved. I was shocked to see the prejudice and profiling displayed by not only the super car owner- who is often portrayed as a rich snob, but the "poor guys" with sleeper car builds who immediately profile and have an issue with the super car owner. One of the super car guys owned a vinyl company and started with nothing....built his business up with high end clientelle he's a super down to earth guy and knows cars and how to drag race.
We all have to set aside our impressions of people and give each other some grace. I've never owned a new car before in my life (bought the shelby used), raised 6 kids driving beater cars. I built a successful consulting practice over the last 15 years and this was my "present" to myself. Took an hour long pep talk from my wife to even pull the trigger because I was having a hard time justifying spending the 50k, even though my finances are fine and in order. I would hope people wouldn't judge me by first impressions of driving a Shelby vs a GT, a 88 GT fastback, 08 Mustang V6 etc... I love the car community in my area and just want to be one of the guys. Went to a car show a few years back with my GT and there was a guy who was part of a local mustang group and had his GT350 parked away from the rest of the crowd up against a building.. that just didn't sit right with me...

 

[Rocketman]

These posters are mostly, if not entirely, a group of folks who don't have GT350's who are looking for a way to feel superior to people that do. It's weird to watch because having or not having a GT350 doesn't actually make anyone superior or inferior to anyone else. Very odd.

Wrong. I am legitimately actively searching for a GT350, preferably a 19 or 20 because of the QOL improvements that were made, but am also worried about this "bad batch of valves" issue that I have seen a number of times. I know you guys can't see it since you're already in the bubble, but as someone who owns a lesser GT that is looking in, it's not hard to notice a trend.

I ran into these exact same responses when I was looking into a C6 Z06 during the valve guide issues with the LS7, except in that case it was easy to determine which cars were susceptible because it was confined to specific model years.

So my question is, is there any insight into which production dates are affected by this? And I assume Ford has resolved this problem with the supplier?

 

[wingnutt]

subscribed...just for the hell of it

 

[Lorne34]

The majority of issues were found in the 2017-18 model years. A lot of guys had no issue, but some did. The 2019-2020 has the gen2 engine which has a lot of improvements including the valves.. but there have been some reports of motors going bad. There are no recall threads of knowledge as to what build numbers are bad.....On the same note, if you go over to the GT500 section there have been guys with cross plane crank motors that have failed within early ownership. If you go to the Chevy forums, bmw forums, etc etc you are going to find issues with defective parts, etc... It's a risk you are going to have to take because there does not seem to be a magic bullet to fix or guarantee that your car will be trouble free... I posted the beating a dead horse because this has been discussed over and over and over again on too many threads to count and you get the same answers:
1. some guys are trouble free
2. some guys have had problems and Ford took care of it (ie engine replacement, etc) and they are happy
3. some guys have had problems and ford took care of it (ie engine replacement, etc) but for some reason the car has numerous issues related or unrelated to the engine replacement and lemon'd the car (buy back). The problem is that a few of them stick around to post sour lemons about their story. I feel bad for these guys, but go find something else if this didn't work and move on....don't drag the 350 through the mud when other manufacturers have stories as well.
Statistics show the failure rate is around 1-2%, so chances are good that you will be ok. I had to make the same decision. The horror stories had me frozen for over a year until I finally decided the risk was worth the reward.

 

[JAJ]

Wrong. I am legitimately actively searching for a GT350, preferably a 19 or 20 because of the QOL improvements that were made, but am also worried about this "bad batch of valves" issue that I have seen a number of times. I know you guys can't see it since you're already in the bubble, but as someone who owns a lesser GT that is looking in, it's not hard to notice a trend.

I ran into these exact same responses when I was looking into a C6 Z06 during the valve guide issues with the LS7, except in that case it was easy to determine which cars were susceptible because it was confined to specific model years.

So my question is, is there any insight into which production dates are affected by this? And I assume Ford has resolved this problem with the supplier?

Sorry if I lumped you in with the rest, but please take my word for it - when you own a GT350, you get pretty tired of the folks who don't have one talking about how unreliable they are. It gets old.

Every year of the GT350 has had a highly publicized engine problem. There's no concrete evidence that they're worse than any other brand or engine family, but they get outsized attention because "failed Voodoo" drives massive traffic on FB and YouTube. Don't believe everything you read or see on the internet about the Voodoo. For most of us, it's just a great part in a great car that we really enjoy driving.

 

[Joe Mac]

Yeah, I really get dismayed sometimes on this forum when arguments break out between GT and GT350 people trying to justify their stance... I don't feel at all superior to anyone buying a Mustang in any iteration (yes, the 350 is classified under the Mustang banner). It's not a Lambo, Ferrari, etc costing 1.5 mil... If you get a chance, check out the show "the fastest car" on netflix. It's a reality show featuring 4-5 older model custom built cars (sleepers) pitted against a super car in a drag race, the winner goes on to the finals at the end of the season with prize money involved. I was shocked to see the prejudice and profiling displayed by not only the super car owner- who is often portrayed as a rich snob, but the "poor guys" with sleeper car builds who immediately profile and have an issue with the super car owner. One of the super car guys owned a vinyl company and started with nothing....built his business up with high end clientelle he's a super down to earth guy and knows cars and how to drag race.
We all have to set aside our impressions of people and give each other some grace. I've never owned a new car before in my life (bought the shelby used), raised 6 kids driving beater cars. I built a successful consulting practice over the last 15 years and this was my "present" to myself. Took an hour long pep talk from my wife to even pull the trigger because I was having a hard time justifying spending the 50k, even though my finances are fine and in order. I would hope people wouldn't judge me by first impressions of driving a Shelby vs a GT, a 88 GT fastback, 08 Mustang V6 etc... I love the car community in my area and just want to be one of the guys. Went to a car show a few years back with my GT and there was a guy who was part of a local mustang group and had his GT350 parked away from the rest of the crowd up against a building.. that just didn't sit right with me...

 

[Joe Mac]

If I believed everything I've read on Forum Pages and the internet I'd never buy anything
I love my 2020 GT 350
No problems none
If you want one buy it, if not the new Kia maybe for you

 

[Rocketman]

If I believed everything I've read on Forum Pages and the internet I'd never buy anything
I love my 2020 GT 350
No problems none
If you want one buy it, if not the new Kia maybe for you

Right, because the alternative wouldn't be a C7 GS, or a 1LE, or even a Mach 1 but instead a Kia.

The two people who posted before you left thoughtful insights and then you decided to post that abortion of a comment so thanks I guess.

 

[EvilMerlin]

Right, because the alternative wouldn't be a C7 GS, or a 1LE, or even a Mach 1 but instead a Kia.

The two people who posted before you left thoughtful insights and then you decided to post that abortion of a comment so thanks I guess.

Well he wouldn't buy a C7 or 1LE simply because of all the issues they have.

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