How perfect do you want it to be?

05PhillyStang · Apr 27, 2005

I was wondering what level of perfection you expect when you first pick up your Mustang (or any mass production car). Some of the things that people like those on this site see, would go unnoticed by most car buyers. I was just curious as to what you guys and girls have found (good and bad) and if it was something that you would bring up to the dealer. Please don't post any mechanical or performance issues, this is strictly about how the car looks. Here's what I found:

BAD

1. A small plastic "screw" that holds the plastic underneath the back seat is loose. It pulls right out.

2. Swirl marks on the trunk. The thing is, you can only see them when under a florescent light or if you look for it in direct sunlight.

3. A thread underneath the paint on the rear bumper. One spot seems like a thread; about 2 inches over, it seems like there was a small nick in the bumper and it's showing through the paint.

GOOD

1. The seats. Very comfortable, and so far, durable. They are not hard, but sturdy enough that they hold you in place.

2. Steering wheel. Cool design

3. IUP. To be honest, I ordered the car with IUP not because I really liked it but because I thought, "It beats the plain interior." I expected this to be cheap tape material that would show fading in a few years. I know it's too early to determine fading, but as for the looks...

EDIT: I haven't told the dealer about anything on my "bad" list, yet. I'm still debating. Keep in mind, this is a mass production car. If it were custom, I'd have EVERY little thing fixed.

liimey · Apr 27, 2005

05PhillyStang said:
I was wondering what level of perfection you expect when you first pick up your Mustang (or any mass production car). Some of the things that people like those on this site see, would go unnoticed by most car buyers. I was just curious as to what you guys and girls have found (good and bad) and if it was something that you would bring up to the dealer. Please don't post any mechanical or performance issues, this is strictly about how the car looks. Here's what I found:

BAD

1. A small plastic "screw" that holds the plastic underneath the back seat is loose. It pulls right out.

2. Swirl marks on the trunk. The thing is, you can only see them when under a florescent light or if you look for it in direct sunlight.

3. A thread underneath the paint on the rear bumper. One spot seems like a thread; about 2 inches over, it seems like there was a small nick in the bumper and it's showing through the paint.

GOOD

1. The seats. Very comfortable, and so far, durable. They are not hard, but sturdy enough that they hold you in place.

2. Steering wheel. Cool design

3. IUP. To be honest, I ordered the car with IUP not because I really liked it but because I thought, "It beats the plain interior." I expected this to be cheap tape material that would show fading in a few years. I know it's too early to determine fading, but as for the looks...

EDIT: I haven't told the dealer about anything on my "bad" list, yet. I'm still debating. Keep in mind, this is a mass production car. If it were custom, I'd have EVERY little thing fixed.

Just picked up my converatble yesterday and did a very close inspection and found
1) On the bottom lip of the drivers door, the paint had run and there is a 3 mm drip extruding out of the bottom
2) The rear bumper has been poorly painted to the point that I can see the black plastic through the white paint.

Dealer will resolve, I would not be too happy with a brand new car having to have the complete door and rear bumper painted again. Luckily my car is white and would be easy to match.

That is it so far. I'll keep you posted

GTJade · Apr 27, 2005

How perfect? In a word - perfect. But it wasn't anywhere near.

1. Paint has a lot of orange peel. Fortunately you can see it only at certain angles and under certain light. Realizing orange peel is not uncommon w/factory paint, I can live with it.

2. There is a scratch in the paint where the ding-dong dealer removed another dealer's emblem and placed theirs (it was a dealer trade). This is what pissed me off the most.

3. Make-ready was HORRIBLE. They did a total crap job in cleaning her up. There was blue lint from their shop rags all over the carpet. Overspray all over the interior where they had sprayed something oily to clean the dash, but didn't bother wiping it off. I took it home and detailed the hell out of it myself and made it perfect!

4. Trash in the paint. There is one piece of dust/trash in the paint on the hood. Something else I can live with.

5. Aluminum insert on the door sill was missing on the driver side. I had to insist that they order another. When it finally came in, they offered to install it - no thanks. I let my boyfriend do it.

Dealer offered to fix the scratch they put on the rear but wanted to repaint the whole bumper. Yeah, right-o. I'll find a really good paint shop before I let them touch it. They've already proved that they're careless as hell. I'll pass on the free oil change, too.

The only people that had a clue about how to leave a car in perfect condition, thus far was my tint shop - Custom Sounds in Austin. They left my car as pristine as she was when I dropped her off!

ExCon · Apr 27, 2005

Other than a VERY MINOR piece of material sticking from the rear bumper the car arrived perfect. Nitpick issues for myself are not in initial build quality itself but the materials used. Cheap seats, cheap stereo, cheap carpeting etc. The engine compartment also looks very low budget, the wiring harnesses look horrible. Nickel and dime issues on an otherwise fantastic 32K 300HP Convertible. My car suffered from none of the initial problems associated with the car other than breaking down at 41 miles but I kinda expected that!!

GTJade · Apr 27, 2005

ExCon said:
Nitpick issues for myself are not in initial build quality itself but the materials used. Cheap seats, cheap stereo, cheap carpeting etc.

I actually agree with you. I've been less than impressed with the audio, seats and carpeting. The floormats were so cheapy, I was actually shocked at what junk they were. The first thing I did was replace them. The pedals seemed way small and ugly. Covered those w/covers right away, too.

But overall -this is a great car and all the crappy stuff can be improved upon or replaced. I've been happy with its performance! Getting on the freeway every morning puts a smile on my face!

Vandil · Apr 27, 2005

The only problem I had with my car was a swirl mark right behind the drivers door. Looks like someone tried to squeeze into the car and back it off the truck. They rubbed up against the car in the process of getting in.

Other than that and the really half arsed prep job she got, the car was perfect.

(The only cheap part I got suckerd into buying was the leather faced seats. Poor quality leather and zero leather on the back seats)

MyBlueOval · Apr 27, 2005

ExCon said:
Other than a VERY MINOR piece of material sticking from the rear bumper the car arrived perfect. Nitpick issues for myself are not in initial build quality itself but the materials used. Cheap seats, cheap stereo, cheap carpeting etc. The engine compartment also looks very low budget, the wiring harnesses look horrible. Nickel and dime issues on an otherwise fantastic 32K 300HP Convertible. My car suffered from none of the initial problems associated with the car other than breaking down at 41 miles but I kinda expected that!!

Hence the lower price tag compared to other vehicles. The Mustang has NEVER been advertised as a luxury ride. The seats have been crap for many, many years. The seats in my 97 GT were the absolute worst! If I drove the car more, I would have ripped them out and put some Recaros in there.

05PhillyStang · Apr 27, 2005

MyBlueOval said:
Hence the lower price tag compared to other vehicles. The Mustang has NEVER been advertised as a luxury ride. The seats have been crap for many, many years. The seats in my 97 GT were the absolute worst! If I drove the car more, I would have ripped them out and put some Recaros in there.

That's my feeling. I am hesitant to "complain" to the dealer because of minor problems. It is, after all, a mass production car. I had a $26,700 sticker on my car. If I caompare the Mustang to other car in that price range, I bet I can find some nicer features, better quality paint, carpets...whatever. However, that car won't have 300 HP. So I look at it as a trade off - under 30K for 300 horse, you give up some non-performance ammenities.

'01SilverBullet · Apr 27, 2005

What's a comparable car for $25k though? Some of you guys are expecting to have the finish of a high-priced foreign luxury car, and like Oval said, the Mustang has never been billed as a luxury car in any way. You bought a Ford, realize it.

05PhillyStang · Apr 27, 2005

I completely satisfied with the car. You say, "You bought a Ford, realize it." Undestood, but there has to a certain level of quality expected. My intention of this thread was to try to figure out what was expected of a Ford Mustang and what level of quality was to be acceptable. By no means am I expecting a high end luxury vehicle but at the same time, I want "decent" craftsmanship

alfman9 · Apr 27, 2005

It can be no worse than previous years.
If you want to complain about cheap parts on the car, perhaps you should buy a more expensive car with more expensive parts.

GTJade · Apr 27, 2005

05PhillyStang said:
I completely satisfied with the car. You say, "You bought a Ford, realize it." Undestood, but there has to a certain level of quality expected. My intention of this thread was to try to figure out what was expected of a Ford Mustang and what level of quality was to be acceptable. By no means am I expecting a high end luxury vehicle but at the same time, I want "decent" craftsmanship

Agreed. There is no excuse for some of the crap quality on this Ford. Even with 300hp. The car I drove previous was a 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T. It was loaded and I got it for under 25K and while it was a V6, it had quite a lot of pep. The quality of the paint, interior, and options of that car superceded that of my stang. Regardless, I'm still happy. I wanted more power and great looks and got both. The point is that there should be some level of expectation w/regard to quality even for little details...carpet, sound, etc. Ford can and should do better.

'01SilverBullet · Apr 27, 2005

I'm not saying people expecting normal things like a decent paint job, no runs, dents, scratches etc. is beyond the level of expectation at all. I'm talking about stuff like saying the carpeting isn't great, the floor mats aren't nice enough, the seats aren't the greatest, the radio sucks, etc. That's the kind of stuff you get on a $25k car, that may it suffer there, but makes up for it under the hood. And sadly it's true, it is just a Ford. I do expect a certain level of craftsmanship sure, but I don't expect the quality I better get spending $40k on a luxury foreign car. Sure Ford can do better, and then the Stang won't be $25k anymore.

GTJade · Apr 27, 2005

[QUOTE='01SilverBullet]I'm not saying people expecting normal things like a decent paint job, no runs, dents, scratches etc. is beyond the level of expectation at all. I'm talking about stuff like saying the carpeting isn't great, the floor mats aren't nice enough, the seats aren't the greatest, the radio sucks, etc. That's the kind of stuff you get on a $25k car, that may it suffer there, but makes up for it under the hood. And sadly it's true, it is just a Ford. I do expect a certain level of craftsmanship sure, but I don't expect the quality I better get spending $40k on a luxury foreign car. Sure Ford can do better, and then the Stang won't be $25k anymore.[/QUOTE]

Well, I don't wanna get into a pissin' match with you, but, with options, it easily bumps to $29,000-$30,000.00 on a premium coupe. And the extra $1200.00 for the Shaker 1000 Please. I maintain (based on my experience w/my Dodge) that Ford should do better, even with the power. I'm not saying it has to be luxury quality, but geeze...

ExCon · Apr 27, 2005

Oh but GT, The Skanker 1000 RULES!! I love the 2 extra Chinese speakers they give you for $1200.00 AWESOME DEAL!!

'01SilverBullet · Apr 27, 2005

I'm pretty sure Jade we're in agreement it should be better. I'm just saying the things I would like to better aren't the floor mats.

Jenns01TA · Apr 27, 2005

I am satisfied with the re-design. Ford has always used less than high-end materials. After 5 Fords, I knew what I was getting for the price.

For the $20,000 I expected a reliable vehicle, that was good looking, had minimal problems and will last about 3 - 5 years.. LOL....

Perfection is usually directly proportionate to the price paid and the individual purchaser's perception.

Jennifer

GTJade · Apr 27, 2005

Jenns05Stang said:
Perfection is usually directly proportionate to the price paid and the individual purchaser's perception.

Boy, did you ever nail it. My perception is way skewed as I always have exceedingly high expectations (perfectionist by nature) and I am inevitably let down...this applies to everything in my life. I was just telling my boss I need to learn to lower my expectations. And of course, having never owned a Ford - my expectation was once again overly elevated.

Jenns01TA · Apr 27, 2005

Being a Type-A..Perfectionist, I too, Jade, have had to learn to look at my perception compared to the actuality of the situation/product. I have lost too much and gotten too sick from having certain expectations.

I have learned to not sweat the small stuff. I still do, but life is easier when I don't and I am not as disappointed anymore.

Jennifer

GTJade · Apr 27, 2005

Yeah, Jenn, letting stuff go is good. And in case you weren't aware, tequila (any alcohol, really) helps mitigate those perfectionistic tendencies, too!

How perfect do you want it to be?

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