new '07 or new '06 GT?

[The Fang]

Transformer Movie ? Are you even old enough to drive yet?

This may sound like the old kiddy stuff but it is more War Of The World'ish plot. When u see the new trailer you will understand.
Plot Outline: Dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their battle to Earth, leaving the future of humankind hanging in the balance.
I am 44 and am still a kid.

 

[metroplex]

Considering the Transformers debuted about 22 years ago, a 30 year old could have been a Transformers fan back in the day.

Also, the Venom character of the Spider-Man series debuted 18 years ago. Time really flies!!

 

[Musty]

on the 06 vs 07 question...

I was going to reply and say that a few years down the road, the 07 might be worth a few thousand more and that that would offset the $3,500 difference in starting prices some.

But I just tested this with Kelly Blue Book trade-in prices for used 05's and 06's. And identical cars (GT, 20K miles, took the defaults on the options) were all within $200 of each other for excellent, good and fair condition comparisons. I would have expected a larger gap. Perhaps the gap grows over time, but I would have expected the model years to start with a large gap in trade-in price that shrank over time.

 

[D.Hearne]

Metroplex-------- I don't see where they'd need any changes to the chassis to fit a 5.4, there's more room in the bay than any previous Stang had. And the T/L 3.55's were still std equipment on the 06's. I know mine was. Mine was ordered with only one option and that was the wheels.

 

[metroplex]

Metroplex-------- I don't see where they'd need any changes to the chassis to fit a 5.4, there's more room in the bay than any previous Stang had. And the T/L 3.55's were still std equipment on the 06's. I know mine was. Mine was ordered with only one option and that was the wheels.

Ok so the 3.55s are optional with the manual GT starting in the 07 MY ($87 invoice option), otherwise 3.31s are standard. AFAIK all GTs have the Traction-Lok differential but I agree that the way Ford describes the GT rear end is very confusing. I originally wanted the 3.31s with the manual trans to get slightly better gas mileage, but the $87 bought me peace of mind in knowing it came with a limited slip differential. It's the V6s that have open 7.5" carriers (just as a comparison, my 1981 T-bird has a 7.5" with an open carrier and 3.08s)

Regarding the chassis changes - the strut towers for the 2007 GTs were revised to allow a wider compartment. The 2005-2006s have different strut towers. I can post pics of the strut towers in a 07 when I get them from my other PC, so we can compare them with a 05/06.

I heard from owners of 2007 GTs and 2005/2006 GTs that the 07s handle better and ride more smoothly.

 

[WaldenNYC]

Ok so the 3.55s are optional with the manual GT starting in the 07 MY ($87 invoice option), otherwise 3.31s are standard. AFAIK all GTs have the Traction-Lok differential but I agree that the way Ford describes the GT rear end is very confusing. I originally wanted the 3.31s with the manual trans to get slightly better gas mileage, but the $87 bought me peace of mind in knowing it came with a limited slip differential. It's the V6s that have open 7.5" carriers (just as a comparison, my 1981 T-bird has a 7.5" with an open carrier and 3.08s)

Regarding the chassis changes - the strut towers for the 2007 GTs were revised to allow a wider compartment. The 2005-2006s have different strut towers. I can post pics of the strut towers in a 07 when I get them from my other PC, so we can compare them with a 05/06.

I heard from owners of 2007 GTs and 2005/2006 GTs that the 07s handle better and ride more smoothly.

hi metroplex...
would this be the case if you are changing the springs/shocks-struts anyways?
if comparing stock to stock..maybe..but if you plan in changing the car's suspension anyways?

Also, how does strut towers affect ride/handling?

thank you..

 

[WaldenNYC]

on the 06 vs 07 question...

I was going to reply and say that a few years down the road, the 07 might be worth a few thousand more and that that would offset the $3,500 difference in starting prices some.

But I just tested this with Kelly Blue Book trade-in prices for used 05's and 06's. And identical cars (GT, 20K miles, took the defaults on the options) were all within $200 of each other for excellent, good and fair condition comparisons. I would have expected a larger gap. Perhaps the gap grows over time, but I would have expected the model years to start with a large gap in trade-in price that shrank over time.

hi musty,
hmm..i. guess time will tell but great point on this...
once i drive it off the dealer lot, will it take a way larger depreciation hit than an '07? if so, perhaps the '07 might be worth it...

interesting.....makes me think further now...is the $3500 price difference big enough to go for '06.....hmmm.....

 

[metroplex]

hi metroplex...
would this be the case if you are changing the springs/shocks-struts anyways?
if comparing stock to stock..maybe..but if you plan in changing the car's suspension anyways?

Also, how does strut towers affect ride/handling?

thank you..

I'm not sure how or what Ford did differently for the 2007s, but that is just what I heard from people who owned a 2005/2006 and a 2007. The strut towers themselves won't really affect the ride quality or handling.

I'll post pics of a 07's strut towers shortly.

 

[metroplex]

Pics. I think the rear "wings" are definitely different from the 2005/2006 strut towers.

 

[Satin Silver GT]

Think you can get a rear wing delete on the 2007. I personally would get the 2006
and use the saved $$$ to super charge.

 

[351CJ]

the '06 has about $3500 more incentive over the '07.

The 2006s are a model year old, so the instant you drive an 06 off a dealer's lot it's worth $3,500 less than an 07. That's why Ford has the extra incentives.

Chrysler has the same thing, $3K more incentives on 06 300Cs.

If you're planning on keeping your Mustang for a number of years the 06 may be the better deal.

And don't forget, any money you spend on moding your car is pretty much like flushing it down the toilet. You'll get next to nothing back on it.

 

[WaldenNYC]

Pics. I think the rear "wings" are definitely different from the 2005/2006 strut towers.

this is interesting...

i wonder how this affects ride quality?

thank you for this...

 

[Spdfreak]

'07's also have a Sirius option, if you're into that.

 

[uwdawg631]

In the 07's the traction loc rear is a $100 option, it's std in the 05-06 GT's. I assume this was a "fix" for the rear axle moan at low speed cornering. My 06 moans everytime I turn a corner, but I can live with it. Can't do without the traction though with a pegleg rear.

Just thought I would let Hearne know there is a service bulletin on the groan from the rear end. It is covered on the warranty. I have an 06 and it is going in tomorrow. The service bulletin points to the clutch pack in the rear end.

 

[FNG 2001]

And don't forget, any money you spend on moding your car is pretty much like flushing it down the toilet. You'll get next to nothing back on it.

This is one of the reasons I'd prefer to get a car that comes with some goodies i.e. Shelby GT. You are essentially paying for your mods in advance in a package and in this case you aren't flushing money away on the resale.

 

[metroplex]

This is one of the reasons I'd prefer to get a car that comes with some goodies i.e. Shelby GT. You are essentially paying for your mods in advance in a package and in this case you aren't flushing money away on the resale.

You're paying much more for the "Shelby" name and some bolt-ons that you could potentially install yourself. When it comes time to sell the car, remove the mods. The GT500, OTOH, is a much better deal because you have a 5 year warranty on a 500 hp supercharged engine. You don't see many around on the road either, so the resale value should be fairly good if you don't race it (but LOL, it's going to be raced!)

BTW when I was looking for used Stangs, the ones that were pretty much used and abused were the ones loaded down with mods. You pretty much know that when someone has a short-throw shifter, Flowmaster 40s, CAI, and supercharger, they've raced it several times at the very least.

 

[D.Hearne]

Just thought I would let Hearne know there is a service bulletin on the groan from the rear end. It is covered on the warranty. I have an 06 and it is going in tomorrow. The service bulletin points to the clutch pack in the rear end.

I haven't taken mine in yet, but just from the noise it makes, I had already narrowed it down to the clutches in the diff slipping when cornering at low speeds. This and the time it takes for 1st gear syncros to mesh are my only two complaints so far. Seems like I read where someone brtought their's in repeatedly for the diff. noise and the final fix was to make it a pegleg. That's one reason I've let mine go. let me know what they do with yours.

 

[351CJ]

on the 06 vs 07 question...

I was going to reply and say that a few years down the road, the 07 might be worth a few thousand more and that that would offset the $3,500 difference in starting prices some.

But I just tested this with Kelly Blue Book trade-in prices for used 05's and 06's. And identical cars (GT, 20K miles, took the defaults on the options) were all within $200 of each other for excellent, good and fair condition comparisons. I would have expected a larger gap. Perhaps the gap grows over time, but I would have expected the model years to start with a large gap in trade-in price that shrank over time.

Sounds like a mistake on the KBB web site.
NADA shows trade in value on an 05 GT about $2K less than an 06 GT
(same mileage & options)

 

[metroplex]

If you still have the low-speed groaning, try this:

Open the rear fill plug on the pumpkin case. Extract some gear oil (about 4 oz worth) using a turkey baster and vacuum hose. Dump in 2 oz of XL-3 (Friction Modifier additive). Give it a week of normal driving (find an empty parking lot and do some low-speed figure 8s). If it is still bothering you, dump in the remaining 2 oz of XL-3.

The groaning means there's not enough FM (if the culprit is indeed the clutch pack). That also means the torque biasing should be higher too!

 

[D.Hearne]

If you still have the low-speed groaning, try this:

Open the rear fill plug on the pumpkin case. Extract some gear oil (about 4 oz worth) using a turkey baster and vacuum hose. Dump in 2 oz of XL-3 (Friction Modifier additive). Give it a week of normal driving (find an empty parking lot and do some low-speed figure 8s). If it is still bothering you, dump in the remaining 2 oz of XL-3.

The groaning means there's not enough FM (if the culprit is indeed the clutch pack). That also means the torque biasing should be higher too!

I'll try that later this week, I've got an extra bottle of the stuff in my shop. Won't cost or hurt to try it.