Looking for a 2003 or 2004 Mustang GT, but what is up with there prices still being so high? I live in Southern California if anyone is selling for less than 6k let me know.
Blue book value for a GT with under 100k on the odometer in good shape is 6-7k. If you wanna spend less than that, you will be looking at a car with over 100K. IMO, spend the extra benjamins and get something with lower mileage. It's also gonna be a little bit more rough in your area because of the climate. Most people hold on to their Mustangs in the winter in California, whereas they tend to go on sale in the more "wintry" states. Be patient, and if you really want a Mustang, be flexible. The 99-04 Mustang GTs have the same body style and the same PI 4.6L 2V. Expand your search for model year and it will help you find a car quicker. There is a 99 GT Convertable for $4500 in San Diego with 84k on autotrader. Needs different rims, but other than that it looks nice!
The above reply really explains it all. A word of advice from a guy who bought cheaper with more miles... if you would like to spend less make sure you know your way around the car, I bought mine cheap and thought it was a great deal, only to find there was much that was tampered with and wrong on my mustang, i was still able to fix everything and am ultimately happy with my purchase, but definitely could have saved money if I had known what I was looking at when I made the purchase. Best of luck on your search!
For anything above 100,000 miles I wouldn't pay more than $6,500 unless it was really really clean. For those below 100k I would imagine anywhere from $7,500-8,000 if bone stock and in great shape.
I live in San Jose CA and I bought my 00 GT 5 years ago off of a Toyota used car lot for $9,900 (60k miles) with a 2 year extended warranty. The car was adult owned and completely bone stock except for a Flowmaster catback. These cars with low miles have managed to hold their value pretty well. I would really stick to your guns and spend the extra cash to buy something with less than 100k miles, you wont be sorry. Prices are a little bit higher here in the Bay Area b/c well, everything costs more here and thats just a fact.