How would you rate your Shelby GT350 build quality upon delivery?

[1LEThumper]

See I don't abide by the "for what it is" - because it is the new Shelby GT350 - i'm holding this car to the standard I hold any car I paid $50,000+ for. That's pretty high I guess. I know it's a platform built off a much less expensive car - similar to the BMW M3 of Germany. I suppose I could just race it and dump it if there is all kinds of shoddy work. I'll get a look soon - just arrived at the dealer.

It's a mass produced car that runs down the same line and uses most of the same stampings as a 22k V6 base model. Yes it is different but your paying for the engine, Trans, suspension, and other things that make this car what it is. Some of the gaps and issues I would say are not right are those shared with the other cars like the trunk gap. It's in the mold, no adjustment is going to fix it. Now this thing pops the engine in 10k miles yes I'll be pissed, because again that is one of the things that does make this car different.

The coil cover and paint. That is either lack of attention by the factory or lack by the dealer during prep. Either way nothing that can't be fixed easily and it isn't going to make me sit at home crying about it and not enjoy the car.

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[1LEThumper]

I have to somewhat agree with Rogue. There is no reason for missing a coil cover... Unless they are being stolen off during transport. And then the poor quality of transport in general... We have multiple pics showing cars loaded improperly.

As a physician, I pitch this idea to you... Do you go to your doctor and settle for him/her giving you a partial diagnosis? Would you be happy if your lawyer got your ticket reduced from an 80 in a 55 to a 79 in a 55? What if your periodontist decided to use expired Novocaine while doing your root canal?

I pray that ALL of us getting these cars who have issues post them so Ford reads it and sees the need for change. I plan to go over my R well, all the while comparing it to the build quality of my Focus RS. We will see if Ford America rivals Ford Germany in build quality.

You say that but say health care changes to being fully paid for by the goverenment like in some other countries and you get paid a flat rate. Sure there are going to be those that do care and others that are going to do just enough to get by. Why is it that most of the people that need really good care come here for medical help? The fine men and women working on that line get paid the same to put a V6 rental car together as they do your $65,000 GT350R. Not like a high paid and trained technician that say hand rubs the paint and does color corrections on a new Rolls for two days.

So yes. I say again for what it is.


Compare it to a REAL 65 GT350 and I say we have come s LONG LONG way in the fit and finish of these cars and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.







Now if I was someone that paid 80k for a C6Z and it decided to throw the exhaust valve head into the piston. I would say there is a big problem. I did own one but luckily was not one of the LS7's that died.

 

[1LEThumper]

The above reasons are also why I would never pay over sticker for this car.



Sorry for the rant but I do really like this car and I guess I had a different expectation of what it was going to be and what it wasn't going to be. I knew it wasn't going to have the fit and finish of a Bentley nor a full cheap a$$ plastic interior. I knew the money was going to drivetrain and suspension upgrades and that is exactly what we got with it.

There is always room for improvement and hopefully with every new design that comes along they can make the molds for the body stampings better, and close up some of this...but it is a FAR FAR FAR better car than what my 2006 GT was.



I will leave them with this....if that is all they are going to do with the radio...just leave it out.

 

[ihc95]

Sorry, I don't buy the excuse that "it's made on the same assembly line as a $22k V6." There is absolutely no reason why that $22k V6 rental car shouldn't have prefect panal fitment and paint either. Look at a new VW Golf, perfect quality and that car starts at $18k. It doesn't have to be a Rolls Royce to have good build quality.

 

[Cueball]

I'm wondering if I have hood alignment issues here? What do you think? Should that gap be there between the fender and hood? It's not as noticeable on the passenger side.

This looks perfect to me. This is how my GT looks after I pulled the fender out.

 

[mattlqx]

Did you just loosen the bolts holding the fender in and pull it out a bit? I need to pull my passenger side front fender out a few mm. It sits a little too close to the hood.

I adjusted the hood as a stopgap. It does seem like the fender is what really needed adjusting though. Maybe I'll give it a go this weekend.

 

[mattlqx]

Sorry, I don't buy the excuse that "it's made on the same assembly line as a $22k V6." There is absolutely no reason why that $22k V6 rental car shouldn't have prefect panal fitment and paint either. Look at a new VW Golf, perfect quality and that car starts at $18k. It doesn't have to be a Rolls Royce to have good build quality.

There isn't any good reason for it. Ding Ford for it on any surveys you take about your car purchase. They should score high marks for a bunch of other things, but for dealership experience and initial build quality, they have much room to improve still.

 

[Cueball]

Loosen one bolt (front), move fender outwards to your liking, retighten bolt, apply touchup paint to resulting bare metal. I also applied touchup paint to where it appeared something had been rubbing the fender in another spot - mine was really close.

 

[lilskolio]

When i got mine i saw no issues. everything looked as it should have

 

[krt22]

Fit/finish will not be like most German cars.

Bingo. Ford has to balance profitability while dealing with sky high labor costs. Not only that, but the labor force has almost 100% job security and guaranteed raises. They have zero incentive, zilch, nadda to ever do more than the minimum. This results in ford banking on high volumes to make up for the lower margins. If each car took an extra day on the line for perfect panel alignment, im sure it would throw a huge monkey wrench into fords profit margin

Americans just LOVE to tote on and on how they would prefer to pay for american made goods, yet very few are ever willing to pay extra for top notch quality. If you wanted american built cars with german build quality, the price point would be higher, at which point many americans would scoff and say "Why not just buy the german car then"

Sorry, I don't buy the excuse that "it's made on the same assembly line as a $22k V6." There is absolutely no reason why that $22k V6 rental car shouldn't have prefect panal fitment and paint either. Look at a new VW Golf, perfect quality and that car starts at $18k. It doesn't have to be a Rolls Royce to have good build quality.

The jetta and golf are essentially zero margin cars for VW just to bring up volume and market share. They are sold with the hopes that buyers will buy additional higher level models in the future. Its a business model that is not working exceptionally well, but is tolerable thanks to the extremely high margins on porsches and other VAG products

 

[mephim]

Loosen one bolt (front), move fender outwards to your liking, retighten bolt, apply touchup paint to resulting bare metal. I also applied touchup paint to where it appeared something had been rubbing the fender in another spot - mine was really close.

Was this for the front or rear? If it's for the rear, could you provide a picture of where the bolt is?

 

[Spa2k]

The rear quarter panels are not adjustable, because they're part of the welded body structure. However, the rear bumper cover can be adjusted up to an eighth of an inch or so by loosening the screws holding it in place.

 

[350Dude]

Only one I saw in person had horrible alignment issue from front fender to door on the body lines. It was off by 1/4". Aside from that it looked really good. Should see mine this weekend or early next week so we will see on that.

 

[HizliBullet]

speaking of pre-delivery, here is something of good use for those who do their own PDI

"SSM 45507 - 2015 and 2016 GT350 R Spring And Shock Spacer Removal Required At Pre-Delivery Inspection

The 2015-2016 GT350 R has spacers in the front coil springs and rear shock absorbers that need to be removed at pre-delivery inspection. To remove the spacers,raise wheels off the ground and grasp the spacers and pull them out. The front spacers are yellow in color and are inserted into the springs, the rear spacers are white in color and are on the top of the shock absorbers. The spacers are required for transport and must be removed before delivery of the car to the customer."

 

[DrumReaper]

You say that but say health care changes to being fully paid for by the goverenment like in some other countries and you get paid a flat rate. Sure there are going to be those that do care and others that are going to do just enough to get by. Why is it that most of the people that need really good care come here for medical help? The fine men and women working on that line get paid the same to put a V6 rental car together as they do your $65,000 GT350R. Not like a high paid and trained technician that say hand rubs the paint and does color corrections on a new Rolls for two days.

So yes. I say again for what it is.

Compare it to a REAL 65 GT350 and I say we have come s LONG LONG way in the fit and finish of these cars and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

Now if I was someone that paid 80k for a C6Z and it decided to throw the exhaust valve head into the piston. I would say there is a big problem. I did own one but luckily was not one of the LS7's that died.

With all due respect, your logic is foul. We do not have a single-payer, fully government-paid healthcare system yet so you don't know how that would either adversely affect anyone. Stick with what's at hand.

I don't buy the crap idea that my car should be just as good as the beat 'em up rental cars and I should expect/condone poor workmanship at $22k or $65k. I personally feel that quality should improve across the board at Ford. Everyone benefits as that would be a win-win for Ford and the consumer.

As for comparing the build between a 2016 GT350 and a 1965 GT350... . Nuff said. It wouldn't be an appropriate use of time or conjecture.

If you're willing to settle for "it is what it is", then that sucks, IMHO. I strive for better, especially with my hard earned money.

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