Looking to buy a Mustang and need advice, hope I came to the right place.
 

Hey everyone - I don't really post here I just sort of browse the forums and pics, but it's about time I ask a very important question because the time is near! I'm looking to buy a Mustang. I know that sounds vague, but I need some tips and advice.

I would like a 1999 to 2004 GT, non convertible, stick and completely stock with under 60,000 miles and I'm not looking to spend more than $8,000 and it must be from a dealer - does that sound reasonable? Or am I asking for too much? The absolute ideal car would be a silver 03/04 GT with the above options, garaged and owned by an older person which was traded in and is now at a dealer.

I'll put down around $4,000 and simply finance the rest. So, does anyone have any advice/recommendations/tips? This will be my first mustang, I currently own a 94 Honda Accord econo-box, no fun.

Thanks everyone! Fingers crossed!

i hate that question. a price thats reasonable where you live may or may not be even remotely close to whats reasonable where someone else lives. car values are not absolute, the city you live in can play a big part of that.

that aside, you SHOULD be able to pick a nice one up for that. try to stick to the 01.5-04 though. 99-01.5 is fine if you find one you really like but the 01.5+ has the aluminum crossover intake manifold, hood scoop, better side scoops, etc... nothing terribly important, but they are a little better.

you have everything you want even down to the color. and your "ideal" used car, is what we would all like, but life doesnt hand all of us garaged old lady driven cars. you will be hard pressed enough to find one under 60k miles as is. even a 2004 is 6 years old now. the average american puts 10k+ a year. not saying they arent out there i know they are, but you are getting WAY too choosey right now. just start looking around and see what you find. if you find something that interests you then post up the links here and you'll get some opinions.

I live in charlotte and I bought my GT from a dealer. They let it go for ~ $15k w/ 32k miles on the dash.

A mustang for 8k exists, but you will NOT find that deal from a dealer... no way.

^^^^agreed. it's going to be very hard finding a GT w/60,000 miles for 8 grand from a dealer. You might wanna start looking at private party sellers but then you run into the problem of the car being stock..

yea +1 i dont see you getting one from a dealer for that price. i found one in Maryland that i wanted. it was an 01 convertable with 55,000 miles. manual GT black on black on black. he was asking $10,000 for it. i found an 02 (i think) stage 2 roush with 60,000 miles on it in Maryland. the guy wanted $8,500 for it and i think i probably should have jumped on it but
i bought mine from a guy on ebay. or at least thats were i found it, i bought it after the auction ended. i ending up paying 11,000 for it. 2002 with 23,000 miles owned by an older man. it was his weekend play toy.

I'd check the local ads & craigslist for a stock mustang. They do exist for that price. Although you'll be (like others said) hard pressed to find what your asking for from a dealer. Even if it's above 60K a bit.... being stock imo is more important then mid-mileage issues. There are owners out there that are selling mustang that aren't beaten. Good Luck in you quest.

Wow, thanks guys! I'm sorry I didn't give my location - Bronx, New York.

I'm thinking I may be able to stretch my budget to $9,000 with a 2 year loan, instead of 1 year. I'm sure there is one out there for me! Once I get it I'll be sure to post pics/details in this thread.

Any other help/advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks again!

no problem and good luck. if it is financing that is your issue, avoid going through the dealer. if your have 4000 to put down then just take out a loan for 5 or 6,000 from the bank and get what you want from a private sale. avoid the stealerships though. and again good luck, post up when you find one.

p.s grey is my second favorite color. especially the dark shadow grey. they look amazing with the black mach 1 chin spoiler and tinted headlights. but i will always buy black mustangs

Thanks for the replies guys! i didn't add this bit of information - the car I have always always wanted and still dream about quite often, is a Fox Body Mustang GT. MUST be a GT, not an LX or Notchback. I'll give a quick history/rundown of my car experience for anyone interested/helping.


I managed to save up $4,000 about a year or so ago and test drove 2 Fox Body GT's and 1 1995 Rio Red 5.0 - they were all nice but just had too many caveats for the price that was being asked. For instance, the Red 5.0 was worth about 3500 AT MOST at the time and the guy was asking 4800 (and it was automatic). Anyway, I ended up buying a 1994 Honda Accord LX, 5 Speed, 102K miles, from a friend of the family. It is perfect for me - a traveling college student, but I regret it almost everyday. Whenever I see someone in a GT I look around my car and want to cry.

The only reason I am trying to finance and purchase a newer car is because I can't really convince myself to buy a 20+ year old Fox and drive it everyday. I'm not saying they aren't reliable - it just doesn't feel right to me.

So what should I do? Get what I want, a Fox, or spend an extra 4-5k for something else, details of which are in my first post.

And yes, I do sincerely dream about it quite often.




http://i56.tinypic.com/1zgycyw.jpg

Ok guys, so I've stumbled across this. It looks clean and stock, but the only thing that is puzzling me are the wheels. It says it is a 2004, but aren't the wheels in the picture from the 1999 model year? It's got me scratching my head.

http://www.abetterwaywholesaleauto.com/

http://abw.autorevo.com/webtemplate.aspx?iid=2956420

this one?

if so yes those are erlier model wheels than the car, but that doesnt mean anything. a likely story for hwat happened was the previous owner put on a set of aftermarket wheels and sold his stockers, then when he was going to trade the car in, bought a set off craigslist. theres GT's sold all the time with random rims including v6 wheels because people sell their stockers and need cheap replacements when they go to sell the car and they will get more money for their wheels if they sell them separate.

you can get the carfax or just look for the sticker on the inside of the door frame (the one that has the vin on it) and it will tell you definitively the year, if thats concerning you.


btw, i would NOT pay 12 ****ing grand for a PI GT, low miles or not. keep looking unless you have them talked way down. you can buy a mach1 or a cobra for that.

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/2025447842.html

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/2022480526.html

http://longisland.craigslist.org/ctd/2024714661.html

Just a quick craigslist search. I dont know exactly where you are at. there are a lot out there to choose from. Don't pay 10K for a GT. You will regret it.

Hey guys thanks the responses - There is absolutely no way I'd pay 12k for the car, I was hoping I could get the dealer down to 9k. The KBB on the car is worth 13,500 - and it looks very clean.

BTW, the wheels on that 2004 may be stock. Those rims were an option for the 2004 model year. Just an FYI

haha i think that roush was a friend of mines, He bought a WRX and ended up keeping the roush and selling the WRX.

Either that or depending on how long ago it was it was the kid who sold it to him ^ because he got a Shelby GT-500 (08)

Was it Hagerstownish area or just a concidence?

O.P

i would tell the dealer you found a similar one for $10k except it has leather interior and better looking wheels and see if they are willing to haggle lol.

Yeah man, I'd like to get them down to around $8,500 by some miracle, then tell them that I've got a trade in and hopefully get around 500-1000 for that. I don't want to finance over 7k. I think this is perfect, it looks unmolested, totally stock and has low miles - the only thing left is to check the carfax!

Here is the edmunds pricing on the car. What would be a good price for this car?

PS: I noticed that edmunds used car prices are much lower than KBB car prices, weird.


http://i54.tinypic.com/34qmmhe.png

dealerships do not use edmunds to evaluate the cost of the vehicle. i wanna say most use NADA over KBB also (or that may just be bikes). these are all ROUGH GUESTIMATES and all 3 sites read different numbers. this is only to give you a ballpark guestimate of the value of something so you don't get screwed over. just because KBB says thats what the car should sell for doesnt mean anything. depending on your area it could be significantly higher or lower. the best way to see what to realistically expect to pay is get on craigslist and autotrader and see what the average asking price is for cars in your area and go from there.

btw, NADA says the car (in my zip code atleast) should retail for $13,950.


i honestly don't know if your going to be able to get them to drop the price down to 8500 flat either. you have to figure what...a grand for TTL. so thats a 4500$ decrease in their asking price, they assume buyer is paying TTL from their asking price which really puts it at 13 grand out the door.

its worth a shot, but honestly i wouldnt get too excited and get fixated on how much your going to get them down until it happens. and especially one with such low miles unless its been on the lot for a while already, they won't break that much that easy.

i got my car several years ago, they were asking 15 + fees and i ended up paying under 12 out the door if i remember correctly, but I had been keeping my eye open for months car shopping and this car was on autotrader for over 2 months. took almost zero haggling i walked in, said i had been in the market for several months and i knew they werent having any luck selling the car, so i told them what i was willing to pay and there would be no negotiating, take it or leave it and if you dont take it i wont be leaving my phone number with you either. test drove it, signed the papers and left. patience is the best way to get a good car for cheap.

Yes ya know what you're right - the NADA for my zip is as follows...


http://i53.tinypic.com/2agvoky.png



Back to the other links that were posted before - I'd really like to get this from a dealer because this way I'll have some sort of warranty if something goes wrong. Also, I'm a little weary about buying a Mach 1 with 92,000 miles and modifications - although it does look pretty clean. Am I being too picky? Are these cars good for racking up the miles on? I always got the impression that they are very reliable and tough mother ****ers.

theres a reason they have been used in police cars and taxi cabs. these motors are very reliable and strong (when taken care of properly) but anything can happen at anytime, wheather it be 30k or 300k.

92000 isnt exactly low no, but it shouldnt keep you away, that thing should still have plenty of life left. your not gonna find many mustangs that have 20-30k miles especially when your looking for cars over six years old, and when you do they wont be going for cheap. average american puts 10k miles on their car per year give or take, thats 60,000+ miles that should be expected for any 04. so are you being picky? yes. can you find unusually low mile mustangs? yes. will they fall into the budget your looking for? gotta negotiate and see what happens. but i know dealers love to hold on to low mile cars.

As for foxbodys, its kind of hard to find them at dealers now away, though i pass this white GT on the way to work everyday wirh $4750 on the windsheild but have never stopped to look it at, to be honest i wanted a foxbody since i was like 8 but i kind of fell into my cobra, im a lot happier with than than i would be a fox i think though.