Dark Horse current market, with n00b questions

[smurfslayer]

Greetings Mustang enthusiasts,

I’ve been out of the game for a bit... a few years... well, ok 20+ years.
I’m shopping Dark Horse Mustangs and it turns out I’m in a Dark Horse desert. I found a few within brief flight / moderate drive distance and I’ve noticed some interesting stuff.

I’ve looked at 5 online with some seriousness, only one did NOT have Recaro seats. Of these, 4 are short flight away. The Recaro equipped DH are all being negotiated under MSRP. I have money / financing, no trade.

All have:
Handling package
Automatic
Recaros.

Black one - ~$66.2k
vapor blue - in transit
Race Red - TBD - under MSRP

I’ve read the threads on recaros vs. heated/cooled/power seats. I should be good either way, but I’d lean towards a DH with standard seats. I wouldn’t lean towards them to the point of paying MSRP when I can get significantly under MSRP though.

I’m pretty sure the black one is going to be the best financial deal but... I’ve had 7 black vehicles already, still have 2.

Are the Recaro seats a drag on resale ? The ones I’m seeing in Texas are the DH being sold under MSRP, the standard seat Dark Horses seem to be less negotiable and seem to be hit with the appearance package, etc.

I’m hoping I get to see what ’25 holds but if it’s not a big difference, I’m going snag a ’24.

FWIW, I’ve had a 1990 GT to a 1997 Cobra to a 2001 Lightning - which I never should have gotten rid of. Now in a 2017 Raptor - black, of course :-|

Race Red owners: Is it true the Ginger Mustangs have no soul? <kidding> but would you buy RR again?

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[Interstellar]

In my opinion, Recaro seats are similar to what I would call the “Manual Effect”.
While the general population would rather buy the heated/cooled, the people that do want Recaro’s will pay to get what they want.

 

[SweptVolume]

The absence of heating and cooling for the Recaros is an odd omission to not resolve for the S650 (I assume it's not a trivial thing for Ford/Recaro to do), but it feels like less of an issue on the DH as the main material is a variant of alcantara/suede and that has better thermal qualities than leather or vinyl.

For the GT, where the optional Recaro seats are full leather, I'd say they'd be too much of a compromise in winter/summer to be worth it.

Ultimately though, I agree with @Interstellar in so much as the Dark Horse will appeal to a certain buyer who's probably quite interested in cars, and seeing a Recaro logo inside the cabin will be a massive draw to them.

As an example, when I bought a Mazda MX5 (Miata) ND2, I spent some time specifically seeking out a limited edition because it came with Recaro seats (and Brembo brakes, for that matter), as these items added a legitimacy in my head that made it a purer sports car. Mazda did at least manage to get heating elements into their Recaros though, and for half the asking price, too

 

[Crew4991]

Are the Recaro seats a drag on resale ? The ones I’m seeing in Texas are the DH being sold under MSRP, the standard seat Dark Horses seem to be less negotiable and seem to be hit with the appearance package, etc.

Most people want the nice heated and cooled seats for regular use. Those that track the car or probably mod the vehicle probably prefer the Recaros.


Personally, I say dump those Recaro seats.
Those seats are as uncomfortable as this:

To be fair, I wouldn't mind having this racing Recaro toilet though.

 

[Logan]

Mr. smurfslayer,
I'm 6'1"weigh in at 200 so I'm not an average size person, but not considered a large person. I say this because I have a DH with the standard heated,cooled, and power seats. I test drove a 24 DH with the Recaro Seats. I drove it about 15 minutes.( I also owned a 24 Camaro SS with Recaro Seats. Have sold it) In my experience the Recaro Seats are very uncomfortable, it felt as though the seats kept poking me in the side the entire time driving. The Camaro seats were not so cumbersome. But not real comfortable either. So if you're close to 6' you might want to think about getting Recaro Seats. I absolutely enjoy driving my DH. I enjoyed the SS but when I took delivery of my DH the SS had to go. Just didn't stack up to my DH. The DH far superior car IMO. It was not a $$$ decision both cars I paid cash for them. A matter of comfort and enjoyment of driving. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[topdawg4ever]

Found my Vapor Blue Dark Horse Premium, Tremec 6 SP, non-handling, with standard seats in February at MSRP. Before that, I struggled to find one without the Recaro's. The Recaro's are uncomfortable for me, and I just couldn't do it. And I needed the 6 speed.

I have since added the Handling Spoiler, and Handling Splitter. I will likely in the next 12/18 months, lower the car 3/4" via springs, and will add 20" wheels.

While one

Black has always been a bigger job than what it's worth to me, but for the moment it's clean, nothing is better.

My Dark Horse is the most fun I have had in a car in a long time. I've had bigger HP cars over the last 10 years, but this thing is just fun to drive. Nothing better than shifting that Tremec. All that being said, this is my weekend fun car, not my daily.

 

[roadpilot]

6'2" and 220# here. RECAROs fit me great. Most of those who badmouth them are folks who could probably benefit from skipping a meal or three.

I don't need heated seats because I don't drive it when it's cold outside (e.g., winter).

To each thier own, right?

 

[kagemusha2662]

Recaros are definitely not as comfy as the normal bucket seats, but you definitely get used to it.

 

[smurfslayer]

Thanks all!
I know a lot of the enthusiast customers want the M6, but if I want to row gears and go fast, I have a pair of Kawasakis that are well suited to the task. Plus, my wife stinks at driving stick.

She’s got an MKZ with good bolstering and I can see her frustration setting the mirrors and seat. Although, to be fair, I can’t tell how many times she’s gotten into --her car-- after I drove and instead of pressing the button to move the seats to her position, she sets the seats in the current position. Usually she’s better at pressing buttons...

I’m about 60/40 convinced to move on either the red or black one- vapor blue is vaporware- supposedly in transit.

Did MSRP increase in ’24 for the Mustang? I noticed one of the cars was a bit more spendy on the MSRP.

 

[Dave2013M3]

Greetings Mustang enthusiasts,

I’ve been out of the game for a bit... a few years... well, ok 20+ years.
I’m shopping Dark Horse Mustangs and it turns out I’m in a Dark Horse desert. I found a few within brief flight / moderate drive distance and I’ve noticed some interesting stuff.

I’ve looked at 5 online with some seriousness, only one did NOT have Recaro seats. Of these, 4 are short flight away. The Recaro equipped DH are all being negotiated under MSRP. I have money / financing, no trade.

All have:
Handling package
Automatic
Recaros.

Black one - ~$66.2k
vapor blue - in transit
Race Red - TBD - under MSRP

I’ve read the threads on recaros vs. heated/cooled/power seats. I should be good either way, but I’d lean towards a DH with standard seats. I wouldn’t lean towards them to the point of paying MSRP when I can get significantly under MSRP though.

I’m pretty sure the black one is going to be the best financial deal but... I’ve had 7 black vehicles already, still have 2.

Are the Recaro seats a drag on resale ? The ones I’m seeing in Texas are the DH being sold under MSRP, the standard seat Dark Horses seem to be less negotiable and seem to be hit with the appearance package, etc.

I’m hoping I get to see what ’25 holds but if it’s not a big difference, I’m going snag a ’24.

FWIW, I’ve had a 1990 GT to a 1997 Cobra to a 2001 Lightning - which I never should have gotten rid of. Now in a 2017 Raptor - black, of course :-|

Race Red owners: Is it true the Ginger Mustangs have no soul? <kidding> but would you buy RR again?

It seems the auto DHs are a little stagnant in sales, the manuals are the ones in demand.

 

[Radiant]

It seems the auto DHs are a little stagnant in sales, the manuals are the ones in demand.

The manual DH is the only way to get the Tremec TR-3160.

Thanks to the discounts on the GTs (~$5k), you can pick up a GT Performance Package for $15k ~ $20k less than a DH if you want the 10R80 auto with the 3.55 Torsen.

 

[topdawg4ever]

6’-9” 235 here. Lean and mean at 58. Just find the Recaros beautiful to look at but difficult for me to get comfortable. But I certainly understand why you would like them and fit in them.

6'2" and 220# here. RECAROs fit me great. Most of those who badmouth them are folks who could probably benefit from skipping a meal or three.

I don't need heated seats because I don't drive it when it's cold outside (e.g., winter).

To each thier own, right?

 

[Juzrock]

Found my Vapor Blue Dark Horse Premium, Tremec 6 SP, non-handling, with standard seats in February at MSRP. Before that, I struggled to find one without the Recaro's. The Recaro's are uncomfortable for me, and I just couldn't do it. And I needed the 6 speed.

I have since added the Handling Spoiler, and Handling Splitter. I will likely in the next 12/18 months, lower the car 3/4" via springs, and will add 20" wheels.

While one

Black has always been a bigger job than what it's worth to me, but for the moment it's clean, nothing is better.

My Dark Horse is the most fun I have had in a car in a long time. I've had bigger HP cars over the last 10 years, but this thing is just fun to drive. Nothing better than shifting that Tremec. All that being said, this is my weekend fun car, not my daily.

 

[Juzrock]

The ride on the 20 inch wheels is not the greatest feeling.

 

[smurfslayer]

so 2 of the available cars did not pan out. One, a small town stealership was going to try and swap to get one that I didn’t find - Rapid Red. They wanted over MSRP which is a non starter for me.

I found one in antimatter grey, they were at MSRP. Meh. It was sharp, had the painted calipers and I have to admit it looks good.

Black one was listed 7.6k under MSRP which sounds too good to be true, right? Because it was. They tack on a package fee. I got it to 68,554 which I believe is just under the MSRP for my ’17 Rap.
I don’t see any better deals to be had close by and it will get me the things I want for pretty close to what I was expecting to pay. So at some point in the near future I should have a new MDH in the garage.

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