Ever consider buying....... used?
Gentleman's Relish
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 13,189
From: AZ
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
ORIGINAL: Sprzout
ALL of the above is good info...
SOME cars that are "salvage" titles aren't exactly bad. I own a 1967 Jaguar E-Type that's got a salvage title on it. It was in an accident at 5 mph where the previous owner smacked it into a pole. The damage to the car was more to repair than it was for the insurance company to total it (the replacement hood, front bumper, paint job, etc. was more than the car's insured worth of $6k, since he didn't have it on a collector car insurance or anything) so the insurance company totaled it out, the guy who owned the car repaired it under a salvage title and then sold it. There's no frame damage; the only way that you can tell is that there's points on the door sill of the car that show it was originally yellow and the replacement hood was originally red.
Again, Salvage doesn't always mean BAD (i.e. low speed crashes on classics, or flood damaged cars where the car was underwater) but generally the rule of thumb is that salvage means the car had been totaled and has structural damage somewhere that may make it unsafe for normal driving, let alone "spirited" driving.
ORIGINAL: Derf00
I think to sum up this thread,
1) Weigh your options on new vs used ( i.e. interest rate is higher on used vs new but a new car is going to take a huge hit its first year in depreciation) (IMO if you have to buy the car with a with more than a 60month loan, you can't afford the car to begin with).
2) Consider that not all used GT's are abused. My wife brought up a good point with the newer used GT's you see on the lots. People don't consider the cost of insurance when impulse buying. Chances are that 05-07 used GT with low miles was probably an impulse buy and when they got the first or second insurance bill, it was way more than they were planning/could affordso they had to trade it in and get a more sensible car. In those cases the cars probably weren'tbeat to hell. Owner just couldn't afford the car. Tires are good indicator of abuse. A car with under 15K miles should not have tires that are nearly bald.
3) Take the car to a reputable shop to have them give it the once over. Don't rely on the vendor to tell you it's good.
4) Run a carfax - can help you find any issues the car has had as well as if it has a washed title (Salvage title in one state, registered in another state, then brought back to clean the title and make it look 'clean' to a potential buyer)
5) There are aftermarket warranties that in some cases are better than the Ford warranties (Although Ford ESP is hard to beat)
6) DO NOT BUYSalvage title...insurance may not give you coverage and you won't know if the car has a fatal defect that could end up killing you in an otherwise survivable accident.
I think to sum up this thread,
1) Weigh your options on new vs used ( i.e. interest rate is higher on used vs new but a new car is going to take a huge hit its first year in depreciation) (IMO if you have to buy the car with a with more than a 60month loan, you can't afford the car to begin with).
2) Consider that not all used GT's are abused. My wife brought up a good point with the newer used GT's you see on the lots. People don't consider the cost of insurance when impulse buying. Chances are that 05-07 used GT with low miles was probably an impulse buy and when they got the first or second insurance bill, it was way more than they were planning/could affordso they had to trade it in and get a more sensible car. In those cases the cars probably weren'tbeat to hell. Owner just couldn't afford the car. Tires are good indicator of abuse. A car with under 15K miles should not have tires that are nearly bald.
3) Take the car to a reputable shop to have them give it the once over. Don't rely on the vendor to tell you it's good.
4) Run a carfax - can help you find any issues the car has had as well as if it has a washed title (Salvage title in one state, registered in another state, then brought back to clean the title and make it look 'clean' to a potential buyer)
5) There are aftermarket warranties that in some cases are better than the Ford warranties (Although Ford ESP is hard to beat)
6) DO NOT BUYSalvage title...insurance may not give you coverage and you won't know if the car has a fatal defect that could end up killing you in an otherwise survivable accident.
SOME cars that are "salvage" titles aren't exactly bad. I own a 1967 Jaguar E-Type that's got a salvage title on it. It was in an accident at 5 mph where the previous owner smacked it into a pole. The damage to the car was more to repair than it was for the insurance company to total it (the replacement hood, front bumper, paint job, etc. was more than the car's insured worth of $6k, since he didn't have it on a collector car insurance or anything) so the insurance company totaled it out, the guy who owned the car repaired it under a salvage title and then sold it. There's no frame damage; the only way that you can tell is that there's points on the door sill of the car that show it was originally yellow and the replacement hood was originally red.
Again, Salvage doesn't always mean BAD (i.e. low speed crashes on classics, or flood damaged cars where the car was underwater) but generally the rule of thumb is that salvage means the car had been totaled and has structural damage somewhere that may make it unsafe for normal driving, let alone "spirited" driving.
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8
From:
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
Definitely buy used if you can find a good one.
I just picked up a loaded 06 GT convert premium for $25,400.00. It only had 9900 miles. Whoever owned it before me put a light bar on it and took very good care of it.
It is black with tan leather and 18 inch chrome bullits.
I had been looking fora while. I had an 05 V-6.
The sticker new was $35,030. It is 18 months old, so you can see the depreciation in just 18 months.
I just picked up a loaded 06 GT convert premium for $25,400.00. It only had 9900 miles. Whoever owned it before me put a light bar on it and took very good care of it.
It is black with tan leather and 18 inch chrome bullits.
I had been looking fora while. I had an 05 V-6.
The sticker new was $35,030. It is 18 months old, so you can see the depreciation in just 18 months.
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 370
From: Lynn Haven, Florida
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
" It's only got 15k miles,.....a 1/4 mile at a time!"
I special ordered mine,changed the color twice before the order was sent,and
told my salesman,(next door neighbor) "IfI cant get the 18in 5-spokes,dont sent it in"
When it came in,he drove it off the truck,marked it "SOLD",and put the keys in his desk.
I know I took a beatin' when I drove it off the lot,(he did take $1,800 off sticker)
But in 25 years of car buying this is only my 2nd "brand new car",
So, for what I got,
I'll take the beatin'.
I special ordered mine,changed the color twice before the order was sent,and
told my salesman,(next door neighbor) "IfI cant get the 18in 5-spokes,dont sent it in"
When it came in,he drove it off the truck,marked it "SOLD",and put the keys in his desk.
I know I took a beatin' when I drove it off the lot,(he did take $1,800 off sticker)
But in 25 years of car buying this is only my 2nd "brand new car",
So, for what I got,
I'll take the beatin'.
1st Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 62
From:
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
I bought used at 14,000 miles. Funny thing was the Ford Dealer was giving a 6 year/75K powertrain warranty even with all the after market mods under the hood. Bumper to bumper warr still applies. I could not be happier with my "new" stang. I got exactly what I wanted and the dealership wanted to deal too! They wouldnt budge on a new mustang.
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 20
From:
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
i bought my 05 last summer from a dealer with only 1200 miles on it so it wasnt even broken in yet..i had em throw on the extra 75k warranty on there and it was everything i wanted..black with the red interior and all the other options out the door i believe i was 23k which aint bad considering the warranty was like 2k
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 573
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
At the time I bought my GT, a new basic 2007 was the same cost as a used premium 2005. I bought the new one for some of the reasons mentioned above.This also let me avoidsome of the headaches associated with the initial years of a newmodel run.
Sleeper2
Sleeper2
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 243
From: Pennsylvania
RE: Ever consider buying....... used?
I will NEVER buy used.. among all the used hunks of junks ive bought as starter cars... The most recent p.o.s. was my 03 explorer bought new....I know i said new, hear me out...
I took it to the dealer 13 times for the tranny.. after 5 they told me that the solenoid was shredded and needed a new one... after 10 they replaced the whole tranny and after 13 the lawyers finally settled the lemon law suit.. BUT, the catch was whatever option of compensation i chose they wanted to keep "lemon" off the title so whoever was the poor soul to get that car had no clue what was wrong with it... im sure it was a "red tag special"
Im not sure if lemon law is state by state but i feel the best insurance is with a new car.. after so many months if no problems appear your s.o.l. on a used.
Many people have had awesome experiences with used... im just bitter i guess.
I took it to the dealer 13 times for the tranny.. after 5 they told me that the solenoid was shredded and needed a new one... after 10 they replaced the whole tranny and after 13 the lawyers finally settled the lemon law suit.. BUT, the catch was whatever option of compensation i chose they wanted to keep "lemon" off the title so whoever was the poor soul to get that car had no clue what was wrong with it... im sure it was a "red tag special"
Im not sure if lemon law is state by state but i feel the best insurance is with a new car.. after so many months if no problems appear your s.o.l. on a used.
Many people have had awesome experiences with used... im just bitter i guess.