Is 94-95 a good car for commuting and being my first "own" car? Is it gonna eat up alot of my gas money more than the 4.6 model? Will I have to worry about fixing this thing in the shop if someone didn't take the best care of the car? Is there another car you recommend to me?
if you are trying to decide between a 5.0 and a 4.6 then 5.0 all the way. although it is a tad older, i believe the 4.6 parts are more expensive... i like it because i understand everything, mostly from this website though
i you plan on sticking around here you could fix almost everything yourself to cut on costs. I've had to replace the radiator and water pump but got lifetime warrenties on them, so i don't have to worry about that $$$ wise.
i get ~21 mpg with that stang and got about the same with my old explorer
it all depends on whether you will cave to the modding bug, stick around this site and find out how to fix stuff yourself, and how many miles you will be commuting
This is my second car. My first car was a modular 4.6L cougar--bascally the same engine in the 96+ stangs and my 5.0 gets about the same as that car did...and I tend to drive it a little harder (about 22 mpg). The car has been great as far as maintnance...the only thing that happened so far is that my mass air flow sensor died last weekend. I was also considering the 4.6 before I bought my car, but the reason that I bought it was that it's a lot more cost effective to mod a 5.0 than a 4.6. It just all depends on what you want out of it. The maintance may be a little worse than on the 4.6 just because these cars are up on ten/eleven years old now. Besides, there is nothing else like the sound of a 5.0 pushrod muscle car!
ive had problems with my auto tranny but got it rebuilt and upgraded plus a shift kit. my a/c is gone but i never used it. other than that just minor things. with gas as high as it is now i wish i had a motorcycle. but it is a good car, very reliable if you keep up with it. ive prolly got over 130k miles on mine and i got it at 60k. my odometer broke at 114k so i dont know exactly how many i have. but once i put new electrical stuff in, it runs strong all the time. ill have my car forever. if the engine blows up ill buy a new engine.
I drive at least 40 miles a day and thats everday. Its also my first car and currently I have wasted every single penny on it. Only problems I've had with it the past year and a half is a blown HG and now my tranny just started to whine. 14 mpg
My Dad bought my car as a "beater" back somewhere between 98-99. I bought it from him when I turned 16. There has been no mechanical failure whatsoever. Well, not besides the ones that I inflicted.
The 302 is one of the most reliable motors out there. If you don't mind paying for gas, then it's a good choice.
Don't listen to the others, either. The 4.6 is just as good, and I would prefer the 4.6 as a driver over the 5.0. Why? The 4.6 is much more linear than the 5.0. I know, I have both of them.
Your going to find good and bad cars no matter what brand or type of car you get. They all have probs and then again some never do at all. If you dont plan on modding it much then your prob pretty safe b/c the 5.0 motor has been time tested and proven to be a very strong long lasting engine when taken care of. I only say if you dont plan to mod it b/c the more mods you do the more of the chance that you run of having something break or go wrong. Then again some of us like myself mod the hell out of the car or are on that track and dont have anything go wrong w/ them either.
my stang is my second car, no problems out of the ordinary. lkinda like the others said, it really doesnt matter what kind of car you get, theyll all have problems sooner or later. the 5.0 is one the most relaible engines out there, ive seen some go well over 250k , and if it does break, you can get parts cheap. ive seen stock gt heads go for $5 for instance. as long as you dont drive it "a quarter mile at a time" and baby it a bit, you shuldnt have any problems
I'm 17 is my 5.0 was my first car. My dad was driving down the road to the bank, took a short cut, and found it in someone's driveway with a for sale sign on it. Lucky huh? Got it for 5k, it had 70,000 miles on it. Great condition, first owner was a cop, second was a mechanic. The mechanic's shop was only 5 min. away from his house. (Which explains the low milage). I bit too fast for a first car, couldn't handle the power at first, but now i'm real used to it. Gas, I get about 150 miles on it a week, and pay around $22 a week (premium gas). Just as long as your not crazy on the gas pedal, then gas milage isn't too bad. Good luck man.