m0stwanted

So for graduation, all my family decided to buy my brother a car. Well he wants a Mustang typical teenager. Well my brother isn't very car savy but I am so i was tasked with the finding and buying of the car. Well my question is, other than the normal rising problem, what problems should i look out for when buying a 05-07 v6 manual. Like for long is the clutch and engine generally good for? What is a common rust spot i should look out for? I'm test driving an 06 premium tomorrow and want to know what i should expect.

DocSnickers

Not so sure on clutch and engine all depends how he drives it. If he drives it hard and shows off with it, its going to get beat to hell pretty fast which is pretty typical of any car. I have seen some of them go 100k plus but keep in mind these were very very well taken car of garaged and cleaned weekly kind of cars.

The S197's have some issues with water leaking on the older models about that year your looking at. Check the carpet on the passenger and driver side and see if it feels damp.

m0stwanted

So are you saying i should stay away from anything with over 100k on it?

Nuke

The 4.0L in the 05's thru 10's are pretty hardy but not much for power. However, the entire line from '05 thru about '07 (V6's AND GT's) have quite a few TSB's associated with them, some of which are issues to be on the look out for. One such TSB deals with a chronic water leak (prominent on some 05's thru '07s) which can cause some rather serious electrical gremlins. I suggest you find the TSB's and review them so you know what to be on the look out for.

DocSnickers

Yes I would most defiantly stay away from anything with 100k on it. No telling how much longer that engines going to go for. Then your going to be looking at some money to rebuild the engine or drop a used lower mileage engine in its place.

If hes not very car savvy yet hes going to need to get savvy. I have three Mustangs and each ones got its own personality and set of issues. Keeping a close eye on everything in these cars is key to keeping them running great. Checking oil and other fluids often.

JimC

If the 4.0 has been taken care of 100,000 miles is nothing. My 2006 had 90,000 on it when I put the Xcharger on it. When I sold it last June it had 203,000 on it and was still running strong and making 12 second passes at the track. The new owner has it up to 211,000 and said that he had a leak down and compression test done and it is still in good shape.

And used 4.0's are cheap - you can get one for $400, which is why most don't bother to rebuild when the break one, just replace it.

tigercrazy718

yea if the engine was properly maintained i wouldnt be too worried about an engine over 100k. of course the kicker is if they can prove it was well maintained and is a good price. the good thing about looking at manuals is you will probably find more "enthusiast" owners so should prob be pretty well maintained