88 Mustang GT ?? Going tommorow need help asap

[Lynx331]

Hey guys i need your opinion. We went today and looked at a 88 mustang gt. Its in pretty decent condition for being 16 years old. THe enigne has about 80k on it, orig. THe engine itself is pretty nice just needs a good cleaning. The car has been hit before in the front, the frame is not bent at all the repair shop did a top notch job fixing it. The underneath has pretty darn close to no rust. The hatch has no rust but the latch is broken.. ?? Im guessing someone tried to break into it, so right now its tied down with rope. The interior is in decent shape for being 16 years old, it needs new tires, the rims are the turbines which i really like for some reason. Runs real good shifts good... e brake actually works. Hes asking 2000, but he says it is a negociable price so... what do u guys think? It definately is a fixer upper... were going tommorow to see it again i just wanted a few opinions Thanks guys!
Mike

 

[blk92stangg]

I would look at the car without the rationalization that the car is 16 years old. If it looks good to you, and you have a good feeling about the seller, than go for it. I would also check the radiator for cruddy build up, the undercarriage for oil leaks, check the voltage across the battery with the car running for good voltage (around 13 volts give or take 0.5), do a burnout ( if the owner will let you) to make sure both tires spin, see if all the weatherstripping is in good shape and not all torn up, and maybe even run the codes to see what is up with all the sensors etc.

Whew, that is a lot of stuff to check, but I would keep in mind that you could possibly find a pretty mint condition car for around 3-4 grand, and when you consider the cost of interior rugs, seats, dashboard, paint, rust eradication and more, that 2000.00 car will come out costing just as much. I ended up looking at 7 different cars before getting mine, and I am totally happy with my purchase, and in the end, that matters the most. Good luck!

 

[Lynx331]

The thing that bothers me is what im going from. I have a beautiful 97 mustang.... v6.. automatic :-(. The only thing that is bothering me is that its not as nice as my 97... which i keep trying to tell myself i wont find one. WHat do u guys think about it?

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

If you buy this car, you need to have something else to drive. Chances are you will have some downtime on the car. If not, keep your other car while you are fixing this one up and then sell the other car. If the car was hit I would think about passing on it.

 

[mustangsquared]

Check the heater core...firewall, passanger side...make sure it is not by-passed. I got my 91 in 99 for $4000 with 80,000 on it in near perfect condition (completely original down to the air silencer). Just for price comparision. After looking it over I would say $1100 and see what happens.

 

[Idwitheld-1`]

Hey guys i need your opinion. We went today and looked at a 88 mustang gt. Its in pretty decent condition for being 16 years old. THe enigne has about 80k on it, orig. THe engine itself is pretty nice just needs a good cleaning. The car has been hit before in the front, the frame is not bent at all the repair shop did a top notch job fixing it. The underneath has pretty darn close to no rust. The hatch has no rust but the latch is broken.. ?? Im guessing someone tried to break into it, so right now its tied down with rope. The interior is in decent shape for being 16 years old, it needs new tires, the rims are the turbines which i really like for some reason. Runs real good shifts good... e brake actually works. Hes asking 2000, but he says it is a negociable price so... what do u guys think? It definately is a fixer upper... were going tommorow to see it again i just wanted a few opinions Thanks guys!
Mike

not that it makes any difference but the car may actually be 17 years old.
I would only jump on it after a mechanic inspection (or do it yourself).

I did that with my 93GT and got 1600 bucks knocked off the price because of all the findings. 60 bucks for the inspection....well worth it. Then I turned that 1600 bucks into parts and installed them myself (saving on labor).

Good luck.