[coffeelover]

I had recently paid $400 to have CarMax ship a 2020 GT350 Lime Green to Dothan, Ala for me to test and probably purchase for about $62,000. The Saturday I was expecting to head there, I got a notice their was a problem with the "bumper" of the car during shipping and it would be one to two months before it would be ready.
OK, local Ford dealer had a 21 2SS 1LE manual that was quite nicely optioned too! Long story short it was ready for test drive Monday, after work I drove and purchased it for about $20,000 less. PS: Both cars were about 25,000 miles.
Later that week I realized the tires were nearly new TOYO track and the rears were actually 315s instead of stock 305s. Still, I am surprised by how well it does when raining ... this is my daily driver and should do less than 5K per year.
Four weeks later I learn the GT350 was available so I drove the 100 miles there mostly out of curiosity but ready to trade in and purchased if I fell in love again.
The two cars drove and handled very similarly. The Camaro has more low end torque while the GT350 more horses but you have to rev it to get there. I liked both cars right about equally. My 2SS has much better creature comfort mods than the GT350. The GT350 flat plane engine does sound different but does not rumble like the 2SS does.
I suspect the GT350 is still appreciating, I could have got one last year for about $5,000 less, however I expect the Camaro not to lose too much more value. Overall I am quite happy with my Camaro and do not miss the GT350 at all.
Patrick

[DaveC113]

Congrats! I'm happy with my '18 SS 1LE after 7 years. First car I've owned I never felt like I wanted to sell for something else eventually. The GT350s are the best Mustangs imo, just expensive vs the Camaro SS 1LE for similar overall performance.

[jfkheat]

I love the Shelby Mustangs. I thought about buying a GT500 before I bought the Challenger Hellcat a few days ago

[Gen6cyl]

The Camaro just as good or better for $20k less👍

[Bosse'sBoss]

I prefer the low end torque power of my prior Corvette C7 Z51 and of my 6th gen Camaro SS2 compared to the high end RPM power of the Shelby GT350, below 4000 RPM the Shelby is lifeless, and in first gear you already went over the speed limit. Yes the sensation of driving all the way to 8000 RPM and the oustanding exhaust sound of the Shelby GT350 is something else, but I would not trade neither the C7 or the Camaro for a Shelby. I enjoy more the high torque, always the power is available

[coffeelover]

I forgot to mention my manual transmission thoughts, all comments are my impressions. My search was good performance cars with Manual transmissions only and time spent was from Feb 2024 to September which I purchased my 21 2SS 1LE.


The GT350 did have the best feel which may be due to the reverse lockout mechanism. My Camaro does very good for 1st through 4th gear shifts but 4th to 5th requires a little extra caution since, if you move the shifter over a little too much you risk "trying to go into reverse! However, I do mostly in town driving so 1st through 4th is where the car spends most of it's time.


I did test drive three Challenger scat packs with manuals. I think the Camaro has the better feel. I also tried out a 2019 Mustang Bullitt which uses the Gertrag instead of Tremec. For myself that car was also good but it also had very low miles on it.

Overall I place the Mustang Tremec 1st and our Camaro's Tremec 2nd.
My thoughts anyhow.
Patrick

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by Gen6cyl

The Camaro just as good or better for $20k less👍

Tell me you’ve never driven a GT350 back to back with a Gen6 Camaro without saying it…

[NjaTrtl]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

Tell me you’ve never driven a GT350 back to back with a Gen6 Camaro without saying it…

I thought it was pretty clear he had.

Originally Posted by coffeelover

I had recently paid $400 to have CarMax ship a 2020 GT350 Lime Green to Dothan, Ala for me to test and probably purchase for about $62,000. The Saturday I was expecting to head there, I got a notice their was a problem with the "bumper" of the car during shipping and it would be one to two months before it would be ready.
OK, local Ford dealer had a 21 2SS 1LE manual that was quite nicely optioned too! Long story short it was ready for test drive Monday, after work I drove and purchased it for about $20,000 less. PS: Both cars were about 25,000 miles.
Later that week I realized the tires were nearly new TOYO track and the rears were actually 315s instead of stock 305s. Still, I am surprised by how well it does when raining ... this is my daily driver and should do less than 5K per year.
Four weeks later I learn the GT350 was available so I drove the 100 miles there mostly out of curiosity but ready to trade in and purchased if I fell in love again.
The two cars drove and handled very similarly. The Camaro has more low end torque while the GT350 more horses but you have to rev it to get there. I liked both cars right about equally. My 2SS has much better creature comfort mods than the GT350. The GT350 flat plane engine does sound different but does not rumble like the 2SS does.
I suspect the GT350 is still appreciating, I could have got one last year for about $5,000 less, however I expect the Camaro not to lose too much more value. Overall I am quite happy with my Camaro and do not miss the GT350 at all.
Patrick

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by NjaTrtl

I thought it was pretty clear he had.

Uh, I specifically replied to the previous poster Gen6Cyl, and quoted his post… not the OP…

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

Tell me you’ve never driven a GT350 back to back with a Gen6 Camaro without saying it…

Agree with what you're trying to imply. I was ready to buy a 19+ GT350 while waiting for an allocation for my 1LE. The GT350 IS the more exciting car imo. The main reason I'm not in one is the issues with the Voodoo engines. Aside from the issues with the engines the GT350 for some reason seems to have more issues than just regular Mustangs. Probably because that engine is vibrating everything loose haha. The other reason I'm not in one is it's impossible to find a 19+ with recaros.

OP if you picked up a 21 2SS 1LE for 42-44k that's the cheapest I have seen one go for at those miles. You need to take that car on a road course though to truly enjoy it. If I didn't roadcourse mine I'd probably have sold it and got something with more power.

[coffeelover]

The GT350 I tested did have Recaros as did the 2019 Bullitt I tested. One strange this is the Recaro seats in a Mustang are manual and I think not AC/Heated either.


However, I have a bad right hip, luckily not my shifting leg :-) though, so I actually prefer the higher seating position the Mustang provided. The AC on the Camaro's seats is rather weak but heating works fine too. The one thing missing from the Camaro is that "SHELBY" name.


For what it's worth I am an older driver, almost 70!, but have had several fun/classic cars over the years, When my future wife came into my live 11 years ago I traded in my 2002 C06 for a 2010 RX350 and have not had a fun car since until my Camaro.


I was surprised the Ford dealer accepted my offer of $42,000, they were asking $44,700 but also had about $1,500 in fees. I told my wife we were not buying that night but maybe in a month if it does not sell. I was surprised they came back and accepted; of course that was about 30 minutes and two back and forths after I made the 42 thousand counter!


As for the Voodoo engine complaints that was for the first generation, Ford came our with the Voodoo II engine for the 2019 models and there are a few folks with Voodoo II replacements for their failed engines. For the GT350 search I restricted it to Recaros and 2019-2020 models only.


I was on a waiting list for two previous cars via CarMax but both times the car sold.


Patrick

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

Agree with what you're trying to imply. I was ready to buy a 19+ GT350 while waiting for an allocation for my 1LE. The GT350 IS the more exciting car imo. The main reason I'm not in one is the issues with the Voodoo engines. Aside from the issues with the engines the GT350 for some reason seems to have more issues than just regular Mustangs. Probably because that engine is vibrating everything loose haha. The other reason I'm not in one is it's impossible to find a 19+ with recaros.

OP if you picked up a 21 2SS 1LE for 42-44k that's the cheapest I have seen one go for at those miles. You need to take that car on a road course though to truly enjoy it. If I didn't roadcourse mine I'd probably have sold it and got something with more power.

Well said and agreed. The GT350 is preferred but the SS 1LE is a great consolation prize and probably easier for a beginner to go fast in due to the low end torque. But if you’ve got the money the GT350 is the one to have. And definitely keep some money in the bank in case the Voodoo calls it quits lol

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

Well said and agreed. The GT350 is preferred but the SS 1LE is a great consolation prize and probably easier for a beginner to go fast in due to the low end torque. But if you’ve got the money the GT350 is the one to have. And definitely keep some money in the bank in case the Voodoo calls it quits lol

A friend had one covered under warranty and it was well over $30k.

Another friend had the trans go, apparently it's a Ford-modified Tremec so that's no longer reliable either.

[DeuceCam]

I sat in a GT350 with Recaros. Unfortunately, the seat didn't go low enough for me (I'm 6'1"). It felt like I was sitting perched on top of the seat, rather than in the seat (if you know what mean). I knew then that it would never workout... Hahaha

Originally Posted by coffeelover

My Camaro does very good for 1st through 4th gear shifts but 4th to 5th requires a little extra caution since, if you move the shifter over a little too much you risk "trying to go into reverse!

The camaro has reverse lockout. It locks out reverse automatically once you start driving forward, so you shouldn't need to worry about accidentally shifting into reverse (instead of 5th gear).

(I wish Tremec used a manually operated reverse lockout at the shift lever, similar to other vehicles. I feel like their automatic servo-operated mechanism is overly complex and will eventually break.)