warning: rambling long response here.

the 6-speed getrag is assembled in china. yes, china. there were a lot of quality control issues which resulted in early 2011 models eating gears and causing owners a lot of grief. it's supposed to be better now. regardless, take it for a long test drive in the city with lots of gearchanges to make sure it's good and someone didn't thrash it in those 218kms... there is a youtube vid of a salesperson powershifting a GT500 down a back road somewhere.

(if you do buy this, the first mod you should do is go underneath and unplug the 1/4 skip shift solenoid on the trans, and go find a barton or steeda shfiter with an stiffer mount. you can thank me later.)

engine wise i have heard of many owners experiencing a ticking sound from the engine similar to injector sounds, but it isn't, and it's loud. some have had their engines replaced under warranty, and others are still fighting with ford with the issue unresolved. i've also heard of flywheel issues with the bolts backing out and doing all sorts of bad bad things :(

the steeda parts are nice, but i see no shocks listed. from what you say this is not a brembo track pack car, so it dosen't have the upgraded shocks. you might want to upgrade that a later point because the stock shocks can't keep up.

if you are getting brembo calipers, you will need a gt500 or boss 302 brake booster. if you do just the brakes alone it's going to feel not quite right afterwards... but it will still work.

also, remember the brembo calipers eat up a lot of space, so those wheels might not fit afterwards. check beforehand. better pads/rotors/brake fluids on the stock brakes are a definite improvement, but this is still a ~3600lb car and is no honda civic... so tie a boat anchor to something, throw it out the window and hope for the best.

2014 gt500 6-piston conversions (including rotors) can be found online used/dealer take-off for $1kusd and up. some have the rear conversion as well for added cost.

i may have my facts wrong, but if you checked off the option for recaros when ordering a GT from the factory, it's a $500 extra. if you are getting them from ford racing, it's almost $2700-3000usd plus shipping (ground freight), and it dosen't come in leather, and has no power adjustment. also, ordering the recaros means the cold weather package heated seats will not be there. but if you don't drive in the winter then no big deal. otherwise, the recaros are a big improvement over the stock seats, and without the power assist junk they are very light for an airbag seat. also you won't have to deal with the stock seat headrest pushing your helmet forward (ford says adjustable? not).

nitto invos are one of the cheapest tires available in the 20 inch size (but cheap 20" tires can cost as much as really good 19" tires) because there are not many choices available for the mustang unfortunately. it's a great tire for cruising around on, but if you like to push it a lot they can't handle the power and weight the mustang has and are a bit unpredictable.

i think the only other option for gearing was 3.73 if ordered from factory (not 100% sure). ford racing sells other FD ratios. expect real world 12-14L/100kms combined "normal" driving with the 3.73. again, if you hammer it all the time, 18-20L/100kms in consumption is not unexpected. this is on premium unleaded.

if you already test drove it, then you know that roush axlebacks have no packing/insulation in them and are pretty much resonated-only. it sounds great, neighbors will hate you and cops will love you for helping them with their noise violation ticket quotas.

from the pictures shown, that car might have an almost 2" drop? an adjustable UCA and new rear lowers are recommended, otherwise you might get that clunk someone posted about on the upshift because being lowered so much has changed the pinion angle too much, and a lot of wheel hop.

the sn197 is a good chassis compared to previous generations, but like many other cars with suspension mods, you're going to get a lot of creaks and rattles with it (again, it's a ford, not a honda), especially with the live rear axle. but then again you would probably not hear anything over those roush axlebacks lol.

someone said backup sensors... a definite yes. you can also get an oem backup camera for it as well. it's normally mounted in the non-pedestal spoiler above the center brake light in the trunk lid, and if you don't have the myfordtouch navi screen, it will display in the center mirror.

oh yeah, about buying a 2014... i'm still on the fence. the new one is supposedly coming out next year. spyphotos are everywhere, including the gt350. with the shorter size, less weight, and the new IRL, many are holding back from buying the current model or holding on to what they have now. there could be a lot of trade-ins in the next year or two and resale values could take a big dive... but then again, if the new mustang turns out to look like a truncated 2-door rwd fusion or the equivalent of the ford probe from back in the 1990's, the sn197 may be the last decent mustang (doubtful).

anyone else? i may have gotten some facts wrong... sold as is your mileage may vary blah blah :)

damn that mustang looks sick
love the colour

my civic would eat this thing!

:fullofwin:

better?

ps ive never been a fan of mustangs, but this actually looks pretty good!

That price is ludicrous. I know I just ordered a '14 focus ST because I felt the stang was overpriced. There was a grabber blue 5.0 at key west, it had no recaro's, no track pack, and it was an auto. AND THEY STILL WANTED $45,000 for it. What a joke

Edit: thumper is bang on
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what a ripoff.

it's gone now, but one of the ford dealers in surrey was advertising a brand new heavily discounted 6spd 2014 GT with the track pack/myfordtouch/backup camera/recaros... basically everything but the glass roof for $47k. and pioneer chrysler is selling an unregistered 2013 boss 302 with recaros and the optional torsen diff for $48-49k (car was won in some contest and the winner dosen't want it)?

if you are going to buy a ford, do it with the employee discounts, costco membership discount ($1k), year end reductions, and any other rebates you can find, otherwise you're going to get screwed.

I was more so frustrated with all the wasted time. If they would have told me off the bat the price of 34k was if the car was stock then I would have walked away. Oh well.

Thanks for everyone's help!
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rough estimate but my guess is that the mods are about $6-7k on the high side? and then labor to install @$100+/hr? ugh...

this is why you should save your pennies...

^ damn that's an old school american exhaust note, love it.

the current mustang is outgunned against the top spec camaro's available right now. this car is ford's declaration of war against the z/28 and zl-1, so they should enjoy it while it lasts.

(waiting for timpo to give his GT-R spiel again)

^^ although the top spec camaro may be slightly faster, i still feel the interior, build quality and general design are still all the best in the mustang. I won't even bother mentioning the challenger (I love the looks but id never want to own one)

Just FYI, I've been a mustang hater all my life with the exception of the newest few years. And the last generation body style in saleen trim in red (thanks gran turismo 3)
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if the camaro had a better translation of retro styling for the interior i would say it was better than the mustang, but it isn't. i'm not sure if i can say the mustang has better design (tupperware door cards, useless cupholders, no dead pedal?!?), especially if you just stepped out of an acura, bmw, etc. (or even a ford focus ST), but it's light years ahead of the 05-09 models.

from the spyhots floating around, the interior has been completely redesigned. they want to sell this car in europe (there are RHD models being tested) so fingers crossed.

Mustang GT or M3 :troll:

Wow, the shape on the tail end on the '14 spyshot video looks way better than the current bubbly one.

Hmm alright I suppose you are righ on the door card issue. The centre console where the mytouch is located is somewhat showing its age (compared to the rest of fords lineup, as they almost design the dash AROUND the 8" screen) but I didn't know the cup holders were useless lol. I do like the brushed aluminum accents though. I am surprised it doesn't come with any of the smart key or start button stuff.
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anyone else notice how many wheels the semi-trailer had at 1:40? I've never seen so many wheels on a trailer

makes you wonder what's inside...

take one out for a test drive, stick your fresh hot starbucks grande americano in the cupholder and then go rip off a 1-2 gearchange and let your elbow enjoy your brew... afterwards, feel free to take advantage of ford's thoughtfulness in being able to change the MyColor LED accents to red inside said cupholders to reflect the pain from 3rd degree burns lol.

looks real aggressive i like it