GT350 Worth Buying?

[jvandy50]

it is a fun car in my 500 miles. craziest part to me is how different it is from my 16GT...same rearend gearing, but these two transmissions are so vastly different.

being able to pull out in front of someone and get up to nearly highway speeds before shifting a single gear is pretty cool.

i do notice some interior vibrations and buzzing that i didn't get in a GT with offroad headers...guessing its just the nature of the beast.

one thing that swayed me was how much better a used 350 held value...if you end up not being happy, i think you can get most of your money back fairly quickly/easily

Sponsored

 

[sher-bant]

I retired my M3 for my 2017 gt350....No regrets.
And I still haven't even had it tuned.

 

[Flounder]

have around 5500 miles and no issues. Love driving the car and have tracked it once. if your looking for straight line speed and a great car i would suggest 911. The base car is very fast and u know about the handling. Guessing maybe 95,000.
Have had 3 porsches and love them, may get another sometime. GT 350 has been my favorite car

 

[torque124]

As I mentioned in a different medium recently, the most wonderfully glorious piece of automotive sh1t ever lol. Did you have the SMG?

No, never ever, always manual. Forever.

 

[Jimm]

I am a little different from the crowd here. I grew up racing Karts and eventually made it into low formula single seaters in my late teens. From that I prize handling over power. Because of that, up until now I had never owned an American "muscle" car of any type. My last cars before this one were WRXs and Evos...one of which I still own (great car BTW). The Evos in particular with minor suspension mods and a bit more power handle like a video game.

I had always liked the looks of the modern mustangs. Test drove a GT in 2012 when the coyote came out....great engine but the car felt big and didnt handle well at all. Test drive the current GT and it too needs loads of suspension work to make it a handling car. The GT350 drove like a Mustang designed for Evo owners. They are very close in feel and it feels like a car that weights 500 lbs less than the GT.

I have 6k on mine and love it. Only fit and finish issue I have had is the back bumper. Covered under warrenty so no big deal. I have no oil consumption issues so far. Air con works great. Forged pistons rattle so i dont care about that. Paint is very smooth. Clutch doesnt bother me either as I am used to adapting to racing clutches whic run the gambet including very touchy.

For the rest of it...i have lots of buddies into a bunch of different cars. Highe performamce models all have their quirks. Mercs from the early 2000s had issues with leaky radiators that would deposit coolant into the transmission and kill it if not caught in time. There are about a decade of 911s in the 90s and early 2000s that have a seal problem that is destined to fail and cause a catastophic failure. Wrx/STis blow from spun crank barings. The Evo I own now has issues with the timing chain stretching after about 60-80k miles and there is an issue with the differental oiling pin that needs to be changed out if you are goung to do hard launches. I addressed these and because the rest of the stock internals are so well made now it will probably go 250-300k miles if I want.

All models with high performace have issues. Want a worry free car? Buy a normal car that looks sporty and trade often. Want a true performance car? Be ready to learn about it to stay a head of the few issues they all have and you should be able to enjoy the fun these cars provide.

 

[eric n]

I wasn't looking for a fast straight line car. I do appreciate the higher revving 5.2 V8 and the road course oriented setup.

Are there any quality issues with the GT350 or any problems?

I have had no issues with quality. I could not be happier with the choice. It's a great drivers car.

 

[CANTWN4LSN]

Although many here daily drive this car, I would not advise you to buy this car for that purpose. Why? Other that constantly worrying about scraping your front splitter, as others have stated, where this car comes alive just can't be taken advantage of in usual daily driving. High revs in 1st or 2nd without being able to go further just isn't that much fun to me especially when you're already doing 70 by then. Never tracked and probably never will but touring this car and taking advantage of it on long stretches of interstate or twisty two lane roads in the power band, now that is a whole lot of fun. It cruises beautifully and is very comfortable/effortless on long trips. Can be doing 70 with cruise control on in 6th, if/when you need to pass, climb a hill, or just open it up for a stretch you downshift to 3rd or 4th and row up and enjoy the hell out of it. If that or tracking is not what you are looking for and you want a Mustang then I would say wait for the new GT500 which will probably be an all around hell of a car. Sometimes we fall in love with a car or an idea of a car and it's hard to let that go even if it isn't what we really want.

 

[Prowl647]

I get what you are saying [MENTION=15823]CANTWN4LSN[/MENTION] and at the sametime I cannot help but think that if we applied this reasoning we should all be driving prius's. Because more than 200 hp for a commuter is unnecessary. I have daily driven prius, evos, audis, subarus and will be getting the shelby to daily. At the end of the day it is a car. Do with it what it is meant to do. Be driven.

 

[honeybadger]

I get what you are saying [MENTION=15823]CANTWN4LSN[/MENTION] and at the sametime I cannot help but think that if we applied this reasoning we should all be driving prius's. Because more than 200 hp for a commuter is unnecessary. I have daily driven prius, evos, audis, subarus and will be getting the shelby to daily. At the end of the day it is a car. Do with it what it is meant to do. Be driven.

I think he's just trying to say there are better cars to have fun in within the confines of a commuting type of environment. Many on the forum drive Focus RS' specifically for that reason. I personally drive a Miata for that reason as well. Outside of the noise and the attention my 350 gets, the Miata is more fun in the city since I can pretty drive full throttle all the time without getting into trouble.

 

[Jimm]

You arent getting anywhere close to the limit in a Focus RS either except on on/off ramps.

 

[ORGTANG]

Sounds like the Roush Stage 3 would be a better choice for you.

 

[firestarter2]

Although many here daily drive this car, I would not advise you to buy this car for that purpose. Why? Other that constantly worrying about scraping your front splitter, as others have stated, where this car comes alive just can't be taken advantage of in usual daily driving. High revs in 1st or 2nd without being able to go further just isn't that much fun to me especially when you're already doing 70 by then. Never tracked and probably never will but touring this car and taking advantage of it on long stretches of interstate or twisty two lane roads in the power band, now that is a whole lot of fun. It cruises beautifully and is very comfortable/effortless on long trips. Can be doing 70 with cruise control on in 6th, if/when you need to pass, climb a hill, or just open it up for a stretch you downshift to 3rd or 4th and row up and enjoy the hell out of it. If that or tracking is not what you are looking for and you want a Mustang then I would say wait for the new GT500 which will probably be an all around hell of a car. Sometimes we fall in love with a car or an idea of a car and it's hard to let that go even if it isn't what we really want.

I agree with the whole heartedly. Though I think there is a rear end swap now? which would probably make the car more fun on the street (below 70)

 

[barstowpo]

I daily drive mine. I had to get rid of my 2004 GTO and 2010 HHR SS because after buying this, I just didn't drive them anymore. My HHR was a little rocket and lots of fun. It had a tune, Stage II upgrade, 3" exhaust as well as a K&N filtercharger. It also had Brembos. Despite this I just didn't drive it after getting the 350. I'm tempted to get another one for a track toy.

 

[Zcobra1]

Although many here daily drive this car, I would not advise you to buy this car for that purpose. Why? Other that constantly worrying about scraping your front splitter, as others have stated, where this car comes alive just can't be taken advantage of in usual daily driving. High revs in 1st or 2nd without being able to go further just isn't that much fun to me especially when you're already doing 70 by then. Never tracked and probably never will but touring this car and taking advantage of it on long stretches of interstate or twisty two lane roads in the power band, now that is a whole lot of fun. It cruises beautifully and is very comfortable/effortless on long trips. Can be doing 70 with cruise control on in 6th, if/when you need to pass, climb a hill, or just open it up for a stretch you downshift to 3rd or 4th and row up and enjoy the hell out of it. If that or tracking is not what you are looking for and you want a Mustang then I would say wait for the new GT500 which will probably be an all around hell of a car. Sometimes we fall in love with a car or an idea of a car and it's hard to let that go even if it isn't what we really want.

Well said, in particular the the last sentence.....
The lack of low end torque makes it less satisfying in City/DD driving, this is
what many will miss if used in that manner. The car was designed to spend
it's time at above 3500 rpm, and frankly a track/weekend focus above daily use.

That said, of course you can drive it daily, it actually is a pretty comfortable car
for daily and errand running, can be your only car.

 

[Rogue]

I'm in the market for a new Mustang, and my local dealer is allowing me to order a new GT350 at MSRP. I normally use X-Plan, but looking at the GT350 specs, it seems like it would fit my needs down to a T except it is rather steep and I want to make sure it is worth the dollars.

I read about the recall for the oil cooler hoses, and it seems like Ford traditionally has issues with oil cooler hoses sealing properly, whether it is a 1996-up Crown Vic Police Interceptor or apparently the S550 GT Track Package / GT350s. They all seem to leak.

Aside from that, are there any other noteworthy issues? The magazine tests for the GT350 straightline aren't that great. My 2014 SHO with my own tune and all stock hardware runs 12.4 in the 1/4 mile all day long (I literally have 6+ timeslips all with the same 60', 1/8, and 1/4 within 0.001 seconds) at over 800' ASL and with 30k mile Goodyear RS-A tires. My local tuner recommends I just get a blown auto GT instead.

Are you kidding me or what?

Sponsored