Expensive, rough, but very, very cool!!!

• Its hard to find good information on Saleens.  So, having recently purchased an SC, I thought I'd post my opinions and experience here for the benefit of others.
• First, this is a very, very cool car.  #1) It looks great #2) It is really fast. 
• Fast: The SC is 400HP.  I thought about buying the Extreme 500HP.  But after driving the SC, I hate to admit it, I'm not sure what I'd do with 500HP.  I'm already at 80MPH in 4th gear and 3000 RPM.  I could probably get to 100MPH in 4th.  And clearly, 5th has plenty of headroom at 100 MPH -- I haven't taken it much beyond 100.
• Looks: Probably the best thing about the SC is its looks.  I get several compliments a week which is really fun.
• For those of you considering an Extreme.  I was told Saleen was only making 5 in 2005 and they've already been sold.  Contact Saleen directly for more info.  FYI - eBay is a good place to buy Saleen's in my opinion because they are so hard to find.  I live in California, but had to get mine from Florida.  (Disclaimer -- I do work for eBay.)  There are usually several SCs eBay during any particular week.
• Cons:  The drawbacks of the Saleen are clear if you've done any research or driven a stock Mustang:
1. The price -- at $50K+ you pay a huge premium over the GT.  The looks and 100 more HP may not be worth the premium for some.
2. Handling -- This is a muscle car, not a finese car.  Great at straight forward power, but BIG around turns etc -- its not as "tight" as some foreign sports cars.
3. Finish -- The mustang's in general use a lot of plastic in the interior.  Saleen does a great job of replacing much of the interior with leather (smells great), but for $50K+ still too much plastic for me.  Also the shifter is a little "soft" for my taste, but I've gotten used to it.  The outside of course has lots of plastic as well with all of the Saleen body mods.
4. Gas -- Certainly if you're looking for MPG this is not the car for you.  It does guzzle, but technically not much more than an SUV -- but man I swear I can see the dial moving down as I drive. :-)
5. Service -- You can't bring a Saleen to just any Ford dealer.  One dealer told me there's a risk of Ford over-writing the Saleen settings on the PROMs, probably not a good thing.  You need to find a Ford dealer that sells and services Saleens.  Saleen's website will give you a list.  I was also able to find independent auto shops that said they could service my car, but I haven't actually had to use one yet.
• Overall, I am very pleased with the car -- its fast and cool -- exactly what a muscle car should be!  There's a Car and Driver review that described two drawbacks that concerned me.  1.) The "plastic" hood and 2.) the dentist drill whistle of the SuperCharger.  The plastic hood drawback is real -- it does bounce a little as if its not closed.  But this doesn't bother me any more.  I barely notice it, most on the highway, and with the stereo on even at normal levels you can't really hear it.  As for the SuperCharger, I LOVE the sound -- it sounds more like a jet engine to me revving up and down.  I think the editor just picked a really poor analogy.  I think most people would agree with me, the sound is great!

Hope this helps!!!

PS -- If you buy a car on eBay here is what I've learned to stay safe:

1. Call the seller -- you can tell a lot by talking to someone.

2. Pay ~$100 to have the car inspected. -- Not only tells you if the car is OK, but will also ensure the car exists!  This can usually be done in two days and setup from the eBay website.

3. Consider financing -- there is no pre-payment penalty so you can shift the "fraud" risk to the financial institution.  However, if you default on your loan, you would take on a "credit" risk -- the risk of getting a bad mark on your credit rating.  But, which problem would you prefer?  You can setup financing from the eBay website as well.

Hope this helps as well...

Disclaimer:  The above are my personal opinions and are not necessarily those of eBay.  As with any "advice", they should be taken "with a grain of salt" and in the end you should make decisions based on your own best judgement.