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StreetMustangsOnline, or the sad tale of my S550 and my quest to fix it.

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I think the overall quality of cars is pretty good and I've been pleased with all of my purchases over the past decade or so. A couple of standouts were my 2008 MDX that I sold with 150,000 miles on it and the other is my 2013 Fusion Ti that has been flawless. The Fusion is now my kids car. From the Ford employees/engineers I've met I'm confident they are all trying to make the highest quality cars they can. The reality with the Mustang is it didn't start out as a $60,000 sports car it starts out as a $25,000 rental fleet darling.
 

Apex Wheels

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In for the fun stuff :)

My daily is a Fiesta ST which suffers from many of the same annoyances that your car does, but at a larger scale due to it being even lower quality to start. I spent about 3 hours going through the dash with felt strips and have "fixed" most of them. I suspect a lot of these issues are present in nearly every S550, just some owners are less aware of it or only drive on freshly paved surfaces.
 

xr7

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That fake chrome on plastic has been a problem for a long time. We had a rash of Fusions in 2010-2012 that did this and I can really date myself back in the early 90's the chrome was falling off the Volvo truck grill before we even sold them. Don't ever think you have fixed a problem, All fixes are temporary.
 

captdistraction

GrumpyRacer
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I think I'm going to change all the trim out. Still working with the dealer to get authorization from Ford (since nothing can go smoothly).

On a positive note, I decided to get the neglected paint taken care of:


Before:
db946953bdb9f27e4327e7ccbfb7786c.jpg



After: (local detailer did a two level correction, there's still some scratches that would require sanding or repainting to get fully removed, but the car looks 10000000x better, and I'd argue better than when I first bought it as swirls were added by the dealer at no extra charge).

394f87fe65c5c513d962f5ddceefa280.jpg

bd3c14ad7779d987e3a75df18a6a899d.jpg

da6ae03de606ce27f0130b433f9b65ae.jpg

48c4cb9b68a3d2a050e926a7b56f4c89.jpg

a1fadf907e86b9cff751f91d8d0ca140.jpg
 
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215
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SoCal
Sweet job on the paint! My wife has a Jag F-Pace in Italian Racing Red that has similar marks on the hood courtesy of the dealer. It's in need for the same treatment.
 
I think I'm going to change all the trim out. Still working with the dealer to get authorization from Ford (since nothing can go smoothly).
On a positive note, I decided to get the neglected paint taken care of:

That color just "pops" in the sunlight.

When you have a chance, can you send a couple pics of the modded muffler tips?
Looking to copy the valance upgrade on my sons car.

View attachment IMG_0938.JPG
 
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captdistraction

GrumpyRacer
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Phoenix, Az
Here’s some images of the muffler modifications:

16b1b84f962531504c87fac8b6296dda.jpg

8e5fd3a336b93de019e38a73a56eb071.jpg

1b2926330f552077eabbc00ec1fa0cbe.jpg


201455f1ccfad5976f68d20c31c4bb69.jpg


The muffler remains centered iirc (install the valance with the muffler’s tips removed first to validate
Measurements). I had to make several adjustments but once it was set right we didn’t have to touch it after.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Here’s some images of the muffler modifications:

16b1b84f962531504c87fac8b6296dda.jpg

8e5fd3a336b93de019e38a73a56eb071.jpg

1b2926330f552077eabbc00ec1fa0cbe.jpg


201455f1ccfad5976f68d20c31c4bb69.jpg


The muffler remains centered iirc (install the valance with the muffler’s tips removed first to validate
Measurements). I had to make several adjustments but once it was set right we didn’t have to touch it after.
Cool!
The Pic/Visual aid goes a loooong way when trying to describe this type of mod to the exhaust guy.
Thanks !!
 
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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
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You hit on my pet peeve with paint swirls , but will stick up a little for the Dealer ( though not sure in your case), as the majority of this issue is a Factory cause - regardless if Ford, GM, FCA, etc. I will state , from personal experience, that most of the Manufacturers have attacked this concern, and paint quality is of a much higher level than 10 years ago. Your Ruby Red beast looks stellar now, and that has to be one of the best colors ever put on a Mustang?!
 

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