‘18MY 350R Production

I agree with @ANGREY If I felt confident Ford will release another “pure” GT350 in the future, frankly I’d probably not have bought it.

But we are coming to the end of the road for road legal cars like this. I HOPE they do release a badder GT350R with a plate but eventually they’ll all be FP350S-s we have to trailer somewhere to drive.

CO Mack said:

Dropped it last night and sold it last night. $65 is a fire sale price.

Btw- the only way I’d care about resale on mine is if the GT500 drops as a NA 600HP car with carbon bodywork and manual transmission. They could call it the My Little Pony edition and I’d buy it. Otherwise you could offer me what I paid new for my R and I wouldn’t take it.

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There may be some purists left like you, but if we're honest, you're not the norm.

I see the new 10 speed autos and want to vomit. Half the fun of driving a sports/performance car is banging through gears and the control of the rpms and feel/feedback of the car. Maybe people could argue that paddle shifters and an auto are an even more exotic/high performance arrangement, but I just feel a resistance to a sports car with an automatic transmission.

But I'm not the norm. The auto manufacturers don't cater to extremes or purists, they cater to the mob (where they make the most money). That's why we have V6 convertible mustangs (puke).

What I'm saying is that sure, if the 500 comes out and it has a twin screw, there are a few purists who will turn their nose at it in favor of the NA road racer (350) but a lot of people will just march on over. That's exactly what's happening with the ZL1. The Grand Sport grows in popularity each year.

I feel like with fuel efficiency standards, the days of manual trannies (mechanical type, not gender converts) are on the way out too.

And the new formula for Detroit (and foreign makes) to satisfy the EPA and their bullshit is smaller displacement with turbos or a blower. That's the ONLY way they're going to be able to continually make more power (or even same power) and meet the law(s).

I guess what I'm saying is that if the 500 is a 350R with a twin screw and even remotely close to the MSRP of the current 350R, the value of the R's is going to drop like a bowling ball at a swim meet.

There are enough purists to support the price, I think. Others are welcome to argue semantics about whether the R is truly a “limited edition”, but it only takes a few thousand, with the money to own them globally, to keep prices up. Jay Leno called it a top car of all time, and he’s not a Ford purist and has a huge collection/experience to base that claim on.

The original GT350 is considered the quintessential Pony car and the new one is true to the heritage. We’ll see prices continue to bounce around MSRP (+/- $10k) until they sell out. Then they likely firm up a bit as last minute people accept reality and pay more than they want so they don’t miss the boat, and then start down slowly. HOWEVER, in a few years after the people who bought a GT350 because it was the “latest top Mustang” (and then went looking for blowers/turbos because GT500s or ZL1s or Hellcats are faster) have sold off to the purists that have been waiting we could see what’s happened around other pure cars; stick Porsches, the BMW M1 etc. Or, Ford could out GT350 the 15-18 GT350R and values track the 302LS post GT350 announcements. Ferrari just did a 6.5l, 13.6:1 NA beast so there’s hope. We’ll have to see.

ANGREY said:

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3) Why do people obsess about this stuff anyway? Just buy a product for what you think is a good value and enjoy it. If a better product comes along, make your decision then. I'm not devoid of trying to get the most for my money or making smart decisions, but I'm also not constantly haunted and aggravated with buyer's remorse or wondering whether I made the right decision or whether or not I could have held out or should have bought something else.

...

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That applies directly to yourself, though. You just bought your GT350 and instead of enjoying the car, you're asking/worrying about depreciation. Do you feel like you paid too much and won't get a return on it when you dump it in a few months for the next shiny new thing? It seems like you really do have buyers remorse.

ANGREY said:

...
What I'm saying is that sure, if the 500 comes out and it has a twin screw, there are a few purists who will turn their nose at it in favor of the NA road racer (350) but a lot of people will just march on over. ..

I guess what I'm saying is that if the 500 is a 350R with a twin screw and even remotely close to the MSRP of the current 350R, the value of the R's is going to drop like a bowling ball at a swim meet.

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Look at it this way. There still aren't enough GT350s to meet demand. There are thousands upon thousands of people out there who want a taste of the Voodoo magic. The next GT500 is not going to use the Voodoo engine; probably not even a variant of it. So there will still be plenty of people who still want a GT350 and especially the GT350R. Consider this. The GT350 is about 1% of total Mustang production year over year. The GT350R is ~10% of GT350 production or 0.1% of total Mustang production year over year. Let that sink in for a second. Zero point one percent. Trust me. The R's value is not going to tank when the GT500 comes. The Laguna Seca was still demanding ADMs in spite of the '13 GT500. You might say, "But the LS was a track car and the GT500 was a straight line car!" Not so fast. Look at the track times for both cars. The GT500 was actually faster than the LS by a few tenths, depending on the track, but it didn't drive anywhere near as well as the LS. So that argument holds no water. The next GT500 will no doubt outperform the R on a track, but it won't have the same feeling. Like I keep saying, the GT500 will be to the R what the 911 Turbo S is to the GT3. Two different cars, and one doesn't affect the other's value or desirability.

GT Premi said:

That applies directly to yourself, though. You just bought your GT350 and instead of enjoying the car, you're asking/worrying about depreciation. Do you feel like you paid too much and won't get a return on it when you dump it in a few months for the next shiny new thing? It seems like you really do have buyers remorse.



Look at it this way. There still aren't enough GT350s to meet demand. There are thousands upon thousands of people out there who want a taste of the Voodoo magic. The next GT500 is not going to use the Voodoo engine; probably not even a variant of it. So there will still be plenty of people who still want a GT350 and especially the GT350R. Consider this. The GT350 is about 1% of total Mustang production year over year. The GT350R is ~10% of GT350 production or 0.1% of total Mustang production year over year. Let that sink in for a second. Zero point one percent. Trust me. The R's value is not going to tank when the GT500 comes. The Laguna Seca was still demanding ADMs in spite of the '13 GT500. You might say, "But the LS was a track car and the GT500 was a straight line car!" Not so fast. Look at the track times for both cars. The GT500 was actually faster than the LS by a few tenths, depending on the track. So that argument holds no water. The next GT500 will no doubt outperform the R on a track, but it won't have the same feeling. Like I keep saying, the GT500 will be to the R what the 911 Turbo S is to the GT3. Two different cars, and one doesn't affect the other's value or desirability.

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We'll just see what we'll see. All will tell in time. We'll circle back in a year and see if people that paid $10k over for an R aren't dumping them on the market for $15k under MSRP to get the newest/baddest track mustang.

As for me personally, I'm just having fun in an internet forum. I don't care if the new 500 can cure cancer and travel backward in time, I have no plans to sell my car anytime soon and could care less if the price doubles or halves in the near future.

13COBRA said:

I think anyone who thinks the R values will maintain over MSRP, is crazy.

Did you guys think the Boss 302 LS would maintain its value? The 2008/09 GT500KR?

When the new GT500 is announced, the GT350(R)'s will maintain a slow and steady decline. There are several GT350s with less than 10k miles that are advertised at $49k. I would venture to bet that the prices follow those of the Boss 302(LS). In two or three years the GT350s will be in the mid to upper $30ks, and the R's will be in the upper $40k's to mid $50k's.

Quote me

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Ive seen a few Boss LS cars in the high 30's in the last few weeks.

IMO the GT350 hype is coming to an end. Sick cars? Yes, absolutely. But they, like all other Ford niche or Shelby cars will see declining values over the short term (5 years?).

Yes, they'll always hold value but to think that they will continue to appreciate forever from today forward is ridiculous.

There are TONS of GT350's on Autotrader right now as we speak for $4-5k under MSRP. Moreover, if you walk into said dealer, you'd be foolish to think you couldn't do even better than that in person.

If one looks at the long-term history of virtually any limited-production performance car, you'll see the same thing. Limited short-term depreciation, moderate mid-term depreciation, long-term appreciation. A few examples:

1) Porsche 911 turbo. Pick ANY generation. Expensive cars, hold value well, depreciate to ~$40k at the floor (in today's dollars), then go back up slowly, then rise quickly. 996TTs are at the floor right now, $40-45k, just starting to trend back up. 997TTs are in the low $50s and dropping. They'll bottom out in the next few years. 991TTs are still spendy. 993s are 6-figure cars.

2) BMW 1 series M. MSRP $50k, sold new/ just used for $60k, sustained at $60k for a few years. Now creeping down into the high $40s. They will probably drop for a little while, then go back up. The BMWs depreciate more than Porsches; most M3s get downright cheap for several years before trending back up. Same with M5s. I had an E28 M5 that I bought for $9k and sold for $10k in 2007; I couldn't buy that car for $25k today.

The GT350R will stick close to MSRP for a couple years. Those who paid big ADMs probably won't get that back. Those who paid MSRP or close will experience negligible depreciation (find me other $65k cars that lose <$10k in value in 3-4 years ... buy a $65k 5-series and it's worth $25k in 4 years). Those who hang onto the car for 15 years+ will probably see an up-swing.

In virtually all cases, the stock market will beat cars as an investment. (That said, 1968 G.T. 350s beat the S&P500 based on some recent BaT auctions.) Buy what you like, pay what you're comfortable with, drive the damn car, and all in, these things will be cheap to own and way more fun than anything else at the price point. If a speculator makes a few bucks, good for them. If not, not a big deal. I definitely wouldn't buy one to put in bubble wrap for later, but if someone else does, I'm not worried about it.

GT Premi said:

Have you been off-planet or something??

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lol - major life changes (nothing health related, thankfully) and simple frustration with my efforts to find a car with a less-than-5k ADM (I fully understand where MSRP and ADM "play out") and I just turned away for a while. I get newsletters from several "car boards" but none of them ever mentioned anything about he status of the 350/350R....

I may have to ping a few dealers - but has the allocation model for the "R" changed at all?

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R-CODE said:

Delay on GT500 will not launch until 2020
-Gotti

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So not a single GT500 will be produced in calendar year 2019?

Just a few weeks ago it was said to be coming in 2019 calendar year. That means it could run in the back half of year 2019 as a 2020MY.

Also, year 2018 was noted to be a short GT350/R year, it was noted by someone in FP. Does that mean 2018 year will be similar to 2017 year? Running from june 2017 until september 2018? That would make the 2019 MY GT350 a short run? To me it looks like they are having some issues at ford with this GT500.

Tob said:

So not a single GT500 will be produced in calendar year 2019?

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It appears so.

I’m glad I still have/love my 14gt500. I would consider trading it for the new gt500 if it ever comes out and I love it more.

conceptmachine said:

... To me it looks like they are having some issues at ford with this GT500.

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Piecing it together with info that Tob posted a few weeks ago, the "issue" is with Tremec getting the DCT spooled up for full production. That in and of itself doesn't really justify delaying the release of the car, though. They could still push out the manual versions and bring the DCT as a late addition to the lineup.

Gotti thanks for the information. Glad to hear there will be MY19 R models!

R-CODE said:

Today we start back into production of the Shelby. Before the winter hiatus I was told 900 units of the ‘18MY350R; I will get confirmation the total # of units next week if there were any changes.
As of now we will be building a 2019MY GT350/R
Delay on GT500 will not launch until 2020
-Gotti

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Just received info on my 2018 GT350R ordered over 2 years ago here in Canada. Build week due April 23rd

Update Here my Chassis # JR428 produced today April 30 2018

nfldcoffee said:

View attachment 1484116
Update Here my Chassis # JR428 produced today April 30 2018

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Oh boy! Any ETA?

Zemedici said:

Oh boy! Any ETA?

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May 24-30th to Newfoundland Canada

How do the R’s perform on a glacier?