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Is there a "best" Year GT350 to Buy?

The Rooster

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Seeing as the 2019+ isn't immune to engine failure I would have to say the real world advantage of the newer gen voodoo is negligible. As with the suspension and other tweaks.... The difference for a street driven car will be non existent.
Mileage, condition, options that matter to you, price; those are all you really need to worry about. Not the year.
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Frank.Herbst

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I have owned a 17 and now have a 19. Because we do not have access to failure statistics I would say budget and options should be a priority, then get and extended warranty. If you are very interested in track performance the 19 is noticably faster.
 

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“ The best year to buy “ , ( the 16 tech was under engineered) . a web based find after researching 23 different web found engine failures had found no 15 failures and only 6-2016 , then the numbers rose after that by my memory. All averages about the same with the coyote 5.0 of 1.6% as I remember. BMW was about 3.6% as a reference. . If I may offer the thoughts of which GT350 . The R had some advantages in engine parts until 2019 . If affordable, the extra engineering costs and parts , also more limited build will aid in value retention . An “ R” with reasonable miles ? 5,6,7,8k with a responsible owner should show its maturity and reliability . I remember 1964 /65 and you could have ordered. Mustang GT. Some spent stupid money on 271 HP hi- performance option . Every mustang I saw , the first thing I looked for was that little chrome extension over the “ 289” that said hi- performance. Wow , my dream . The fastest Mustang.
 

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I would say it depends on your usage. I would only consider the base GT350, not an R, because I want a car for mostly street driving and I prefer to spend less money. I also believe that the suspension setup on the regular GT350 is pretty much perfect.

However, I will also be going to the track a few times per year, so I personally prefer 2017-2020 models because all of them have coolers and you can get one with coolers plus sofa seats. If you will never go to the track and live in a cooler area of the country, a 2016 could be an option. Mine worked fine for daily driving, but I needed to do a transmission swap and add coolers to get it to work well on track. Also, if you prefer to have Recaro seats - first of all I don't understand why you would - but anyway a 2016 with the Recaros would be an option if you don't care about nav, stereo, driving comfort, lumbar support, etc.

The 2015s are going to be too expensive and no one is probably driving a 2015 around much, so I wouldn't buy a 2015 unless I were a collector.

I think when I buy another GT350 it will either be grabber blue or grabber lime, so available colors would be another influence on what year different people think is best.

As far as the steering change, I prefer my GT350 to have better steering feel, rather than the numb feeling of the later R models and GT500. I was initially a little put off by the tramlining, but after driving the car for a while I got used to it and to me it's part of the car's character. Being able to get feedback from the road to your steering wheel is something that's missing in a lot of modern cars, and I applaud the GT350 development team for having the bravery to put steering feel into the GT350 models.

SO this is another area where you should drive the car and decide what you want. I think the GT350 original design was really great and I doubt I would prefer to have the revised steering geometry.

As far as reliability goes, I'm not sure there's much of a difference between years. I value information gathered here and people's personal experiences, but there are only a few failures out of tens of thousands of cars. So I do think failures are exaggerated on internet forums. As far as I know, all model years of GT350 should be excellent as far as reliability is concerned. I had my 2016 GT350 for over 30,000 trouble free miles. I sold it so I could have variety and try other things, but I've regretted it for quite a while now.

Good luck in the search!
 
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torque124

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I would say it depends on your usage. I would only consider the base GT350, not an R, because I want a car for mostly street driving and I prefer to spend less money. I also believe that the suspension setup on the regular GT350 is pretty much perfect.

However, I will also be going to the track a few times per year, so I personally prefer 2017-2020 models because all of them have coolers and you can get one with coolers plus sofa seats. If you will never go to the track and live in a cooler area of the country, a 2016 could be an option. Mine worked fine for daily driving, but I needed to do a transmission swap and add coolers to get it to work well on track. Also, if you prefer to have Recaro seats - first of all I don't understand why you would - but anyway a 2016 with the Recaros would be an option if you don't care about nav, stereo, driving comfort, lumbar support, etc.

The 2015s are going to be too expensive and no one is probably driving a 2015 around much, so I wouldn't buy a 2015 unless I were a collector.

I think when I buy another GT350 it will either be grabber blue or grabber lime, so available colors would be another influence on what year different people think is best.

As far as the steering change, I prefer my GT350 to have better steering feel, rather than the numb feeling of the later R models and GT500. I was initially a little put off by the tramlining, but after driving the car for a while I got used to it and to me it's part of the car's character. Being able to get feedback from the road to your steering wheel is something that's missing in a lot of modern cars, and I applaud the GT350 development team for having the bravery to put steering feel into the GT350 models.

SO this is another area where you should drive the car and decide what you want. I think the GT350 original design was really great and I doubt I would prefer to have the revised steering geometry.

As far as reliability goes, I'm not sure there's much of a difference between years. I value information gathered here and people's personal experiences, but there are only a few failures out of tens of thousands of cars. So I do think failures are exaggerated on internet forums. As far as I know, all model years of GT350 should be excellent as far as reliability is concerned. I had my 2016 GT350 for over 30,000 trouble free miles. I sold it so I could have variety and try other things, but I've regretted it for quite a while now.

Good luck in the search!
You sold the GT350 to get what? ... I am thinking of selling mine too, dreaming of an F430 or 911 GT3RS... decisions decisions :)
 

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Hack

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You sold the GT350 to get what? ... I am thinking of selling mine too, dreaming of an F430 or 911 GT3RS... decisions decisions :)
I bought a 2004 Z06, which isn't in the same league as your options. However, I think a front engine RWD car with a transaxle is the way to go for a fun street/road course performance vehicle. At least for me. I'll try to explain.

I chose the 2004 over the newer Corvettes because the 2004 is a LOT lighter. I own a 1986 944, which at 3,000 lbs and small size I think is really great other than needing a V8. I thought going to a front engine RWD car that weighs about 3,100 lbs with close to 50/50 weight distribution would be what I wanted. The Corvette has awesome suspension. The transverse plastic leaf springs actually work great IMO. The chassis isn't as stiff as the Porsche, but that didn't bother me too much. There were various reasons I rejected the newer Corvettes.

The low CG and light weight makes a huge difference in a car because the suspension can be relatively soft and still give great control over body motions. It would have probably needed better brakes and a better engine plus engine and transmission cooling as well, but that's not too difficult to overcome. Oh, and quicker steering.. there's a laundry list of things I didn't like too much, but the basics of a great car were there.

If I were 6'2" instead of 6'4" I would probably still own the 'vette and be modifying it. I just didn't fit in it with a helmet on. There are a number of other quirks with those old 'vettes, but IMO having such a light weight vehicle and the feel it gives you when driving was worth it.

So, wrapping up. I think the 911 GT3 is an awesome choice for track use, but Porsches don't have much drama on the street. I frankly find them a little too sterile and even somewhat boring. Having the engine over the rear tires with an NA engine gives the car too much grip. If you have the money and don't mind those things, I don't think you can go wrong with a GT3. They are awesome cars.

I think the F430 could be good too, but I don't know much about it. If I had to guess I would say the F430 would be a pretty good street car, but it might also be missing some of the drama of a GT350 due to the rear heavy weight distribution. It might be better than the Porsche on the street due to having a higher displacement engine. I don't think the F430 would be as good as the Porsche on track.
 

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I would say it depends on your usage. I would only consider the base GT350, not an R, because I want a car for mostly street driving and I prefer to spend less money. I also believe that the suspension setup on the regular GT350 is pretty much perfect.

However, I will also be going to the track a few times per year, so I personally prefer 2017-2020 models because all of them have coolers and you can get one with coolers plus sofa seats. If you will never go to the track and live in a cooler area of the country, a 2016 could be an option. Mine worked fine for daily driving, but I needed to do a transmission swap and add coolers to get it to work well on track. Also, if you prefer to have Recaro seats - first of all I don't understand why you would - but anyway a 2016 with the Recaros would be an option if you don't care about nav, stereo, driving comfort, lumbar support, etc.

The 2015s are going to be too expensive and no one is probably driving a 2015 around much, so I wouldn't buy a 2015 unless I were a collector.

I think when I buy another GT350 it will either be grabber blue or grabber lime, so available colors would be another influence on what year different people think is best.

As far as the steering change, I prefer my GT350 to have better steering feel, [B}rather than the numb feeling of the later R models and GT500[/B]. I was initially a little put off by the tramlining, but after driving the car for a while I got used to it and to me it's part of the car's character. Being able to get feedback from the road to your steering wheel is something that's missing in a lot of modern cars, and I applaud the GT350 development team for having the bravery to put steering feel into the GT350 models.

SO this is another area where you should drive the car and decide what you want. I think the GT350 original design was really great and I doubt I would prefer to have the revised steering geometry.

As far as reliability goes, I'm not sure there's much of a difference between years. I value information gathered here and people's personal experiences, but there are only a few failures out of tens of thousands of cars. So I do think failures are exaggerated on internet forums. As far as I know, all model years of GT350 should be excellent as far as reliability is concerned. I had my 2016 GT350 for over 30,000 trouble free miles. I sold it so I could have variety and try other things, but I've regretted it for quite a while now.

Good luck in the search!
Uhhh? Have you driven a 20R or GT500? First time I've seen anyone call them numb. The 20R is twitchy when you want it to be (when you turn the wheel). I too got accustomed to the 16R tramlining and you had to stay on top of it...yes, it was part of the character, I feel, too - but it was also EXHAUSTING after a bit.
 

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Uhhh? Have you driven a 20R or GT500? First time I've seen anyone call them numb. The 20R is twitchy when you want it to be (when you turn the wheel). I too got accustomed to the 16R tramlining and you had to stay on top of it...yes, it was part of the character, I feel, too - but it was also EXHAUSTING after a bit.
Well I'm sure you know better than I since you have driven both. But I still think it's a matter of personal opinion and preference. I like how the original GT350s want to turn.

I didn't get tired driving the GT350 for long periods of time, but I grew up driving on gravel roads, so I'm used to a car moving around and choosing its own line on the road. It seems normal to me and while it did take me a while to get used to the steering on the GT350, once I understood it I was fine.

I think the tiring part does come in if you have really terrible roads or if you fight the car too much. I did drive on a really crappy road once and it was bad. Normally there's enough room to let the car find a groove where it wants to be, but this was a completely trashed and narrow two-lane road with no shoulders out in the middle of nowhere. If I had to drive that every day I wouldn't want to own a GT350.
 

dpAtlanta

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The 350 is well know for being an excellent drivers car. For others there is always the Prius.
Hmmmm (Devious thought with Diabolical Laughter).............. could you shoe-horn a VooDoo 5.2 into a Prius...???????????
Talk about a Sleeper.... Ugly Sleeper and a complete waste of a 5.2, but boy what a silly Sleeper it would be.
 

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stanglife

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Well I'm sure you know better than I since you have driven both. But I still think it's a matter of personal opinion and preference. I like how the original GT350s want to turn.

I didn't get tired driving the GT350 for long periods of time, but I grew up driving on gravel roads, so I'm used to a car moving around and choosing its own line on the road. It seems normal to me and while it did take me a while to get used to the steering on the GT350, once I understood it I was fine.

I think the tiring part does come in if you have really terrible roads or if you fight the car too much. I did drive on a really crappy road once and it was bad. Normally there's enough room to let the car find a groove where it wants to be, but this was a completely trashed and narrow two-lane road with no shoulders out in the middle of nowhere. If I had to drive that every day I wouldn't want to own a GT350.
You should try the 20 - I'd argue that it's not numb but you can enjoy driving straight, too ;) Around here, the roads are pretty good as far as pot holes go and not much really beat up roads but there does seem to be ever changing construction where they change traffic patterns frequently, so there are changes in elevation and road material. The 16 was a little stressful when the concrete barricades are around you and the road wants to pull you in a particular direction.

On the 16R, PS4S were the solution. On the 20R on the Cup2s, it feels like the 16R on PS4S, as far as tramlining is concerned. I was going to do PS4S on this one too but I'm not so sure now. It drives great and I don't see a reason to take the 4lb per tire weight penalty...which IMO, is a worse penalty than going to aftermarket wheels vs the CF stockers due to the fact that the weight is at the extreme outer circumference for the tires.
 

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Clarification on the 16 Models. You could get a 16 with the track pack which gave you the coolers but no big screen GPS ect. There are no reasons to avoid a 16. Just understand which package you have
 

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Clarification on the 16 Models. You could get a 16 with the track pack which gave you the coolers but no big screen GPS ect. There are no reasons to avoid a 16. Just understand which package you have
I agree there are no mechanical reliability reasons to avoid a 2016. Just if you want certain combinations of features they are not available on a 2016.
 

torque124

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Clarification on the 16 Models. You could get a 16 with the track pack which gave you the coolers but no big screen GPS ect. There are no reasons to avoid a 16. Just understand which package you have
Exactly! I owned the 2016 track pack since it first came out, it was an awesome car, not a problem whatsoever.

I think the small screen is also fine, and I loved big buttons where I could save my radio stations and just push a button to change... Now with the big screen and gps, I have to look 3 times and select source, FM, etc, etc.
And the Ford gps sucks big time, I always use the phone anyway. The audio quality did not improve during the years, I still had to change the speakers to get some improvement.. I am spoiled by the Logic 7 in the BMW's...
 

Jeffola

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Interesting post. I just bought my 2019 GT350. While price weighed heavily on the purchase, the 19 I bought was an acceptable color, didn't have Recaro's (I'm glad about that), had the handling pack, new calibrations in the car, more standard features and the Electronics package had a decent stereo. I know it adds weight, but you gotta be able to enjoy it. Had it two days, so far im in love.

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