Why did you sell your GT350?

[PP0001]

As I get ready for retirement I have been selling a number of cars over the last year or so with the selling of HR019 hurting as much as any of them.

HR019 was the only Canadian spec'd Base R model in Ruby Red with a Black roof and really miss driving and owning that car.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that I have sold most of my cars to great car buddies who I have terrific relationships with and am very happy that these cars are going to some awful good homes and that I can see them on somewhat of a regular basis. HR019 went to an outstanding home and couldn't be happier for this family and I know they are excited to have it in their stable.

The other good news is that I will keep at least one car and probably two cars which I am so very thankful for.

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[jpindustrie]

This is my 3rd Mustang , so I knew exactly what I was getting into.

Reading the comments are a variety of amusement and agreement. Everyone always cant help but project their personalities and wishes , wants, egos, etc ...especially onto something as popular as the Mustang car. Poor car.

I really think Ford delayed the GT500 this time around and it was a gamble. A gamble of ‘losing’ all that thought leadership and purchasing dollar , but its been a strange past 5 years... to say the least.

The GT350 to me was always a more down to earth, streetable FR500S or Boss 302R ... something that puts the stomp down on the track but of course is not geared to the street. That’s where the bigger dollar GT500 should have taken the slack.

All I can say is; don’t worry Porsche guys, they’re ruining it by adding an automatic so that maybe you’d stop complaining...

 

[lightrules]

I have to confess: I traded in my GT350 the other day after only a few months of ownership.

I've basically owned a Mustang of one sort or another since my first car: a 1966 coupe with an I-6 and 3 speed. I've also always lived in Texas where long flat roads and huge distances are the norm until a few years ago when I moved up to Seattle. I got rid of my 2003 Mach 1 before moving up here and switched to a 4Runner.

Well after telling myself I could keep the 4Runner for the rest of my life as I've never loved a vehicle that much, I ended up driving a manual transmission over in the UK on a trip last year and got the itch for another Mustang so I made a somewhat silly decision and traded the 4Runner in on the GT350. I'm not wealthy enough to own both otherwise I would.

Long story short: that was probably a mistake but at least I got to experience the pinnacle of Mustangs for a few months. It's unfortunately just not the right time in my life for it. Maybe down the line if I end up back in a vast, flat geographical area, but a GT350 isn't really conducive for what I was putting it through up here.

Anyway, went back to a 4Runner and I'm happy again. Objectively, I lost my ass on the Shelby. But it was either lose my ass to the trade in value or lose my ass to the taxes on a new vehicle, so it ended up basically being a wash (assuming I don't ever sell outright and just not buy anything else). Now I'm back to hopping into the 4Runner and driving off without having to worry about hidden potholes under giant pools of water, or road debris from the potholes being exploded open in the rain, or curbs, or literally anything else.

And now I can get back out into the mountains any time of the year.

Anyway, don't take financial advice from me, especially when it comes to car purchases lol. But Mustangs are in my blood, so it is what it is. Eventually I'll be back, just not right now.

hey man, thanks for sharing. hope you one day getting back into a 'stang. until then, enjoy not having to avoid potholes and angling your car around driveways!

 

[Kimbo510]

I sold mine recently for 3 reasons...

1) Step up to GT350R
2) Step up to GT500
3) Got a good deal before what I think will be a drop in resale value in 2019.

R

 

[garrettusa]

I bought a Raptor and honestly its all I want to drive now!

 

[WildHorse]

I have the opposite problem as I'm still looking for a Grabber Blue GT350R.

 

[Hack]

Still love my GT350. I'm grateful Ford built it.

 

[Stang 19]

I bought a Raptor and honestly its all I want to drive now!

Would be interesting to see what the twin turbo Raptor engine would do for our Shelbys!

 

[zzrat]

Guess what the UPS man dropped off today. The weather man says blizzard tomorrow....... will see if Mrs. zzrat feels up to crawling around with a helping hand! LOL View attachment 334549

 

[zzrat]

OOPS ! got the wrong thread. Darn it! Please move to "What Did You do to Your 350 Today" Thanks Mods.

 

[Lorne34]

Really unfortunate what has happened to the GT350. First off it was so rare (allegedly) dealers charged ADM, many of you paid it and were proud to admit it, buying into the rarity/ hard to get bit fed by the media and forum hype. Turns out that was a huge mistake, limited edition Mustangs very rarely support ADM in resale value. Fit and finish/quality turned out to be really cheap, these cars will not age well at all. Then the engines start grenading in not insignificant numbers. Ford continues to make them for several more years than they said initially thereby decreasing the values of these cars further, and exacerbating the number of failed engines, and tarnishing their reputation solely for monetary gain..

But hey the all new GT500 is now revealed after several years of 'delays'. Probably will still have the saggy bumper, cheap paint, poor panel gap, fitment and rattles all made by 'proud' union workers. What a sh*tshow

I have to agree with you Randy. I started looking at Mustangs back in 2015 when the new S550 platform came out. Really wanted to purchase a GT350, but the ADM and hype just drove me away from it. Almost bought a 2016 tech pkg and so glad that I didn't... dodged a bullet there. So I "settled for" a used 2016 GT, was unhappy with the handling, suspension , etc.. so started modding it, but never got it to where it was comfortable for me. I ended up spending all last winter trying to decide between a GT350 and a Convertible... by the end of winter the number of issues with the 350 started escalating.. so I pulled the trigger on the Convertible... which I do enjoy, but the siren song of the GT350 still calls out to me. I absolutely love the looks of the car and how much easier it is to drive than a normal GT which feels monstrously large.....The logical side of my brain acknowledges all of the factors you spelled out; I cannot trust this car as I wanted something for long term ownership. It really is a shame that they've gone down this path.....

 

[JR369]

I'm probably going to get flamed for this post. Heard all the same crap about the HC when they came out. People were paying $90k for a 2015. Then dodge makes 16,000+ of them in 2016. Look at the C7 ADM when they came out. Tens of thousands of units later GM has new 2017 Z06's on the lot...at 25% discount. Cant give them away. I'm not sure anybody in their right mind should look at the mass produced variant of a pony car from Dodge, Ford, or Chevrolet as an investment. The R is still exclusive with only 2138 units to date. Demon will stay strong too with 3300 units for 2018. GM? The Z28 is a flop. There is a new ZL1 1LE's selling for $58k out there. The ZR1's might stay strong being the last C7 blast but I think it'll go down once the extreme version of the C8 hits. They ALL have common quality control and mechanical issues. You want better then spend youself into a new ball game of choices. As for the R, it's a track ready masterpeice as far as I'm concerned. Is it worth $20-30k ADM? F NO! Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, Chargers, Corvettes are not worth that kind of ADM in my opinion, Anyone who paid that simply has more money than they do automotive collector sense. I drive my R almost every sunny day. How can I not? That is what I bought it for. To enjoy the experience of being behind the wheel of it. I'm not storing it in an effort to try to retain as much value as I can. There are daily driven diesel pickup trucks that not only cost more but will retain more value than the R. Nobody in my lifetime is ever going to say wow I will give you what you paid or more for that R. I see Boss Mustangs with 600 miles still in the wrapper going for mid $30k. A two year model run totalling around 7000+ units. More rare than the GT350 to be honest. I've seen a 12 Boss LS510 with less than 8k miles completely stock sell for under $36k. They only made 750 of those for a total of 1500 for 2012-13. More exclusive than the R. There are no gold nuggets from the big three. There just isn't anymore. The dealers all want you to think they are tho, and people believe them. Dealers are like politicians. They lie...alot.

 

[JR369]

Guess what the UPS man dropped off today. The weather man says blizzard tomorrow....... will see if Mrs. zzrat feels up to crawling around with a helping hand! LOL View attachment 334549

Man I want a QA1 so bad. I just don't want to void my warranty yet so I must resist for now.

 

[Ltsrock]

I would echo alot of what JR369 said and points out. I bought my GT350r because it's sooooo awesome, unique and has a decent amount of exclusivity. I don't see GT350's let alone R's on the streets of Denver very often, that's exclusive enough for me. I admittedly paid ADM but have no regrets, this is my once in a lifetime car and feel that it's a privilege for me to own, ADM (warts too) and all!
My plan and dream was to buy a HellCat and would have paid ADM for it too. But as was noted, (In my words) HC's became a dime a dozen thanks to Dodge cranking them out by the thousands. The difference for me would have been that I never would have planned to track the HC and literally would have flogged it everytime that I drove it, smoke and rubber flying. I cannot bring myself to beat up on my GT350r, I track it and drive it aggressively but not like I have all of my other performance cars. So if you aren't happy with your GT350, I would agree to part ways and move on, life's to short to be unhappy

 

[IMDNS]

Since we are talking about resale value and ADM, story here in Canada is quite interesting.

Today I still see a 2017 R left in the lot asking for MSRP, and most GT350 are advertised with 10% discount.

I got mine for $69k ($81k MSRP) in Jan 2018. Enjoyed it for a summer with 4000km on it and traded it in for $61k in August. Now the average trade in is around $51k. $30k drop from MSRP in one year.
GT350 is a huge performance bargain even at MSRP: M4/C63 are around $95-100k and neither of them comes close to the GT350. Too bad most people here thinks driving a stick is like rocket science and RWD cars are useless for our long winter.

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