Bought a used GT500 & Need Advice

[95Nelson]

I just bought a used 2007 GT500 from a guy in Chicago. It appeared to be a very good ebay deal, but here's what happened. I took Amtrak from Lansing, MI to Chicago on Saturday. The 4 hour trip took closer to 8 hours by the time I arrived. We met and I had about 30 minutes to check the car out as we drove to a bank that was closing at 4:00. The clutch was slippping BAD!!! The seller showed me TSB #08-16-4 about clutch drag on GT500's. He said that's the problem and it should be covered under warranty. I also pointed out a noise which sounded to me like a bearing in the differential which only showed up under coast and decel. We agreed to have me hold back $1,500.00 on the sale price in case Ford doesn't warranty the repairs needed. We wrote an admendment to the sales agreement to include this repair agreement.

At the bank (which was holding his title & lien due to his outstanding loan), they said they had to put a 5 day hold on my Cashier's Check to be sure it clears before they can accept the funds as good and allow him to pay off the loan for release of the title. He put the Cashier's check on deposit for his account to wait the 5 business days.

After we left the bank, we went to his house, he removed his license and I left for home. On the way home the clutch slipped so bad that I could not maintain cruising speed on some hills. I noticed a vibration & noise from the differential (I think) at about 75 mph. I did make it the 200 miles home.

I checked the car our further in my garage today and noticed it has an oil leak as well. BTW, the seller told me that the GT500's didn't come with a spare tire due to the brake size. A spare tire wheel would not clear the front brakes. Is that true? Also, is there a special key or socket for the lugnuts?

I guess the old addage of "buyer beware" applies to this sale, huh?

I plan on calling a local Ford Dealer to see about repairs on the clutch, differential and oil leak tomorrow. Any advice from anyone with experience with a GT500 in any of these problem areas is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[jasonh328]

The GT500 comes with a small air compressor and a can of fix-a-flat instead of a spare tire/wheel assembly.

 

[04YELLOWGT]

Yikes that seems like it has a lot of problems, it seems to me he beat the sh** out of it and fried the clutch.

From what I've read the TSBs haven't been about the clutch slipping but other problems with the trans. People have had grinding and also problems getting into reverse from a dead stop.

Here are a few websites to readup on.

I don't know if we are allowed to post other forums threads on here sio if not sorry.

http://www.stangnet.com/Tech-Articles/S197-Technical-Service-Bulletins-060923.html

Shelby TSBs - Page 2 - ModularFords.com

 

[danGtheTman]

How many miles are on the car? How much $ did the car cost? Reason I'm asking about the price is because if you got an exceptional deal on it, then you can maybe justify repairing the car out of your own pocket. Check the inside of the rear fender wells to see if there is any tire residue plastered to them. Sometimes you can tell how a car has been treated by doing this. When a car has been powerbraked excessively, sometimes you can feel the tire rubber on the inside of the wells. Either way the car is yours now. A new clutch is no big deal. The thing to really be concerned about is how the engine was maintained with regard to oil changes. This is the most important part. If I were you I would change the fluid in the transmission and upgrade to a really good oil like RP, etc. In regard to the rearend, I would have it drained and checked out by a reputable mechanic. Keep in mind most people that buy a GT500 are going to beat the hell out of it. I have an 07 GT and I do the same, but I also keep it maintained.

 

[Strcht9]

The TSB number is, TSB 08-16-4 I had the same problem. Warranty covered it when I showed them the TSB. It was over 5000.00 dollars. While they were doing the trans and clutch I had them throw in the short throw shifter and 3:73 rear end.

 

[95Nelson]

The car has 21k miles on it. The dealer called in the Ford Zone Rep and after seeing a single piece drive shaft w/ safety strap and lots of rubber in the rear wheel wells, they said Ford will not warranty it - too much abuse and mods. Dealer said clutch would be $5,800 and diff could run $1,500-$2k depending on what they find. Dealer said someone other than Ford dealer did work on diff, seller claims no has. I have since learned that the seller had advertised this car previously as having 3.73 gears so he lied to me.

Paul's High Performance can do the clutch for a lot less than the dealer, but seller claims to have a Ford SVT connection so he is trying to get it warrantied that way. If Ford doesn't warranty it, I'll have PHP do the work and assume the seller will come through with the extra $$$ to cover it. Our sales agreement says that the clutch & diff have problems and if repairs aren't covered by Ford, seller has to cover it. Problem, I only held back $1,500 on the sale and he has the rest of the cash. I just have to hope and pray that he is honest and the has the integrity to do the right thing.

 

[Houston94vert]

The car has 21k miles on it. The dealer called in the Ford Zone Rep and after seeing a single piece drive shaft w/ safety strap and lots of rubber in the rear wheel wells, they said Ford will not warranty it - too much abuse and mods. Dealer said clutch would be $5,800 and diff could run $1,500-$2k depending on what they find. Dealer said someone other than Ford dealer did work on diff, seller claims no has. I have since learned that the seller had advertised this car previously as having 3.73 gears so he lied to me.

Paul's High Performance can do the clutch for a lot less than the dealer, but seller claims to have a Ford SVT connection so he is trying to get it warrantied that way. If Ford doesn't warranty it, I'll have PHP do the work and assume the seller will come through with the extra $$$ to cover it. Our sales agreement says that the clutch & diff have problems and if repairs aren't covered by Ford, seller has to cover it. Problem, I only held back $1,500 on the sale and he has the rest of the cash. I just have to hope and pray that he is honest and the has the integrity to do the right thing.

Sounds like he already lied to you once about it and now your having issues with the car.

Sorry to hear man. I hate to see this happen.

Best of luck on getting the repairs handled. How much did you pay for the car, if you don't mind me asking? As I'm continually searching for a GT500 in the 33-34k range.

 

[fkarzenowski]

in addition.... the wheel lock key should have been with the car. if not, the ford service department can give you the info you need to order a new one. i had to order one for my GT500 and it was like $10.

 

[Nosfurato]

Nelson, I hate to say it man,.. but you got hosed!!

I don't know what you paid for the car, and it shouldn't be any any concern to any of us.

However, you are looking at a rather large investment.

Perhaps a lawyer is in order?

I dunno. But, i would be wary of ANY car that had clutch problems with under... say. 80k miles.

Looking at a GT500, you should have been all over that car!! I mean, like it was your girlfriend,.. wife.. whatever! If your gonna spend the initial money, you should take the time to know what your getting into!!

I'm not knockin ya dude,.. I really think you got *****ed on the deal..

Will.

 

[95Nelson]

The price we agreed on was $32,500. I had a cashier's check made out for $31,000 and brought another $1,500 in cash just in case there were any problems. I still have the $1,500, but in hindsight I wish I would have either walked away from the deal, or had planned on being able to hold back a lot more than just $1,500.

The problem I see with a legal recourse is that he just moved from Chicago to LA and I live in Michigan. What court in what state would be the one to hear the case and when I win, how do I collect?

This still could turn out ok as long as I end up with the car in good working order at no cost to me.

 

[anthony05gt]

It is what it is. Don't sweat it. Get the repairs done and enjoy the damn car. The only other thing you can do is try to collect what you can from the jackhole that sold it. You are one of the few to own a GT500 for that kind of money anyway.

 

[AvalancheSVT]

5 grand for a clutch?! holy cow, is it a triple disc carbon variant?

if you're paying over 10K for a used car i'd have the thing on a lift and spend a good hour test driving the thing beforehand. life is about learning, hopefully with it being a shelby you wont lose much in the long run.

 

[95Nelson]

The $5800 for a clutch is using Ford OEM parts including the flywheel, pressure plate, clutch discs, release bearing, pilot bearing PLUS the TSB transmission parts - input shaft and syncros PLUS the dealer's labor for all that. I can have Paul's High Performance replace the entire clutch with Ford OEM parts for less than half the price. Being that the trans shifts fine, I don't think it needs any work.

The seller has had his connection with SVT contact me and promise me the clutch parts, but that was 10 days ago and he has not returned my call from last week. I hoping/praying that he is on vacation or something and will get to me soon. I paid $32,500 for the car, but held back $1,500 in case the repairs were not covered under warranty. In hindsight, I wish I had been prepared to hold back $5 - $10k, or told him to call me after he had the car fixed, or just walked away from it altogether. But that's hindsight for ya

I'll let you know how this turns out as things progress.

 

[gt500112]

2007 gt500 red white stripes

I ALSO JUST BOUGHT !! LAST MONTH , SAME THING ON THE WAY I NOTICED EVERY TIME I PUSHED IN THE CLUTCH I COULD HEAR THE THROW OUT BEARING SCREAMING, BUMPER TO BUMPER RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WAS ALSO VERY HARD TO GET IN GEAR!! I JUST PAYED 38000 FOR A CAR WITH A CLUTCH ISSUE!!! CALLED AROUND AND FOUND OUT ABOUT THE RE CALL ON THE TRANSMISSION!! YOU HAVE TO DO SOME RESEARCH FIND OUT WHERE THE CAR WAS ORIGINALY TITLED!! YOUR CAR VN# WILL BE IN THERE SYSTEM AND WILL ORDER THE PARTS GLADLY WITH NO PROBLEM!!! THEY REPLACE EVERYTHING FLY WHEEL, CLUTCH,THROWOUT BEARING , AND THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION IS UPGRADED WITH HEAVY DUTY PARTS, TAKES ABOUT A MONTH FOR THE PARTS TO COME IN, BUT WELL WORTH IT. PLUS ITS FREE. ALSO YOUR CAR WHEN YOU GET THE CLUTCH FIXED IS GOING TO HAVE A BIG PROBLEM WITH WHEEL HOP TRUST ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET THE THIRD LINK (UPPER CONTROL ARM) AND LOWER CONTROL ARMS REDUCES THE PROBLEM, YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH YOUR PURCHASE , THE CAR IS AWESOME , JUST NEEDS ALITTLE TLC.

 

[metroplex]

As mentioned before, the Shelby GT and GT500 do not have spare tires. They have a repair kit that includes fix a flat and a small air compressor. The kit is sold under the FRPP branding and is about $200-$300.

 

[95Nelson]

gt500112 - The previous owner provided me with the TSB on the clutch & trans saying that a dealer should do it under warranty. The dealer and Zone Rep denied the warranty as the clutch & trans have been replaced before and the car has signs of abuse - although I don't know how they can claim racing is abuse on a car designed for racing

The seller's contact at SVT has promised to send the clutch parts including the new & improved flywheel, but that was just over 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard from him since even though I've left 2 voice mails for him.

The seller says he has located the spare repair stuff and I told him he can send that to me with the title - still waiting on that

The car is now in storage as Michigan winters suck. It would be nice to have all this settled before spring hit

 

[COBRA90GT]

...The previous owner provided me with the TSB on the clutch & trans saying that a dealer should do it under warranty. The dealer and Zone Rep denied the warranty as the clutch & trans have been replaced before and the car has signs of abuse - although I don't know how they can claim racing is abuse on a car designed for racing ...

So, it sounds like the previous owner ragged the hell out of the car, destroyed the clutch/trans, and attempted to have it repaired at a dealership but was denied due to "abuse?" Is that correct?

If that's the case, it sounds like SVT/Ford may have "black flagged" your Shelby's VIN in their computer system due to the abuse claim. No wonder the previous owner sold the car - he knew he would be out lots of money for having to pay for 100% of the repairs out of his own pocket after getting denied at the dealership.

Proceed very carefully if the above is true - hopefully the folks at SVT can assist and not totally shut you out. But, if their level of proof for "abuse" at the dealership has been met, you may be SOL (all because of the previous owner's actions). Even if the car is still under warranty, if they determine that parts have broken due to racing/abuse/etc, they are under no obligation to repair the vehicle or parts - like I said before, it's the previous owner's fault that happened and he passed the buck off to you, so to speak.

FWIW, it might be worth checking out several other mustang-specific shops in the southeastern MI area for esimates, in addition to Paul's High Performance (ie - D&D Performance out of Wixom MI or even shops such as Alternative Auto or Livernois). Get some other estimates and opinions as well, since the car is in storage for winter anyways (it's a Michigan tradition - hah ! ).

G'luck and keep us updated!

 

[metroplex]

FYI I have heard numerous tales about SVT denying warranty work due to racing or abuse. While a GT500 is a performance oriented car, the OEM is very quick to deny warranty work since many owners "abuse" the car and expect someone else to foot the bill. This is the same for other performance cars/brands like the Subaru WRX STI.

 

[mjscott2]

FWIW, I noticed about a month ago that the clutch was slipping on the freeway when I got into boost. Crap! Went online to find out the egregious cost of a GT500 clutch from Ford.

Started looking at aftermarket options - several are much cheaper.

Then I went to the forums and found out about the TSB. I got myself armed to the teeth with a bunch of stuff off the 'net, listed my symptoms and readied myself for a battle with the dealer.

To my surprise, when I pulled in, the service manager was standing outside and walked right over. I started to say "I'm having problems with the clutch - it's starting to slip ..." and he finished my sentence. He said they'd done 5-6 GT500s on warranty, and that he'd take care of it - even had the parts in stock!

I questioned him about warranty coverage. He said that the GT500 has a 36 month, 36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Regular Mustangs have a 12/12k on the clutch. Woohoo!

I picked the car up the next day and it's been running excellent.

 

[metroplex]

At what RPM do you normally shift on the street?

The Cobalt SS/TC owners found that shifting at low RPMs (2000 or so) will glaze the stock heavy-duty clutch. If they shift at 3000-4000 RPM, the clutch no longer slips. But GT500 owners ought to be revving the heck out of their motors, so this may not apply.