Traded my FR-S for a Mustang GT: A cautionary tale

[tennisfreak]

So just wanted to chime in with a personal update here.

When shopping for a new car this past weekend I drove a 2015 Mustang GT with track pack.

I can say that the Mustang has finally caught up to the Camaro (and may have even passed it).

While I may not be a huge fan of the look, the new Mustang drives and feels worlds better than the last gen.

It was good enough that it actually crossed my mind to consider buying one.

The dealer I was at had a custom order that was pretty base with track pack, upgraded wheels painted black, and recaro racing seats.

They were asking $35.7 which was very tempting especially when they offered $17.3k for my FR-S plus offered to take every mod I had on it off (for free) and give me the parts back (I have all my OEM parts).

[Jond63]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

So just wanted to chime in with a personal update here.

When shopping for a new car this past weekend I drove a 2015 Mustang GT with track pack.

I can say that the Mustang has finally caught up to the Camaro (and may have even passed it).

While I may not be a huge fan of the look, the new Mustang drives and feels worlds better than the last gen.

It was good enough that it actually crossed my mind to consider buying one.

The dealer I was at had a custom order that was pretty base with track pack, upgraded wheels painted black, and recaro racing seats.

They were asking $35.7 which was very tempting especially when they offered $17.3k for my FR-S plus offered to take every mod I had on it off (for free) and give me the parts back (I have all my OEM parts).

$17.3???!!!

[blackhawkdown]

Originally Posted by Jond63

$17.3???!!!

the struggle is real, it is better to buy a used twin then a brand new one with the way the value of the car is holding up.

[pinski]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

the struggle is real, it is better to buy a used twin then a brand new one with the way the value of the car is holding up.

At least it works out in our favor on property tax - the state valued my car at $21k.

[tennisfreak]

Originally Posted by Jond63

$17.3???!!!

Just for reference my FR-S is a 2013 with 25k miles and I'd like to think it is in excellent condition.

When I go to sell mine next month I will be asking $18k for a straight sale to a private individual.
I will also include every OEM part I have (which is everything but wheels) so the owner can decide what they want to do with them.

[BRZoomTX]

@Reason I feel for you, OP. I personally traded in a 2010 Roush 427r for my BRZ. Supercharged Mustang GT, full Roush track suspension, basically the best of 2010 without getting a GT500 from that year... After driving the BRZ I couldn't walk away.

My BRZ handles miles better than my track-tuned Roush ever did, even with lightweight 18" wheels on 285/30r18 Toyo Proxies r888's. The BRZ is a much better drivers car overall. What I miss downgrading from 500whp down to 165 at the wheels makes up in how much better the car handles.

I do not recommend anyone to trade in a twin on a Mustang, even a 2015 with IRS (test drove that too and the BRZ was still superior handling wise) unless you are specifically wanting straight-line speed. Note that you do not use that power all the time, and 99% of the time you're driving you are commuting. This is where you notice the improved handling and ride quality, and I'd personally rather have a car that performs better 99% of the time rather than that 1% I'm at WOT banging through the gears.

[gtslow]

Last week I traded in my 2011 Mustang GT (5.0) 6 speed on a CPO 2015 FR-S. The mustang isn't without its merits, but I felt that the car was too far off from where I wanted it to be. I got a great trade-in on my Mustang, which I had gotten a great price for 2.5 years ago. At first I was intoxicated by the power and the sound of the car with only the GT500 axleback installed on the car. After that wore off and I realized I was breaking the law every time I stepped on the gas the car, I started looking at different cars.


I cross shopped cars over all different segments. I thought about taking on more debt and stepping up to a Cayman S, C6 Z06, or an e90 M3. Ultimately I decided I didn't want a bigger car payment so I started looking in the "cheap & fun" category. That narrowed the cars down to the twins, focus ST, and the fiesta st. I was a big fan of the ST's but honestly loved the feel & look of the FR-S better.

Another thing that I would caution people about looking at 2011-2014 Mustangs is that there is a nagging traction control issue that has not even gotten a TSB let alone a recall. The issue will pop up randomly while you are driving and the traction control will start applying the brakes seemingly at random and it causes the car to shake violently. I took the car to the dealer while it was under warranty and they couldn't find or reproduce the issue. Other owners that drive their mustangs a lot more than me had to have the dealership put a black box in the car for months before they could track the issue down. It never popped up for me a second time, but it always stuck in the back of my mind as a potentially huge safety issue.

[LSxJunkie]

Ohaiguise. Next weekend I'm finally swapping out my Laguna Seca shocks and front springs for Koni Yellows and standard Boss front springs. The Laguna Seca shocks just didn't have enough rebound stiffness for my tastes, but too much compression stiffness, and the LS front springs are actually 11 lbs softer than the base Boss. Can't go aftermarket because I can't lower my car anymore and still daily it where I live. I'd love to have a 170lbs linear front spring that sits at Boss height, but nobody is interested in making that.

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by gtslow

Last week I traded in my 2011 Mustang GT (5.0) 6 speed on a CPO 2015 FR-S. The mustang isn't without its merits, but I felt that the car was too far off from where I wanted it to be. I got a great trade-in on my Mustang, which I had gotten a great price for 2.5 years ago. At first I was intoxicated by the power and the sound of the car with only the GT500 axleback installed on the car. After that wore off and I realized I was breaking the law every time I stepped on the gas the car, I started looking at different cars.


I cross shopped cars over all different segments. I thought about taking on more debt and stepping up to a Cayman S, C6 Z06, or an e90 M3. Ultimately I decided I didn't want a bigger car payment so I started looking in the "cheap & fun" category. That narrowed the cars down to the twins, focus ST, and the fiesta st. I was a big fan of the ST's but honestly loved the feel & look of the FR-S better.

Another thing that I would caution people about looking at 2011-2014 Mustangs is that there is a nagging traction control issue that has not even gotten a TSB let alone a recall. The issue will pop up randomly while you are driving and the traction control will start applying the brakes seemingly at random and it causes the car to shake violently. I took the car to the dealer while it was under warranty and they couldn't find or reproduce the issue. Other owners that drive their mustangs a lot more than me had to have the dealership put a black box in the car for months before they could track the issue down. It never popped up for me a second time, but it always stuck in the back of my mind as a potentially huge safety issue.

Any pics of the FRS?

[RichardsFRS]

So I'm bringing this back to life. I found it under a readit link and I have some perspective. I went the other way. Drove my GT for 13 yes off and on. It was a weekend warrior. The Mustang while being awesome car is no where near the driving machine the FRS is. And the suck stock as live axels. You have to lower them to keep them grounded. I'm sure all this has changed for 2015 but they are still heavy(ier). Mustang is awesome for straight line runs. But it ain't much for drivability.

Again I'm sure the game has changed with 2015. They also suck gas. WOT you can see the needle move. I had my day in the sun with mustang and I still miss mine but my whiteout my puts a smile on my face.

Sorry for bringing back the dead

[Sherb]

My dad always tells me how he beat this 5.0 mustang in his Toyota Sienna. Junk cars according to him. Too heavy and it's a Ford.... Who honestly buys American these days. Unless it's classic American muscle that's different. Go with the Brz if you haven't

[xRavenFRSx]

Originally Posted by Sherb

My dad always tells me how he beat this 5.0 mustang in his Toyota Sienna. Junk cars according to him. Too heavy and it's a Ford.... Who honestly buys American these days. Unless it's classic American muscle that's different. Go with the Brz if you haven't

If only I had a dollar for everytime someones dad had an "I smoked this 5.0 Mustang" story in some family car and claimed they were trash. Its just BS justification to make people feel better about what they have.

Im sure OP doesnt need more opinions at this point, this late. But i couldnt help but respond to this. If you want to have a valid opinion about a car, please go look at it, and drive it first. Please dont spread your jealous dads uninformed opinion as valid criticism. And to make this a bit broader, that really should go for anything.

[Cole]

A friend of mine owns a 2015 Mustang GT with the track pack, blah blah blah, etc. Before I went for a ride along with him, it was the classic tale "your car can't turn, it's got nothing on the FRS in terms of driving dynamics, blah blah blah".

Anyhow, after that drive he took me on, holy cow. While the Mustang doesn't handle as well as the FRS (and I'm sure that the ecoboost is much closer, due to less weight on the front end) it does probably 75.69% of what the FRS can do, with a hell of a lot more get up and go. Plus, it's got creature comforts and shit.

I've had my fun with the FRS, will probably keep it another 2 years and then hope that there's something even closer to the middle ground between the FRS and the Mustang. I can't hate on the FRS, sure, it "lacks power" but, I don't find the power to be an issue. The argument can always be made that "well, I was behind someone and they were going too slow, then when I went to pass them, they sped up and I couldn't get ahead of them". When that happens to me, I back way the hell off, and just enjoy my drive. I'm literally never in that much of a hurry that going 10-20 kmh is going to make me late or exceptionally upset that I didn't make it to my destination 4 minutes quicker. What does get to me sometimes, is the lack of driving comfort. I like dual zone/auto climate control, I like nicer materials in the interior (not that the FRS is even bad material wise, but it cold be nicer), heated/cooled seats would be nice. There's a lot of things I'd like to have, and a superior chassis is something I'd be willing to sacrifice for that.

What I'll miss: Having a smile on my face when I go around a corner fast, great fuel economy, not having to be a taxi ever, and low maintenance costs.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Sherb

Who honestly buys American these days.

Ummmmm Last year about 140,000 people for the Mustang alone.