Dark Horse Poorly Received??

[topdawg4ever]

So as I look into purchasing my Dark Horse a few things are apparent. I’ve been to 4 dealers for reference.
1. They are sitting in showrooms with no dealer markup. That’s good news and bad news.
2. The dealers generally know very little about them. And seem disinterested in selling them.
3. The highest percentage of reviews on YouTube seem negative or MEH.

I’ll say that I was able to test drive a 6sp DH Thursday and truly loved the car. Obviously I wasn’t on the track or drag strip. But from an overall awesome interior, the sweet Tremec and overall fun factor I was impressed.

I’m guessing the price point, interest rates and the enthusiast’s continued love of the 2018 GT350 seems to have stalled any excitement for the DH.
Just wondered what others thoughts are.

 

[Ryunket]

You can ask this multiple places and get very similar answers. You tube reviews are 100% useless and highlight really nothing compared to owning and driving them.

Dealers receive them and sell them, they rely on all the web mis-information to drive customers in to purchase. Very few I found are at MSRP, happy in your area you have choices.

 

[topdawg4ever]

The best spec’d MSRP DH for my preference is not a Premium. But has the base seats which I prefer and the handling package. Is not having the premium package a complete deal breaker?

You can ask this multiple places and get very similar answers. You tube reviews are 100% useless and highlight really nothing compared to owning and driving them.

Dealers receive them and sell them, they rely on all the web mis-information to drive customers in to purchase. Very few I found are at MSRP, happy in your area you have choices.

 

[Ryunket]

The best spec’d MSRP DH for my preference is not a Premium. But has the base seats which I prefer and the handling package. Is not having the premium package a complete deal breaker?

For me it was due to limited exterior color choices. Never compared them side by side. Handling pack was for sure a deal breaker. For me entirely waste of money.

 

[Skhilton53]

So as I look into purchasing my Dark Horse a few things are apparent. I’ve been to 4 dealers for reference.
1. They are sitting in showrooms with no dealer markup. That’s good news and bad news.
2. The dealers generally know very little about them. And seem disinterested in selling them.
3. The highest percentage of reviews on YouTube seem negative or MEH.

I’ll say that I was able to test drive a 6sp DH Thursday and truly loved the car. Obviously I wasn’t on the track or drag strip. But from an overall awesome interior, the sweet Tremec and overall fun factor I was impressed.

I’m guessing the price point, interest rates and the enthusiast’s continued love of the 2018 GT350 seems to have stalled any excitement for the DH.
Just wondered what others thoughts are.

I wasn't really in the market for one but was monitoring the price point. At the time (late 2023) if a dealer had one it was marked up over MSRP. I stumbled across one outside of Indianapolis at a small dealership and they were asking MSRP so I bit the bullet and did the deal. I got the 700A option which IMO more than gets me everything I need.

I drove the DH back to Austin, TX and was pleased with its handling and fuel mileage. I haven't had the opportunity yet to get it on the track (road course) but will before too long. I previously owned a GT350 so expect the DH to handle about the same even though it has a few less HP.

The electronics drive me nuts, mostly because there are no longer any knobs or switches to turn stuff on and off. I have to take my eyes off the road to activate the climate and I'm uncomfortable with that.

The DH will most likely please those who are tech junkies because it appears there is a ton of configurations for you to pl;ay with.

If you can purchase one for less than MSRP I'd jump on it. It is a limited production vehicle though FoMoCo won't say how many they plan to build.

 

[MJS54]

I wasn't really in the market for one but was monitoring the price point. At the time (late 2023) if a dealer had one it was marked up over MSRP. I stumbled across one outside of Indianapolis at a small dealership and they were asking MSRP so I bit the bullet and did the deal. I got the 700A option which IMO more than gets me everything I need.

I drove the DH back to Austin, TX and was pleased with its handling and fuel mileage. I haven't had the opportunity yet to get it on the track (road course) but will before too long. I previously owned a GT350 so expect the DH to handle about the same even though it has a few less HP.

The electronics drive me nuts, mostly because there are no longer any knobs or switches to turn stuff on and off. I have to take my eyes off the road to activate the climate and I'm uncomfortable with that.

The DH will most likely please those who are tech junkies because it appears there is a ton of configurations for you to pl;ay with.

If you can purchase one for less than MSRP I'd jump on it. It is a limited production vehicle though FoMoCo won't say how many they plan to build.

My only beef is that Ford is sending Dark Horses all over the globe (Europe, Mid-East, and even to our neighbors --Canada and Mexico)...PRIOR to fulfilling domestic (U.S.) orders. I've been waiting EIGHT months for a production date and I ordered through a dealer assigned allocation. My patience is wearing thin...

 

[Ryunket]

My only beef is that Ford is sending Dark Horses all over the globe (Europe, Mid-East, and even to our neighbors --Canada and Mexico)...PRIOR to fulfilling domestic (U.S.) orders. I've been waiting EIGHT months for a production date and I ordered through a dealer assigned allocation. My patience is wearing thin...

Yes agree from your perspective 100%, from a strictly marketing perspective Ford is doing the right thing. Sending these across the globe boosts all mustang sales across the globe. More sales always equals more revenue.

Consumers flock to the dealer for the DH, when budgets, insurance costs etc. Play in, out the door goes yet another Mustang.GT or Ecoboost.

 

[BSpankinAz]

My only beef is that Ford is sending Dark Horses all over the globe (Europe, Mid-East, and even to our neighbors --Canada and Mexico)...PRIOR to fulfilling domestic (U.S.) orders. I've been waiting EIGHT months for a production date and I ordered through a dealer assigned allocation. My patience is wearing thin...

I forgot, did you have the Handling Pack? I mean for some reason those are just hard to get. Again, I cancelled my allocation in December after I found my spec on Autotrader. Best decision ever.

 

[MJS54]

No handling pack and lower 600A trim…saves $$$…getting automatic…quicker than Tremec 6 speed. Replacing those Trofeo RS (come with handling package) will be often and very costly.

 

[BSpankinAz]

No handling pack and lower 600A trim…saves $$$…getting automatic…quicker than Tremec 6 speed. Replacing those Trofeo RS (come with handling package) will be often and very costly.

Most of the cars on autotrader are non HP autos. Surprised yours is taking this long. I don't see any rhyme or reason of how they are building cars.

 

[MJS54]

Most of the cars on autotrader are non HP autos. Surprised yours is taking this long. I don't see any rhyme or reason of how they are building cars.

I agree...I do know that there were two other customers ahead of me...allocation four has a build date this month, and allocation five has a build date in May. Mine (final sixth allocation for my dealer) still lists as "Clean-unscheduled." I guess mine will be built in June (with a delivery sometime in July)...which I think is ridiculous (11 months).