The Mustang GT350 is a future classic
When the prior generation Mustang GT350 came out, journalists raved at the marvel that is the engine and the overall driving experience of the car. It was awarded a Car and Driver “Top 10” Car of the Year and received many other awards. It has now been over 6 years since the car’s debut and it seems like interest is once again picking up in the car. I think this will become one of the iconic Mustangs in the future and buyers should look at this car before prices increase more.
The Mustang GT350 is a future classic
When the GT 350 first came out, there were 2 main variants - the GT350 and the GT 350R. The “R” model was a more track ready car and featured carbon fiber wheels and a rear seat delete. These cars were generally priced $10-15,000 above the standard model. Most standard GT350s sold for around $60,000 depending on options. After the car came out, we saw a pretty standard depreciation curve for the first couple of years, with some 2-3 year old cards dropping to the $45K range. However, the pandemic changed the market, like it did for many other cars, and we saw prices quickly jump back to original MSRP. Right now prices seem to be slowly declining, but I do not think this trend will continue.
Price chart for Mustang GT 350s
Why do I think the GT 350 can be a classic
Ford has been making “Shelby” Mustangs since the 60s, and many of them have held up their value, with a few exceptions. I think this specific car has several unique factors that will make it stand out as time goes one. For one, the “Voodoo” engine is unique to this car, and so far has not been used in any other Ford, and most likely will not be. It is Ford's only flat plane crank engine - a configuration that allows this car to rev significantly higher than a regular Mustang. This produces a unique noise, and also makes this car more “special” than any other Mustang of that generation.
Unlike the prior generation of Mustang, this car has also significantly better driving dynamics and improved suspension. I think this will make the driving experience more timeless and allow the car to stay competitive on track with more modern cars, and in turn help it retain value. We know Ford is looking to transition to EVs and hybrid cars, so this will also go down as one of the last “Shelby” Mustangs with a naturally aspirated engine. The lack of a supercharger as on many other Shelby models will also help it stand out in the long run.
Why might now be a good time to buy
If we look at the price trajectory, we are seeing a small downward trend from the pandemic bump and cars are once again falling under MSRP. There are also a good amount of cars available in the used market. At the time of writing, there are almost 360 for sale across America. I think this number will not always remain high as people start holding on to the cars and examples in good condition will become rare. Amongst the cars for sale, the majority are still under 45,000 miles so most have not been driven frequently. Low mileage examples under 10,000 are still selling in the 65-70K range, showing continued strong demand for low mileage cars. If you can get a car with 20-30k miles, odds are likely in several years those will become more and more desirable. Given the price range, I think this is a great alternative to a new Mustang or buying a used Corvette.