Test driving yesterday, help me decide/rationalize

[GreenS550]

Op, I am totally confused. Your original comments at the start of the thread were that you were concerned about ride quality. Now you are saying you want to track it and you will modify the car to accomplish this. Here are some facts about the S550. I have owned 3.

1) The best ride quality for the car to handle really good is PP1 or 2. The MagneRide is part of PP2 included in price. With PP1 you have to option the MagneRide. MagneRide will give you the best ride quality if you are going to tract.

2) The 2018 up stock GT rides better than any PP1, 2 or any of the aftermarket setup. I've been there, done that.

3) You cannot get great ride quality with aftermarket stuff assuming "ride quality" means not feeling the potholes, bumps, etc. Stock is your best bet. Period.

4) The base package is cheaper, true, but the resale is much less as well. It took me months to find a loaded 401A Premium A10 for anything like a decent price. Tons of 301A, 400A, base, etc. You do get what you pay for. When selling used, the premium stuff sells the car much quicker. I've owned 7 Mustangs in the last 10 years. Hard to find nice loaded used Mustangs and they definitely go for a premium.

5) If ALL you are now going to do is track it. Buy used and save a ton. If you are going to DD it, you will regret the modded aftermarket suspension quickly and used it is worth less than if you left it stock.

Sponsored

 

[Pittpa]

The Bullit with MR and AE. Yup, that's the ticket. I drove my friend to NC to buy a green one with those options. That car is beautiful.

 

[BimmerDriver]

You will take a bath and car dealers love people like you.

Oh dude, they do, they do.

But it's not the mustang... I've been doing this short-term car thing for a long time. It's who I am. And so I'm now trying to minimize the damage (lately) by buying low optioned cars, which tend to not get hit as badly as high optioned.

And for those still playing along and scratching their heads in wonder, I don't think I ever wrote that it would be a DD. Just a w/e, occasional track day. Our roads here kind of suck too.

And a $32K toy is a lot more palatable than a $50K toy. Especially when in two years, that $32K car is worth $25 and that $50K car is worth $30K.

 

[Armageddon Turbo]

I'd get the Bullit if my money.

 

[GreenS550]

The best way to do the short term thing is to buy used. I sold 4 of my more recent Mustangs for more than I paid for them.
You make good point.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

I was all set to buy my new 2020 Mustang GT with PP1 and nothing else. It's just what I want. And I've been reading, reading and reading this forum for opinions, and the general consensus seems to be that if you are fuddy-duddy when it comes to ride quality, as I am, then the MagneRide option is mandatory. I don't want to make the same mistake I made last time, buying a car that was too stiff and uncomfortable (BMW M2). So I went back yesterday to test drive the car some more, on roads that I'm more familiar with.

I got lost. Which was fine, because it forced me to spend an hour driving the car, and I went home to use the bathroom and drove on all those terrible roads that I drive on everyday (when I go to work, which I haven't done for two months now). And it helped me to realize that the PP suspension is too much for me. So I went back and drove a car with PP and MR. OMG. Night and day. It is, as I describe it, a Mustang for grown-ups. Much more liveable, yet still firm and responsive for when I take it to the track, which I intend to do. It also had the active exhaust, which I must now have as well. It too makes the car more liveable in normal city driving. Not that the base exhaust is too loud, but it does make quite the noise when accelerating and I'd prefer to be more discrete most of the time. The leather seats did not seem to have quite as much side bolstering as the cloth, and I'm not crazy about the SYNC system nor all of the other crap that came on the car, the safety stuff, alarm, etc. and I don't need the nav, which I guess is part of the SYNC.

If I order exactly what I want, it's $47K according to the build my own, which doesn't show destination, so make it $48K.

If I buy their 2020 Premium loaded mode that I drove, it's right at $52.

Another location of the same dealer has a 2020 Bullit, which comes with the PP and AE, optioned with MR and electronic package, is $53K.

Smart money would order my car exactly as I want it and save 4-5K. But I'll have to wait, probably until September or October, since if I order it would be a 2021. And likely won't be as heavily discounted as a in-stock model.

Upside for the Bullitt aside from the cool color and wheels, is slightly better resale value. And 20 horsepower.

If I was advising someone else, I'd say wait and order what you want. The little devil on my shoulder says "with all of the crap going on in the world, you may not be alive when that car comes in. And you'll miss a track day or two by then. You ain't gettin' no younger, old man."

Comments?

I would go with a Bullitt, got mine little over 2 months ago and really like it. It's just different enough and it's a fun car to drive. The adaptive exhaust makes for such a nice gurgle and it's honestly one of the best sounding cars (at least in V8) that I've heard.
Yes, I get some people think Bullitt is just a weird badging, but I for one like the no ponies (except in the wheel centers) and the projection, it's sleeker. Might be removing the huge "Bullitt" thing on the back for something different. The green is definitely beautiful, it does not, however, show well in pictures, so it may be difficult to appreciate it.
Also, I can attest to the Bullitt with MR and adaptive exhaust is very comfy on long trips. I'm in my late 20s, so I probably handle road trips better than say someone in their 40s or something, but wife and I took it on a ~1,600 mile trip, the exhaust in quiet mode is barely audible, wind noise is low, seats comfy with good cooling function, electronics are nice.
SYNC is alright, the navigation isn't bad, it shows the directions in the cluster as well, but I use Android Auto mostly (but this doesn't display directions in the cluster).
I'll attach some pictures to hopefully highlight the color. It's after it had a paint protection film and ceramic coat applied.

There were plenty of 2019 Bullitts available brand new at dealers, many had good discounts.

Yup, picked a 2019 for myself, was comparing between 2019 and 2020 and at identical equipment, I didn't see a reason to pay around $5k extra just to get a 2020 model over 2019. I have el. pckg (blind spot, sound system, parking sensors) and MagneRide for little under $48k. I didn't find a crazy amount of them in my area (SW OH), between the tri-state area I've seen about 3 20's and 4 or so 19's.
Now I got it before covid became insane, but I was ready to walk away or go to another dealer for better price. I'd assume dealers might be getting desperate at this point, should be able to get even a better deal.

 

[GreenS550]

Bit_the_Bullitt: Good review. Glad you like it! MR good choice, too.

 

[mnm4ever]

I thought you said it was going to be a daily driver too... must have read it wrong. If you are not daily driving it, then the base PP1 car is a great value. I bought mine for the same reason and the same usage... sometimes I drive it to work but not a lot, and the ride isn't so terrible that you can't deal with it, no worse than the M2. I don't really notice it as much as my wife does, she is always getting her head banged into the plastic seatback holes on the Recaros over expansion joints (lol - but don't tell her!). On the track it's loads of fun, the MR is better I am sure, but just keep thinking of how much you saved!

You will still take a bath on resale value though, and other posters are correct, the low optioned cars are a tough sell. Everyone these days wants big touchscreens and all the toys. You should consider looking at used ones. I have seen a ton of the base GT/PP cars for sale lately and they are giveaway priced. I think maybe the dealers ordered a ton of the 18/19 GTs with just the PP and now they are hitting the used market. Then when you go to sell it, instead of taking a $15k bath you can take a $5k bath... much better option if you know you aren't keeping it long.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

Such a great color in the sun

 

[ivantwilliams]

Does the window sticker show it has Magnaride? Just wondering if it does. I've never seen it in a window sticker.

I would go with a Bullitt, got mine little over 2 months ago and really like it. It's just different enough and it's a fun car to drive. The adaptive exhaust makes for such a nice gurgle and it's honestly one of the best sounding cars (at least in V8) that I've heard.
Yes, I get some people think Bullitt is just a weird badging, but I for one like the no ponies (except in the wheel centers) and the projection, it's sleeker. Might be removing the huge "Bullitt" thing on the back for something different. The green is definitely beautiful, it does not, however, show well in pictures, so it may be difficult to appreciate it.
Also, I can attest to the Bullitt with MR and adaptive exhaust is very comfy on long trips. I'm in my late 20s, so I probably handle road trips better than say someone in their 40s or something, but wife and I took it on a ~1,600 mile trip, the exhaust in quiet mode is barely audible, wind noise is low, seats comfy with good cooling function, electronics are nice.
SYNC is alright, the navigation isn't bad, it shows the directions in the cluster as well, but I use Android Auto mostly (but this doesn't display directions in the cluster).
I'll attach some pictures to hopefully highlight the color. It's after it had a paint protection film and ceramic coat applied.



Yup, picked a 2019 for myself, was comparing between 2019 and 2020 and at identical equipment, I didn't see a reason to pay around $5k extra just to get a 2020 model over 2019. I have el. pckg (blind spot, sound system, parking sensors) and MagneRide for little under $48k. I didn't find a crazy amount of them in my area (SW OH), between the tri-state area I've seen about 3 20's and 4 or so 19's.
Now I got it before covid became insane, but I was ready to walk away or go to another dealer for better price. I'd assume dealers might be getting desperate at this point, should be able to get even a better deal.

 

[shogun32]

I've never seen it in a window sticker.

almost all Bullitts I've seen have MR. Look for a MSRP of real close to 52k and you on good chance to have found a MR optioned Bullitt. If it's like 48k it'll also be missing the 'electronics' package.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

almost all Bullitts I've seen have MR. Look for a MSRP of real close to 52k and you on good chance to have found a MR optioned Bullitt. If it's like 48k it'll also be missing the 'electronics' package.

MSRP on plain about $46k, with:
+$2100 el pckg (BLIS, sound,...)
+$1700 MagneRide
+$1500 Recaro
Yup, usually just under $53k for all including Recaro, MR and el for about $51k, only el for about $48k, "plain" for little above $46k.

That's for 2019, I think 2019 and 2020 just have a little difference.

Oh! I also now better remember why I got the '19, it has no "gas guzzler" tax, while the 2020 does.
I got about 4-5 window stickers, you can look them up by VIN

 

[GreenS550]

Quote: Oh! I also now better remember why I got the '19, it has no "gas guzzler" tax, while the 2020 does.
I got about 4-5 window stickers, you can look them up by VIN.

So, did Ford fix the 4 speed with 2 overdrives transmission? If they had the GG tax they would have been foolish not to have changed gearing.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Quote: Oh! I also now better remember why I got the '19, it has no "gas guzzler" tax, while the 2020 does.
I got about 4-5 window stickers, you can look them up by VIN.

So, did Ford fix the 4 speed with 2 overdrives transmission? If they had the GG tax they would have been foolish not to have changed gearing.

I'm not really sure, care to explain more? And also the gas guzzler tax started in 2020, not went away, so whatever change they would've made would've cause the tax to begin, not end. Unless I'm misunderstanding you completely

 

[shogun32]

There were no changes to -D4 trans that anyone has published. I suspect it's either a change in reg or Ford (like many others) have had to 'restate' the MPG after re-testing and was thereby deemed eligible for the Guzzler notation. As annoying as the Camaro SS's incessant "save fuel by shifting 1->4" message is every time you leave 1st gear, it allowed them to duck the fee. Granted if you're just whiffing on the throttle the trans will force you to do a 1->4 shift (locks out 2nd) but that can be trivially defeated by using more throttle or simply hooking third. Early on I had an imperfect aftermarket ECU map which locked up the trans so I could only use 1, 4, 6th. Now that was royally annoying. Ford could have taken action but didn't.

Sponsored