S550 guys - shopping for one for my daughter

[93Cobra#2771]

Shopping for an s550 for my daughter, either ecoboost or 5.0. Something 5-6 years oldish, 50kish miles.

Anything I need to avoid? Common issues? What to watch for? Certain year models better than others?

 

[Morgan]

Does she have any experience driving over pedestrians?

 

[sonicx]

auto /manual? Coupe / Vert? First car / not? 4 season environment or not? Looking for turn key or are you mechanical enclined?

 

[Lambeau]

Shopping for an s550 for my daughter, either ecoboost or 5.0. Something 5-6 years oldish, 50kish miles.

Anything I need to avoid? Common issues? What to watch for? Certain year models better than others?

What Sonicx said, plus, what's your budget?

 

[offroadkarter]

If you can trust her with the power, 5.0 > ecoboost all day for reliability. A 3.31 6R80 car can still scrape the magic 30mpg mark on long highway drives.

From my personal experience of owning one since new, rear wheelhubs can be a weak point especially if the axle nuts loosen up and back off, the rear diff bushings are weak and Ford DOES NOT sell replacements, they expect you to replace the entire subframe, the A/C Evaporator can crap out (mine did around 20k miles, I don't know how often this happens on the 18+ cars) and of course there are the normal Ford panel gap and build quality issues.

Honestly I think a 15-17 6R80 5.0 would be peak reliable for one of these. The 3.7 Cyclone V6 is a good motor but you couldn't get that engine in anything with options so not really worth thinking about in this day and age.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

auto /manual? Coupe / Vert? First car / not? 4 season environment or not? Looking for turn key or are you mechanical enclined?

Either trans. Coupe. Second car. Live in south, so four season but she won’t drive if we get snow. Turn key but also very mechanically inclined.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

What Sonicx said, plus, what's your budget?

25-35ish with a little give either way

 

[93Cobra#2771]

If you can trust her with the power, 5.0 > ecoboost all day for reliability. A 3.31 6R80 car can still scrape the magic 30mpg mark on long highway drives.

From my personal experience of owning one since new, rear wheelhubs can be a weak point especially if the axle nuts loosen up and back off, the rear diff bushings are weak and Ford DOES NOT sell replacements, they expect you to replace the entire subframe, the A/C Evaporator can crap out (mine did around 20k miles, I don't know how often this happens on the 18+ cars) and of course there are the normal Ford panel gap and build quality issues.

Honestly I think a 15-17 6R80 5.0 would be peak reliable for one of these. The 3.7 Cyclone V6 is a good motor but you couldn't get that engine in anything with options so not really worth thinking about in this day and age.

was looking at a 15 precertified 5.0, with 42k, but can tell the person who had it didn’t take good care of it. Drove a 20 5.0 and very nice car for 35k (34k miles). It’s the front runner.

 

[offroadkarter]

was looking at a 15 precertified 5.0, with 42k, but can tell the person who had it didn’t take good care of it. Drove a 20 5.0 and very nice car for 35k (34k miles). It’s the front runner.

@13COBRA can help you with getting an OASIS report on any car you're seriously considering, he helped me out big time when I was helping a friend look for 11-14 5.0 F150's.

Might be worth checking the classifieds over on mustang6g if you're fine with a private party sale.

 

[Morgan]

I would think an auto 5.0 is more likely to be found in good condition, and will retain better value/demand.

 

[Rambro]

I daily a 15 gt 6r80 and it’s awesome. It’s female friendly too with the 3.15’s and the traction control on, it won’t get away from her. I’ve seen 28 mpg on the highway with full blast a/c going. Drag radials and Lund tune ran 12.2 @114 mph, best of only 2 passes. Mine has 71k miles, I bought it from a dealership, I’m the second owner. Mine was bone stock when I bought it, and it came with full service documentation. Never had any issues with it, and it’s super comfortable to drive.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

The 20gt is out. Price was right but noticed some aftermarket stuff. Full steeda suspension and been best of 7.34 at 98. Found the original owner on Facebook and it was at drag strip lol.

 

[LS WUT]

I had a 2017 GT Track Pack Premium. Car was a blast to drive for sure, car had all the cats pajamas on it.

 

[utlong31]

Got my daughter a 2017 2.3T when she was a senior. It was a pretty good car. Had some problems with the back up camera but that was it. She drove it for two years.


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[01yellercobra]

My daughter picked up a 2019 Ecoboost a couple months ago. I think she paid mid 20's for it and it's at 33k miles right now. Only "mod" was a muffler delete. The carfax shows it was a lease return. No issues with it yet.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

%VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS_CAP_FIRST_LETTER% Vehicles for Sale | %DEALER_NAME%

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www.jackyjonessweetwater.com

Here's the one I was looking at. Steeda Stop The Hop Kit, sway bars, pro active shocks and steeda springs. JLT 3.0 Catch can on pass side. Stainless X pipe with resonator delete. Lowered maybe 3/4". Brand new Pirelli P Zeros.

After really studying on it, they are priced a bit high on it. It has low miles and is in really good condition. However, for the price of 35k, I could add another 5k and get a brand new ecoboost car. She will be going to dental school in 1.5 years, and if it's away from home, having a car with warranty and such on it would be nice.

She really likes apple car play, and this car doesn't have it or nav. Having either of those would be a lot easier than trying to run nav off her phone while driving, as that time will come when she goes an hour away or 5 hours away to dental school.

Mustangs are few and far between on the lots around here right now, but we will keep looking. Unless they were to drop 3k plus on this car (they won't I'm sure) then the search will continue.

 

[Saleen498]

Gen 2 coyote for sure. 15-17. In my opinion it's the best looking s550 and it in the most tune friendly. I have a 2015 PP car with 103k miles. I drive it year round in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Air conditioning problems are really all you need to worry about, I'm on my 2 compressor replacement using motorcraft parts both times. Other than that if you grab a manual there is a TSB on the OEM clutch sticking at high RPM shifts.

 

[gimmie11s]

-Stock or mods but plan to keep N/A -- 18+ 5.0 is the pinnacle s550. They will trap 125 mph with mild bolt ons and probably last literally forever at that power level. All while getting great MPG. This config is absolutely an overachiever. Great cars.


-Plans to add boost -- I'd have to go 15-17 with the 6r80 just because of how bulletproof you can build that auto trans. Although im partial to the dual fuel 18+ gen 3 coyote. Gen 3 is a better motor all around than gen 2. Larger head studs/bolts, higher flowing heads and cams, higher compression, stronger block, dual fuel -- only requires a tune to run e85 if staying N/A, no injectors required. Really a tough call.

 

[BlksvtCobra01]

-Stock or mods but plan to keep N/A -- 18+ 5.0 is the pinnacle s550. They will trap 125 mph with mild bolt ons and probably last literally forever at that power level. All while getting great MPG. This config is absolutely an overachiever. Great cars.


-Plans to add boost -- I'd have to go 15-17 with the 6r80 just because of how bulletproof you can build that auto trans. Although im partial to the dual fuel 18+ gen 3 coyote. Gen 3 is a better motor all around than gen 2. Larger head studs/bolts, higher flowing heads and cams, higher compression, stronger block, dual fuel -- only requires a tune to run e85 if staying N/A, no injectors required. Really a tough call.

So you’re saying if I go 18 plus with an A10 and only
Mods would be possibly E85, CAI, Exhaust. Go 18?


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[offroadkarter]

Gen 2 coyote for sure. 15-17. In my opinion it's the best looking s550 and it in the most tune friendly. I have a 2015 PP car with 103k miles. I drive it year round in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Air conditioning problems are really all you need to worry about, I'm on my 2 compressor replacement using motorcraft parts both times. Other than that if you grab a manual there is a TSB on the OEM clutch sticking at high RPM shifts.

I'm curious how yours is holding up underneath salt/rust wise. Mine is parked every winter.

So you’re saying if I go 18 plus with an A10 and only
Mods would be possibly E85, CAI, Exhaust. Go 18?


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You can throw the entire summit catalog at em. AFAIK 10R80's start to slip around 700rwhp but at the same time, you can get a 10R80 car into the 10's with headers, a tune, E85 and drag radials. It's impressive what they can do, just different things to factor in when building up a gen 3 vs a gen 2.

%VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS_CAP_FIRST_LETTER% Vehicles for Sale | %DEALER_NAME%

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www.jackyjonessweetwater.com

Here's the one I was looking at. Steeda Stop The Hop Kit, sway bars, pro active shocks and steeda springs. JLT 3.0 Catch can on pass side. Stainless X pipe with resonator delete. Lowered maybe 3/4". Brand new Pirelli P Zeros.

After really studying on it, they are priced a bit high on it. It has low miles and is in really good condition. However, for the price of 35k, I could add another 5k and get a brand new ecoboost car. She will be going to dental school in 1.5 years, and if it's away from home, having a car with warranty and such on it would be nice.

She really likes apple car play, and this car doesn't have it or nav. Having either of those would be a lot easier than trying to run nav off her phone while driving, as that time will come when she goes an hour away or 5 hours away to dental school.

Mustangs are few and far between on the lots around here right now, but we will keep looking. Unless they were to drop 3k plus on this car (they won't I'm sure) then the search will continue.

It isn't difficult to add Sync 3 to a non sync car if it really comes down to it but hold out longer for the right car. It looks to me like the used car market is starting to shift downward so you might get lucky and find a better deal soon.

If you're going to buy a modded S550 make sure you give it a real good look over in person. Recently a guy on Mustang6G bought a "stock" 16 GT from Florida and had it shipped to where he lived in the midwest, he received a car that had clearly been extensively modded at one time and beat on, it barely ran off the car hauler. Turns out its basically down 2 cylinders. The dealer never disclosed any of this and basically told him to go eat ass.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/off-to-a-rough-start-with-2016-gt.192705/

I know of someone else on that site bought a Roush RS1 ecoboost which he later found out someone swapped a junkyard sourced 2.0L Fusion ecoboost in place of the original 2.3L motor.