HxCory

I'm getting into the used car game. I have been looking for a used Mustang. I was really looking for a Mach 1, but I cannot afford one right now, unless I wait until next summer. Anyways, I have been looking around, and I found an '98 Cobra with 99k on it. What can I expect from that many miles? how many more can I get from the car before major work?
Also, what is too high for Mustangs? I don't know too much about how long the engines last, my '66 has gone through a lot of work and it only has 138k, but then again it's an old-timer.
Thanks!

Tim37

99k on a 4.6 isn't that bad i wouldn't worry about it.

Derf00

Very hard to say. All depends on how well it was/is maintained from the beginning.
Two things you can do to give you rough idea www.carfax.com
Ask for maintenance/repair records

The first item will let you see how many owners the car has had. The more owners have had it, the less likely it was well taken care of
The second thing lets you see how consistent the maintenance was and what types of repairs have been done. If you come accross two tranny replacements, you know the car has been beat to heck or blown head gaskets etc...

HxCory

When I look at the car, under the hood, any thing I Can see with out lifting the car to the naked eye?

Derf00

mmm yes and no. If you've never worked on cars, you wouldn't know what to look for, ...clean motor does not always = great shape. Take it to a shop and have them check it out. They can look for signs of 'fixed' things and run a compression check and few other tests to make sure the car is in good mechanical condition at least at the time of purchase.

The only thing you can really look for are 1) parts that look newer than their surroundings (means they were recently replaced), 2) areas under the valve covers (check for oil leaks past and current). Don't be afraid to ask questions.

HxCory

I know minor car work, so I think I can tell most parts. But thanks for the info.

Chopper

You can try to get the owner to incriminate themselves.See if you can get them to talk about racing the car and mods that were performed and how they effected the way the car runs.See if the tires have equal wear between front and rear,if the rears are considerably worn more than the fronts this could be a sign of lots of wheel spins.The same hold true if the fronts are worn more than the rears,they could have just had them rotated to throw you off.Look for oil change stickers from Jiffy Lube,etc.This could mean regular oil changes,or not.Carfax is worthwhile as a tool to look for problem cars but don't make a buy decision based entirely on Carfax info.Try to start the car when it's set overnight and cold soaked so that you can listen for unusual (expensive) noises.

Vash the Stampede

my friend has a 98 mustang GT 4.6

and his motor blew at 58k

i had another one who had his motor blew at 54k that was a 2000!


and then some of my friends motors are at 120k+ and they are still running hard thats a 91 LX. and then a few are 99+'s at over 100k. and blew at around 150k.

its so random when your engine will go out on a ford.

Derf00

It's really not..for ANY car. All depends on the first few thousand miles of how well or not so well they were taken care of. You'll see people here say they've driven their New Stang hard since day one and only have like 10k with no problems... severe wear or improper break in problems show up down the road like your friends cars.

I've got 95K on my 00 and drive it like I stole it these days. For the first 6 months that I had it though (brand new) I babyed it to the point where even my parents wondered why I bought a mustang if I was going to drive it like an old lady.

Blown motors are usually caused from negligence or improper maintenance from the owner.

88BlueGT

Yea, my friend blew his 99GT at 104K but he beat the b*lls off of it almost everyday.