Hi,
I'm new here and I've placed a deposit on a 2012 Laguna Seca with a production plate that says PP 0005. The car has 325 miles, Black/Red

I can't get much info from the dealership, they told me it was #5 of 750..
The car has 2 dime size dings, and I have asked repeatedly if it had a damage disclosure from the Ford sale and they say no.

I've heard the MP ### cars were press cars, and beat on pretty good, but I'm not sure about what the PP cars did, or who drove them. i would love to be able to track the VIN and see where it was or went.

I have questions about what to look for on this car, future collectablity, problems with PP cars, or validity of it being a true PP car. I have included a pic of the production plate from the intake and its missing the words "Vehicle Number" in the middle...anyone seen that before?

VIN 1ZVBP8CU4C5199916
PP 0005

I also found VIN 5199915 at Manhiem auction , 625 miles, going through on the 16th, same color combo, but no shot of the production plate. That car has a damage disclosure with front apron, front struts, and frame/unibody damage. ' If ' that turns out to be PP 0004, they must treat those rough as well. Carfax is clean on both cars, so nothing gets reported with factory accidents I guess..

I'm 1000+ miles from the Laguna Seca PP0005, so I have to do as much research as I can on my own, before I finalize the deal.

Thanks for any help !!

Jason

 

extra engine shots

 

Pre-Production car

 

This is indeed a genuine Pilot Production "PP" car. It was one of twelve PP Bosses built on or around Oct. 25th 2010. Of the twelve PP cars, there are 4 LSes, 3 black, one silver. Thus far only 4 PP cars have been offered for sale, including two black LSes, both of which you have found. There are a total of 776 2012 LSes, including 12 PP/MP cars.

These are mostly engineering test cars are indeed run hard. I am not sure how much effort Ford puts into restoring them prior to sale. Best of luck with your research.

I believe if you look carefully you will see the plate does have "VIN" and "Vehicle Number", but the background is a different color than the original. I have seen some of the original PP plates that have not weathered well, so I suspect Ford made a new one for this car.

You can see pics of other plates here:

 

As PT states, I ran a FMC DEALER OASIS report on the car, it's a ghost, it shows no owners, has a build date of 10-26-2010 and a warranty start date of 1-7-2011, that's all I get on it, no selling dealer, nothing!

 

IMHO - Apart from "collectibility', buying a PP that has been flogged mercilessly is kinda like marrying a prostitute... You should have way better options to choose from, but hey, it's your money.

 

How much hurt can be put on it in 325 miles? Unless that's not original mileage, in which case, Id want to know what the true mileage is. Plus we dont know the price so hard to say a yea/nay.

 

Thanks for the info so far. I'm getting a feeling the PP cars are not really anything someone would want to own ? The price is $47000
I have no idea how to find out if it is original miles, but if the ODO is correct, that's a very small amount of testing on the track.
I would have thought the TT and VP and MP cars got the hard driving..
Do you think any of the PP cars were transported around the country for autoshows ?

 

For less then 47 you can have a brand new Boss 302 and for 4k more and brand new Boss LS. Neither of which has been beat on. If it were me, I'd go one of those two routes.

 

I think that the question of whether or not you should buy it depends on what you plan on doing with it. If it is going to be a garage queen seeing only occasional use and you plan on hanging on to it for many years, I would bet that it will be worth more money down the road than a regular LS. I mean, come on, how cool would it be to own a PP car??? If it were a PP Porsche or Ferrari, people would be selling their left arms, kidneys, eyes, etc to get their hands on it.

I can't imagine that mechanically the car would be too bad off with only 325 miles, even if it was a magazine test car. Modern cars are very robust and hopefully that car will be just fine.

 

If previous Ford practice holds, the pilot production cars are inspected in great detail, repaired, and have the full production updates to be mechanically sound before they are released to be sold. There might be some collectability factor here as others have mentioned. Perhaps those dings can serve as a negotiation lever for the price. Good luck!

 

I currently own a 13 Boss RaceRed (#1441), and I work for a large Ford Dealership. I drive the Boss on occasion, but its not a daily driver for me. I came from owning a dozen Porsche 911's and have just recently jumped over to the Mustang in 2011 with a GT500.
Ford has come along way with the Mustang and for me, its much more comfortable and fun to drive than some of the Porsche's I've owned including turbo's.
I currently have a 2014 GT500 on order that I can get for invoice, which still will be around 60K. I really like having somewhat rare cars and thats what caught my attention with the PP LS. A person can save 13-14 grand and still have a rare, very fun car.
Would any of you give up a order for a 14 GT500 for this car, if it were to give minimum use and future value?

I'm keeping the 13 Boss, and sold the 11 GT500

 

I had the chance to grab a PP car, and if I did not already have a '12 Boss it would be in my garage, no question. I say go for it.

 

This from one of the members on another Boss 302 forum

Hi Jason:

I think you will find you got a great deal on a 2012 Boss 302. Pre-pro's serve a few functions, first is to test assembly. Pre-pro's always have a lot of quality control inspections. Also, they are returned to Ford's in house service department to receive update and retro-fits.

Pre-Pro's (as they are called) are then for the Zone, Region and District Ford employees to use for demonstration, (Not for Demo service), but used to show the product off to Dealers, and the public at different shows, events and functions where new cars are needed. Ford Exec's and Field Personnel are the only ones allowed to Drive a pre-pro unit.

So you will get a great car in great "New Car" condition. Just know that the warranty start date may have been started when the vehicle was assigned to a Zone or Region. Note I say MAY, because sometimes maybe not, but don't be surprised if the warranty start date is before your date of purchase. It looks like this pre-pro didn't see much action with only 325 miles, usually pre-pro's can have a few thousand miles on them by time of first retail sale.

Good luck and keep us posted as to your purchase. All the best, Hi Pro

PS: Pre-Pro's are usually highly discounted.

 

Given everything stated in your posts, it sounds like the PP Laguna might be perfect for your needs. I haven't driven a '13 GT500 (I've only driven an '11), but Ford is making what, 5000+ GT500s per year I think so who knows how truly collectable they will be. A PP Laguna is such a rare bird it would be hard to pass up. As far as the driving experience, I've yet to hear anyone say that a GT500 is more fun to drive than a Boss. I'm sure they are amazing to drive, but the Bosses are more my type (good power combined with exceptional handling - I have a black '13 Laguna).

Either way you go, you can't lose!

John

 

Wouldn't you be afraid though if they have tested it and it only has 325 miles on the clock that it wasn't broken in and just beaten on?

 

How do you figure ?

Sticker is $49,000, not $60,000.

For $47,000 they are only asking $2000 off sticker new.

 

Sorry for not being more clear, I was speaking in terms of what my cost for a 2014 GT500 at invoice with several options being around 60K.

I know these 2012 LS cars were roughly 49K and the 13's were 50K.

I was making the comparison of initial outlay of money of $47 for the 12 LS and 60K for the 14 GT500.

As one of the Highest volume Ford dealers in the Midwest, 2nd to Woodhouse, we didn't even get a 2012 allocation for a LS. But, we did get one 13 LS SBY.

 

Thanks John, that reinforces my feelings ! Well said.

 

All things being equal, it seems that based upon the limited information 'we' (forum readers) have so far that you have the financial means to purchase this car as a collectible versus a single daily driver. If this is the true, then any opinions from this audience have to be tempered as such.

A guy who works as an electrician or truck driver or retail manager that had to save and scrimp to afford a new/used Boss Mustang might not necessarily be the right guy to elicit a purchase opinion on a PP Boss 302. I'm not trying to get all working class hero crap on you. There's nothing wrong with trying to get as much information/feedback/opinion you can get from the internet.

My perspective was from someone who wanted to be sure they were getting the car of their dreams w/o the worry of any unforeseen factor screwing it up. If the PP cars are held to such a high standard and are built as solid as we are all led to believe, then this might be something worth buying. But for only 2k off a brand new '13 LS, the appeal of this Boss appears to me to fall into the collector category.

If you can afford it, and want it, go for it. Someone will buy it eventually...