MaybeAfox

thinking about buying this its a 1988 GT 5.0, 5 speed manual, 125k miles

apparently all of the dash gauges work.

not rot and only a couple bubbles of rust on the paint




i have not seen this car in person yes... he was asking 2200 and i got him to agree to 1800 already... so i may even get it for 1500 is i do a good enough job checking the car out and finding things wrong....

what do you guys think?? i have a state inspection license and i am experienced working on and around vehicles. i am pretty new to mustangs in general.

i am looking for something to daily drive while i dump money into it..

MaybeAfox

i tried to edit some of my typos but i guess i don't know how to edit my own post, maybe i'm blind??

pedalhappy

well if you plan on redoing the engine already i say get it for that price. interior looks great and other than the paint the car looks good so I would say its worth it but if he is taking 1800 without you even looking at it I would expect problems out of it but your going to dump cash into it anyways so I say wait till you find a problem after buying the car before throwing cash in it

Mike T

People around here are selling rollers for that price. Yeah, it's worth it.

craig71springsport

Don't expect it to run perfect for that price, he's trying to offload it in a hurry. Foxbodies have risen pretty steeply in value and selling price recently, at least in my area, so his willingness to come down so much so quickly spells out he knows something is messed up.

As for rust, keep a close eye on shock towers. If they're pretty rusty it probably went to the frame rails, and that is basically a death sentence for a fox. Requires cutting out the bad parts, finding a donor car to cut fresh pieces out of, putting it on a jig and welding it back up and then a frame alignment. Pretty gnarly.

Check right behind the front wheels too. When I was shopping for one I noticed alot of cars had damage and rust back there from people hitting stuff too fast and bottoming out. If you see that, and see a cracked lip up front, she got nailed.

There are many things to look out for. Take an inspection checklist with you and just do a mock inspection. Then if that checks out, worry about the drivetrain. It's always better to get a straight body than a modified engine, in my opinion.

craig71springsport

Upon closer inspection of the pictures, it looks like the hood isn't lining up properly towards the front. Most likely been hit. Check the engine bay walls thoroughly, they'll tell the whole story.

GTnotchback

dont be afraid to look under it also. Many stangs in that price range are pretty full of rusted through holes in the floor boards. With that price being that low though, it begs the question why? But if all checks out good within reason that is a good price.

Js88lx

One of my best RUNNING stangs looked like that when I first bought it at $1500! Go for it if it runs!

BabyGT

There is a hand on the hood, looks like its popped open. Still a good idea to check though.

eb2gt

it's looks clean. I would look underneath at the floors and under hood at inner fenders etc. It could be he just doesn't know the value. some still think the fox is cheap.
Oh forgot look at rear trunk area and torque boxes for rear axle too.