2005 Mustang GT // Review
09-01-2014, 02:25 PM
#2
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: California
Posts: 8
Thanks for taking the time to put this together. It is always interesting to find reviews of cars as they age. There are plenty of reviews when a car is new and you can find reviews of an older car when it was new, but a 10 year long term review is rare. I prefer the body style of the 05 to 09 because it has harder lines, is simpler and does not look as "puffy" as the 10-14. I like the squared back end and the round head lights. I wish they would have made one year with this body and the 6.0.
Regarding your review, I would have liked to hear a little bit more about your driving impressions between when it was new and now that it is 10 years old. Is the steering still as tight? Do you feel that you have lost any power? Are there any squeaks and rattles that have developed? What repairs have you had to do over the years? How many miles do you have on the car? How often do you get your oil changed and do you use synthetic oil? How are the paint and body holding up? How are the seats wearing? Do you drive the car hard or do you baby it?
I bought my 07 used, and have had it now for two and a half years. Other small problem areas that are commonly known and I have seen are:
1) Sometimes when you are putting in gas, the pump will continually shut off, so it takes forever to gas up. I think Ford fixed this in the later cars.
2) the seat back lever **** is cheap plastic and breaks. When mine broke I replaced them with some billet ones from UPR.
3) The seat back lever will un-attach from the cable so that the lever on the back of the seat no longer works. You then have to use the lever on the bottom of the seat. I recently was able to fix this myself by re-hooking the cable back to the lever.
4) My lower control arms have developed some squeaking so I had to spray some WD40 on the rivets. this took the squeak away until I replace the LCAs with some aftermarket adjustable ones.
5) The two piece spark plug on the 05-07 can break when changing. I have not changed them yet since I have 44k miles, but I am dreading having to deal with it in the future.
When I was shopping for a second car in 2012, I was not looking for a Mustang and then I test drove an 06 GT. I wanted a vert so found my 07 Alloy GT Premium with cloth top, 18 inch wheels and IUP. Here are a few of the reasons I wanted it and what makes this car special at its price point.
1) V8
2) Manual Transmission
3) Rear Wheel Drive
4) You can get it in a convertible
5) It seats 4 people and has a decent size trunk
6) The controls are simple so you can concentrate on the driving experience
7) The SOUND of the engine (Only a Mustang sounds so good)
8) The stock shaker stereo sounds good
9) Good steering feel and handles well
10) Huge aftermarket (You can make your car your own)
11) I find the seat to be very comfortable and supportive
12) Nothing else on the road looks like it and I believe it will age well
13) The simple elegance of the interior.
14) As you noted in the video; the hard plastic parts will wear well over the years
15) Solid rear axle makes this car feel like those wonderful 60s cars
16) Safety features of a new car in a retro modern package (Seat belts, head rests, air bags, traction control, ABS)
17) Affordability - Try buying a fairly modern Convertible V8, rear wheel drive car that seats four for under 20k. Only a Mustang fits that bill. (Camaro would not be considered, which is the only other option)
18) American, Legacy, History, Icon, 50 years in production
19) Clubs, forums, etc.
Once again, thanks for making and posting the video. It was great to get your impressions.
Regarding your review, I would have liked to hear a little bit more about your driving impressions between when it was new and now that it is 10 years old. Is the steering still as tight? Do you feel that you have lost any power? Are there any squeaks and rattles that have developed? What repairs have you had to do over the years? How many miles do you have on the car? How often do you get your oil changed and do you use synthetic oil? How are the paint and body holding up? How are the seats wearing? Do you drive the car hard or do you baby it?
I bought my 07 used, and have had it now for two and a half years. Other small problem areas that are commonly known and I have seen are:
1) Sometimes when you are putting in gas, the pump will continually shut off, so it takes forever to gas up. I think Ford fixed this in the later cars.
2) the seat back lever **** is cheap plastic and breaks. When mine broke I replaced them with some billet ones from UPR.
3) The seat back lever will un-attach from the cable so that the lever on the back of the seat no longer works. You then have to use the lever on the bottom of the seat. I recently was able to fix this myself by re-hooking the cable back to the lever.
4) My lower control arms have developed some squeaking so I had to spray some WD40 on the rivets. this took the squeak away until I replace the LCAs with some aftermarket adjustable ones.
5) The two piece spark plug on the 05-07 can break when changing. I have not changed them yet since I have 44k miles, but I am dreading having to deal with it in the future.
When I was shopping for a second car in 2012, I was not looking for a Mustang and then I test drove an 06 GT. I wanted a vert so found my 07 Alloy GT Premium with cloth top, 18 inch wheels and IUP. Here are a few of the reasons I wanted it and what makes this car special at its price point.
1) V8
2) Manual Transmission
3) Rear Wheel Drive
4) You can get it in a convertible
5) It seats 4 people and has a decent size trunk
6) The controls are simple so you can concentrate on the driving experience
7) The SOUND of the engine (Only a Mustang sounds so good)
8) The stock shaker stereo sounds good
9) Good steering feel and handles well
10) Huge aftermarket (You can make your car your own)
11) I find the seat to be very comfortable and supportive
12) Nothing else on the road looks like it and I believe it will age well
13) The simple elegance of the interior.
14) As you noted in the video; the hard plastic parts will wear well over the years
15) Solid rear axle makes this car feel like those wonderful 60s cars
16) Safety features of a new car in a retro modern package (Seat belts, head rests, air bags, traction control, ABS)
17) Affordability - Try buying a fairly modern Convertible V8, rear wheel drive car that seats four for under 20k. Only a Mustang fits that bill. (Camaro would not be considered, which is the only other option)
18) American, Legacy, History, Icon, 50 years in production
19) Clubs, forums, etc.
Once again, thanks for making and posting the video. It was great to get your impressions.
09-01-2014, 04:21 PM
#4
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,060
I appreciate the kind words. Now that it's out there I start to see the stuff I missed. But I can always review it again in the future! I am definitely saving the points you mentioned for whenever that video happens. Thanks!
09-02-2014, 12:08 AM
#5
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: California
Posts: 8
Thank you again. You did a fantastic job! The video was well put together and entertaining. I have watched many video car reviews and I thought yours was done as well or better than most of the car magazine video reviews. All the different camera shots from inside and outside the car were seamless and well done and the sound was good. Great job! I hope to see more in the future.
09-03-2014, 09:51 PM
#6
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,060
I got lucky on the sound part, any wind and my action cam will pick up a lot of wind noise. I don't have the dough for a external microphone on which I can incorporate a "dead cat". I also want a camera slider, to make panning shots a bit easier and more stable.
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