I've had my 2008 GT/CS now since April of 2009 and 24,000 miles. Let me start by saying, the the car is fun and nice to look at, but a lot of things stop right there.

I'm not new to the Mustang world, having previously owned a 2002 GT, 2003 Cobra and a '99 Cobra.

While certain livable things like seats, paint ***** and dials have held up well, I must say that this car is by far the lowest quality mustang I've ever owned.

I don't beat on my car, it's been down the drag strip 4 times and all maintenance has been performed. However at 24,000 miles the shocks are done (not that they were ever good to begin with), the car rattles worse than my 40 year old Firebird and has above the same driving manors.

The stock suspension is of major concern to me. Along with the premature wearing of the shocks on this car, the entire suspension has become lose to the point that driving over any imperfections in the road in wet weather is not only scary, but in some situations, downright dangerous. Yet, the bushings show little to no signs of wear, and all connections are torqued to spec.

My only guess here is that tolerances within the body are expanding allowing for pieces to shift, settle and rattle. The panhard bar itself has a nasty thud and squeak in it. I could probably realistically change to a bar with heim joints and have a quieter ride.

This car wheel hopped horribly when it was brand new. As of now, the hop is so severe with the factory shocks that you can't really have any fun with the car.

As somebody that has dealt with the IRS cars, I can say, this solid axle hops far worse and in a more uncontrollable manor.

I understand that shocks are a wear item, but for a car that seen no racing and lives on the street being babied around 95% of the time, having them completely worn out at 24,000 miles is completely unacceptable. In fact the fact that my 100% bone stock suspension feels like it's got 150,000 miles on it is completely unacceptable.

On the inside, the dash assembly rattles like crazy as well as the parking brake handle and vent bezels.

Over all I've become increasingly dissatisfied with this particular mustang as it ages (not so gracefully).

I could start throwing parts at it, but that will likely only cause further problems.

I'm just sick about the whole thing and needed to rant.


I hope others have cars that are aging better than mine. I would hate to think that Ford actually went backwards in quality compared to the antiquated SN series cars.

/end rant

 

No complaints here.....my '07 is the best Mustang I have ever owned. Sorry you got a lemon.

 

High expectations (perhaps too high?) and production-line 'acceptable tolerances' = one unhappy owner. Sounds like it's time to sell and not have anything to complain about (well, at least not a Mustang).

 

Maybe my expectations were too high. Although I've never had this severe of issues with my previous mustangs. yes they all had the typical vent rattles and such and my 03 did have the rear end clunk.

However even my 99 which was the highest mileage at near 60 was rock solid with the stock pieces still on the car. They were certainly more confident drivers than my current car.

Selling isn't something that I'm really looking at. I can't get anything as well equipped as my GT/CS without shelling out close to 40,000. I picked up my 08 for invoice plus rebates for a much more reasonable 25,000.

 

well the only other thing i can mention is that the shocks and struts in these cars were known to be junk well before your 2008 was built. my 2007 just past 45k miles, i put koni's on it in july and loving it. the rattles do stink, one day i will dig in and start chasing them.

 

Sorry for your troubles but that's what dealers are for I would bring my car to the dealer if after I sneezed there was a creak somewhere. I paid for the car I have a warranty I use it 110%.

Now to my car, quality is pretty awesome, nothing breaks on this car... Been down the drag strip at least 65 times shifting at 6800 rpm, wheels stand burnouts, 5k clutch dumps with drag radials and I drive home and get 27mpg. Can't ask for more than that, why hasn't my car broken yet? good question!

the only rattle I ever had was due to my install of the mufflers and I adjusted that. but again my problem.

 

Awesome continues to be just that for me, even with her imperfections. And none of the rattles and such you describe. Goodness me, that must have been a Monday or Thursday build or something.

 

Don't wanna be a jerk here, just play devil's advocate...

So you're saying you're unhappy with your 300hp+ pony car you bought for $25k (a bit LESS than the average sale price on a new car in the US) and admit you can't get something equivalent performance wise for less than nearly twice the price, but are unhappy with the quality control on a built-to-cost cheap car? You can get better quality materials (maybe not the best quality control) on a GTI, but no where near the performance.

I'm just saying, I knew going in the Mustang would be relatively cheap, rattly, and rough around the edges when I bought mine, and I haven't been proven wrong. The quality and engineering of my used Audi S4 is far beyond it, but you have to expect that with the costs of each.

Ford has done an amazing jobs making these cars much better for the 2010/2011 models (why I haven't driven one, don't want to have too much buyer's remorse). BUT, the cost has gone up proportionately, and it's no longer a bargain performance machine (well, relative to an M3, but not a bare-bones machine anymore).

I'll also point out you bought the upmarket Cobra models before, as opposed to a basically standard GT. Not sure if quality control is any better on the GT500s, though...

My biggest complaint is some of the engineering choices Ford made, how very difficult it is to do certain tasks, for no reason other than no one thought to make it better, but again you get what you pay for.

 

I should maybe clarify that as far as material quality, and fundamental build, the car is fine. Body alignment, paint quality, interior fit and finish is on par with what I would expect from a vehicle of this nature. Even the vent and e-brake handle rattles are tolerable, and certainly something I expected.

Keep in mind this is also a car with an MSRP of around 35,000. I didn't pay that because my car was still on the lot a left over 08 when 2010 cars were coming onto the lots and was eligible for a hefty $7000 rebate from ford on top of the Invoice pricing I negotiated with the selling dealership.

My biggest concern is the fact that the car has fundamental quality control issues that affect the way it actually drives. The loosening tolerances of a suspension system that I never deemed adequate for the car in the first place. Premature wear of shocks/struts.

Build quality across upmarket models at least where the SN series cars were concerned was nominal. They are all built on the exact same line, by the exact same people. This may be slightly different for S197 and newer cars, but I seriously doubt it.

Like I said earlier, I could start throwing parts at, but we're talking costs around $1000 for upgraded suspension parts that may or may not actually fix the issue, without creating others.

Mustangs have always been cheap cars, there's no doubt about that. Cutting corners were necessary to produce an affordable product that is fun, safe and reliable.

Unfortunately, the way this car behaves over road imperfections leaves a lot to be desired. In the wet, where traction is reduced, it can be near dangerous at times. I'm not talking about at the limit, driving either. I'm talking about typical real world scenarios, just driving around town.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlmounce

Keep in mind this is also a car with an MSRP of around 35,000.

Where do you get 35k?

Even with the Bullitt package - which is way more than CS cosmetics - was $31975 MSRP with HID's + alarm.


My 08 has been flawless as I approach the end of the 3/36 BtoB coverage. 12,900 miles, handles great and firm on two lane mountain twisties, comfortable on long freeway drives, decent mileage, I love the SRA 3.73/TLock, the 3V engine revs quick and runs great, no rattles whatsoever - and I drive a half mile gravel road in and out to the highway.

 

GT Premium + CS Package + Shaker 1000 w/ Sirius + Active Theft + HID + GT Appearance Package + IUP

Window sticker on my car with options was $34,600

 

I have an early '05 and aside from dash rattles, theres nothing wrong with the car. Those rattles do annoy me and at some point I keep promising myself I will fix them.

 

I'm just thinking, what were the alternatives in the same price range for similar performance?

STI, appealling performance, but flat ugly, and cheap/crappy interior just like the Stang.
Evo, same as above, but not ugly
350Z (was the new 370 out in 2008??), dinky inside, I don't fit. And cheap interior, rattly.

Don't think I'm missing much else out there....

And, it's American, so my choice was made (don't remind me of the S4, that was used so it doesn't count in my rationilzation).

 

Have you spoken to the dealer about your car?

 

The price I paid, at the time, there was no equal. In fact the reason I'm ranting is to just get it off my chest. For what the car (still) delivers, I would have to pay close to 40,000 to equal it. It's a bargain for sure.

I still don't like the fact that I'm left with throwing money at a car to fix serious longevity issues that are cropping up at just 24,000 miles.

So uhhh, where's Sam Strano when you need him?

 

It's been in for service about the handling issues. Everything is within tolerance, and clearly the warranty doesn't cover wear items such as the shocks/struts.

They were "unable to reproduce the issue" when they had it. I should probably take it back now that the rattling, thunking, squeeking and handling issues are pretty much there 100% of the time now.

 

You should def. take it back for every issue you have.
You have a 36k 3yr bumper to bumper warranty and a 5yr powertrain warranty.

 

2006 Premium GT, best car I have ever owned next to my 1999 F 150. It had 193,xxx on her when it was retired due to being rearended and broadsided in the same intersection, she went down swinging.

 

The dash top in my Mustang creaks towards the front of the windshield. If the dash top was easy to disassemble I would have fixed it myself already. The dash creaks are simply from the top of the dash being very thin at the base of the windshield and resting against the metal ledge on the inside firewall. There is not enough dampening material to keep it from binding, especially when traveling over course road surfaces. The other other rattle issue I had was the inside door handle cup inserts that snap in vibrating which I simply fixed with soft side velcro tape placed on the back of the inserts.

I suppose I could also nit pick how easy it is to scuff the door panels and console. However I did knowingly buy a car that had a $20,000 base price which could be optioned to $50,000 if I had bought a Shelby GT500. We are definitely seeing the upgrades with interior materials in the 2010+ models but people are also paying for it now with increased sticker prices.

I had two warranty issues that I had to take my car in for. One was a crack in the intake manifold which resulted in an audible buzzing sound around 2000 RPM. The other was the ignition lock cylinder that seized up resulting in not being able to turn the key to run or start position.

Other than that I cannot complain. It's been a more than an acceptably great car so far. After working for various new car dealerships for so many years and seeing so many warranty claims and recalls on various makes of cars, I can say our Mustangs have very good quality control and Ford seems to keep striving to make them better as they learn about older model ownership experience.

 

Just to say that the wheel hop and rear end problems are not due to the solid axle but rather to the live axle. I had a solid axle 79 Camaro that was smoother riding than my 09 Mustang but it had leaf springs and no live axle (didn't exist back then). As far as rattles, yea I agree these cars do have some. Mine has a squeak in the rear suspension when I go over bumps slowly or in and out of a driveway approach. I just look at it as one of the quirks of having this car. I had an Accord for many years that was much more stable, comfortable to drive and had better visibility. Now ask me if I would trade. HELL NO! These cars are freaking fun with a big F-U-N. No sedan can live up to that.