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Mark S
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I have some experience with new cars... This summer my wife and I bought 3 new vehicles, and here is my experience with each:
I bought my 2015 PP GT in July of 2015. The build date is 6/15. I've had some issues with it but nothing major. The reason I mentioned the build date is because it's pretty late in that model years production, so many of the QC issues may have been resolved by the time I purchased my car. My 2015 has no issues with body panel alignment, I do however on occasion have moisture buildup in my headlights. I stopped at my local dealer one morning and showed the headlights to the service manager. He told me it is normal on the 2015 because the headlight isn't sealed like it was on previous models. The moisture isn't always there and is really only noticeable after it rains. A few hours after it stops raining the headlights clear up. Only other issues I have is an occasional rattle around the interior trim that surrounds the right rear quarter glass, and strangely my driver seat is very squeaky.
My daily driver is a 2015 F150. It's a XLT model with the Sport and FX4 packages. I have zero complaints about the truck. There are no issues with panel alignment, rattles, or mechanical issues. Maybe I got lucky with it, or maybe there is just better QC / better parts used in the factory where trucks are built.
Probably my most disappointing purchase however is my wife's 2016 Audi Q5.
The Audi is Premium Plus model and should have no QC issues. Not the case at all. The Audi has runs in the paint on the wheels, a very loud intermittent rattle inside the dash that hasn't been reproduced any of the times it was taken to the dealer for repair, minor issues with the paint all over the car (things like excessive orange peel, and what almost looks like dirt in the finish) The chrome trim around the windows already has corrosion and pitting on it. The corrosion is very minor and isn't noticeable from a distance, but when you drop that much money on a car you expect it to be perfect. The finish issues were not noticed until I detailed the car a few weeks after we purchased it. I took it back to the dealer to have it looked at. The dealer said this is considered to be normal for an Audi. He was so confident that this is "normal" for Audi that he encouraged me to take a close look at some of the other new Q5's on the lot. As strange as it may sound, it only took a few minutes for me to find another one with similar issues.
Long story short... I hear people complain about the build quality of the 2015 Mustang, and the build quality of Ford products in general. I'm extremely satisfied with my Mustang and my F150. Compared to other Mustangs I've owned, the 2015 is an absolute pleasure to drive and is in a completely different class compared previous generations. I've pretty much only ever owned Ford products over the years, and every car, truck, or SUV I've owned has been really good to me. This is the first Audi I've ever owned, and typically I've only ever heard good things about them. I've heard numerous people say American made cars don't compare to the build quality of German cars... Well I own both and can say first hand the build quality of the 2015 Mustang is at least as good as the Q5. Maybe the QC issues were fixed late in 2015, and perhaps the 16's won't have any of the issues 15 owners had. What I'm trying to say is don't give up on Ford. My experience with them over the last 15 years has been mostly good.
I bought my 2015 PP GT in July of 2015. The build date is 6/15. I've had some issues with it but nothing major. The reason I mentioned the build date is because it's pretty late in that model years production, so many of the QC issues may have been resolved by the time I purchased my car. My 2015 has no issues with body panel alignment, I do however on occasion have moisture buildup in my headlights. I stopped at my local dealer one morning and showed the headlights to the service manager. He told me it is normal on the 2015 because the headlight isn't sealed like it was on previous models. The moisture isn't always there and is really only noticeable after it rains. A few hours after it stops raining the headlights clear up. Only other issues I have is an occasional rattle around the interior trim that surrounds the right rear quarter glass, and strangely my driver seat is very squeaky.
My daily driver is a 2015 F150. It's a XLT model with the Sport and FX4 packages. I have zero complaints about the truck. There are no issues with panel alignment, rattles, or mechanical issues. Maybe I got lucky with it, or maybe there is just better QC / better parts used in the factory where trucks are built.
Probably my most disappointing purchase however is my wife's 2016 Audi Q5.
The Audi is Premium Plus model and should have no QC issues. Not the case at all. The Audi has runs in the paint on the wheels, a very loud intermittent rattle inside the dash that hasn't been reproduced any of the times it was taken to the dealer for repair, minor issues with the paint all over the car (things like excessive orange peel, and what almost looks like dirt in the finish) The chrome trim around the windows already has corrosion and pitting on it. The corrosion is very minor and isn't noticeable from a distance, but when you drop that much money on a car you expect it to be perfect. The finish issues were not noticed until I detailed the car a few weeks after we purchased it. I took it back to the dealer to have it looked at. The dealer said this is considered to be normal for an Audi. He was so confident that this is "normal" for Audi that he encouraged me to take a close look at some of the other new Q5's on the lot. As strange as it may sound, it only took a few minutes for me to find another one with similar issues.
Long story short... I hear people complain about the build quality of the 2015 Mustang, and the build quality of Ford products in general. I'm extremely satisfied with my Mustang and my F150. Compared to other Mustangs I've owned, the 2015 is an absolute pleasure to drive and is in a completely different class compared previous generations. I've pretty much only ever owned Ford products over the years, and every car, truck, or SUV I've owned has been really good to me. This is the first Audi I've ever owned, and typically I've only ever heard good things about them. I've heard numerous people say American made cars don't compare to the build quality of German cars... Well I own both and can say first hand the build quality of the 2015 Mustang is at least as good as the Q5. Maybe the QC issues were fixed late in 2015, and perhaps the 16's won't have any of the issues 15 owners had. What I'm trying to say is don't give up on Ford. My experience with them over the last 15 years has been mostly good.
jwhite
jwhite
I'm not defending Ford, but my Mustang has no body alignment problems, no paint problems that I would consider to be Beyond normal. It's a great car for the $. I do own one of those $100.000 vehicles and I also has its share of we'll call QC items. I suppose if I was totally OCD about it I'd take it back for repair(I hate using the word repair because it's not broke). Just some people lose credibility on some of the things they're complaining about " tail light off 4 degrees ". It's a Mustang not a Bentley.
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Rice_Stang_Vroom
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I'm starting to think the topic on S550 QC and build quality is how Americans feel about abortion, gay marriage, and gun control.
No one is correct or incorrect. It is all relative on personal experience.
GoBlues38
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I am sorry, but it is a Mustang. Not a Bentley.
There will be some issues, some of your issues may be valid. But most you are just being crazy silly anal.
There will be some issues, some of your issues may be valid. But most you are just being crazy silly anal.
ATLalien
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Agree! Sorry for the length of this "novel", but jeez people. The OP had problems with his brand new car, comes to his mustang brethren for support, and he ends up taking the heat? Granted, some of the OP's problems might seem a little "nit picky" to some of us (ie the tail light), but he's far from alone in having QC issues, as evidenced by other long threads on the issue.
The major arguments defending Ford here can be debunked as follows:
- Mass Produced Vehicle, one should expect QC issues: Almost all of the products we buy as consumers are mass produced goods. 99% of us will never own a car that is not mass produced. No reason not to expect it to be right and lot's of mass produced cars are well made.
- All Car brands have defects, even more expensive ones. So what? It doesn't mean we as consumers should accept defects when they do occur. It doesn't matter if the defective car costs $15K or $215K, it still ought to be properly assembled.
- You got a 435hp car for under $50K, what else do you want? Uh, I want it to work, look, and last like it's supposed to. No doubt the mustang is a great performance bargain, still no excuse for poor QC.
My car's issues were relatively minor (loose leather, couple misaligned panels, distorted rear window), but I kept going back to the dealer until they fixed everything at no charge to me. To my dealer's credit, they didn't really fight me on any of it. I'm now quite happy with it and my dealer for their follow through but I wasn't going to just accept the car the way it was delivered.
ultimate warrior
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Id challenge any of you to go inspect a new, cheapest, base model Kia, Hyundai, Infiniti, Nissan, Toyota etc - comparing the body panel fitment, hood alignment, panel gaps, etc compared to the mustang.
Its not a 'mass production' problem
its a QC issue in engineering, panel stamping, assembly. its an across the board problem.
why is it a design/QC issue? because companies have been making cars for about a century - panel fitment and rattle should be nonexistent issues by now. does it take ford decades to catch up in plastic tabs or metal bracket design?
my control panel for my headlight rattles. upon disassembly i see little pieces of tape on a couple of tabs, little plastic sub clips that break on initial dissasembly. the light control panel does not fit snuggly with the trim panel its meant to fit into. this is an engineering problem, that they tried to cover with added pieces of noise dampening tape which still didnt fix the problem.
for the most part, on a Nissan (for example) this is non existent. apparently ive pulled apart more body panels on cars than others on this forum to form an opinion based on experience.
Its not a 'mass production' problem
its a QC issue in engineering, panel stamping, assembly. its an across the board problem.
why is it a design/QC issue? because companies have been making cars for about a century - panel fitment and rattle should be nonexistent issues by now. does it take ford decades to catch up in plastic tabs or metal bracket design?
my control panel for my headlight rattles. upon disassembly i see little pieces of tape on a couple of tabs, little plastic sub clips that break on initial dissasembly. the light control panel does not fit snuggly with the trim panel its meant to fit into. this is an engineering problem, that they tried to cover with added pieces of noise dampening tape which still didnt fix the problem.
for the most part, on a Nissan (for example) this is non existent. apparently ive pulled apart more body panels on cars than others on this forum to form an opinion based on experience.
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DANA44
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My last Ford was bought 16 years ago. Not a fanboy. I've check the fit and finish several times after reading some of these posts and all is fine on my ride. As someone who has wrenched cars for 30+ years and have worked with the general public, the cars not the problem. How do you not pick up on body alignment while it is in the dealer lot before taking deliverty . The car is not that big. For what it is a $25k base coupe plus your model add ons its going to have quirks just like every other car .
SubZombie
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I have had...none of the issues you mentioned at 11k miles. As far as the hood thing though, nowhere around here I can go over 80 or 85 but I can't say I have ever seen the hood move myself.
This is how it works though. Pick a forum for any car out there for any price and a number of people will have a laundry list of problems.
(for the record every car I have had (GM, Subaru, Mazda, Toyota, Honda) has had rattles that popped up shorty after purchase but they aren't hard to deal with)
This is how it works though. Pick a forum for any car out there for any price and a number of people will have a laundry list of problems.
(for the record every car I have had (GM, Subaru, Mazda, Toyota, Honda) has had rattles that popped up shorty after purchase but they aren't hard to deal with)
5LiterBeater
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Love how some on here actually defend the squealing brake issue and claim that it's "cause 6 pot race brakes bro".
Owned, operated and worked on plenty of multi-piston brakes that don't squeal during normal driving..in fact my 6 piston ST's on my M3 NEVER make a sound. Funny, guess it's just my anecdotal experience, and not based in truth.
OP, I'm sorry you've been treated like this by your Mustang peers. ZERO camaraderie it seems. The QC issues, wether blown out of proportion because of this forum, or if they are in fact that bad throughout their entire production time of this model, have caused me to look elsewhere for a new vehicle. Shame, as I do really like everything about the new S550 on paper.
Owned, operated and worked on plenty of multi-piston brakes that don't squeal during normal driving..in fact my 6 piston ST's on my M3 NEVER make a sound. Funny, guess it's just my anecdotal experience, and not based in truth.
OP, I'm sorry you've been treated like this by your Mustang peers. ZERO camaraderie it seems. The QC issues, wether blown out of proportion because of this forum, or if they are in fact that bad throughout their entire production time of this model, have caused me to look elsewhere for a new vehicle. Shame, as I do really like everything about the new S550 on paper.
Blk2015GT
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Sorry but there's a TSB to replace squeaky non-PP and PP brakes for FREE. One just has to get off one's ass and go get it done. It's been a known issue for months and months and Ford is addressing it for free.
And sorry, but I don't respect an opinion where someone literally says the taillight is off 4 whole degrees counting 1 by 1 degree slant. A big slant, that's a problem.