I'm shocked how well the Super Snakes are holding value. At first I thought that was going to be a bust, but seems like it was a pretty good idea after all. Not so much worried about my mileage as seeing an opportunity to start over with a low mileage car. Maybe I'll just trade down mileage to another regular 500 (assuming I can do it as cheap as I think)...possibly convertible, move over the parts I love and go from there.
I agree, for being a "post title" GT500 that the KR guys said would never retain value back in the day, I have not seen that to be the case.
Since I am a 2008 Super Snake owner and I bought into it in early to mid-2008 with a $10K deposit, I have steadily watched both the GT500KR and the GT500 Super Snake market for 10+ years to compare how pre-title and post-title Shelby's hold or loose their value, keeping in mind that both are newer/later model Mustangs and there is no magic, both will depreciate.
Both were $80K cars + or - when new and the Super Snake production has continued on past 2009. What I have found is the 540HP, while being a big deal in a 2008/09 GT500KR had it's wings clipped power wise with the regular production 2010 being 540HP, then the tech advances in 2011 and 550HP made 540HP and 2007-2010 seeming to become dated, then 2013/14 leaping well ahead with 662 factory HP and techno toys. It kind of left the GT500KR as a cool car (which it is), but the power and technology leaped ahead rather quickly after 2010.
The Super Snakes at the 6XX level (first 605, then 630, then 660) were also left in the dust in 2013 with 662 factory HP, the bigger 5.8, newer technology, and their current prices reflect that. The 7XXHP Super Snakes from the earlier time period seem to be holding their own because no street production Ford GT500's from 2007-2014 in the S197 platform got to 7XXHP from the assy. line, so if you want a 7XXHP+ 2007-2014 Shelby GT500 that has been built by either Ford or Shelby, the Super Snake is the only car that fits those specifications.
In the early days, the 605HP Super Snake option was $28K.............In most cases today, that $28K original investment has been cut in half, if not more. The 6XXHP Super Snakes kept their full Ford powertrain warranty and that was the reason why many chose to do 6XXHP. My thought on that was.........a few years from now the Ford warranty will be long gone and at that time, the car will still be only a 6XXHP Super Snake, the production 540HP was too close to 6XXHP. I decided I will not worry about the Ford powertrain warranty and instead gamble that Ford will never make a 7XXHP S197, and they did not. By the end of the S197 production, the 6XXHP Super Snake ended up not being so Super.
The early 725/750's seem to be holding their value in this way>.................The car itself, there is no magic, the GT500 (pretitle) it seems to be depreciating just as any GT500 of the same year, miles and condition. It is the post-title Super Snake upgrade that has been added to that GT500 with documentation and the assigned CSM number that seems to be holding most of its value. An early car 2007-2009 725HP was $32K for that upgrade............Most of that $32K can still be realized in the sale of an early 725/750 Super Snake. Of course the price of the Super Snake upgrade has climbed over the years and so has the HP, from the earlier 725/750 to 800/850.
^^^^That is what I have noticed when comparing these cars over 10+ years. In an early 7XXHP Super Snake you can get 2020 GT500 power and an early more muscle car feel. Back in 2008, I wondered how long it would take for a production/assy. line Mustang to get to 7xx+ Horsepower level? I wonder what horsepower level Shelby will build the 2020 GT500 Super Snake? They seem to stay 200+ HP ahead of Ford for the optional performance levels.
When people discuss the GT500KR and GT500 Super Snake side-by-side, my feeling is that they are both cool cars in different ways.
R