Want some opinions on buying a lightly used GT500

[frodaddyweez]

Been lurking for awhile and researching my ass off. Thinking about pulling a trigger on another car later this year and I think it's going to be a GT500. I just have a few more questions.

Background: I currently have a 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 with close to 400whp. Bought it brand new and its a blast but i'm at an impasse. My goals are 500whp and to get that, I need to build the motor. Instead of spending $5k on that, I'd rather put that towards a car with room to grow past 500whp.

After researching new and used cars, such as GTOs, Camaros, Mustangs, Corvettes etc., I stumbled upon used GT500s. After researching them quite a bit and seeing that they have an all but bulletproof drivetrain up until 700whp, I don't see any reason why not to get one.

Now my Mazda is my daily and whatever car I get next will be my daily as well since I'll probably sell the Mazda to help with the downpayment.

Since 500whp is just a couple mods away and 600 not too far away, which would be the highest I would go, is there any reason not to get a <20k mile GT500? My commute to work would be about 20 miles one way. Mostly highway. I take care of my cars very well and enjoy some spirited driving like anyone else. I may take the new car to the 1/4 mile a couple times but that would be it.

I've test driven a couple and don't like how the leather on the steering wheel wears quickly on the 07-09s so I might wait for a good deal on a 10-12. Sorry for the long winded post. Just excited to get back to some V8 goodness.

TL;DR would a lightly used GT500 be a bad investment as a daily driver?

 

[07 Black Beauty]

I've been daily driving my 07 gt500 for 3 years now and it still puts a smile on my face every day when I fire her up. About the only down side is gas mileage , but you don't expect great gas mileage out of a supercharged V8 just pure enjoyment.

 

[brandonflood123]

i picked up a 2010 for a steal with all the options i want with extremly low milage (9k) keep in mind that the shelbys come with nearly 500rwhp( like 460-490) stock minor bolt ons make theese cars turn into beasts.

just so you know cary kramp team leader of the rome niche building line( builds the gt500 motors) says the motors are safe to put out 750rwhp and has seen people go as high as 1000 but not knowing how long the motor lasts stock internals. the gt500 has an awesome platform to build from that can give most performance enthusiasts more then enouph bang for what they are looking for.

honnestly i would say get the gt500. if you could pick up a 2011-12 id recomend that they have a better fuel system and an aluminum block which sheads 100lbs off the car. anyways good luck and hope you find what your looking for! :beer:

edit: i daily drive mine everyday 60miles. just bought myself a whipple and with supporting mods im hoping to see 700+ to the rear and i will still daily drive it. only reason i may consider getting a dd is becuase of keeping milage down and gas milage i didnt buy the car for gas milage tho lol.

sorry for my rant

 

[Silver_Serpent]

From the clutch to the well mannered throttle when just cruizing around, you really cant get much better of a daily driver that can put down 700rwhp than the GT500. I could get in my car and drive it across the country just as easily as any car I have ever owned. However, you are still about 4" of right foot travel away from unleashing hell at all times.

 

[tvspower]

New over old... I prefer the 07-09 for appearance... My 08 with suspension and power mods can/will run with the newer ones....I have no problems with any 1-2 gear grinds most NEWER ones have... If you never experienced BIG low end TQ then get ready for a change of underwear.... I make just over 600hp/tq to the wheels.... Hang on.. get in .. shut up and enjoy....... Research the KNOWN PROBLEMS with all years.... 07-09 yrs make sure the TSB on clutch and trans were done. Low mileage on these yrs can comeback and cost you......:beer:

 

[nxhappy]

I LOVE my 07. And I'm going to love it even more once my project is done and she's running with the new supercharger

BUY IT....ANY YEAR YOU WANT....AND JUST SMILE !

 

[jbice03]

I just bought a 2010 with 25,000 miles on it from Texas direct auto for 37. Started out looking for just a GT but once I seen and drove this car I couldn't walk away from it. I drive my truck back and forth from work but the GT500 gets drove almost everyday I'm off. I've put 2000 miles on it since the first week of december and have had no issues. My car came with aftermarket upper/lower and idler pulley's. I bought a JLT CAI, FRPP throttle body, and added high flow cats/magnapack mufflers. The car dynoed 556RWHP and is a blast to drive. You'll love it and as long as you don't get carried away with the mods it should last if you take care of it. New or old there all good.

 

[94CobraPace]

Just picked up my 2010 and am DD it. No issue at all. Tires will be a concern if driving in the winter, get rid of the F1's and get some all season. Go for it, will not be disappointed.

 

[Falcon Fixer]

I daily drive my 2011 GT that has been worked on a little bit. 425h/390t 30k miles
Found my GT 500 while at the dealer getting an oil change.Less than 1500 miles on it then.Still less than 7500 miles.
My GT 500 would grind it into dust while it was still stock and will just crush it now.

They are fun cars to own.If my GT 500 had a glass roof like my GT does, I would only have the GT 500.

 

[brandonflood123]

I just bought a 2010 with 25,000 miles on it from Texas direct auto for 37. Started out looking for just a GT but once I seen and drove this car I couldn't walk away from it. I drive my truck back and forth from work but the GT500 gets drove almost everyday I'm off. I've put 2000 miles on it since the first week of december and have had no issues. My car came with aftermarket upper/lower and idler pulley's. I bought a JLT CAI, FRPP throttle body, and added high flow cats/magnapack mufflers. The car dynoed 556RWHP and is a blast to drive. You'll love it and as long as you don't get carried away with the mods it should last if you take care of it. New or old there all good.

dude! i looked at that car before i got mine! i shopped around a little more and got one with the nav and 9k miles for 38! and the exact color combo i wanted. you got the red one with white stripes and it had a pullie on it correct? if so i test drove that one! :beer:

 

[frodaddyweez]

Thanks for all the quick replies guys. My big concern was future proofing the car for bigger mods down the road. I didn't like having to replace the clutch on my Mazda once i swapped the turbo for a bigger one. That's what's pushing me towards the GT500 instead of the regular 5.0 GT.

I heard about some TSB for the 07-09s so i'll have to look more into that. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge too. I figured I was spoiled by how technical my Mazda forum was but this place seems to be the most technical out of all the other Ford performance forums i've looked at. Can't wait to start contributing around here also.

One more question to those that DD their GT500. How often are y'all having to buy new tires and how much are they? I'm guessing thats the only type of maintenance I know of that will probably be more frequent than my Mazda. Although I was changing mine out every year or so.

 

[bFoxGt500]

I daily drove my 08 for a good two years before I got another DD (99 Mustang GT), which I bought because I was doing too many track events to continue to drive it everyday. Tires aren't bad and you can get very good mileag out of them, depending on how you drive. I am curios if you've seriously considered a 5.0 Mustang GT. You can get a brand new (2014), very well equipped GT for the price of a 4-5 yr old, higher mileage GT500. I think If I was in the market today, I would consider that - they'll handle 500 RWHP pretty easily as well. (I am not unhappy with my Shelby - I've had it for 4 years now adn will not get rid of it until I run it into a wall on the track).

 

[frodaddyweez]

Honestly the prices of the 2014 Mustang GTs is what got me started on this whole thing. They've dropped so much since the announcement of the 2015 Mustang. When I started looking recently, a GT Coupe with the 3.73 rear end was enough to make me happy. Those are dropping to about $25k at several places here. I was going to wait til April to see how much lower dealerships would go. But my goal of 500whp wouldn't be had unless i get every available bolt on or put a TVS on it. And then I'm looking at another $5k-$7k at least for that.

Honestly, I probably would be happy with 420-430whp on a regular GT with Intake/Exhaust/Tune (maybe E85) but ultimately I want more room to build past that because I know I'll get used to it. Without having to replace clutches, trans, rods, and all that jazz.

 

[Blk04L]

That's my plan OP.

Looking for a 10+ Gt500 as well to DD.

 

[jbice03]

dude! i looked at that car before i got mine! i shopped around a little more and got one with the nav and 9k miles for 38! and the exact color combo i wanted. you got the red one with white stripes and it had a pullie on it correct? if so i test drove that one! :beer:

Yea thats the one I ended up with. By the way you got my favorite color combo. I wish I had a little history on the car with 25,000 miles on it but it seems to have been well taken care of. No grinding in the gears it shifts smooth and runs good. I almost bought a 2012 GT with 7,000 miles on it for 26,500 but by the time I did full exhaust and a dyno tune that was going to be almost $4,000 I would have been over 30 with no other mods and about 420 RWHP. As stated before this one came with all 3 pulley's and was right at 500 the way I bought it. I believe the stock clutch will support up to around 700RWHP.

 

[jbice03]

dude! i looked at that car before i got mine! i shopped around a little more and got one with the nav and 9k miles for 38! and the exact color combo i wanted. you got the red one with white stripes and it had a pullie on it correct? if so i test drove that one! :beer:

Heres the way it looks today. I added roush rear springs and some wheels. Got my 2013-2014 headlights and harness on the way.

 

[nxhappy]

Honestly the prices of the 2014 Mustang GTs is what got me started on this whole thing. They've dropped so much since the announcement of the 2015 Mustang. When I started looking recently, a GT Coupe with the 3.73 rear end was enough to make me happy. Those are dropping to about $25k at several places here. I was going to wait til April to see how much lower dealerships would go. But my goal of 500whp wouldn't be had unless i get every available bolt on or put a TVS on it. And then I'm looking at another $5k-$7k at least for that.

Honestly, I probably would be happy with 420-430whp on a regular GT with Intake/Exhaust/Tune (maybe E85) but ultimately I want more room to build past that because I know I'll get used to it. Without having to replace clutches, trans, rods, and all that jazz.

First you'll want 450whp. Then you'll want 600whp. Then you'll want 700whp LOL....it's a bad bad disease.

If you are looking for a cheaper price...the 07-08 GT500s can be found fairly cheap. If you find a cheap 08 buy it ! The 08s came with the "better" harmonic balancer.

 

[frodaddyweez]

First you'll want 450whp. Then you'll want 600whp. Then you'll want 700whp LOL....it's a bad bad disease.



If you are looking for a cheaper price...the 07-08 GT500s can be found fairly cheap. If you find a cheap 08 buy it ! The 08s came with the "better" harmonic balancer.

Haha yeah that's how it's been with the Mazda. First just fully bolted. Then maybe I'll be happy with a bigger stock frame turbo. Then this custom V-band kit should be enough.

I'm assuming the 09s have the better harmonic balancer too?

 

[brandonflood123]

Heres the way it looks today. I added roush rear springs and some wheels. Got my 2013-2014 headlights and harness on the way.

hell yeah man glad to see sombody on the fourms picked her up!:beer:

 

[nxhappy]

Haha yeah that's how it's been with the Mazda. First just fully bolted. Then maybe I'll be happy with a bigger stock frame turbo. Then this custom V-band kit should be enough.

I'm assuming the 09s have the better harmonic balancer too?

yes 07 had the big ass heavy balancer lol. Not sure why Ford did that. Then in 08 they made it 10lbs lighter. I recently had to swap mine over. Let me tell ya....it felt like Zeus himself had tightened that balancer bolt. Not fun.