Order from Chaos

Ten things you need to know before your place your S550 order!

By Steve Turner

Photos by Steve Turner and courtesy of Ford Motor Company

The 2015 Mustang order banks have been open for a week. In case you missed that announcement, or you have been waiting on just the right time to make a move, we thought we might help clear some things up to make your ordering process flow as smoothly as possible.

As such, we spent a little time poring over the order guide, and we also put in calls to two of the representatives of dealers that are vendors on SVTP: Robbie Palmer Performance & Internet Manager at Capital Ford in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and Tanner Marroquin, Internet Sales & Leasing Consultant at Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas, Nevada. These guys know Mustangs and they know their way around the ordering process, so they were able to explain some of the pitfalls they have overcome thus far.

We also put in some of our own intuition about how the process works, and what you might expect. However, we can’t stress enough the importance of being informed before you make a major purchase like this. For example, the order guide has been posted on SVTP and several other sites. Spend some time going over it so you know your way through the possibilities.

Now, there will certainly be more information about these cars in the coming months, but for now, here are SVTP’s top 10 tips to make ordering your S550 as smooth as possible:

1. Know Your Goals: It’s pretty basic, but you should know where you plan to go with your new Mustang before you order it. If you just want the style, pick a V-6. If you want something to be fun-but-sensible the Ecoboost might be your option. If all-out performance is your goal, the 5.0 is the path for you. However, this extends to the options you choose too. You might not want to pay extra for options that you plan to upgrade anyway.

2. Be Flexible: “There has to be some flexibility if you really want one right now,” Robbie said. It’s still early in the game, so who knows what could happen. If you have to be the first one on the block with a new Mustang, you might want to be flexible on colors and options. There could be a supplier hold-up on a paint color or part that waylays the car you wanted. If you have to have a specific combo, you might have to wait.

3. Surprise Price: Yes, we know prices have leaked out on the ’Net, with the base price for a base car officially set at $24,425. However, Ford hasn’t officially announced pricing. As such, you really won’t know how much your new Mustang costs until you actually spec it out with your salesperson. It might seem odd to find out the price at the end, but that’s life on the cutting edge. Even some paint options, like Ruby Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat (RR) and Triple Yellow Tri-Coat (H3) will add to the cost. Finally, if you are looking for special pricing, like using X-plan or some other program discount, make sure the dealer is willing to accept it before you get too far into the deal.

4. Anniversary Angst: If you want one of these, we hope you already have your order lined up. They are only building 1,964 of the Limited Editions, but no doubt those have all been ordered or put aside for dealer markups at this stage in the game. However, if you still want some anniversary mojo, you can order the 50 Years Appearance Package (975) and get the anniversary look on any color Mustang. This does preclude you from ordering Recaros, however (see Option Roadblocks).

5. Out of the Box: There are fewer standalone options on the 2015. For example, you can’t just add Brembo brakes without ordering the Performance Pack. There are some standalone options, like Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Mitigation and Rain-Sensing Wipers (52S), All-Weather Floor Mats (12A), Reverse Park Assist (77R), Voice-Activated Navigation System (91 N), Spare Wheel and Tire (66W), and Spoiler Delete (13D), but many of the other desirables are bundled into packages, like the Performance Pack (67G).

6. Option Roadblocks: As we said, many options are bundled into packages like the Performance Pack or the 50 Years Appearance Package, but don’t think you can just throw every package on the same car. Some packages prevent you from ordering certain options. For example, you can’t get a GT with the Performance Package and an automatic, and you can’t order Recaros with the 50 Years Appearance Package (975). There are many potential pitfalls, which leads us to number 7…

7. Savvy Salesperson: In our chats with Robbie and Tanner we realized just how important it is to deal with a Mustang-savvy salesperson at this early stage of the game. If your sales pro doesn’t know the ins and outs of pre-ordering cars this early in the game, you could run into trouble. For example, Tanner wisely suggested that you print out our completed build sheet and double-check it to ensure that your Mustang will be just what you want it to be. You don’t want the order to go through with the wrong options.

8. Volume Wins: If you are looking for a special package or one of those unicorn-rare 50 Years Limited Editions a volume dealer is your best bet. If you have to have something rare, the dealers that sell the most cars get priority on the good stuff and the rest trickles down.

9. Hurry Up & Wait: We know you are excited about driving away in that beautiful new Mustang, but from what we can tell you can expect it to show up in the “fourth quarter.” That means near the end of the year. So our guess is some time between taking down the Halloween decorations and carving up your Thanksgiving turkey you can give thanks for your new ’Stang. However, you might be stringing up Christmas lights before it shows. Oh, and don’t be surprised if the dealer gets its stock orders before your special order arrives. Ford seems to prioritize the cars that haven’t been sold yet.

10. Droptop Delay: If your new Mustang dream includes pushing a button and engaging that speedy new convertible into the retracted position in 15 seconds flat, don’t plan on doing so this summer. No, the convertibles are a Job 2 proposition, which means they get built later in the production cycle, so you are going to wait longer than 15 seconds. If Job 1 is in August,  don’t get too worked up about a Job 2 convertible just yet.

If you have ordered a 2015 Mustang and have any other tips to add, please feel free to chime in below.

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