Quality control on Saleen's

[Agent Smith]

Hello all,

I went to the local Saleen dealer to check out a S281, and I swear I'm not trying to be a troll, but I was dumbfounded by the apparent lack of quality of the Saleen parts. Now it's my understanding that the cars are assembled by Saleen and then shipped to the dealer. (The salesguy was new and admitted he didn't know much about the cars) The fit of the body kit was terrible. The side skirts seemed too long for the car. On one part there was paint runs and air bubbles, in some spots on the front the paint was so thin you could see through it, and worst of all on the pointed corner of the rear spoiler on the passenger side, all that was there was primer - it wasn't even painted! A test drive revealed a rattle in the suspension that surfaced over every bump that sounded like a loose shock or sway bar. This was not something I noticed the first time I drove a stock GT. In fact I was VERY impressed with how well put together the Mustang was considering the amount of plastic in the interior. I mean I couldn't find a creak or rattle in the stocker even on Michigan's wonderful roads. Honestly the only rattle I heard in the Saleen was the rear suspension. Again, kudos to Ford for tightening everything up. The kit fit problems seemed consistent over the half dozen or so Saleen's that they had on the lot.

What distressed me was that these Saleen's, especially in SC trim, close to doubled the price of a stock GT. This was my first time seriously looking at a Saleen. Is this typical of the Saleens, or did I find the ones that were leftover on the lot for a reason? I wanted to like it - I really did. After all, I love the regular GT and figured one all souped up would be better. But my god - that much money for something that didn't even seem to be assembled correctly? It made me wonder how little care went into the other mechanical mods. Am I being unreasonable to expect that a car that adds tens of thousands to the price over a stock model should be put together darn near perfectly? Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[gaberubin]

get yourself a ROUSH

 

[stanmckinney]

Was it a real Saleen or did somebody add the parts and do a poor job painting and attaching?

 

[Unbrdld07]

It couldn't have been a real Saleen...Just go to the Saleen forum on here and they'll be happy to give you the truth. Those guys are very straight forward and helpfull. I never buy from someone who doesn't know the story of Jack Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, oops, did I say that?

 

[Agent Smith]

The dealer was Hines Park in Milford, MI. They are advertised as an authorized Saleen dealer, and the car had the build number on the drivers side front bumper. There was no reason to think it wasn't a true Saleen.....

And after seeing the price difference in the Roush's that will actually be my next stop.....

 

[Mr_Q]

I've heard this tale a couple times now. Maybe Saleen is rushing out these cars too quickly??

This one guy, not too long ago, was complaining how all the decals were pealing off after only 6 weeks!

 

[slammer1]

Paint Issues

I have a few issues as well. Rockers hang over bodyline in front wheelwell about 1/4 inch. 1 small paint drip from rear bumper cover at side reflecter, rear spoiler mounted about 3/16 higher than connecting peice thats on rear passenger fender. I also have some rear suspension clunking noises when hitting a sharp bump at over 30 mph. But lets be fair, Racecraft suspension is STIFF. It's very close to racing suspension! These cars will out corner stock 930 Turbos in club racing on the track, believe me i have done it. The Porsche guys love to trash talk about stangs before races, but are very quiet afterwords. Steve Saleen Knows how to build a suspension system.

 

[Mr_Q]

That clunk is probably the arms hitting the factory rubber bump stop. I know if you drop the rear more than 1.5" it will hit over speed bumps. Even at 15mph.

 

[Agent Smith]

That clunk is probably the arms hitting the factory rubber bump stop. I know if you drop the rear more than 1.5" it will hit over speed bumps. Even at 15mph.

Interesting. And that does help explain it.

Thanks for all the input guys! Happy motoring.

 

[speedytang]

My local Saleen dealer has one of the ugly Focus things and the spoiler on the hatch is sideways and that fake hood scoop is not flat to the surface. They have 3 Mustangs and the production numbers are rolling up on all of them and the dealer has them on order from Saleen to replace. The cars have so much orange peel on the parts I thought maybe they put a rough surface coat on the parts to help rock chips till the other side was smooth. LOL

 

[Tmack]

I am a proud owner of a 2005 Saleen S281 SC. If the Saleen you saw is as described, turn and run to another dealer. They should not have that on their lot. Something is wrong. My fit and finish is perfect. The paint is flawless. Every Saleen I have personally seen has been perfect. I would not trust a dealer that sells a "new" car in that kind of condition and knows nothing of the Saleen line.

There was a 2005 Saleen TSB concerning the front swaybar. All they need to do is torque the bolts to spec and it solves the rattle problem.

 

[CobraRoush]

I too have seen REAL Saleen's, not "clones", with multiple paint/fit issues. Generally minor, generally better than typical aftermarket add-ons, however not up to the greatly increased MRSP's. Take a look at every Saleen Mustang at the lower side body claddings, all of them appear about 1/2 inch too long at the wheel well, reaching past instead of a tight fit. Almost appears as if they designed them too long, and decided to live with it. I am sure there is a reason. Many people will not notice slight paint mis-match, orange peel, overspray and even slight missed areas of paint with primer showing. Of the 5-6 I saw, 4 had more than one of these issues. Like the overhanging side skirt, in the right light, looking across the top of all the spoilers, you can notice what apparently are the attaching points or casting marks from the fabrication process. Appears as slight "dimples" or lines in the spoiler. Again, beautiful, overpriced (IMO) cars without the perfection the price warrants. Most do not have the "eye" to catch such things or accept imperfections as "life". Oh, and in case you are wondering, absolutely YES!, this applies to Roush kits as well.