Has the Mustang been the best car you've ever owned??

QUICK91LX

Founding Member
Dec 7, 2001
968
3
39
New Jersey
It has for me. I have owned fifteen different Mustangs in my life, twenty six cars total, and none of them ever gave me any problems. Other than small repairs here and there, all i did really was modify and maintain. Even the beaters and cars that were bought as projects could go anywhere without a hitch. Didn't matter how many miles either. Maybe its because of the fact that I love Mustangs and all the great things about them that I am more able to overlook some of the quirks or annoyances. Even so, none ever left me stranded or created any sort of real problem even when driven (and beaten on) every day. Many of the other cars, however, have required some amount of significant work and/or money just to keep driving without being very bothersome or even at all.

1979 Mustang 2.3 Turbo
1984 Mustang GT
1985 Mustang GT (rotted front subframe...still ran like a raped ape)
1985 Mustang GT T-Top (leaked oil, bad starter, leaky t-tops, never let me down)
1988 Mustang LX 2.3 Turbo
1989 Mustang LX 5.0 (RIP - old people shouldnt drive)
1989 Mustang GT (filler neck leaked, no e-brake, drove every day)
1989 Mustang GT (current car - drove to AC, NJ 80mph constant - perfect)
1991 Mustang LX 5.0 (BEST CAR EVER)
1992 Mustang LX 5.0
1997 Mustang Cobra
2003 Mustang GT

The other three that I owned were parts cars, so they dont really count.

On the other hand,

1984 Bronco II - couldnt pass inspection (emissions)
1992 F150 4x4 - rotten p/s and brake lines
1992 Camry - gf drove temporarily - bad struts, exhaust leak, ok for $1000
1993 Escort - also a gf hold over car - tranny on its way out
1995 Taurus SHO - tranny rebuilt at 101k, struts at 105k
1996 Volvo 850 - good runner, ABS light, exhaust leak, clutch on its way out
1996 Ranger 4x4 - way too much to list
1998 F150 4x4 - 4.6 pinged like a mo fo
1999 Escort ZX2 - ok so this car was a champ...but leaked water inside bad

nearly every non mustang has had some sort of issue(s). I think I will go back to having a mustang as a daily driver.

Anyone else have a similar experience? Or the opposite? Post up your experiences good and bad. All I can say is that I can definitely add reliability to the long list of why I love Mustangs!!

Sorry for the novel...I'm bored!!!
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Yes


2003 Mustang GT - Zero warranty issues, 65K miles...only thing to go wrong was the horn crapped out on me this summer. $25 later good as new. No other costs other than routine maintainence. 100% reliable and still in pretty much new condition.



My 5.0. 100K miles and 20-years old. Only thing to ever fail on me during driving was the water pump...and it wasn't that bad i could get home and fix it in a day.

Best damn cars ever

Knock on wood :)
 
1st to last:

1970 Ford Fairlane 500 straight 6, took A LOT of abuse!
!970 Dodge Duster slant 6, totalled it
!971 Dodge Dart slant 6 that I traded for a Firebird
1976 Pontiac Firebird that I put a 350 chevy in, then spun a bearing.
1965 Pontiac Lemans w/ 326 power glide
1970 Oldsmobile Delta 88 that ran like a charm. (350 Rocket) I sold it to my neighbor.
1981 Midnight Metallic Blue Camaro 6 cylinder
1981 Chevy Chevette
1974 Chevelle Malibu 350 cid
1987 Pontiac Grand Am 4 cylinder w/ 5-speed
1981 Pontiac Bonneville 350 Olds motor
1992 Jeep Wrangler 6 cylinder HT
1993 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder ST, Black
1995 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder Rio Grande
1970 Dart Swinger w/ factory 340 / 4sp & 390 gears
1993 Mustang LX 5.0 AOD, yes, a very fun car!
 
My favorite car to date was back in 1995 I had a strawberry colored 1993 5.0 notch back with the black interior and 5 speed. The only problem I ever had with it was that I bought it from a teenage girl who did not know how to drive stick with 10k miles and the clutch was smoked.
 
Define "best." :shrug:

I think Firebirds/Trans Ams are damned sexy-lookin' cars.

I loved having a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for a DD.

I love the all-around handiness of my lil' '86 S15 truck.

I miss the killer gas mileage (highway MPG in the low 60's) and ease of parking a first-gen ('89-'94) Geo Metro.

I really liked the balance between ride, quietness, power, and handling in both my '94 T-Bird and '94 Cougar.

I've had a LOT of cars over the years, and every one of them had at least one golden redeeming feature to 'em. As much as I love Fords, they've been neck-and-neck with GM as far as being constant mechanical attention whores. I am ALWAYS needing to fix something on a Mustang ... but then again, the same was true when I used to be big into F-Bodies (specifically Firebirds). I just like Mustangs a helluva lot more than other makes/models, as a whole, simply because of their functionality and general practicality. Stock for stock, other cars might be able to accelerate faster, corner better, ride nicer, run quieter, get better mileage, etc. ... but there's always a trade-off with each of those things, and Mustangs (especially Foxes ... maybe SN95's, as well) seem to have everything else beat as far as being able to do everything well, all around - nothing outstanding here or there, just solid in all categories. :nice:

As far as 'Stangs, I've had:

'89 LX notch 5.0 T-5 - stock except for an off-road H-pipe and cat-back, still kicking myself in the arse to this day for getting rid of it;

'89 LX notch 5.0 T-5 - almost an exact clone of the prior one, except in a lot worse shape and WAY more miles on it (now owned by Frankenstang);

'86 GT 'vert AOD - whole lotta miles and needed a new top, not the fastest thing I've had, but plenty of fun, especially on nights with the top down;

'84 LX hatch 5.0 AOD - my current money pit, it's on the verge of being totally roadworthy but as always I'm having a helluva time scraping together the funds to give it the goodies that it needs to make that possible.

I'd LOVE to have another Fox for my DD, but until at least next year, I'll just have to be content with my lil' pick-em-up truck. It looks like poo, but it gets me around, and it's great for hauling tools n' parts to work on the '84 LX, and the gas mileage is pretty good, too. :nice:
 
By best I mean most reliable without serious repair or (not-by-choice) down time

yes there is almost always something to fix or replace on a fox or even SN95 mustang, but rarely is it something that is alot of $ to fix or something that keeps the car layed up for more than a couple of hours.

For example...I was without my SHO for over a week and it was almost $2000 to have the tranny rebuilt because the damn thing either wouldnt shift or shifted up and down too often.

One day my 92 F150 quit running...ignition module went bad. no biggie until i backed it out of the garage and a brake line let loose. pull er back in!

my ranger has needed both front ball joints and wheel bearings, egr system, both front hubs both rear leaf spring brackets and a few other small things

ive never had anything as serious as any of that happen on ANY of my mustangs. sure ive had to fix things but nothing was ever a big deal and i was never left stranded or without a car. i love that fact, which is why i would love to sell my volvo for another stock DD stang
 
I'm not gonna lie, my best car was my 93 twin turbo 300zx.. man I miss that car. Taking any car I saw from a roll on the highway..

Unfortunately it was one of those situations.. some kid walks in and asks who drives the 300zx? I reply that it is my car. He asks how much cash would it take to pick it up next week.. I threw out a random high number, kid shows up next week cash in hand..WTF? can't pass up the deal.

But my stang is a close 2nd, it's gonna be faster then the 300zx was pretty soon here.
 
ehh, my first stang was an 87 t top GT that sat for 5 years. needless to say, it needed a lot of work. the motor was okay, just high mileage, but the tranny went out on me a few months after i got it. my current stang was a beater when i picked it up from my brother. motor and tranny were both shot. ever since i've completely rebuilt it (aside from body and paint) it hasnt given me a single problem. about 97% of the mechanical parts and sensors are brand new. the only time it's down is when i'm modifying it. well i take that back....after i rebuilt the motor, i stuck the same tranny back in it and it blew on me when i was driving around drying the car off after a car wash. put a rebuilt t5:)nonono:) back in and so far so good.
 
Probably worst. I think by the time I was done with my 5.0, every single replaceable part had a lifetime warranty on it, with the exception of the engine and body (which both needed work).

thats to be expected with cars this age, but did it ever leave you stranded, create a major annoyance when you were driving or sit broken in the garage/driveway because the job was so involved that it couldnt be done in less than a day or so expensive that it couldnt be afforded at the time?

I have experienced none of that with any Mustang I've ever owned. I've noticed a few problems developing while driving or was just too lazy to fix the car with enough urgency to get a 1 day or less job done in that time. never the cars fault.

i have totally unexpectedly spent thousands total on my other cars on things that needed to be fixed RIGHT AWAY. Stangs just kept chugging along without a hiccup.
 
Yes and no. Some of the ones I had had small issues I had to fix. Others were fine. Then again, all of these cars were used and abused before I owned them so that's what happens to used cars.

MY BEST MUSTANG is the 91 black notch I have right now that is for sale. It's the only Mustang I own of the three that doesn't have any issues. I guess I'm dumb for selling it then.
 
Definitely my LX is the best I've owned. 290,000+ miles and still runs great as my daily driver. I've spent a bit of money the past 4 or 5 years on stuff, but a lot of it was upgrades ( 5 lug, Cobra brakes, rear disc, black leather interior, wheels) so I don't count that as repairs and maintenance, but I figured out several years ago that I spent about $500-600 a year on average on total repairs and maintenance, including tires, oil, etc. The past year was a bit more, - new tires -$600, complete AC system replaced - $650, brake job/calipers - $120, heater core - $80, clutch $120 (installed on another car, but never "used"), MM clutch cable & quadrant $120, but I'm sure my average is still in the $600 or so range. But then I figure $600 x 21 years, that is over $12,000! LOL!

As far as reliability, my car has only stranded me about 3 times. Fuel pump went out, was replaced under extended warranty, throw out bearing grenaded as I pulled into my work parking lot, and my starter bolts came loose - it made horrible noises on right turns so I towed it home. Oh I did forget, the balancer went out, it completely separated on me. But it too happended right as I pulled into my work parking lot. Got that sucker fixed right there in no time, after my wife brought my jack and extra tools to me!
 
I bought my 93 in 99 with 30k on it. In the 65,000 miles that I've driven it, other than the blower motor and wiper motor being replaced under my extended warranty, the only things that I've ever had to replace due to wear or breakage were the convertible top, tires and battery. I did different brake upgrades at 60k and 100k, but both times there was plenty of meat left. I've changed plugs and other ignition stuff several times over the years "just because" and when I did the H/C/I swap, but it has never had a runability problem, ever. Far and away the best car I have owned in 30 years of driving.
 
My '85 GT will have to go down as the worst because of an ignition/fuel problem that would cause the car to randomly shut down. I would be driving along and suddenly the car would lose power as if it were out of gas. There I am stranded on the side of the road praying the car would fire up again. Eventually it would start and I would go on my way but needless to say I had NO faith in that car. I can't even begin to express how annoying and disappointing it was and at the time I knew very little about these cars. Thinking back on it I'm sure it was something that could've been easily resolved. I ended up selling it and buying my '90 which has been like the Energizer Bunny through 300k+ miles. Easily the best of the few cars I've owned.

1 - '82 Toyota Corolla (first car, senior year HS. I beat the ever-lovin' crap out of this car. Ahh, such fond memories. lol)
1 - '85 GT
3 - LX 5.0s
 
Not even close!! This Stang is my first one. Didn't really know what I was looking at when I bought it. Needless to say, it has been an education. Over the past 5 years, I have pretty much replaced everything mechanical.

Even though it has died in my driveway a few times, I have only had to have it towed once when the fuel pump went out 350 miles from home in the middle of a busy intersection.

One of these days I will start on the body issues.

Best car I ever had was a 68 427 Corvette convertible. The fun I had in the car.......OMG.... It started every time and ran like a raped ape Only thing I ever did to it was the normal maintenance stuff. I still kick myself for selling it.

Runner-up - 92 Taurus SHO 5 spd - The ultimate stealth highway cruiser. Everyone just thught it was a regular old Taurus.
 
The hatch has been great over the years but is starting to act up. The notch is pleasurably rolling off the miles which is exactly what I bought it for. I'm figuring it's time to take apart the hatch and rebuild. But have gotten busy with the house thing for the time being.
 
The best car I've ever owned was my 89 GT. But thats just because I didn't have to do any work to it. It was a great car just to drive . I'm kinda pissed at the T-Top GT right now. Stuff just keeps breaking. ugh.