Why did you sell your GT350?

[Flavoade]

Not being a troll; serious question.

I understand that some GT350 owners bought when they just came out, and even paid the mark-ups, and eventually sold or traded for another vehicle.

In my city there were a few that I would see often, letting everyone hear how good the exhaust sounds. All of them ended up on the used lot of a local dealer. I even saw one at a Toyota dealership.

Even a few local clubs had some GT350R owners that paid the full mark-up. They got rid of them as well.

I have a 2017 GT350 with the convenience package in Grabber Blue, and I have thoughts about letting it go as well. Everytime I drive the car it is an exciting experience, but its just feels like its missing something. It gets the adrenaline going, but its not enjoyable. I plan to do a few track days with the car, which is what I planned from the beginning, but I have to keep reminding myself why I bought the car instead of the car convincing me it was worth the $60,000 it cost.

I just dont want to get in my feelings, and sell/trade the car and regret it later, because I wasnt using the car right.

So my question to yall that bought a 350 and parted ways with it... Why did you sell it?

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[honeybadger]

Track the car. All desire to sell it will go flying out the window.

That said - I've talked to a few folks who have sold their car and there seems to be a 3 common themes:

1. They moved to the GT350 from a luxury sports car (M3, 911, etc.) and were disappointed in the interior quality.
2. Had to deal with an engine failure/interacted with a Ford dealer.
3. Over-purchased and wasn't comfortable with the monthly payment.

 

[oldbmwfan]

I'd add 4) missed the bottom-end grunt of the forced induction cars.

I knew what I was buying, I take it to the track, and I absolutely love it. You just cannot use this car in the way it was meant to be used on the street. Mine has low miles not because I'm trying to baby it, but because it just isn't that great in my normal street driving environment. I only drive it when I can get out into the open road (which is good) or go to the track (which is spectacularly good).

 

[Tomster]

Uh, um, to buy a GT350R at near MSRP..... Silly questions......

 

[jvandy50]

Number 2 was 90% of my reason. But now that I have a taste of it, number 4 would become a bigger part of that equation.

 

[Epiphany]

I'd add 4) missed the bottom-end grunt of the forced induction cars.

...now that I have a taste of it, number 4 would become a bigger part of that equation.

I sold my GT350 simply because I wanted more power. I had a Whipple and just about every mod possible on my '09 GT500 and I absolutely loved the grunt. The GT350 had the handling and braking down but was a little shy on torque. Hopefully, the new GT500 ties it all together. Plus, development for a GT500-specific caliper stud means needing a test car.

Do I miss my GT350? Absolutely, it was a fantastic car. I just wanted a little more.

 

[CANTWN4LSN]

My guess is the one's selling mostly just bought for the wrong reason to keep it long term. Personally I don't think this is a daily driver for most because of curbs, speed bumps, worries about door dings, etc. Two main reasons to own one are track or open road as stated, after all it is a GT car. That makes it of limited use and more of a luxury. I actually am a bit surprised Ford made as many as they did because I think it will hurt the resale value but perhaps the uniqueness of the FPC will keep it up.

 

[jvandy50]

I sold my GT350 simply because I wanted more power. I had a Whipple and just about every mod possible on my '09 GT500 and I absolutely loved the grunt. The GT350 had the handling and braking down but was a little shy on torque. Hopefully, the new GT500 ties it all together. Plus, development for a GT500-specific caliper stud means needing a test car.

Do I miss my GT350? Absolutely, it was a fantastic car. I just wanted a little more.

Yep, i think the new car should check that box for sure. In my case, i was tired of waiting for it and the possibility of only being DCT helped sway me away.

Many times i had a cart full of goodies to make the 350 what i wanted...just kept running into roadblocks. I think a whipple would’ve complimented the car very well, but could the tranny handle it? then i kept seeing clutches go(very soon after FI was introduced)and the aftermarket is a little iffy in that department to say the least...then my factory motor made up my mind for me. It was time to move on.

 

[Gstone]

I actually like that there is no forced induction. You don't need it on the track while the car is revving over 7K all day long. And I'm not racing anyone on public roads where I enjoy the twisty roads.
I'm happy for now after 10 months of ownership.

 

[oldbmwfan]

^^^ I agree, the linearity of the NA powerband above 4k RPM is why I own it. But then, my car history is basically all things that have high-revving NA motors that seem a tad wimpy on the street and surprisingly strong when opened up on the track. The "old BMW M-car" engine characteristics got me into this thing. It is very different from most older Mustangs. I giggled a lot when driving around a '13 GT500 (didn't own it), but I knew it wasn't a car I wanted to own, in part because it was very imbalanced on track, and that's where I do my fun driving.

I love that someone can drive the GT350 around in normal use and never know what it's truly capable of. Then put that person in the right seat on the track and they'll sh*t themselves. My E28 M5 was the same way, just to a different degree. On the street, it was easy to think, "what's so special about this?" That "secret" is half the fun. The other half is how good the GT350 feels and sounds even when you're not crushing it.

Day-to-day around the Chicago area where I live, my Fiesta ST is more fun than the GT350R, because I can actually USE it.

 

[Wriggly]

I needed the garage space for my incoming 812 Superfast.

 

[Next Phase]

I think about selling my R from time and again... then I have a track therapy session at VIR and those thoughts disappear. Luckily, my track therapy sessions are on a regular schedule.

(I do wish it had another 100 hp for the long straights when I'm playing around with 600-700 hp sports cars).

 

[MustangGT350]

Everyone's experience is different with cars like these, for some it's a passion, or they always wanted a Shelby. For some it was wanting the latest and greatest and they loved the fact that it was hard to get. Then when they became more common (relatively speaking, ie, the markups were gone) they no longer felt the exclusiveness of the car... more and more starting showing up at C&C, and it was time to start looking for the next car to impress the crowd.

I also think a lot of guys jumped into the deep end and overpaid for these compared to what they could afford, and it caught up with them.. I know of 2 personally. One told me early on that he thought the car would never lose it's value (back when everyone was paying $10K over for a non-R).

I've owned luxury BMW's and Porsches, and the GT350/R is the best driver for the money.. so much that I could car less about the interior being what it is. There's plenty of luxury sports cars out there with fancy interiors that don't deliver the drivers experience that the GT350/GT350R deliver, and I'd rather have the driver over the fancy interior all day long.

After I told myself years ago I'd never own another Mustang (have had Z06's, M's, 911's) the GT350/R connected with me and I bought one.. loved it so much I traded it for an R even after I took a depreciation hit on my GT350.

The important thing is this- if the car is not giving you the feeling you want, the perhaps it is time to move it. But feeling a way about a car because other people have moved theirs (I've seen them at cheesy used car lots and other places for sale used) is not something I care about.

Around these parts, we call Porsches "me too" cars... As in, Hey, I have a Porsche! The response to that more than not is, "Me Too"!!

 

[Arpa]

^^^ 100% agreed. It is about the feeling and connection between you and the car. Finding what creates that connection can sometimes be tricky. I knew there was something about the car, the looks, the engine, the sound, the track ready handling, the value for the money that made me buy it, but I'm being honest the first few months I owned it, I wasn't getting the excitement that I though I would. I was driving it on nice days, weekends, and this car, again for me, was not made for that.

I decided to try tracking it, and that was it! The connection was instant. That's when I felt every component of the car coming alive. I have been amazed with the car's abilities since then, and I haven't looked back or though about selling.

 

[roygriffin2020]

Well, mine is #2 and #10 (I just guessed at 10). It burned a lot of oil when driven like it should be. When babied, it didn't. But I did not buy it to baby it. #10 is that it was a Tech Pack without the coolers and I did not know it was like that when I bought. When I got in touch with Ford Performance about an upgrade, they said it would void my warranty.

Ford already voided my warranty on my 2014 Mustang GT Track Pack because the dealer installed FP suspension and horsepower upgrades which they said were covered under warranty. Nope said Ford.

Since this would be 2 cars in a row with warranty issues: I traded it in.

Here is the exact email from them:

" The transmission, and cooler kit is a Factory Ford part sold aftermarket through FPP, or in some cases, through parts & service; aftermarket. They would fall under this same description.

Isaac Ireland
Ford Performance"

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