Opinions on getting a new (used) mustang

[40oz]

I'd generally avoid higher mileage used cars if at all possible. The only reason is you will pay for brakes, shocks and struts, clutch, water pump, alternator, radiator, etc. etc. over a relatively short ownership period vs. a ~50K mile example.

I'm finding a lot of Mach 1's under $15K but most have between 50,000 and 75,000 miles. That's not what I'd call "higher mileage." I'd just avoid cars with close to 100K on the odometer.

As far as locating an example near you, a good Ford dealer can locate a car for you anywhere in the country if you tell them what you are looking for (and the car is on a Ford lot). And some specialty car dealers can do the same, it's just sometimes cheaper to do it through a Ford dealer. I'd call or visit some dealers to see what they can do for you. It'll probably take a few months to find what you are looking for, which fits your time frame perfectly.

 

[puma1552]

EXCEPT exclusivity. 20, 30, 40 years from now, that 2011 GT is going to be worth nothing. The Cobra will. I pretty seriously doubt a clean 03/04 Cobra will EVER be worth less than $15-18k.

Meh, doubt the OP cares about that, since he's looking for a "fresh canvas" which to me tells me he is looking to mod the car, so exclusivity/value go out the window more or less.

Maybe not where you live. If I remember correctly, you recently paid nearly DOUBLE for an SN95 GT than what I paid for a clean one 6 years ago.

Right, I don't live where you do so not sure what you are trying to get at. I live in the rust belt, you don't, and prices are of course going to be different in our respective areas. I paid about clean NADA retail for a gorgeous '98 GT and I got a gorgeous car. We've been through this before though, all the bogus anecdotes about people who claim to have paid less than the 2011 trade in value of a '98 GT 5-7 years ago. Many a person said they paid around $4k for their "mint" '98 when the 2011 clean trade is $5500. Doesn't really add up but I'm not going to get into that again. Didn't see too many people put their money where their mouths were and show me any of those fantastic deals when I asked.

For the record, here's the colossal pile I overpaid fo.. It was worth every penny of the $7800 I paid :

My granddad bought his 04 Mach 1, completely stock, in MINT condition, with 15,000 miles on it for less than $12k. He definitely got a deal on that, but I've seen several clean, low mileage ones go for $13-14k.

Again, area. Depends where the OP lives I suppose.

I don't know how you can say Cobras and Mach 1s aren't worth the money, and then suggest to get an 02-04 GT. As if they are worth the money? LOL!

Because personally I would rather have a low-mileage, mint original car rather than a higher mileage car. For me, mileage is important and I can't part with $15k+ for a car with 75k+ miles. For a given price, he could get a lot lower mileage '02-'04 GT for the same price point compared to a Mach/Cobra. Exclusivity goes out the window when it's a 100k mile car. Unless we are talking Hemi 'Cuda, a 100k mile Cobra/Mach will never be worth anything because over half the people that bought them new are waiting for muscle car era #2, and stashing them--I'd bet in 20 years, you see more sub-20k mile Shelby GT500s than you do GT500s with over 50k miles, because everyone thinks they will cash in on them. Look how many IROCs are coming out of the woodwork now with less than 20k miles--you can almost have your pick.

So yes, an '02-'04 GT with around 30k miles to me is a better deal than a termi with 75k+ miles for $15k-$18k.

And $20k for a 2010 GT is a ripoff. $2k more (if even that much), and you've got a used 2011.

I agree, I'd do everything I could to get the 2011, but you are going to get a good deal on 2010s for that very reason. $22k is going to get you a questionable history 2011 bare bones stripper at this point in time, if you can even find one and haggle them down enough on it. Then again, I'm always leery of 1 year old cars that get traded in with just a few thousand miles. 2010 was the OP's suggestion, not mine.

 

[brtnstrns]

I'm not concerning myself with how much a car will be worth some time in the future. I'm not buying the car for somebody else to take off my hands, I'm buying it for me. Now, there might be some "Mach 1s with less than 25000 miles for $13-14k" somewhere in the country but there sure as hell aren't any within 300 miles of where I live from what I've seen. I've been browsing for at least 6 months just for fun and have paid attention to the prices and haven't seen anything like that. I've got to compare my price point to what I've seen near my area, because buying a car that costs less from across the country without being able to test drive it and paying for it to be shipped to me would be insane.

So if anyone has seen a sub-50000 mile Mach 1 or mid-mileage Cobra for less than $15k, or a 2010 GT for less than $20k ( ) in the areas in and around Dallas or Austin TX, please point them out because I must be blind.

 

[sneaky98gt]

This is what I found in 5 minutes of searching CL and Autotrader. I'm sure there are more in local car magazines and local forums/classifieds.

2003 Ford Mustang Premium Mach 1 (ONLY 66,000 miles) Clean Car Fax

Mustang Mach 1 04

Cars for Sale: 2004 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Pineville, LA 71360: Coupe Details - 304061636 - AutoTrader.com

Cars for Sale: 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Temple, TX 76502: Coupe Details - 307152436 - AutoTrader.com


Puma, I apologize. I thought I remember you paying a lot more than that for that car.

OP, you say you don't care about the car being worth something someday. I understand, and I completely agree. A car is meant to be driven and enjoyed, not sit in a garage in hopes of making money one day, or at least not in my opinion.

In this case, do you really care about the mileage? I would be more concerned about the actual condition of the car. A well-taken care of, high mileage car will be in nearly as good, if not better, condition as a lower mileage car. I'd bet that my 120k mile 98 GT is in better condition than 80% of the GTs with half the mileage.

Just in general, I think a lot of people put too much stake in the mileage of a car, when it really doesn't tell the whole tale. For all we know, a 12,000 mile car may have been a NHRA Factory-Stock race car that made 750 passes at the drag strip for all its life; and that 90,000 mile car may have been garage kept, driven to and from work on sunny days, fresh coat of wax every 2 months. I personally can't tell these things from the mileage. But I can look under the fenderwells and under the hood and tell more about how a car was treated than any mileage number can tell me.

 

[brtnstrns]

This is what I found in 5 minutes of searching CL and Autotrader. I'm sure there are more in local car magazines and local forums/classifieds.

2003 Ford Mustang Premium Mach 1 (ONLY 66,000 miles) Clean Car Fax

Mustang Mach 1 04

Cars for Sale: 2004 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Pineville, LA 71360: Coupe Details - 304061636 - AutoTrader.com

Cars for Sale: 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Temple, TX 76502: Coupe Details - 307152436 - AutoTrader.com


Puma, I apologize. I thought I remember you paying a lot more than that for that car.

OP, you say you don't care about the car being worth something someday. I understand, and I completely agree. A car is meant to be driven and enjoyed, not sit in a garage in hopes of making money one day, or at least not in my opinion.

In this case, do you really care about the mileage? I would be more concerned about the actual condition of the car. A well-taken care of, high mileage car will be in nearly as good, if not better, condition as a lower mileage car. I'd bet that my 120k mile 98 GT is in better condition than 80% of the GTs with half the mileage.

Just in general, I think a lot of people put too much stake in the mileage of a car, when it really doesn't tell the whole tale. For all we know, a 12,000 mile car may have been a NHRA Factory-Stock race car that made 750 passes at the drag strip for all its life; and that 90,000 mile car may have been garage kept, driven to and from work on sunny days, fresh coat of wax every 2 months. I personally can't tell these things from the mileage. But I can look under the fenderwells and under the hood and tell more about how a car was treated than any mileage number can tell me.

Sorry, guess I should also say I'm only going for manuals. I've seen the 2nd and 3rd one. I've seen the one in Temple, TX too but thats pretty sketchy to me: V6 side scoop on one side, no chin spoiler; that car has been through somethin...

And yes I get what you're saying about higher mileage cars being fine in some cases. In most cases those higher mileage cars have been modified which makes me think they were probably driven hard at least some of the time (whether the seller says otherwise or not). I definitely don't mind checking out higher mileage cars that are generally stock, as those seem to be the ones sold by reasonable people that know that taking care of a car is as important as slapping a ton of mods on it and going fast on every on-ramp.

We'll see what I come across over the next few months. I just wanted to make sure people understand that (at least in Texas), low mileage Mustangs show up VERY rarely for prices as low as what people are claiming in this thread.

 

[puma1552]

Puma, I apologize. I thought I remember you paying a lot more than that for that car.

No worries, it's all good. The dealer wanted $10k, got them down to $7800. They wouldn't go any lower though. Happy with what I got.

 

[brtnstrns]

Another idea (based on the other thread about Cobras and Mach 1's):

As much as I know about mustangs, apparently I looked over 99-01 Cobras having IRS and around the same power as the Mach 1's. I'm going to start looking into those as well since I've actually seen some between 75-90k miles around $10k. If I could get my hands on a mid-mileage one that seems to be well taken care of, I would definitely do that and have tons of money left over for modifications (when I say that I probably mean supercharger). I'm surprised no one threw out this idea earlier, but it seems like its right up my alley.

 

[fullrearview]

$18k for a clean low mileage Mach 1 is a rip off (unless it has like 200 miles on it, which it doesn't).

If you are looking to spend $18-20k, I see two ways of going about it.

Option A: Clean Mach 1 (can be had for $12-14k EASILY) and spend $5k in mods. Would make for a very nice/fast car, and the best looking Mustang ever built (in my opinion).

Option B: Semi-clean 03/04 Cobra. I've seen several lower mileage (50,000-60,000 miles) Cobras that were mostly stock for $18-19K lately. If you are patient, you could probably find one that you would be satisfied with for that price. And c'mon, it's an 03/04 Cobra. 90% of the folks on these boards dream of owning one.

I agree with this^^^

Asking prices are way up... Selling prices, not so much. Just be patient. You will have a great car and money left to build it.!

 

[puma1552]

Another idea (based on the other thread about Cobras and Mach 1's):

As much as I know about mustangs, apparently I looked over 99-01 Cobras having IRS and around the same power as the Mach 1's. I'm going to start looking into those as well since I've actually seen some between 75-90k miles around $10k. If I could get my hands on a mid-mileage one that seems to be well taken care of, I would definitely do that and have tons of money left over for modifications (when I say that I probably mean supercharger). I'm surprised no one threw out this idea earlier, but it seems like its right up my alley.

This is true, I think they just get overshadowed by the '03-'04 cars. Even I forgot about them, they can be had for pretty cheap, but I'd avoid '99 not just because of the stigma because of the power levels, but because it's the first year for the New Edge cars and they had the crappy non-smoked headlights, etc. I'd see if you can't grab yourself a clean '01.

 

[unirok]

New to the mustang World

good luck either way