I like a lot, but I'm still conflicted. I'm shopping for my first real serious vehicle and it's a little daunting.
First, here's a little bit about my vehicle history:
#1. 1960 Ford F-100, mt, rwd V8: First vehicle just to drive back forth five miles to high school. Terrible on ice and snow.
#2. 1987 Yamaha Fazer, mt, 700cc: Broke bones twice with it, but fun;
#3. 1990 Pontiact Firebird, auto, rwd V8: Parents bought it so I could get back and forth to college; lots of electrical problems; terrible on ice and snow and rain.
#4. 1997 Ford Thunderbird, auto, rwd V8: Not too excited about it when we got it to replace the Firebird, but learned to love the comfort and the leather seats; not great on ice, snow, or rain, but I managed.
#5. 1994 Ford Tempo: First car I could afford out of college. Slow, depressing; not great great on ice, snow, or rain, but I manage.
As you can see, I'm not a total stranger to RWD V8s, but what I am a stranger to are modern manual tranmissions. With the old pickup, you have to use some real muscle to get it into gear and when I drove this Mustang today it was like I was trying too hard. It's also a little scary how much power it has. In theory I thought it'd be just like driving the Thunderbird with the addition of shifting, but it seems to have so much more going for it. If I go from driving my Tempo for a week and borrow my mom's Bonneville, I'm amazed at how little effort is required to get the car to go.
So what I'm trying to decide is if I'd be better off with an automatic or if I'll reclaim the fun I had with the F-100 by getting a manual even if it feels odd now. This will be a daily driver for me. I have a twenty mile drive to work on semi-rural roads (not too much traffic, not a lot of stops).
A couple other questions:
It's got the Mach 460 system. Can't tell if it holds multiple CDs or not. How hard is it to switch music while driving stick? The truck I drove didn't have a stereo so I just whistled and hummed a lot.
It's a black car with black interior. I've never had a black car, but it looks sharp. I've heard that A) Dirt will be more apparent than any other color and B) It will cook in the summer
The numbers: 88k miles, $9200 out the door ($7700 for car, rest is tax, title, doc fee); think I can get it down some more. $528 for 6 mos. insurance. Sound high or no? I'm approved up to $14k, don't want to spend any more than $11k, and would prefer to keep it at $9000 or less.
I ran a Carfax report on it and was mildly concerned that the electrical system had been serviced twice about ten thousand miles apart. It's a pretty vauge description so it could be nothing. Any other suggestions or insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!
First, here's a little bit about my vehicle history:
#1. 1960 Ford F-100, mt, rwd V8: First vehicle just to drive back forth five miles to high school. Terrible on ice and snow.
#2. 1987 Yamaha Fazer, mt, 700cc: Broke bones twice with it, but fun;
#3. 1990 Pontiact Firebird, auto, rwd V8: Parents bought it so I could get back and forth to college; lots of electrical problems; terrible on ice and snow and rain.
#4. 1997 Ford Thunderbird, auto, rwd V8: Not too excited about it when we got it to replace the Firebird, but learned to love the comfort and the leather seats; not great on ice, snow, or rain, but I managed.
#5. 1994 Ford Tempo: First car I could afford out of college. Slow, depressing; not great great on ice, snow, or rain, but I manage.
As you can see, I'm not a total stranger to RWD V8s, but what I am a stranger to are modern manual tranmissions. With the old pickup, you have to use some real muscle to get it into gear and when I drove this Mustang today it was like I was trying too hard. It's also a little scary how much power it has. In theory I thought it'd be just like driving the Thunderbird with the addition of shifting, but it seems to have so much more going for it. If I go from driving my Tempo for a week and borrow my mom's Bonneville, I'm amazed at how little effort is required to get the car to go.
So what I'm trying to decide is if I'd be better off with an automatic or if I'll reclaim the fun I had with the F-100 by getting a manual even if it feels odd now. This will be a daily driver for me. I have a twenty mile drive to work on semi-rural roads (not too much traffic, not a lot of stops).
A couple other questions:
It's got the Mach 460 system. Can't tell if it holds multiple CDs or not. How hard is it to switch music while driving stick? The truck I drove didn't have a stereo so I just whistled and hummed a lot.
It's a black car with black interior. I've never had a black car, but it looks sharp. I've heard that A) Dirt will be more apparent than any other color and B) It will cook in the summer
The numbers: 88k miles, $9200 out the door ($7700 for car, rest is tax, title, doc fee); think I can get it down some more. $528 for 6 mos. insurance. Sound high or no? I'm approved up to $14k, don't want to spend any more than $11k, and would prefer to keep it at $9000 or less.
I ran a Carfax report on it and was mildly concerned that the electrical system had been serviced twice about ten thousand miles apart. It's a pretty vauge description so it could be nothing. Any other suggestions or insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!