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Stumbled Upon a Surprise While Researching a Boss Purchase

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I'm looking to purchase a 2012 Boss 302. While researching local 302s in SoCal I stumbled upon this vehicle.

http://www.southcoastmitsubishi.com/used/Ford/2012-Ford-Mustang-costa-mesa-a033b80c0a0a00bf2f44596bdb3c6edb.htm

Price had been lowered from $41,999 to $37,999 to $35,800. It looks to be in great shape with only 15,000 miles. So, for all intents and purposes it is a great price. I even did a CarFax with no write ups. The only problem, and major points to you if you caught it, is that it has a replacement Tremec transmission!!! You can see from the photo. I actually took the vehicle for a drive before discovering this and after extensive research online as to the characteristics of the S197 swap and resulting transmission "chatter" I can state with assurance that it has had the swap.

While the price is excellent, and to a great deal explains the low amount, should this be a legitimate cause for concern?
 

pufferfish

Supporting Vendor
1,094
66
Maryland
In your test drive, did you put it into reverse? Was it up and right as the ball says or up and left as the stocker would be? If it has the tremec, that would be sweet! But it could just have the ball.
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a detriment to the car? I'm not talking about the numbers matching aspect, but rather the fact that the gearing on the Tremec is different than the OEM transmission which changes the drivability/engineering of the car.
 
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All of us would love to drop a Tremec T-56 Magnum XL in the car. If this is indeed in this car, it would be an awesome buy! Two gear ratios are available for the Tremec, one better than the other when trying to maintain the Boss' personality. Also interesting is the flywheel and clutch choices the previous owner made.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Habu said:
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a detriment to the car? I'm not talking about the numbers matching aspect, but rather the fact that the gearing on the Tremec is different than the OEM transmission which changes the drivability/engineering of the car.

Not necessarily. If you want to maintain gearing similar to what came from the factory, go to a 4.30 rearend.
 
It is being sold by a Mitsubishi dealership which likely has no information as to the swap, or doesn't want to acknowledge it for warranty and liability purposes. I'll probably continue to search for a completely stock Boss. I've had three V8 mustangs in the past and am well aware of drivability issues when modifications are made.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
sadil said:
All of us would love to drop a Tremec T-56 Magnum XL in the car. If this is indeed in this car, it would be an awesome buy! Two gear ratios are available for the Tremec, one better than the other when trying to maintain the Boss' personality. Also interesting is the flywheel and clutch choices the previous owner made.

This car is local to me, and these are my biggest concerns. No idea if they put in the wide or narrow trans, and good luck with the tear-down to figure out the clutch.

Habu, did you see the orange boss there? I'm surprised they dropped the price on this white one.
 
Yes. I saw the orange one there. They weren't willing to let me drive that one though.

I drove the Boss first and then a 2008 BMW M3. I asked to drive the Boss again afterwards. The Tremec equipped Boss had a black ball shifter with "Tremec" on it. So that was the first clue obviously. Second was how the reverse pattern was, but again they didn't let me drive the orange Boss, which according to the photos on the website, is equipped with the OEM tranny.

Overall it is a good price, and according to the manager there is still some room in the price, but I'm not going to gamble with a 2012 Boss with 15,000 miles, four news tires and a different transmission on it. There are too many unknowns.

As I mentioned earlier, I've had three mustangs. A 1988 5.0, a 1989 5.0 notchback with aluminum heads and nitrous and a 1997 4 valve cobra. I'm well aware of how mods affect the drivability of a car and at this point I'd be happy with a N/A 444 hp car.
 
This dealership sells a TON of performance vehicles. Most are purchased from auction as repo or cars that used to have leins etc.. they hardly EVER get in cars with accident issues or damage.

In fact I purchased my grabber blue from them! No damage, no accidents etc. Good clean history

For the best deal and easiest test drives and deals talk directly to and only to SAM, "SMASH" I believe he's the online internet sales manager.

you can text him directly as well at 714-493-4163

He's a cool guy to deal with and it was by far one of the easiest car purchases I've ever made.
 
Those tires look like snow tires to me.
15k miles and the oem rears are toast anyway.

The biggest gamble on that car fixes one of the cars major faults. The OEM trans/clutch is probably many peoples biggest complaint. Even if it had a less than optimal clutch/flywheel combo, its an easy fix and a good problem to have.

I dislike the stock clutch/flywheeel.
 
Did you run the vin? From the looks of the seats I don't think it has the torsion rear end and the steering wheel looks gooped up.
 
Another added bonus I picked up on while browsing the pictures. If the keys are a telltale sign, it also has QTP electronic exhaust cutouts with remote (the keyfob is with the set of keys pictured). I have the same setup and it's a plus when it pays to have the boss a bit quieter for longer highway trips or certain times of the day when leaving early or arriving late at home. Normally it's wide open though.......
 
"I even did a CarFax with no write ups."

The point of my post is that this dealership is selling a Boss without disclosing the fact that the vehicle has a non OEM transmission. I would suspect for someone willing to spend $35,800 plus an additional 10% for sales tax (in Orange County;Costa Mesa), title, license, and fees that they are going to feel like they were borderline lied to. For example, if I paid $25,000 for a very low mileage 1993 Cobra and found that the original black valve covers and original transmission had been changed out despite my ignorance of those unique 1993 Cobra parts I would still feel cheated about the business deal.

Overall, it is 'Buyer Beware", and confirms the need to do one's research before making a large purchase.
 
Good catch RR#206; "Another added bonus I picked up on while browsing the pictures. If the keys are a telltale sign, it also has QTP electronic exhaust cutouts with remote (the key fob is with the set of keys pictured)."

When I drove the car it didn't have that QTP key fob attached to the regular black key, but I did ask to drive the car with the track key and the salesman said no. Ya, that is a bit scandalous. The thing is though, the dealership can always plead deniability due to it being a Ford and they "probably not being familiar" with Fords. I'm glad it didn't work out on that thing. Modified exhaust, four new tires and a completely different transmission? Eee!
 
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To be honest, I dont think dealerships care much or know detailed information like that, they are just in the market of giving you a low price and selling high, thats how they make their money. in 2009, when I purchased my GT-H (Hertz) from a dealership, it was missing some items that i knew belonged with the car, the stripes were horrible and not even aligned. All they new is that it was a Mustang convertible with gold stripes and had some mods done. I purchased that car right there and very cheap.
 
I'm sure the Mitsubishi dealership had no clue the tremec tranny was not stock or am I being naive...new tires at 15,000 on a Boss doesn't seem out of the ordinary with the stock Perelli's wearing fast. As far as exhaust changes...who hasn't changed a thing or two? The only thing that would concern me would be warranty issues with the tranny... ;)
 

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