Zod

I'm looking for help and ideas involving appearance and performance. Also I don't know a lot about cars .

General info:
To start things off, I'm on a pretty (or very) tight budget. Based on the looking around I've done, I know that cuts out a lot of options, both performance and style-wise..

I'm in the last few months of my junior year of High school currently, and after some reasoning with my parents they really generously agreed to help me with purchasing my first car by matching the amount of money I make to put towards it. I also wont be able to purchase the car until after this summer break in which I'll be working my *** off for any money I can get. After looking around for the past few weeks I've found some nice looking 05 base v6's and even some 06's with pretty fair mileage, as well as a handful of base GT's, although those of course really push the envelope in terms of money I'll be able to make matched with what my parents can contribute. Keeping in mind that I'm on a pretty limited budget, would you guys suggest going with a base 05-06 v6, or step it up a notch (at the cost of about 2-3k and maybe taking a little longer to get my hands on), and getting the black GT? Also, these are all automatics, and I don't know if a GT would be worth the extra money considering the generally lower MPG/cost of gas currently, along with me not necessarily having a need for the extra power, since it'll only be bringing me back and forth to school/work, and wouldn't be for racing or anything like that.

Appearance
Style-wise I have a lot of ideas and really being into Art (currently my planned college major) and such I think I have a pretty good idea of what looks good.. of course, from the research I've done, what looks the nicest of course costs the most. The 05-06 v6 bases I've been able to find in the northeast (although with a good enough deal may consider shipping one since there aren't a lot around here) have been either silver.. which I'm not too fond of, or torch fire/redfire red, grey, legend lime, and black.

After watching the project car videos on American Muscle with their legend lime 05, that's been the style I've been leaning towards and looking into, as they've made it look pretty nice, along with a few performance mods I think on a not-too-high budget. In the parts list for what they used, I think they dropped it an inch or two, which I think looks nice. I also like the style of rims they use but I've seen so many different kinds at so many different prices I honestly can't decide.. I love the look of 18s though.

I think one of the lighter ones, like the silver, legend lime, or the redfire red would look best with darker appearance mods, like the side stripes, racing stripes (maybe), dark rims, blacked out head/(sequential) tail lights etc , and maybe black 1/4 window louvers or a rear window louver, or 1/4 louvers that match the car's color. I'm not a fan of the torchfire red (I think this is the lighter red) because I think it looks kind of cheap (at least without mods).

If the car was darker, or even with the red ones, I could see it having chrome wheels and that kind of trim, but I don't know if that'd be too flashy. If I got a black one, would it be too much to have black rims and overall a kind of "total blackout" stealthy look? I've liked what I've seen out of these.

I was also looking at different hoods, because I think stock looks too flat and empty, so if you guys have any suggestions on those that'd be great too! They seem to be fairly expensive, and painting on top of that.. so I don't know if I'd be able to get one, or just use the hood scoops attached with 3M adhesive.

Making it look fancy under the hood isn't a concern of mine since it obviously wont be used for shows or anything.

Also I've looked at front/rear bumpers, front grilles, etc.. and can't really decide on what looks best.. I like the look of the GT-style fog lights (if I ended up going with a v6, which is most likely), but there are so many options and I just don't know what to do.

I really can't decide, so if you have any ideas on that, it'd be appreciated!

Example of the black on Legend Lime:

I've looked at all kinds of interior upgrades, and like the satin finish kits that cover all interior ***** and such, or something dark, cause I don't wanna fill the inside with shiny chrome.

Ive seen lots of nice seats and steering wheels, but they're all very expensive and I feel like although inside is where I'd spend most of my time, the outside upgrades should come first before $500 seats (from what I've seen).

I can't decide on an interior color scheme.. If I went with the black v6 or GT then I think a red & black themed interior would suit it well, otherwise I'm not sure. If I went with something similar to the second image, I doubt I'd use so much red, but it's just an example.

Example interiors:


Also sound systems? I haven't looked into these yet but I know they can get pricey quite quick, just like everything else.

Performance

With the budget I'd be on I don't know what kind of performance mods would be available. I'd only be working after school (as many hours as I can get) and possible Saturday once school starts up again, so it'd be a mod here, mod there, work in progress type of deal. Again, since I'm in high school and not racing or anything, do you think I really need any performance mods on a base v6 or a base GT? I was thinking I would put in a dual exhaust so it sounds and looks better, whether this affects performance or not I'm not sure.

I've read some about superchargers and stuff, but those are obviously way out of my budget, given they'd cost more than half of what I'd be paying for the car to start, but I've read some on other smaller, cheaper mods that give some extra horsepower.

What would you guys suggest doing first; style or performance? Or should I just skip performance and put my money into looks given that I don't really have a need for high hp, although it'd definitely be cool.

Overall I'm looking for stuff I can do to upgrade appearance, or performance, or a little of both. I'm leaning toward a more style-oriented car, since I don't need performance, but I really don't know what to do. I also found some pictures of appearances I like which I was thinking I could work towards piece by piece instead of going in blind and not knowing how it'd look in the end.

Any opinions and ideas would be great. I've seen a lot of cool looking Mustangs on the forums, but I most likely don't have the budget most people here do given my age. This is my dream car and I'm going to work as hard as I can to make it look the best it can, and since I don't have parents with high income and a sister is college right now, them paying for half of the car is amazing by itself, and something I didn't expect,so I'm very very grateful. This also means that the costs of mods are on me.. which is why I'm pretty limited and am going to be searching for the best deals I can get.

PLEASE HELP!
Thanks! (apologies for it being so long)

Also -- sorry if the post is kind of mixed up and/or lacking details.. I don't know a lot about car mods other than what I've read and seen in forums and on parts sites.

Bitter

First of all, welcome to the forum. It's nice to see a young Mustang enthusiast.

I am not so young. In my younger years, I owned a '67 Lime Gold convertible, then a '71 green coupe. I was hooked on Mustangs for life. Now, at 55, I have an '06 V6 pony package and a '68 coupe in the barn that I'm hoping will be on the road before I retire (though it is intent on proving me wrong). It will be Legend Lime. It is close, though not exactly, to the Lime Gold I came to love. It's not a common color but it will turn heads.

If you are on a limited budget, as it seems you are, give strong consideration to the V6. I have nothing against the GT's, but you will feel the price at the pump. The V6 is still a powerful car and I think you'll be happy with both the performance and the MPG.

Zod

Thanks!

I feel like I'll also be hooked on them, I really love the look of them. The old ones look really cool, although cost a fair bit too much for me now, especially fully restored, and I like the new 05+ ones as well. For some reason I'm really not attracted to the '04 and earlier rounded front so much.

Been looking at the question "v6 vs GT" for a while, and it's kind of irritating how many people bash the v6 and say a Mustang should only be a v8. I think people should get what they want, and afford, at least given what I'd use it for, the extra 2-3k could go a long way in terms of visual additions to it.

Again, thanks for the reply!

Just found a really cool (although pricey) body kit, I'll edit it into the main post.

I'm thinking of going the v6 route, cause like you said, the GT's have lower mpg, which is even worse for a already tight budget, and would take money away from future mods. Plus I wouldn't really get much from the v8 except the bragging rights given my age and usage, and I don't intend on bragging, I just love the look of the car overall.

Zod

Alright so I guess I can't edit the main post.. or just don't know how, so I'll post the body kit in this reply instead.

If I got a v6 cheap enough, or waited a bit longer to get one, I could possiblly get this body kit, or at least bits and pieces that I want.

It's the Cervini 2005-2008 C-Series full kit, although you can get all the pieces separately I believe. It's ~$3700 on their site, and I've read another $1700 to get it painted.. eek. However, it comes with the hood, front bumper kit, ducktail wing, upper window scoops, lower quarter scoops, and side exhaust system with side skirts and rear valance.

Here's a picture of it on a mineral grey (I think) car. I don't think it'd pull the same look without the racing stripes;


I couldn't find the kit on a legend lime .

To counteract the 1700 for painting though (which would no longer be 1700 after removing parts), I could probably get the individual parts minus the duck tail ($340), and minus the side exhaust ($1440). This brings the total to $1920. Total painted, would maybe be in the $3500 range (???).

Don't know, this is probably just wishful thinking given I'd probably have to pay for installation as well, and would leave me waiting a while to afford new wheels to replace stock.

This gets expensive quick. Ugh.

jimkaray

Welcome to the Forum and the Mustang world! Your post is much clearer and well thought out than most, not to mention you actually use punctuation and sentence structure. All good signs that you will have a leg up finding employment in a tough economy.
Anyway, the V6 is probably your best bet. It will have plenty of performance for you with room to grow in the future if you want. As you've found the base cost will cheaper as will insurance and maintenance. Be patient shopping for the right car. Try and find one that has a lot of the mods you would like already done. That way you won't have to pay full retail to buy & install them. This won't be too hard as the early S197 have been out quite a while now and plenty of modding has been done on them. Loan/lease are payed up now and people are moving on. This forum and some others are a good place to find a used car that has been both modded and well taken care of.
Good Luck!

This guy

I'm glad your excited about getting your mustang and welcome to the forums, my advice for you though is to step back and take a deep breath and focus on getting the car first not a $3000 body kit just yet.

P.S I have a 2005 v6 and is my first car but if you can get a GT I say go for it, I don't see how you could regret it.

Zod

@jimkarey: Thanks! That's a good idea, I probably should look for one that's already got some mods on it, I've seen a lot (don't recall the prices) for sale that already have some form of upgraded rims instead of stock. Haven't looked too much into other mods already on the car though, but I'll definitely start! Being in New Hampshire, there aren't too many (even base models) that I can find, given the generally crappy driving conditions for like 1/3 of the year, people probably didn't want to go as fancy as they can on the salt-free roads in FL or CA. Hopefully I'll find some though, and I'm trying to find them in colors I like since paint jobs are probably $3k+. I'm trying not to rely too heavily on the cars I find right now since I won't be able to buy it for a good 5-ish months probably, and maybe some different sellers will pop up by then, if they're looking to get rid of it before winter etc.

Thanks for the reply!

@This guy: You're so right! My taste and desire for this fancy stuff changes every time I find something fancier or better looker, even though the people who own these cars tend to be older and have a full time job under their belt, if not making quite a bit of money. In my head I think I'd be able to pay it off but I agree I definitely get ahead of myself; just the thought of driving such a nice car makes me excited.
More than likely because of the price tag on almost all GT's I can find around here Ill end up going the v6 route, which would allow me money for upgrades, leaving me with a pretty cool (hopefully) looking v6, versus an absolute bare bones GT. Although, to be honest, I'll probably end up taking what I can get, hopefully a good combo of price and mileage.

Ill try not to get so caught up in the fancy accessories ( as hard as that is! ) until I actually have a car to put them on.

Thanks for the post

Zod

Plus the thought of showing up at school with that Cervini kit on a grey Mustang (like in the picture) is pretty exciting!
(Although outside in real lighting conditions it probably doesn't look AS spectacular as the picture.)

Gosh what I'd give to have a car looking like that.

Zod

If anyone has recently(ish) purchased an 05-06, what did you pay for yours? The other night I was finding pretty decent prices but tonight I haven't found any that were much (if at all) under 10k, which feels kind of high for an 05 v6 base, although apparently Kelly Blue Book is saying 10.8k is fair for a private party in quite good condition, and dealer for 13.2k (holy) in "very" good condition.

Bitter

I bought my 5 speed '06 Pony package in May 2011 from a dealer. It had new tires on it and was stock, in excellent condition. It had 54,000 miles on it. I paid $12,750.