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[IMG][font="Verdana"]Hi there...newbie here.....

Looking for some thoughts from all you Mustang afficianados out there.

I am currently shopping for my next car and am torn between two options; a new 05 GT Convertible (5sp) or a used C5 Corvette (probably coupe) for about the same money. My local dealer will accept X-plan pricing, so the GT Vert is a very good deal.

I am a bit torn....The Mustang is very cool, new/warranty, back seat, convertible. The Corvette is a more sophisticated, more expensive car (C5 stickers were about $48K). The Vette would not be new, only 2 seats and for the money I would probably find a coupe with low miles.

I don't require a back seat, will have three cars, but it would be nice to take the whole family on rides in the vert. This will be a daily driver in the Chicago area. I have access to another car for the heavy snow days.

Looking forward to lots of input!![/IMG]

Professor Wizard

Well.... Before I offend any happy Vette owners... let me start with "I had a bad experience with a Vette", so this is MY opinion and not necessarily fact for all Vettes!

I had an Artic White 94 with Red interior and every option they could install.

It spent nearly as much time in the shop as it did on the road, and whenever I took it to the shop there were always several Vettes being worked on, and this was NOT a super large dealership, and no, they weren’t being detailed for a customer..

Every time I raced it hard, something blew, fell off or broke.
The brakes were the crappiest I had ever seen on a car.
I simply gave up on chasing down the rattles and squeaks and just put up with them.

I wondered when I bought the car why I got such a good deal (The dealership knocked 10 grand off of the car (NEW).

Also… Vettes do NOT attract women… If anything they run them off because the women think your overcompensating for something, or your probably just an a$$hole in a Vette.

HOWEVER… My Vette attracted guys like flies and ants to a BBQ. Every dude that “Always wanted a Vette” would walk up at the gas station and tell me how they always wanted one and loved my car.

You should ask yourself - - - “Why does this dealer have a USED – NEW Vette? The owner didn’t want it! you say? They traded it in on something better perhaps? Maybe the dumped it so they could get a Mustang GT!

Forget the Vette dude…. Buy the Mustang!

OH Yea.. and I nearly forgot. The Vette is a 2 Seater - and the Stang has a rear seat. just WAIT until your Insurance Company gets ahold of THAT!

Waitingformy05

Welcome aboard! Before I decided on the Mustang, I was also thinking about a low mile '01-'03 C5. The C5 is faster, more prestigious, arguably better looking and will not depreciate as much as a brand new GT. However the GT is no slouch at 300 horses, has a back seat, full warranty, it's brand new, you can order to your exact preference and do not have to worry about it's history, previous owners, etc. You're starting with a clean slate with the mustang and if you're going to mod it, it will not take too much for it to run with the 350 horse C5s. Good luck with either choice.

Ebein

If you can afford it get both =).

C5 Coupe Pro's
Its faster out of the box stock for stock.

It handles better out of the box stock for stock.

I find it more comfortable

I feel like im part of the car

Targa top for that 'almost' convertable feel w/o having to worry about some hater cutting your top.

*great* gas milage if you can keep your foot out of it, I got 31.5 mpg on a 900 mile round trip at
speeds between 65-140.

If your into joining a local club It seems the Vette groups are a bit better organized than the mustang groups at least in my area ( va )

There seems to be a bit more Vette Comradere i.e. most vette owners wave to one another, and I've stoped to help other
vette owners and heard of others doing the same.

If you plan to hit the track ( not the drag strip ) the vette will outperform all but the heavily moded mustangs in the twisties.

More *trunk* room

Alot more 'Gadgets' Heads Up Display, TONS of info available on the message center

More aftermarket parts available ATM ( In 12-18 months that will change as the new style mustang vendors gear up )

Available Active Handling Which turns a poor-moderate driver alot better and helps keep the shiny side up when the
weather turns bad. be sure to turn it off or put it in comp mode at the track ( drag/circuit ).

Higher Top speed, Ive had mine to 165 and it felt solid, If I would have had more road i would have seen just how fast it was
capable of, I still had over 1500 left on the tach and I was still in 5th gear ( 6 speed ).

6Speed manual vs 5Speed Manual, the Vette manual will take a bit more getting used to since the gears arent
'evenly' spaced as they are in the Mustang.

If you want a 'Race Ready' Car pick up a C5 - Z06 ( better suspension / 385 or 405 hp depending on year ). I upgraded
my Coupe to a Z06 Suspension and love it ( about the only 'cheap' upgrade ive done for the vette ).

Mustang Pro's
Aftermarket parts are significantly cheaper ( Catback exhaust for mustang 3-450, for vette 500+, supercharger mustang 3500, vette 6000 ).

Tires are cheaper until you swap your rims. ( last set of vette tires ran 1400$ and I only got 12k miles out of them ).

You can carry more than one passanger

Better styling

You can get more HP for the $ with your mods.

Better Drag Strip Car since you have a solid Rear Axle compared to the Vettes Independent rear which tends to hop when you overpower the rear on the drag strip ( vette is NOT burnout friendly w/o suspension upgrades ).

More comfortable entry and exit since the seat mustang seats are higher ( the vette seat top is only 10" or so off the ground. )

If your area has alot of speed bumps/steeply angled driveways/parking lot entrances you will be happier with the mustang since
I scape the airdam on most speed bumps ( its designed to scrape set on springs to move when it hits something but its still annoying to
listen to )

Better *stock* exhaust note, if your going to do Catback or more than they are about equal IMO.

If you Like Automatics the Mustang has a 5 speed auto vs the Vettes 4 speed.

Cheaper repairs ( getting any work done is more expensive on average with the vette ).

( if you buy the vette ) If your Young some folks will think your driving your 'daddy's car, if your Old they
will think your going through your 'mid-life' crisis. Ive hit both this attitudes ( I look rather young, but
the people that know me thought i was having a crisis ).


misc

Im sure there's alot of stuff I missed, but go drive both, I have no doubt you will be happy with whichever you get. I bought my
Vette back when the 99-04's where the new mustang and hated the look, now Im looking to get an 05-06 GT for a daily driver
to keep the heavy mileage off my vette, and allow me to make some mods to the vette for track use that I 'wouldnt' want to
have to drive every week ( full race suspension/6 point harnesses/roll cage ).

IF you have the dough get both .

Depending on your age the vette will be 'less' expensive than the mustang but only moderately so. I pay
900/yr for my '01 Vette and 1050 for my wifes '02 mustang. Both have a clean driving record, Im 35 she's
31. But I would check with your Insurance agent to get an idea what the damage is going to be.

Original Sticker on my Vette was 52k, Mustang was 24kish ( dont have the original sticker )

Higgie

Interesting comments. I was only a few hundred $$ away from closing a deal on a showroom floor new 04 Z06 last December. They wouldn't budge, but offered to let me take the car home for the weekend. If it had had chrome wheels, and missing the fender badges, I would have brought it home. The other factor, I hadn't owned a stick since 1987.

I fell into a 05 Mustang GT stick deal in Feb., and bought it. With that said, and after driving 3200 miles on spring break (Indianapolis IN, to Corpus Christi Texas, plus 500 miles while in Texas), I have decieded that while the Mustang is a lot of car value for the dollar, I may sell it. I will either move into the direction of a better road car, or the stick preformance car (AKA 03-04 Z06) I considered last December.

While the Mustang is a blast to drive, I have been considering adding a SC, and am concerned that I can't get much tire under the car. I can spend close to $10K, and not quit get to the level of the Z06 stock. Plus, the Z06 will have a forged crank, etc. and may be a better candidate for SCing up to 550hp.

I found the one comment in this thread interesting. The fact that a Vette, conveys the "PlayBoy" image to ladies. I am single again, and would like a car that the ladies pick-up on, and would enjoy road tripping in. Anyone else have a suggestion, from experience about what type of car sends a reasonable image, to Ladies in their mid 30's to 40ish???

huffhuff

my daily driver is a 98 C5 coupe. first thing i will say is that it is outrageously fast. i also have a 1970 Cobra 429/360 hp 4 speed that i thought was fast, but after buying the C5 i was shocked. the reason i hit this is i had a 94 GT vert for 5 years. i am in the market for a stang vert to replace the C5. my reasons are personal not vehicle. i want a little more room. i am tired of buying a thousand dollars worth of tires yearly. even with the tires road pressure balanced, my 93 F150 XLT rides better and crawling in and out of the vette is getting painful.
i'm 58. it is my 7th Corvette. ideally i'd keep the vette and get the stang too. fortunately i have a 2001 H-D road king that is my mental therapy machine. 2 dollars of gas is worth $2K of therapy. LOL.

huffhuff

i went to college 1969-1973. with a corvette all you had to do was throw open the right door and some youn lady would crawl in.. LOL.

drbobvs

REASONABLE MESSAGE? IT DEPENDS, YOU GOT TO REMEMBER THE AGE , THESE ARENT 19 YR OLDS YOU MENTIONEDYOU SAID 30'S- 40. MOST WOMEN OF THAT AGE I TALK TO ARE NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR CAR, AT LEAST NOT THE INTELLIGENT ONES. THE TRUTH IS, THE HOTTEST SINGLE WOMEN I KNOW OF MY AGE (35) HAVE BOYFRIENDS DRIVING PIECES OF CRAP.
THAT BEING SAID, YOUR BEST BET IS TO GO EUROPEAN, WOMEN I TALK TO DONT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BTWEENA V6 OR V8 MUSTANG.. BUT THEY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MUSTANG AND BMW CONVERT, OR A MERCEDES SLK, OR A SAAB. IT WOULD SEEM THESE VEHICLES GIVE MORE IMAGE OF CLASS, SOPHISTICATION, SUCCESS, WHATEVER.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS GET THE MUSTANG BECAUSE ITS A BLAST!! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT'S REALLY GOING TO ENJOY IT ANYWAY.

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ttt

Higgie

Got the Mustang GT back in Feb. It has been fun, just considering a step up. I can afford the new Vette, and would enjoy the extra 100hp myself. No matter what the Ladies think or don't think of it.

I was also considering the Euro approach. The juries still out on that one. lol

I also know a lot of ladies, hotties, who have boy friends that are driving junk. Mostly because they can't take care of themselves, and get a decent job. IMHO, these Ladies are in it as a project, taking care of a man who needs their help. Not the relationship I am looking for. Not that I don't have my own issues, but taking care of myself, and son, are not one of them.

Of course, before I get to many nasty replies, some great men may chose to only have a beater, and a hot Lady friend. That has to happen too.