Hello.. New guy here.. Been readin' page after page in all the subjects ..
I'm ready to purchase a GT 500... I can afford a pre-owned 2008 a new 2009 and if I really squeeze a 2010... My question is a 2010 worth the extra 40 horse new styled interior/exterior voice activation and so on ? Figure it'd be about 10K difference in price.. Will the same upgrades work on the 2010 meaning pulley swap/tune/cai and bring about 50 or 60 or rwhp ?...
Which do you prefer from a visual standpoint? That's the real question. Here are the reasons to buy a '10:
You get to use up the depreciation. Buy an earlier model and it's already depreciated, even if it's new in the showroom.
The suspension has been significantly tweaked on the '10. It's better, out of the box.
The interior is night and day different. In my opinion, the materials are tremendously better although I personally don't like the look of the dash. Again, what's your personal taste?
From a power standpoint, you can have more power than stock (540) with less than $1,000. A JLT intake and Evolution tune will net you about 505-510 REAR wheel horsepower (as opposed to the 540 FLYWHEEL horsepower in the '10).
I personally like the looks of the first generation GT500s better than the '10 (by the way, I think the '10 hood is just BUTT ugly, but if you look at my pictures you'll see why).
Personally, here's what I'd do:
Buy a late year build 2008 and get the discount on a new one...do not buy used. It's had the piss run out of it and worse yet, many times by people that have no idea of what they're doing....thus doing even more damage.
Spend-
$450 JLT intake
$450 Handheld tuner and performance tune (Evolution/Jon Lund)
$400 Metco 2.6" pulley/idler/TR6 sparkplugs
(this constitutes their "stage 2" pkg and will give you about 530 at the tires and about 625 at the engine....as opposed to 500 at the engine from the factory)
$500 3.73 Ford Racing gearset- includes installation
$1,200 BGF KDW tires in stock sizes. The stock Goodyear tires SUCK.
$400 J&M adjustable upper control arm and billet lower control arms.
$1800 Ford Racing SVT handling package (trust me)
$600 Installed Steeda Tri-Ax shifter (the Ford piece is crap. I've owned both. I have the Ford piece in right now. If I had the dough I'd replace it with the Steeda this afternoon. It's THAT much better. People that argue that haven't used both).
There ya go. You're at about $6,000.....$7,000 fully installed. You'll kick the snot out of anything but a SuperSnake or a modified Z06. All of your suspension will be adjustable (it won't be on a new '10).
Pocket the extra $3,000 you were thinking you'd spend or have your stripes painted on and get some visual goodies.
Oh....and while the late '08s and all '09s supposedly have the transmission issues ironed out, they don't. Make absolutely sure that your selling dealer is up to date on the issues, that they' have fixed one or two and that they are cool about dealing with warranty problems on modified cars. While the Magnuson Act says modifications can't specifically cause your warranty to be voided (they have to directly cause the failure), it's still a pain in the butt to deal with and can cost you thousands...if not 10s of thousands of dollars to fight it. This is of particular concern from a company that has had to replace and/or repair a ton of transmissions and that is strapped for cash and fighting for its life. Nothing against Ford....anyone would do the same.
Or, you can be "safer" and buy the '10. Your call. Good luck.
bj
I hate to go the whole summer in Ohio without a ride. 
