FAQ

[Alloy Dave]

Disclaimer: The questions and answers here were compiled by a member of this forum using the best-known information from a variety of members’ knowledge on this forum and is provided as a service to new users of the site. Since we do not have Ford official representation on the site, the accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed. In many cases the answers are vague and give ranges since the answers cannot be accurately determined and due to the fact that different forum members have had different experiences. As we learn more factual information, I will update the answers. If you believe an answer is incorrect, and have knowledge to prove it, please provide the correct information so that I can edit the post.

 

1.QQ: Is there a website where I can track the status of my car order?

AA: No, but once you have your VIN, you can contact customer service at 1-800- 392-3673 and they can help you track the order.

 

2.QQ: On average, how long does it take from the time of receiving a VIN until my dealer will receive my car?

AA: This is a difficult question to answer, as the time can vary depending on many factors including whether the car needs striping, the shipping logistics, and so on. However, people on this forum have experienced times in the 4-12 week range (I can adjust these dates if specific people tell me their experience was shorter/longer).

 

3.QQ: Where can I buy a GT500 for MSRP?

AA: It will be difficult to find one at MSRP at the current time. We’ve seen numerous instances of ADMs ranging from $5k to $20k and even higher in some cases. Although no one can be sure, many people on the forum believe that waiting until later in the model year will bring pricing down to lower levels.

 

4.QQ: What are some of the common issues you’ve seen on delivered cars?

AA: On the early '07 cars, we saw stripe alignment/bubbles and cracked front air dams (during unloading from the trailer/railcar) seem to be the more common issues, although there have been other, less frequent issues. As for performance related issues, some users are experiencing wheel hop under extremely hard acceleration. Some forum users have cured this with an aftermarket upper control arm, some have fixed it with lower control arms, and some required both uppers and lowers (like me) to alleviate this problem. In addition, some users have mentioned some clutch chatter, but this is described in the owners manual as being a normal part of the ceramatallic clutch, and most users have been able to adapt their driving style such that this is not an issue. There have also been a few issues related to coolant hoses leaking on the engine. Some techs are replacing the stock clamps with worm screw type clamps on certain hoses. Recommend checking your hoses carefully for leaks. On about 10/27/06, the below memo was released from Ford also:

 

6408 - 2007 SHELBY GT 500 MUSTANG - DRIVABILITY CONCERNS - AIR FILTER

SOME 2007 SHELBY GT 500 VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 09/01/2006 MAY EXPERIENCE DRIVABILITY CONCERNS INCLUDING: ROUGH IDLE, A SURGE AT LESS THAN 2000 RPM, A LACK OF POWER AND ERRATIC READINGS ON THE BOOST GAUGE. THIS ISSUE MAY OR MAY NOT FLAG A DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) IN THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM). THESE SYMPTOMS MAY BE DUE TO A QUALITY ISSUE WITH THE AIR FILTER ELEMENT. TO CORRECT THIS CONCERN, REPLACE THE AIR FILTER ELEMENT WITH PART NUMBER 7R3Z-9601-AA (MOTORCRAFT FA 1807).

 

After summer of '07, we've seen some members have issues with clutch/transmissions...if you search the forum you can find a lot of info on this.

 

There have been isolated cases of other issues also, such as not being able to put fuel in the tank....but these issues have been rare.

 

5.QQ: How many GT500s will be produced?

AA: For 2007 model year...over 10,000 GT500s were produced. The numbers for '08 are TBD. There is still speculation about whether an '09 will be produced.

 

7.QQ: How can I track my car once it’s been shipped on the railcar?

AA: Officially there is no public way to do this. However, some members may be willing and able to help on an informal basis if you post your request with a rail car number. The rail car number must be obtained from your dealer.

 

8.QQ: How does the allocation of cars by dealer work?

AA: This has been one of the most discussed and argued questions on the forum. The answer is complex and lengthy, but the most basic simple answer is that a dealer is allocated one car for being a PA award winner, another for being a full-line SVT dealer, one for being SVT Focus, and then any other dealer had the opportunity to pay a training fee to become GT500 certified. These allocations are additive such that some dealers can get multiple cars. Once all these initial allocations are made, any remaining production (commonly called “Share of Nation”) will be allocated to any remaining dealers interested. As I said, this is a simplified answer to provide a general idea of how allocation works. In addition, many dealers are buying GT500s from other dealers and selling them at an even higher price.

 

9.QQ: I ordered my car earlier than someone else, but they got their car before mine, why is this?

AA: Ford does not build cars on a first-ordered, first produced basis. There are many factors involved in when each car is scheduled. We do not have firm info from Ford on the order scheduling process, but it may have to do with award levels (PA award dealers may get one car before smaller, non-award dealers get any), striping (the stripes are put on at a different plant nearby the assembly plant. Cars not requiring stripes may not have to await striping and therefore may be shipped more quickly), parts availability (if you ordered a convertible, and Ford is temporarily waiting for cloth tops to arrive, then your car may be moved out a bit), and other logistics issues. Again, these are just some ideas of what can cause delays, we have no official word from Ford on this.

 

10.QQ: Will the GT500 be in the Shelby registry?

AA: Again, there have been conflicting stories on this topic. However, here is some additional info from the Shelby Automobile Club website http://www.saac.com/blurb.html ...

"Carroll Shelby is not a one act play. No sooner were the details finalized on the new GT500s then Shelby and Ford announced they would be teaming up with Hertz to provide that company with a black-and-gold rental version of the Shelby Mustang, called the Shelby GT-H. The 500 examples produced proved so popular that Shelby and Ford followed that up with another model, the Shelby GT - another Shelby Mustang positioned between the standard Mustang GT and the Shelby GT500. Before anyone could catch their breath, Carroll Shelby had pulled three rabbits out of his black cowboy hat and a new generation of Shelby owners was created. Each of these new models will have its own registry and its own following."

 

In addition, below is a quote from Amy Boylan, the President of Shelby Automotive.

"Hey Dan, the 2007 Gt500 does go in the registry, Not sure where the rumor came from, but it always was going in." Amy

 

11.QQ: My documentation states my warranty is 3 years/36,000 miles, but I heard all Ford’s were going to 5 year/50,000 mile warranty on the powertrain, what gives?

AA: Your documentation may have been printed prior to the announcement. All Fords do have the 5 year/60,000 mile coverage on the powertrain, including the GT500.

 

12.QQ: How many Shelby GT500s are they producing in a day?

AA: There are several ways of answering this. Reports as of 10/9/06 indicate they are producing about 50/day spread across two 8-hour shifts. If you annualize this based on about 220 work days/year (I work in a manufacturing company, and this is the number we use for planning production, so it's only an estimate that removes common holidays and weekends), this would indicate 11,000 units. This was actually very close to the 2007 production.

 

13.QQ: How can I change wheels on the car since it has a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)?AA: New bands and cradles can be purchased such that the sensors can be removed from the old wheels and used on the new ones. Total cost of these parts is about $15-20/wheel. Keep in mind that due to the large size of the front brakes, you'll need to check wheel fitment carefully. Here is much more additional information http://www.stangsunleashed.com/forums/inde...?showtopic=3502

 

14.QQ: How can I track my car's build?

AA: The full response for this is too lengthy to post, but here is some info that you can use. There's not much you can do until your dealer provides you with a serial number. After that, you can call Ford's customer service (800-392-3673) to check on status...recommend calling about once per week at most. There are some acronymns used below: MS&S (Marketing, Sales, and Service), VO (Vehicle Operations) and MP&L (Material Planning & Logistics). As a general rule, we're seeing that once a car is serialized, it takes 4-16 weeks to get to the customer. I know this is a big range, but it depends on many things such as whether you ordered stripes, where you live in the U.S., and so on. If I had to pick an average, I'd say about 6-8 weeks.

 

Receipt Date: The date that MS&S recorded the order

When the order is received from the dealers (You give the dealer a deposit and they put the order into the order bank.)

 

Serialize Date: The date that MS&S transfers the order to MP&L and the VIN is created

When the order is received by Material Planning and parts are ordered

 

Segment Date: The date that MP&L determines which week the order will be built

When they figure (roughly) that parts will hit the plant to build vehicle

 

Sequence Date: The date that MP&L determines which day the order will be built

When they figure the exact day that parts will hit the plant to build vehicle

 

Blend Date: The date that MP&L determines when the order will be built within the assigned day

When they figure the order that vehicles will be built. This depends on options and line constraints.

 

Produced Date: The date that VO finished assembling the vehicle

Your unit has been built!

 

Gate Release Date: The date that VO transfers the vehicle to Transportation Carriers for shipping

Your unit has left the building, and is in the hands of the shipper (rail or truck)

 

Ship Date: The date the vehicle left the Assembly Plant

Your unit has left the load site, and is on it's way to the dealer

 

Arrival Date: The date the Dealership received the vehicle

Your dealer has the unit in hand, doing the dealer prep thingy

 

Sold Date: The date the Customer picked up the vehicle

You came in, looked it over, said, "I'll take it!" and signed the papers

 

QQ16: Where can I hear various aftermarket exhaust clips?

AA:16 http://www.mustangexhaust.com/forums/soundclips.php?catid=3

 

QQ17: How long will it take to get my car?

AA:17 This is not an easy question to answer. However, once your car is built, it could take 30 days or more due to striping, quality checks, and transportation time. Note that once the car is built it is transferred to the "foreign plant", which is a plant across the street that installs striping. It then goes to the transit area. Central dispatch then schedules it for delivery to the dealer. Trucking companies can only put 2 GT500s on a car hauler, we believe because of issues cracking front air dams when they are put in other positions. Per federal laws (at least that's what we're told), we cannot pick up the car at the plant.

 

Edited 10/31/06 to add QQ16.

Edited 11/18/06 to add QQ17.

Edited 11/19/06 added additional info to the answer to QQ17.

Edited 12/29/06 - thanks to PowerStrokeHD for the meanings of some acronymns in QQ14.

Edited 7/12/07 - changed warranty info to the proper 5 years/60,000 miles on the powertrain in QQ11.

Edited 11/30/07 - removed questions 6 and 15 since they were no longer applicable. Also made minor changes to other answers.

Edited December 1, 2007 by Alloy Dave

[flashfearless]

Terry, thanks for putting this together. This could go a long way from seeing repeats on posts.

 

 

6.QQ: I’ve heard that if I order the Shaker 1000, my car’s production will be delayed, is this true?

AA: There have been conflicting claims on this. We have no official word.

 

 

 

Ford may officially deny it, but we have definately seen that orders of GT500 convertibles with Shaker 1000 are not getting made. We heard from a person on the assembly line itself state that the issue is the weight of the car and the effect of it meeting Federal Highway Safety Standards for this class of car. I don't know how much more clear it needs to be.

 

Here is a quote from someone on the assembly line who had his own GT500 coupe built with a Shaker 1000 in front of his own eyes.

 

http://www.fordgt500.com/forums/showpost.p...mp;postcount=38

 

 

... and part of the country (If Ford only has 2 cars headed to Arizona, it may hold those 2 cars until enough cars are headed to that region of the country to fill a rail car).

 

 

 

This I seriously doubt because shipping is handled by third parties not Ford.

[ColdwaterHotrod]

That was an EXCELLENT POST Terry1234!

 

Wish I would have thought of that....

Edited October 4, 2006 by ColdwaterHotrod

[mastersmech1]

Comment on #10. The following is a clip from the opening web page of the Shelby American Automibile Club

 

"Carroll Shelby is not a one act play. No sooner were the details finalized on the new GT500s then Shelby and Ford announced they would be teaming up with Hertz to provide that company with a black-and-gold rental version of the Shelby Mustang, called the Shelby GT-H. The 500 examples produced proved so popular that Shelby and Ford followed that up with another model, the Shelby GT - another Shelby Mustang positioned between the standard Mustang GT and the Shelby GT500. Before anyone could catch their breath, Carroll Shelby had pulled three rabbits out of his black cowboy hat and a new generation of Shelby owners was created. Each of these new models will have its own registry and its own following."

 

This seems like a clear cut answer to that question. Maybe you should correct that on the list.

Great post Terry

Edited October 5, 2006 by mastersmech1

[Alloy Dave]

Terry, thanks for putting this together. This could go a long way from seeing repeats on posts.

Ford may officially deny it, but we have definately seen that orders of GT500 convertibles with Shaker 1000 are not getting made. We heard from a person on the assembly line itself state that the issue is the weight of the car and the effect of it meeting Federal Highway Safety Standards for this class of car. I don't know how much more clear it needs to be.

 

Here is a quote from someone on the assembly line who had his own GT500 coupe built with a Shaker 1000 in front of his own eyes.

 

http://www.fordgt500.com/forums/showpost.p...mp;postcount=38

This I seriously doubt because shipping is handled by third parties not Ford.

 

Good input, I will modify both of those answers...take a look and let me know what you think...give me about 15 minutes to make the changes.

 

Dave

 

Thanks, great info lineup. I am adding one to clear up POST #2.

12. QQ. When people on Stangsunleashed refer to TERRY1234 as Terry are they correct or is it really Dave?

 

AA. It is Dave.

 

LOL. I hate the fact that I did this. The short story is that Terry is my wife's name. The long story is that when I signed up for the forum, I did so at home. Then, when I was at work, I wanted urgently to check a post and did not remember my password...so I created a new account and used my wife's name. I ended up posting more from work...so this account "stuck". :bandance:

 

Dave

 

Comment on #10. The following is a clip from the opening web page of the Shelby American Automibile Club

 

"Carroll Shelby is not a one act play. No sooner were the details finalized on the new GT500s then Shelby and Ford announced they would be teaming up with Hertz to provide that company with a black-and-gold rental version of the Shelby Mustang, called the Shelby GT-H. The 500 examples produced proved so popular that Shelby and Ford followed that up with another model, the Shelby GT - another Shelby Mustang positioned between the standard Mustang GT and the Shelby GT500. Before anyone could catch their breath, Carroll Shelby had pulled three rabbits out of his black cowboy hat and a new generation of Shelby owners was created. Each of these new models will have its own registry and its own following."

 

This seems like a clear cut answer to that question. Maybe you should correct that on the list.

Great post Terry

 

Now THAT's what I'm talking about...someone giving definitive sources. I've modified the FAQs...take a look.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Dave

[mastersmech1]

Nice adjustments. This is a great idea Terry.

[shel-b001]

All new members should get this post when they join. Great work Dave , Terry 123

[ColdwaterHotrod]

All new members should get this post when they join. Great work Dave , Terry 123

 

Hey Dave, I thought of something how about "BOLDING" the Questions?

 

Rodney

[Alloy Dave]

Hey Dave, I thought of something how about "BOLDING" the Questions?

 

Rodney

 

Ask and you shall receive. Done.

[crispy23c]

Nice work Dave! By the way....that's my wife's name. Are you married to my wife, or am I to yours? WTF? :tease:

[lambbo]

All new members should get this post when they join. Great work Dave , Terry 123

 

Sticky?

[Alloy Dave]

Sticky?

 

Is that a question?

[mad103]

Thanks. Very useful information. Does the amount of deposit at all affect the TIME it takes to process order? What is the min. down payment one can put...I am sure they do not have a max....heck....throw in a few extra k OVER the ADM...they will love it!

[Alloy Dave]

Thanks. Very useful information. Does the amount of deposit at all affect the TIME it takes to process order? What is the min. down payment one can put...I am sure they do not have a max....heck....throw in a few extra k OVER the ADM...they will love it!

 

No, deposit does not affect time.

Min deposit is up to your dealer.

[ILSTANG]

Is there a check list posted for the delivery day? Mine Vista vert is due next week from a small dealer and would appreciate a check list if someone has put one together.

Thanks

[Black Sunshine]

Very nice list. Only thing I can think of possibly adding is a link for the signed dash plate and sills that seem to be asked about a lot.

[Alloy Dave]

Is there a check list posted for the delivery day? Mine Vista vert is due next week from a small dealer and would appreciate a check list if someone has put one together.

Thanks

Yes, there is...not sure where...do a search on delivery checklist and see what you can find. Good luck.

 

Dave

[Alloy Dave]

Very nice list. Only thing I can think of possibly adding is a link for the signed dash plate and sills that seem to be asked about a lot.

Really? I've been on this board a long time and never seen it asked about. What exactly is the question?

[ILSTANG]

Really? I've been on this board a long time and never seen it asked about. What exactly is the question?

 

I have searched the board and cannot find a pre-delivery inspection or suggested checklist for new owners. Does any one know where it is or does anyone have a copy of the pre-delivery inspection list that ford provides to the dealership? TTB wrote a paragraph about pick up but it just covers a few points.

Thanks

[ColdwaterHotrod]

I have searched the board and cannot find a pre-delivery inspection or suggested checklist for new owners. Does any one know where it is or does anyone have a copy of the pre-delivery inspection list that ford provides to the dealership? TTB wrote a paragraph about pick up but it just covers a few points.

Thanks

Dealer__PDI__Inspection_sheet.pdf

Dealer__PDI__Inspection_sheet.pdf

[ILSTANG]

Dealer__PDI__Inspection_sheet.pdf

 

 

Thanks is there anything we need to check over and above the ford list?

[Alloy Dave]

Thanks is there anything we need to check over and above the ford list?

Yes, read this thread...I point out the problem areas we've seen.

[nilkilla]

11.QQ: My documentation states my warranty is 3 years/36,000 miles, but I heard all Ford’s were going to 5 year/50,000 mile warranty on the powertrain, what gives?

AA: Your documentation may have been printed prior to the announcement. All Fords do have the 5 year/50,000 mile coverage on the powertrain, including the GT500.

 

Please edit, powertrain warranty is 5 year/60,000 miles.

great FAQ besides my editorial sticking

[Alloy Dave]

Please edit, powertrain warranty is 5 year/60,000 miles.

great FAQ besides my editorial sticking

Thanks, good catch...I'll make the change right away.

 

Dave

[5.4 Shelby]

Dave, I learned something new this week and thought you might want to add it to your FAQ. I could not find a solid answer on it on this forum.

 

The term "Bucked" is derived from olden days in England. When they made Buck Board wagons, they called them bucked when the floor of the wagon got its buckboard sides, thus creating a shell. The auto industry now calls having a shell (floor pan, sides, roof) "bucked". When Ford lists your Mustang as bucked, that means it is a shell with a VIN and has essentially started the build.

[Alloy Dave]

Dave, I learned something new this week and thought you might want to add it to your FAQ. I could not find a solid answer on it on this forum.

 

The term "Bucked" is derived from olden days in England. When they made Buck Board wagons, they called them bucked when the floor of the wagon got its buckboard sides, thus creating a shell. The auto industry now calls having a shell (floor pan, sides, roof) "bucked". When Ford lists your Mustang as bucked, that means it is a shell with a VIN and has essentially started the build.

I"m not sure that's a FREQUENTLY asked question.

[5.4 Shelby]

I"m not sure that's a FREQUENTLY asked question.

I would think "What does 'bucked' mean?" would be.

 

The simple answer is - that the car has started production. I gave the background to go with it because I found it interesting.

[crispy23c]

I"m not sure that's a FREQUENTLY asked question.

 

 

Leave the poor guy alone, AD! He just got bucked!

Glad this doesn't refer to building rail cars,

or it would be "they bucked my trains out!" Sorry, I could not resist!

[Joker45]

Leave the poor guy alone, AD! He just got bucked!

Glad this doesn't refer to building rail cars,

or it would be "they bucked my trains out!" Sorry, I could not resist!

 

OMG. How long did you have to think about that one?

[Alloy Dave]

OMG. How long did you have to think about that one?

You know crispy...he's always thinking.