First car, Senior in Highschool
 

I figured the title of my thread would attract a lot of people up in arms to yell at me to get out of the 05+ section, still I need advice. I'm 16, and my birthday is coming up in october, where I will get my license (live in Jersey). I've been looking up cars lately and they all come down to the mustang. Next to the Camaro and Charger, it is the most affordable, 'full' looking muscle car I have seen. The reason I don't like the 04 and lower models is because it just doesn't look right to me. The bodies look empty and missing the 'bull' look of it's older models.

Now, I know many people will shut me down for wanting a nice car as my first one. I have been told to buy a beater car by many people but I don't feel like a beater will satisfy what I want. I have about 6,500 dollars earned on my own so far, and I should have about 8,000 by my birthday. Plus, I believe my dad or grandparents would help me out if it came to that. No, I am not spoiled, I am not a cocky kid like most of the jocks who get mustangs out of highschool. I simply want a car that I will have pride driving and something that looks nice not only to me, but other people.

Thanks a lot, please positive comments.

i can respect this...you have clearly worked hard to save up for this car, and you know exactly what you want...just word of advice, don't try to push her till you learn her, and even then she can surprise you...be safe and have fun...you've got a nice sized down payment and your monthly payments should be low...are you looking to get a brand new one or a slightly pre-owned one?

The beater for a first car is all well and good, I had a piece of crap for my first car.
Never had any accidents in it, got the Mustang the bumper has been hit 3 times.
I have seen a few 05-09 V6 Mustangs go for around 9k around here with high miles.
And for some reason if you buy in the winter time they should be cheaper.

Im 16 and absolutely love my car its my pride and joy and i work my a$$ off for it. So good luck man. Cant go wrong with a mustang.

What are you looking for? Used or new?

Will you be paying for your insurance? Or will your parents? Do they have a ceiling that they will pay?

Is gas mileage a major player in your decision?

If you'll have that 8k soon, that should get you very close to a used 2005 v6 with high mileage. Most I can find around here are going for right around 10k.

Congratulations on working for your car. Too many out there are getting 25k+ cars from their parents at graduation, no questions asked. You've got my respect.

I was 17 when I bought this mustang(19 now), paid cash with no help from my parents. You'll always get people saying remarks about being wealthy or nice to drive your parents car, but you'll know you earned it and that's what matters. I say go for it. I grew up around race cars and the such, but if you haven't had the experience take it slow and get used to the mustang before you start hot rodding around. It's a great car to have in high school.

More power to you if you can buy yourself a stang while in high school. Be careful though, I only had a 1995 F-150 with the 5.8 and still did a lot of stupid **** that I'm glad I got away with/survived. Hell, I still do stupid ****... :D

Wow , thanks everyone for the quick responses. To answer the questions that I missed, yes I was definitely going for pre-owned and I'm not too worried about the high mileage. Gas money is not an issue either as I'm planning on picking up a steady job senior year of HS. As for insurance, my dad told me he would pay which I am also grateful for.

One reason my dad does not want me to buy a car so early is because I will be going away to college and many don't allow cars freshman year, and sometimes soph. He feels that he doesn't want to pay insurance for something that will only sit in his driveway (even though it'll look nice ;P ). But I respect that, still I am planning on coming home when in college and I REALLY do not want to miss out on the freedom that I can obtain from having MY own car in high school. Plus, do you guys know any specific versions/models of the 05 I should look at? I really have no experience with cars other than driving which I am pretty good at, and I am no speed racer either.

My friend is going to a community college opposed to an out-of-state like myself meaning his parents gave him 10k just to buy a car because they don't have to pay so much tuition. With that, he just bought himself a dodge charger 07 i believe, with about 105k miles. What do you guys think about miles on a mustang? If I get everything checked out fine, will a high mileage mean a lot?

Dude, I am 17 and I have an 06. It's chill. You won't catch too much flak around here for it because we have a good number of members in the under 25 age range.

Anyways.

The 05-06 stangs have a few bugs because they are the earlier models, so you may want to go to the TSB list and have those specific issues checked out. My 06 has given me no problems at all. Package-wise, if you can't get a V8, try for a pony package V6. Those of us with the PP have better suspension, a better grill, and a few other goodies.

Also, trust me, although you may not be "speed racer" right now, after getting the mustang you will be. I learned to drive on my dad's 09 Mustang GT/CS and I was very careful, and drove pretty slow. Even for the first few months of owning my car, I drove very slow. Then I started to open it up once in a while. Now I am to the point where I take every backroads route I can find whenever I go anywhere, and no drive more then 10 minutes is complete without atleast one sprint up to 80. Maybe it's just my personality, but I know others who went through the same thing.

Mileage-wise, you may have to take a higher mileage car with your budget. It may have a scratch or 2, it may have a few rattles and such, but once you go and test drive a few, you won't mind.

Good luck!

if you are able to find a stang the way you want, and can pay cash for it, you and your dad can always have the insurance set up in a way where it's only active when your home, unless you come home every weekend, im kinda sure there's a policy for that kind of use of a vehicle...whatever happens, good luck bro, i really respect you planning this all out, and for being GRATEFUL for your dad paying for insurance...my dad helped me get my 2.9% financing by co-signing and i thank him everyday for that, and im the one paying the note and insurance...it's all about the little things :) good luck with everything