Those that bought an s197 new
11-28-2017, 08:02 PM
#11
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: PA
Posts: 750
I have had mine since brand new in 06. Ordered it because I wanted a specific set of options (Yellow, stick, cloth seats, and Shaker 500). I just turned over 20,000 miles.
I keep it parked in the winter, and only drive it when the weather is nice. Every time I drive it, it feels like the day I brought it home. I have done all the work listed below myself, so I have blood and sweat in the car as well.
I plan to supercharge it someday, but have pressed the "pause" button due to the wife and I having 4 kids. All the kids love the car, so my plans are to start modding it again when they can work on it with me and have a nice father/kid bonding experience.
I will never sell it, and luckily for me my wife has no expectations of me ever selling it.
I keep it parked in the winter, and only drive it when the weather is nice. Every time I drive it, it feels like the day I brought it home. I have done all the work listed below myself, so I have blood and sweat in the car as well.
I plan to supercharge it someday, but have pressed the "pause" button due to the wife and I having 4 kids. All the kids love the car, so my plans are to start modding it again when they can work on it with me and have a nice father/kid bonding experience.
I will never sell it, and luckily for me my wife has no expectations of me ever selling it.
11-29-2017, 01:13 AM
#12
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: VA
Posts: 308
I've had my 06 for 11 years, 130k miles. People are starting to ask if I'm going to "upgrade", but I have no desire to do so. I fell in love with this body style, and so far I've kept the exterior looking factory (except for wheels, and making the taillights sequential). I installed a Pioneer AppRadio touchscreen head unit, to satisfy my technology nerdiness. Hoping to keep this car a long time.
12-05-2017, 11:34 AM
#15
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 142
10 years ago this week I bought an '08 Bullitt. Here's my experience with the car and generally what I think of it after 10 years of daily driving in Southern California.
STYLING / APPEARANCE:
Exterior-
To me, the 05-09 S197 is the best looking Mustang since 1973. And by best looking I mean the Mustang body that seems to have the biggest dose of that 60's early 70's DNA in it's sheetmetal for all to see. I also like other generations of Mustangs but for different reasons. So short of owning one of those truly iconic Mustangs, I am most happy with the 05-09 S197 lines. And I still get happy every time I see my S197.
The Bullitt rolled off of the assembly line on great looking, model specific Torq Thrust wheels which were at once rooted in those classic 1st and 2nd generation Mustangs yet updated to nicely compliment the S197.
Two areas that I thought needed help where the rear view mirrors and to a lesser extent, the quarter windows.
To me, the rearview mirrors look like they came off of a truck...and an entry level truck at that...so I swapped them for the Agent 47 rear views which work really well with the rest of the S197 lines as opposed of fighting the car's lines as the factory mirrors do.
The quarter window is less of a issue to me, after all Shelby himself reverted back to working quarter windows on his race cars. That said, when I saw those Silver Horse flush mount louvered windows, I had to get them. So I did and I love the way the look.
Oh and I've thought about removing the antenna a hundred times but it's still there. It kinda fits the overall retro look of my car.
That's it for the exterior.
Interior-
Do I like engine turned aluminum? Answer; not so much. Do I like highland green? Answer; hell yes! Well, I couldn't have one without the other so as long as the car is Highland Green then I'm good with the interior dash looking like a set piece from a CNC Music Factory video.
The steering wheel is a leather SVT variant which is nice looking and better yet feels really comfortable with those notches at 10 and 2.
The seats are GT 500 seats as I recall. Definitely more more supportive but not aftermarket supportive.
The biggest complaint I have about the interior is the square footage of hard, cheap plastic that scuffs and scratches with minimal pressure. The Mustang was a bargain performer so I get it...but I don't like it.
Oh and my electric lumbar seat control broke in the first year and despite having this 'total protection' plan, Galpin Ford still wouldn't fix it for free...I had never bought one of those plans and what a waste of money it turned out to be. Stupid move on my part.
Also the trunk basically caved-in on itself within the first year so I just ripped all that crap out.
Finally, at the nine year mark my leather door panels delaminated and I had to scrape all that dry, crumbling foam off the doors and re-glue the panels. Not a big deal just annoying.
Power Train-
Zero problems here...other than wishing I had a hundred more horsepower and torque...
The 3:73 gearing is really fun for daily driving.
A sixth gear would be nice for road trips but not a big deal.
Suspension-
I have driven my Mustang through twisty hills every day for ten years and the much-maligned factory suspension isn't terrible...yes it shows off its weaknesses but...I regularly surprise Porsche, BMW and Audi drivers who take it as gospel that if you try to drive a Mustang through a turn then the seven gates of Hell will open-up and swallow it right then and there.
I will say that the factory dampers are a huge shortcoming. Specifically the rebound. It feels as though Ford stuck a pogo stick up there above each wheel.
That said, handling can be dramatically improved for not a lot of money. So there's that.
The all-season performance factory tires were mediocre performers in any condition. The best money I spent on this car was around two year mark when I bought a set of Michelin PS2s and then a set of Super Sports. The difference was an astonishing improvement in every condition.
DRIVING EXPERIENCE:
It's FUN!
Better yet, it's STILL FUN!
I owned a 911 before the Mustang and I loved the 911. When I started looking for a new car I test drove pretty much every badge short of the exotics. I wasn't even going to test drive a Mustang then I reluctantly decided to leave no stone unturned and stopped by the Ford dealership...the rest is history.
We read and watch a lot of performance car tests...which is the fastest which, handles the best, which employs the latest technology to achieve the speed and handling and of course which looks the coolest.
But at the end of the day it all comes down to the driver's experience behind the wheel of any car. Fastest, best handling and bleeding edge technology are all great but it's how the car makes the driver feel that truly counts...unless your racing, then ignore this and go with fastest, best handling, best technology.
My driving experience in the S197, with its warts and all, has been really fun every single time I've gotten behind the wheel. In a world of astoundingly advanced performance cars that are evolving by leaps and bounds every year, I truly love the muscle car that is the S197 Mustang.
STYLING / APPEARANCE:
Exterior-
To me, the 05-09 S197 is the best looking Mustang since 1973. And by best looking I mean the Mustang body that seems to have the biggest dose of that 60's early 70's DNA in it's sheetmetal for all to see. I also like other generations of Mustangs but for different reasons. So short of owning one of those truly iconic Mustangs, I am most happy with the 05-09 S197 lines. And I still get happy every time I see my S197.
The Bullitt rolled off of the assembly line on great looking, model specific Torq Thrust wheels which were at once rooted in those classic 1st and 2nd generation Mustangs yet updated to nicely compliment the S197.
Two areas that I thought needed help where the rear view mirrors and to a lesser extent, the quarter windows.
To me, the rearview mirrors look like they came off of a truck...and an entry level truck at that...so I swapped them for the Agent 47 rear views which work really well with the rest of the S197 lines as opposed of fighting the car's lines as the factory mirrors do.
The quarter window is less of a issue to me, after all Shelby himself reverted back to working quarter windows on his race cars. That said, when I saw those Silver Horse flush mount louvered windows, I had to get them. So I did and I love the way the look.
Oh and I've thought about removing the antenna a hundred times but it's still there. It kinda fits the overall retro look of my car.
That's it for the exterior.
Interior-
Do I like engine turned aluminum? Answer; not so much. Do I like highland green? Answer; hell yes! Well, I couldn't have one without the other so as long as the car is Highland Green then I'm good with the interior dash looking like a set piece from a CNC Music Factory video.
The steering wheel is a leather SVT variant which is nice looking and better yet feels really comfortable with those notches at 10 and 2.
The seats are GT 500 seats as I recall. Definitely more more supportive but not aftermarket supportive.
The biggest complaint I have about the interior is the square footage of hard, cheap plastic that scuffs and scratches with minimal pressure. The Mustang was a bargain performer so I get it...but I don't like it.
Oh and my electric lumbar seat control broke in the first year and despite having this 'total protection' plan, Galpin Ford still wouldn't fix it for free...I had never bought one of those plans and what a waste of money it turned out to be. Stupid move on my part.
Also the trunk basically caved-in on itself within the first year so I just ripped all that crap out.
Finally, at the nine year mark my leather door panels delaminated and I had to scrape all that dry, crumbling foam off the doors and re-glue the panels. Not a big deal just annoying.
Power Train-
Zero problems here...other than wishing I had a hundred more horsepower and torque...
The 3:73 gearing is really fun for daily driving.
A sixth gear would be nice for road trips but not a big deal.
Suspension-
I have driven my Mustang through twisty hills every day for ten years and the much-maligned factory suspension isn't terrible...yes it shows off its weaknesses but...I regularly surprise Porsche, BMW and Audi drivers who take it as gospel that if you try to drive a Mustang through a turn then the seven gates of Hell will open-up and swallow it right then and there.
I will say that the factory dampers are a huge shortcoming. Specifically the rebound. It feels as though Ford stuck a pogo stick up there above each wheel.
That said, handling can be dramatically improved for not a lot of money. So there's that.
The all-season performance factory tires were mediocre performers in any condition. The best money I spent on this car was around two year mark when I bought a set of Michelin PS2s and then a set of Super Sports. The difference was an astonishing improvement in every condition.
DRIVING EXPERIENCE:
It's FUN!
Better yet, it's STILL FUN!
I owned a 911 before the Mustang and I loved the 911. When I started looking for a new car I test drove pretty much every badge short of the exotics. I wasn't even going to test drive a Mustang then I reluctantly decided to leave no stone unturned and stopped by the Ford dealership...the rest is history.
We read and watch a lot of performance car tests...which is the fastest which, handles the best, which employs the latest technology to achieve the speed and handling and of course which looks the coolest.
But at the end of the day it all comes down to the driver's experience behind the wheel of any car. Fastest, best handling and bleeding edge technology are all great but it's how the car makes the driver feel that truly counts...unless your racing, then ignore this and go with fastest, best handling, best technology.
My driving experience in the S197, with its warts and all, has been really fun every single time I've gotten behind the wheel. In a world of astoundingly advanced performance cars that are evolving by leaps and bounds every year, I truly love the muscle car that is the S197 Mustang.
Last edited by ccwebb; 12-05-2017 at 11:44 AM.
12-09-2017, 09:57 AM
#16
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Virginia
Posts: 133
Purchased mine in November 2006, which was an unplanned purchase after stopping by the dealer. Saw the car sitting in the middle of the showroom and I was hooked. She is garaged kept and has around 45K on it now. Only issues I've had is that I just had to replace the differential gasket (Was planning on changing the fluid soon anyway so no big deal) and the ball joints need to be replaced. Definitely will go with the FRPP GT 500 ones as so many have recommended. I still love driving the car although her reign as one of the quicker cars on the street has long since passed. It still has more than enough power for me and I still get comments of "nice car".