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GT350 Maintenance - who to trust?

FLETCshooter

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I have read some horror stories about taking the GT350 to a dealer for maintenance. Is there a way to find out if they have mechanics qualified to work on one?

[EDIT] Based on comments so far I would like to see if we can make this thread work for the benefit of the GT350 family. So please try to follow the following criteria:

This thread is to help GT350 owners find recommended places to take their car for maintenance, repair, and mods. Not the specific product being added.


#1) To avoid this thread being shutdown, we want to avoid bashing a vendor, dealer or a poster. We will each have different experiences so respect each other’s opinions. So please just give a star rating, service done and no other comment will be needed. If there are multiple opinions for the same provider, I will post the stars and not the average. For example: Don Smith Ford received a 5 Star for an oil change and 2 Star for camber plate install.


#2) In your post please follow the following criteria (this will be added to the top of the thread):


Location: City, State

Company name: For Example: Don Smith Ford (made up name)

Rating: 1 Star = Horrible, 3 Star = Average, 5 Star = Above Expectations

Work Performed: For example: headers installed, oil change, tires swapped, etc. (no need to mention product = to avoid vendor bashing)
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datadatum

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This is a good question...

For the routine stuff - I trust nobody better than myself. I may be a total amateur, but oil changes and routine maintenance are completely within my skill set.

For bigger stuff, I interview mechanics until I find the right one. It is always one that has experience working on race cars. This worked out great for my other cars.

My GT350 hasn't needed anything under warranty, so I haven't started the interview process yet - and it would be great if people already had recommendations based on the mechanics qualifications and direct experience.
 

NoXiDe

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1) where are you in georgia? Glynco?

2) ask the dealer if they sell gt350s

3) if they do, they should have had someone complete the gt350 training program which is typically the master mechanic so... you're paying for the higher labor cost so technically the master mechanic would be qualified to work on the gt350

4) i completely understand.
 
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oldbmwfan

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I have the same issue with my Fiesta ST. I do all the work on the GT350; it's a weekend car only, low miles, all the work is "voluntary" (including the frequency of oil changes), and I can take my time and have fun with it. And I don't want people touching it.

For the Fiesta (and other cars), I want to do some work myself (oil changes, brakes, some suspension stuff), but other stuff I want to farm out (dealing with leaks or chasing down weird issues that trigger warning lights, alignments, etc). And sometimes I just want a second, experienced set of eyes on an issue.

For my BMWs, I have a stellar independent shop. They aren't cheap, but they are racers, they build and maintain race cars, they understand the degree to which I know and care about my cars, and their customer car work is excellent. This place does only BMW/Porsche/Audi, and therefore they know every quirk on every model and can advise on what the common issues are and what "makes sense while you're in there."

I want to find the same thing for my Fords, and I figured with Fords being so common and having such a huge enthusiast base across the trucks, the Mustang, the Fiesta/Focus ST and RS, etc., there would be great recommendations for speed shops and marque-focused techs who really know their stuff. I have come up totally dry when searching for this, even in major market like Chicago.

Where can I find a dedicated and enthusiastic Ford tech who knows the Ford Performance and ST cars well, preferably within a 30 minute drive of home in downtown Chicago?
 

Hack

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I didn't have much trouble with the local dealer. Except for the splitter. I had to do that myself. I did a fair amount of other things on my GT350 myself as well, but it wasn't because I didn't think the dealer could do the work. I just didn't want to spend the money for them to do some of the work.

I was actually pretty happy with the local dealer. I felt they treated the car like it was special. Of course around here any Mustangs are a little rare and the GT350 more so.
 

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nimblepony

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Mine has been great. I trust them because they have a performance shop. I have had them do all the upgrades on past cars I could not do myself and found they will do anything I ask them to. If it breaks warranty they warn me.

They are also an authorized Rousch shop and trust me as well. They let me test their new GT350s when they came out, as well as 700+ HP stage 3 Rousch cars they modified themselves.

I don't know if this, or really any of our experiences can help the OP. I guess experiences with dealers varies widely. The more they know you and the more you know them will teach you best how much you can trust them.
 

oldbmwfan

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My one dealer service experience with my local dealer (where I bought my R, but not my Fiesta) was for a recall on the Fiesta regarding a coolant temp sensor. The car came back with the system not bled properly so I made it about 2 miles before I needed a tow back to the dealer. Wasn't thrilled.
 

NoXiDe

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I'm sorry to hear that. When I went to the dealer to get my GT350 brake calipers swapped from gray to red. They had their best guy work on it and they knew it. Of course, the real test would be after I got the car and could brake. haha. They were like the guy takes his time and is slow but that's why we only allow him to work on the most delicate jobs like your caliper / bleed process and trim work cause he will take his time and ensure it's done right.
 
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honeybadger

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D.I.Y.

Can't stress this enough. Do. It.Yourself.

If you can't do it due to inexperience or lack of facilities, put out a call for help and one of our great community will help out for sure. Seriously can't stress this enough.You'll know more about your car, your car will be better taken care of, and you'll have less headaches.
 

oldbmwfan

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D.I.Y.

Can't stress this enough. Do. It.Yourself.

If you can't do it due to inexperience or lack of facilities, put out a call for help and one of our great community will help out for sure. Seriously can't stress this enough.You'll know more about your car, your car will be better taken care of, and you'll have less headaches.
Used to do 100% myself. I have the capabilities and a lift and the tools. But now I travel for work 3-4 days a week, some weekends, and frankly I just don't have time. And for a car that is a DD (Fiesta), I can't really risk it being down for 3 weeks because I started a repair, ran out of time, and then couldn't get back to it due to other demands.

With the hours I can spend on DIY, I'll prioritize my race car and the GT350 and the M5; I will farm out the Fiesta and my wife's TT as needed. It's super irritating to not have a trusted go-to when I just need someone else to help out.
 

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honeybadger

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Used to do 100% myself. I have the capabilities and a lift and the tools. But now I travel for work 3-4 days a week, some weekends, and frankly I just don't have time. And for a car that is a DD (Fiesta), I can't really risk it being down for 3 weeks because I started a repair, ran out of time, and then couldn't get back to it due to other demands.

With the hours I can spend on DIY, I'll prioritize my race car and the GT350 and the M5; I will farm out the Fiesta and my wife's TT as needed. It's super irritating to not have a trusted go-to when I just need someone else to help out.
Fortunately a Fiesta should be mostly fuel and go (with the occasional tire, brake pad, and oil change). But understandable. We do the same for my wife's car. But then again, it goes back at the end of the lease.
 

oldbmwfan

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Fortunately a Fiesta should be mostly fuel and go (with the occasional tire, brake pad, and oil change). But understandable. We do the same for my wife's car. But then again, it goes back at the end of the lease.
Yeah, and I've done all oil/brakes/etc. work on the Fiesta to date, along with other minor repairs. But right now I'm chasing a few warning lights and an intermittent CEL and it's frustrating me.
 

vancouver_voodoo

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If your dealer sells GT350 they should have mechanics that are trained to work on these cars. My dealer has a SVT team and I take the car to them. So far they've been great.
 
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FLETCshooter

FLETCshooter

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1) where are you in georgia? Glynco?

2) ask the dealer if they sell gt350s

3) if they do, they should have had someone complete the gt350 training program which is typically the master mechanic so... you're paying for the higher labor cost so technically the master mechanic would be qualified to work on the gt350

4) i completely understand.
Thank you. I work at FLETC but live near Savannah.
 
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FLETCshooter

FLETCshooter

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I see that there is a sticky for aftermarket parts, I would like to have a sticky for recommended places to take your car for maintenance, repair, and mods. Also places to avoid and why. What you think, is it worth a sticky? I need a place in SE GA - any recommendations?
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