Dark Horse Depreciation vs GT

[MarkS650GT10]

Been researching future possible Mustangs when I trade in the future and had a question. Do you all have opinions or data on if the Dark Horse would hold a higher percentage of its MSRP when traded back in than a GT would? Debating if it is worth the extra money to go Dark Horse over GT as I use my car as a daily driver, no track use. If the Dark Horse is better financial decision in the long run. thanks!

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[bmbl-bee]

If you're driving your Dark Horse daily, miles may be a concern. The low mile cars will fetch the best resale price. I do think the Dark Horse will retain it's value better because of numbers produced and special model. The GT convertible is also a model that will probably hold it's value well. If a Whipple supercharger is installed on a GT at a total cost of less than the purchase price of a Dark Horse, hmm 800 HP might just be the best bang for the buck for resale.

 

[ArthurJGuy]

This matter is subjective and it's going to come down to how desirable they are.

IMO, the DH doesn't add enough difference over the GT to warrant the extra cost, so I wouldn't see them holding their value as well, despite being less common. I could be totally wrong though, it's a matter of opinion.

 

[MarkS650GT10]

If you're driving your Dark Horse daily, miles may be a concern. The low mile cars will fetch the best resale price. I do think the Dark Horse will retain it's value better because of numbers produced and special model. The GT convertible is also a model that will probably hold it's value well. If a Whipple supercharger is installed on a GT at a total cost of less than the purchase price of a Dark Horse, hmm 800 HP might just be the best bang for the buck for resale.

I usually trade back in within 3 years and less than 20k miles on them, not a lot of miles, maybe as more time passes we will see how well the Dark Horse resells .

 

[JPGC_S650]

I drive too much to worry about these things, lol. Either for me would/will be a loss. Cars for me are not investments and are thoroughly enjoyed by myself.

 

[Zig]

IMO: early - however, miles add up or actually in this case reduce down.

 

[JediMindTrix]

@MarkS650GT10 I went through the same roundabout with my GT and the DH when all the ordering craze was going on. In the long run I don't believe it will be special enough although it will hold slightly better value than it's GT counterpart. It being the last ICE platform, maybe there is more to uncover there. As another poster mentioned though- a S650 GT 401A with a whipple might hold the better resell of the two also. There will still be a Shelby coming out or something close to it taking that place around 2026 MY so if I were to trade in it would be for that model because it will without a doubt be quite different and special.

 

[Skye]

hold a higher percentage of its MSRP

That's a great question to ask. And I don't have a clue.

On the one hand, I'd think the DH would hold a greater portion of it's value. But as @bmbl-bee and @Zig pointed out, mileage is going to be a factor, the opposite if a DD. High mileage, it would lose a greater % of its MSRP, relative to other DHs on sale.

There's the fun factor. City traffic in my area is just that: straight lines, often bumper-to-bumper, along side people with poor driving habits. If this is your case, the difference between a GT and DH is zero. If driving consistency through the mountains or costal areas, the difference in cars might show.

As a DD, my initial thought is the GT, with some options we all want, but not so many as to drive the price up. A well-accepted color with good maintenance documentation and no aftermarket mods. Or if there are mods, ones that can be easily removed.

 

[Crew4991]

Hmm my guess is that with all those dealer markups on the $70k+ Dark Horse models... its depreciation should be in line with Fiat and Mercedes Benz.

 

[horned-toad]

Debating if it is worth the extra money to go Dark Horse over GT as I use my car as a daily driver

your use case boils down to Tremec or MT82. Nothing else matters, or can be known this early in the lifecycle. And no, since DH is not a badged Shelby it'll do no better than the Mach1 it's an analog of. "Actually collectable" last-edition Challenger pricing is crashing back to earth. People realized it's just a damn car, not an investment.

Mass produced cars do not "hold" their value. They are durable consumer goods and with sufficient time, all go to Zero.

 

[Eurasianman]

As some have already stated, I would imagine the DH resale value would be similar to the S550 Mach 1s.

One interesting matter is the transmission. Take this with a grain of salt, but I saw one YouTube channel state that dealerships don't like taking manual transmission cars on trade-in because they're more difficult to resale (I assume because it is a dying breed and not many people know how to drive a manual, granted, this vehicle makes it stupidly easy to learn).

Your best bet on resale is to sell it privately to an auto enthusiast. Otherwise, if you plan on trading in at a dealership and you're concerned with trade-in value, I'd say stick with an auto GT. A manual GT and an auto/man DH will get maybe a few dollars more on trade-in but may require more effort. But as others have stated, way too early to tell and the DH is no Shelby. The main thing that the DH has going for it is it has 500 HP out of the box and comes standard with a TREMEC manual transmission.

 

[REV745DH24]

I drive too much to worry about these things, lol. Either for me would/will be a loss. Cars for me are not investments and are thoroughly enjoyed by myself.

Same goes for me being 67 and I bought the Dark Horse so I can have some fun driving in it as much as I can before I die! I had the Cobra 2003 convertible and had so much fun driving and tinkering with SVT supercharger! Reminiscing the old times with the current Dark Horse!

 

[infinitemberstang]

Cars are meant to be driven and have fun with. If I had plenty of fun with my baby and she has served me well - I couldn’t care less about the resale price.
Life is too short - I want to have fun, work hard and be done!

 

[Spider864]

Depends on a lot of things
But ultimately a higher trim package will normally hold value better.
I would be more concerned with
-Miles
If resell is the top goal or just lease the car with the option to buy it if you like it.

 

[Ryunker]

Been researching future possible Mustangs when I trade in the future and had a question. Do you all have opinions or data on if the Dark Horse would hold a higher percentage of its MSRP when traded back in than a GT would? Debating if it is worth the extra money to go Dark Horse over GT as I use my car as a daily driver, no track use. If the Dark Horse is better financial decision in the long run. thanks!

Reality is to me the GT is simply an entry level mustang, it is infact the lowest price new ford you can get excluding the maverick hybrid and the ecoboost stuff. They are really over produced and have the market saturated, even here in the middle of nowhere.

I exclude the ecoboost stuff simply because they have a definite life span, in higher miles, turbos are typical failures along with engines. I get it there is much love for those, in reality longevity is a problem.

Future value factors reside on production numbers followed by emotional desire to own one. When the market is overfull with a model, well the value drops.

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