I am going to purchase my 40th anniversery 2004 Mustang gt convertible today and was hoping that someone could help me out in looking for tell tale signs that it has been beat on? What are some things that i should look for? or noises that i should listen for?

 

Just all of the obvious things. Make sure the transmission shifts fluently between gears, check the oil, look over the motor, etc. etc..

Also, if there are a bunch of aftermarket parts then you can pretty much bet that its been beat on at least a little bit, but all Mustangs have. Check tire condition, check for rubber in the rear fenderwell, do the obvious CarFax.

 

+1^^^ also make sure the top is in good cond. and seals properly. Look for signs of leaks. good luck!

 

the bad thing about buying a used sports car is that you can almost guarantee its been beat on ( not all the time though) and sometimes the vehicle will show no signs of being in bad condition. like stated before just check the oil and what not. also look under the vehicle to see if its leaking any kind of fluids. good luck and hopefully you get one that is in good condition. also make sure thay the top looks good and the seals are good, my parents bought a conv. and about a month later started leaking. the dealership rigged it so it wouldnt leak, just watch out for stuff like that

 

Make sure tranny does not grind. Run her up to redline and listen for noises. Carfax it. Let go of the wheel to see if alignment is straight and it stops straight when braking hard. Look at all body panel gaps for signs of an accident. Check the tires are they excessively worn and look for rubber within the wheel wells.

 

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread - but when looking at the oil, what exactly are you looking for?? Oil level? Colour? Dark or more brown? Smell?
What to look for specifically?

 

Probably to Check Lvl(see if he keeps up with it) Also Color (Fresh oil Change or not).

 

i always make it a point to check the rear tire wear vs the front wear. if its crazy uneven then you know its been beat on some.

check the oil, listen for odd noises while driving etc etc.

just use common sense