[hr]Hey Fellers,
I am in the market for a new mustang (having had my 03 GT destroyed by a drunk driver) and am looking at Cobras and Mach1's. I went to look at a grey 03 Mach1 today with 32,000 miles on it. It was fairly dirty all round which is not a problem because I can pretty it up but what did concern me is what looks like oil around the valve cover bolts (see pictures). It is the same on both sides. Has anyone seen this before? Is it a non-issue? Problem? Any advice would be really great,
Thanks,
C

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dunno man but if your in the market for a cobra i would try and find a clean termi. i plan on gettin one once i can afford it. if cobra is out of budget try and find a cleaner mach 1, i never trust a dirty engine compartment, thats just me tho. it is usually a sign of someone not taking care of it, especially one with low miles

 

Hey Lefty, some of the lads in the technical forum said this is probably caused by a blocked PCV valve causing an increase in pressure under the valve covers, causing the gaskets to leak - not too big a deal apparantly.

I know what you are saying - I was hoping to get into a cobra but it is just too much of a financial stretch. The other problem is that it is really hard to find Mach's (or cobras for that matter) in Southern CA - there seems to be tons of them on the east coast and in the south but around here it is thin pickings. I think I will be able to get a good deal off this guy - if so then I think it might be worth the risk.

Thanks for the input, I will let you know what I do in the end,
C

 

Most likely caused by a pcv issue. Anyways, I would look at it the other way. A dirty engine compartment, low mileage vehicle sounds unmolested to me.

 

tbirdscwd - I was thinking the same thing - when I see a car like that which has not been modded at all it is a really good sign. I called they guy and worked out a price - 15,500 which I think is a decent price - what do ye think? I will pick it up some time next week, pictures of the cleaned beast will follow that
Thanks,
C

 

Can't wait to see pics. You should always have a trusted mechanic look at the car with you before making a deal. Sometimes just by having another set of eyes go over the car, they will find something you might have overlooked. I don't know what Mach1s tend to go for in your area, but 15,500 doesn't sound bad at all for an 03 with low miles.

 

The guy was actually good enough to pay the ford dealership down the road to take a look at it (I had a good look myself ) and that came back clear.

Another question: I just ran a carfax on it andgot the following as the first owner:

"First owner reported Registered as corporate vehicle
Loan or lien reported:"

The second (and current owner) bought it with 8,000 miles on it. Does anyone know what "corporate vehicle" means? Company car? Rental () car?
Thanks,
C