Just another fella looking to buy a SHO

[Big Steve]

Hi all,

I've been lurking around this forum for a couple of weeks and I'm finally convinced that buying a Taurus SHO is a great idea. I'm coming from an old P71 Crown Vic and love the big car feel and I'm excited about having more than just the illusion of going fast when I floor the pedal.

Anyway, like all new folks here, I have some questions. I'm looking at 2016s for the Sync3/Android Auto and it seems like most of them are sitting around $30k unless you get really lucky and find a unicorn. I'm going between two right now with similar packages (non PP): a 45k mile from CarMax and a ~5k mile with CPO.

The CarMax car is cheaper out of the gate, but for ~3.5k I can get the MaxCare warranty until 150k miles which is basically a bumper to bumper exclusionary warranty. The 45k miles in one year is concerning to me but I figure they're mostly highway. Also, I'm figuring with the warranty, I won't have to worry about all of the scary expensive stuff that breaks around 100k miles (is that still a thing?) I think I saw a post on this forum that "not a lot of stuff breaks, but when it does, it's expensive".

The CPO car seems great because it has low mileage and it can't have been messed up too badly yet and I'll know exactly how it's been treated from here on out. However, the CPO extended warranty seems like it covers less than the CarMax warranty and the powertrain drops off at 100k miles.

Anyway, I was just looking to get some input on this from you experienced folks. Go with the higher mileage car with a (supposedly) more inclusive and higher mileage warranty, or the practically brand spankin' new car with the standard Ford CPO warranty?

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm looking forward to fully joining this community as soon as I gather the cojones to pull the trigger.

 

[Lostneye]

I've heard good things about the Carmax warranty but I have no experience myself. If you are still within the factory bumper to bumper you can buy the Ford ESP. Check out Flood Ford they have great prices. Quick heck in a 5k mile 2016 SHO is $2475 for a 8yr/125k mile premium care $100 deductible.

 

[Big Steve]

Thanks for the suggestion. I see Flood Ford mentioned in another thread and it is enticing, but I'm trying to not go over $30k or so and the '16 5k mile CPO SHO is sitting there already. I'm leaning towards the Carmax SHO since the warranty seems pretty solid (https://www.carmax.com/car-buying-process/maxcare-service-plans), I'm just a little nervous about it already having 45k miles in a year I guess.

 

[Lostneye]

Do you have a carfax that would show when it was first sold? If there maintainance records? Could be an early 2016 and be 2 years old already. Still higher miles but if maintained not the end of the world if you can get a good deal.

 

[ridered74]

I'm a "buy it for as cheap as you can guy". Less miles might just mean they had a really short drive to work and beat on it before it ever warmed up. I always look for high mileage cars because they are usually several thousand dollars cheaper and a good indication that it was driven at highway speeds a lot. Save 5 grand on the car and save a couple grand by not buying a warranty and you have 7 grand in a fix it fund. The chances of you spending that much on repairs before you get tired of the car and get something else is pretty slim. I'm two and a half years and 50K miles into my car and so far I've had to spend 20 bucks on fixing it. I'd be awful ****** about having purchased a warranty for a couple grand and then paying two years of interest on it for piece of mind and nothing else.

 

[Big Steve]

Thanks for the feedback. The price difference is about $3k without warranty but I'm figuring I'll drive the car long enough for the turbos or PTU to explode, which seems to be a common high mileage problem around these parts. I've seen quotes around $2k for either of those problems which makes me seriously consider just getting a warranty to 150k miles.

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[SHOdded]

Welcome, Big Steve. Both cars have merits, as already pointed out. I have found that having PremiumCare warranty is well worth the expense. Easy to add before warranty expiration. After, just needs to pass inspection for extended warranty.

 

[Chris Horner]

I bought my SHO through CarMax and that experience was great. Not sure about their warranty though. I had purchased a non-Ford warranty on my Flex. When I finally had to use it, turned out the warranty only covered $75/hr labor (try finding any decent shop with a rate that low) and their reimbursement for jobs was less than any reasonable going price for the repair. At first glance the warranty looked GREAT but in execution it was a total joke. What a waste of money. That said, I would be hesitant to get a non-Ford warranty, especially on a car like this. A Ford backed warranty though would be a different story.

All that said, the higher mileage car probably was driven mostly highway miles which tend to be much easier on a car overall. I got mine a year and a half ago - a 2012 with 50,000 miles on it. Instead of getting the extended warranty I paid to have all the fluids flushed, especially he trans, RDU, and PTU. Car drove like a brand new car after that and I've had no issues whatsoever. YMMV of course, but it seems if these cars are taken care of properly they tend to be pretty reliable.

 

[Big Steve]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I've been expanding my search a bit to include earlier year models (2013 is what has my eye right now), I'm just hoping I won't regret not having Sync 3 and Android Auto. I'm coming from a car with no infotainment system at all but I am a pretty big fan of tech, so it's a toss-up I figure I'll use the price difference for a nice tune, though, and I'll be plenty happy.

By all accounts the CarMax MaxCare warranty seems pretty legit, though I'll definitely keep an eye out for any labor cost restrictions. I've read about people buying reliably unreliable German cars under the warranty and having no problems spending several times more than the cost of the warranty on repairs. I tried looking up the Ford extended warranties for the cars I'm interested in but it seems they top out around 41k miles, unfortunately. And regardless, I'll get the fluids flushed.

 

[Julian Moore]

I love my 2016 bought it brand new for 38K. Just an FYI I love the Ford sync sound system but if you are a real stereo guy I would suggest a listen. It is not a loud system by any means, and I am old. A lot of guys go right out and upgrade the entire thing. As far as the warranty, do you plan on modifying the car...as pretty much everyone seems to do? Then the warranty is out the door. As far as blown turbos and ptu problems it just seems like a lot of issues due to the posts. Then again the three things on every SHO board, over and over again are. 1. Who should tune it. 2. Change the PTU fluid. 3. How long do the turbos last. lol That's pretty much it...oh yeah...all cold air kits suck and do nothing. Now you never have to do a search agin. Good luck on your purchase, I love mine.

 

[SHO RPh]

I've been out of town for a few weeks, but last time I talked with the local dealership here in Tahlequah, OK they still had a NEW Black Metallic 2015 SHO that had never been sold (full factory warranty will still be in effect for first owner). I don't know what options the car has, but they salesman that I'm friends with said they were asking in the low 30Ks range for it just to get it off of the lot. Sounded like a decent deal to me, no matter what options it has.

If you are interested, the name of the dealership is Stuteville Ford ( http://www.stuteville.net/ ). If you call, ask for salesman Steve White and tell him that Paul Thomas told you about the car.

 

[Big Steve]

I've been out of town for a few weeks, but last time I talked with the local dealership here in Tahlequah, OK they still had a NEW Black Metallic 2015 SHO that had never been sold (full factory warranty will still be in effect for first owner). I don't know what options the car has, but they salesman that I'm friends with said they were asking in the low 30Ks range for it just to get it off of the lot. Sounded like a decent deal to me, no matter what options it has.

If you are interested, the name of the dealership is Stuteville Ford ( http://www.stuteville.net/ ). If you call, ask for salesman Steve White and tell him that Paul Thomas told you about the car.

Hey thanks for the tip. There are actually several almost new (sub 5000 mile, dealer cars I think they're called) 2016 SHOs for ~$31-33k near me (in the CT, NY area if anyone's looking), so I do have that option, though it's bumping up the high end of my price range so I'd have to do some serious self-convincing to sink that cash into a car. With the way you guys talk about them though it seems worth it!

I love my 2016 bought it brand new for 38K. Just an FYI I love the Ford sync sound system but if you are a real stereo guy I would suggest a listen. It is not a loud system by any means, and I am old. A lot of guys go right out and upgrade the entire thing. As far as the warranty, do you plan on modifying the car...as pretty much everyone seems to do? Then the warranty is out the door. As far as blown turbos and ptu problems it just seems like a lot of issues due to the posts. Then again the three things on every SHO board, over and over again are. 1. Who should tune it. 2. Change the PTU fluid. 3. How long do the turbos last. lol That's pretty much it...oh yeah...all cold air kits suck and do nothing. Now you never have to do a search agin. Good luck on your purchase, I love mine.

I'm not too picky on sound but thanks for the info. I'll bet any cabin is going to be quieter than the old police interceptor I drive around now.

I appreciate your insight into the other problems, too. I do get that you're not hearing about all the people that don't have problems but the several $2000+ repairs that can happen with this car still concern me enough to be looking very carefully at an extended warranty.

 

[Big Steve]

Just an update, I pulled the trigger on this beast! 2014 with all the goodies other than the performance package. I wasn't sure if I was going to be sold on the black but after seeing it in person I just can't stop thinking how badass it looks. Now to save up for a tune Thanks again folks for helping answer my questions.

 

[Lostneye]

Just an update, I pulled the trigger on this beast! 2014 with all the goodies other than the performance package. I wasn't sure if I was going to be sold on the black but after seeing it in person I just can't stop thinking how badass it looks. Now to save up for a tune Thanks again folks for helping answer my questions.

Enjoy.

I didn't want another black car, but they do look good in it.

 

[Big Steve]

Enjoy.

I didn't want another black car, but they do look good in it.

I fell in love with a Magnetic-colored one but it sold really fast because the price dropped. I'm a big fan of the black honeycomb grill contrasting lighter colors. Probably has something to do with me driving crown vic police interceptors for the last 8 years.

Still, I'm digging the all black. It looks pretty mean. I'll be throwing some tint on it at some point to complete the "blacked out" look it is already sporting.

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[Lostneye]

I've had a couple interceptors, I've always like larger cars. Came out of a black Navigator into my SHO. I live the blue and was originally willing to travel to get one but with so few produced it's a challenge. My 2013 was at a local dealership and the miles, options and price all works, then like you said when you see the black in person it works.

 

[SHOdded]

Congrats and welcome to a not-so-crowded corner of the world

 

[Jordan Arthur]

Just an update, I pulled the trigger on this beast! 2014 with all the goodies other than the performance package. I wasn't sure if I was going to be sold on the black but after seeing it in person I just can't stop thinking how badass it looks. Now to save up for a tune Thanks again folks for helping answer my questions.

Nice! I just got the same 2014 with PP yesterday

 

[Jeff2017]

I'm a "buy it for as cheap as you can guy". Less miles might just mean they had a really short drive to work and beat on it before it ever warmed up. I always look for high mileage cars because they are usually several thousand dollars cheaper and a good indication that it was driven at highway speeds a lot. Save 5 grand on the car and save a couple grand by not buying a warranty and you have 7 grand in a fix it fund. The chances of you spending that much on repairs before you get tired of the car and get something else is pretty slim. I'm two and a half years and 50K miles into my car and so far I've had to spend 20 bucks on fixing it. I'd be awful ****** about having purchased a warranty for a couple grand and then paying two years of interest on it for piece of mind and nothing else.

I only put about 6500 miles a year on my 2015 which I just bought last February. I drive for a good 8-10 minutes on the tollway @ 75MPH. Maybe drive a couple miles on surface streets. I never floor it until @ normal operating temps. So, I would definitely look for lower mileage. Especially in SHO's which drop in value so fast regardless of mileage.

 

[Juicybaka]

Hi all,

I've been lurking around this forum for a couple of weeks and I'm finally convinced that buying a Taurus SHO is a great idea. I'm coming from an old P71 Crown Vic and love the big car feel and I'm excited about having more than just the illusion of going fast when I floor the pedal.

Anyway, like all new folks here, I have some questions. I'm looking at 2016s for the Sync3/Android Auto and it seems like most of them are sitting around $30k unless you get really lucky and find a unicorn. I'm going between two right now with similar packages (non PP): a 45k mile from CarMax and a ~5k mile with CPO.

The CarMax car is cheaper out of the gate, but for ~3.5k I can get the MaxCare warranty until 150k miles which is basically a bumper to bumper exclusionary warranty. The 45k miles in one year is concerning to me but I figure they're mostly highway. Also, I'm figuring with the warranty, I won't have to worry about all of the scary expensive stuff that breaks around 100k miles (is that still a thing?) I think I saw a post on this forum that "not a lot of stuff breaks, but when it does, it's expensive".

The CPO car seems great because it has low mileage and it can't have been messed up too badly yet and I'll know exactly how it's been treated from here on out. However, the CPO extended warranty seems like it covers less than the CarMax warranty and the powertrain drops off at 100k miles.

Anyway, I was just looking to get some input on this from you experienced folks. Go with the higher mileage car with a (supposedly) more inclusive and higher mileage warranty, or the practically brand spankin' new car with the standard Ford CPO warranty?

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm looking forward to fully joining this community as soon as I gather the cojones to pull the trigger.

So I posted the other week, there is a 2016 black PP with 135 miles which dealer will sell for 29k