Car # 1 looks like it was done up by some former ricer, the rims look like crap IMO, don't love the grille with the chrome fog surrounds, and that car overall has "trying to show off and driving it WAY too hard" written all over it. Probably owned by somebody who didn't know crap about cars and just wanted a Mustang to be cool. Put it under a microscope, and you'll probably find lots of reasons to walk away. Not to mention the next car has lower miles, and nothing IMO replaces that, it's less of a timeline that you don't know what happened with the car. One of my favorite things about buying new is that I know 100% of what has gone on with this Mustang.
Car #2 looks like a nice starting point, it has low miles, black is a nice color to keep a lower profile, and it does not look like it was molested at all, though I will say for some reason it looks lowered in the picture. Now, for all we know that owner just pulled the mods off of it before he traded it in, but looking in the right places will tell you if certain parts have ever been off. It could be a great starting point for whatever you see as your perfect Mustang, instead of already being pigeon holed by the mods on the first car. Let's say you end up liking Boss style stripes, or Roush style, or just no stripe at all rather than the Shelby-esque ones on the first car...with car #1 that decision is made for you. Same with the rims. 20" rims can diminish ride quality for the sake of bling and low profile tires, and you may decide that staggered DD 18"s are more up your alley. If you have intentions of modifying, unless you stumble upon the exact combination of mods in a car that you were planning, you are better of starting from stock. Mods are also evidence of a desire to go faster, harder, etc, so it says something about the driving style the car had endured. Most unmodded mustangs are usually owned by people who were more than happy with the performance and probably never stretched the car outside of Honda levels of performance anyway.
Car #3 is an automatic, but I will tell you that there is a bunch to be gained buying a 2010 over a 2005-2009 as long as you can find a 5 speed. Every 2010 GT has an upgraded
suspension from the 05-09 GT, it is pretty much the 2008 Bullitt
suspension, and some have a track pack option with an even more stiffened up
suspension and upgraded brakes if you can find one, but you will pay more for that. The 2010 has a revised factory intake tract with some cold air intake properties, the 05-09 has a more restrictive piece. That really doesn't mean much because most of us, myself included despite having the better 2010 version, buy an aftermarket cold air intake and go with that. However, if you plan to stay factory stock, it is something to consider. The 2010 has a few more HP and TQ ( not sure off the top of my head on the numbers, but I think 5rwhp sounds about right) than the 05-09, partly because of the updated intake tubing, partly from a warmed up tune. That again goes out the window the moment you buy a CAI or an aftermarket tune, the latter of which is almost prerequisite for these cars. The 2010 has INFINITELY better materials used on the inside, though. The dash is soft, the mycolor lighting system, while gimmicky, is a nice touch, and other places in the interior were also spruced up like on the door panels, steering wheel, and center console. The 2010 has the newer body style. This is more of a preference thing, I personally like both, and if I had the cash I'd pimp out an 05-09 in an old school theme too, because they can look F-ing mean. The 2010 has the better (in my opinion) hood and front end, along with rear flares and fenders, but the rear end and trunk panel just look stupid in stock form whereas the 05-09 has what I consider to be a near perfect rear for a Mustang. Nothing a blackout panel from Cervinis or CDC won't cure, and I personally would take the 2010 body over the 2009 if everything else was dead equal. The last, and what I consider to be biggest gain, is if you should up the ante a little and look for a GT premium, the SYNC system is the ****nit. Seriously, it is my favorite feature on the car other than it being a muscle car with power. If you have a smart phone, you will have a techie joygasm once you pair it to the car and see what they can do together. That alone sealed the deal for me to buy my 2010 vs a lightly used 2009 I had considered. The 2010s also have a very nice HID option, and I can say from experience that the lighting is excellent even in crap conditions.
Also- I'm just gonna throw this out there, but if you're not set on an S-197 platform, you could look into a 2003-2004 Mach 1 or maybe even a Cobra. They are right in that same price range, have awesome factory performance and style, and both make as much or more power as a 3v mustang, while having a certain limited edition prominence to them. I know the S197 has chassis and
suspension improvements, but the money saved buying a $16-18k low mile Mach could be dumped back into the
suspension and chassis, and then you'd be running circles around a 22k S197. Spend a little more than the Mach and you get a terminator package with IRS out back, and I don't think anybody in this forum would turn their nose up at an 04 Cobra. Many can be had with low miles because they were not used as often as DDs as all of our GTs. Just a thought...
Depending on your budget, you can have many options, and only you know what will work best for your plans. Filtering cars through here is a good idea, because people may spot things that either are or are not worth investing in when buying a car. Either way, be ready for the purchase price of the car to be only the first of many big expenses, because HP and TQ are nastily addicting and before you know it you'll be dumping money into your new beast. Welcome to SN and good luck on your search.
