tacticalnuke

I'm 19, an electrical engineering student, doing a co-op so I have the money (potentially) for a Mustang.

The model I'm interested in would be the '06 GT, options would be the Interior Upgrade Package and the Red Interior Color Accent Package, as well as the side air bags. Those options are around $1K from the Ford website (let me know what I "should" get these for).

I found a dealer who quoted 8 weeks production time and a $29K price for the GT Premium (none of the $1K in extras). Naturally, I'm going to negotiate because that's well above what I want to pay.

Anyway, I'd be buying with cash, no trade-in. What is a reasonable price for the GT Premium with the upgrades mentioned. Further, I know the interior upgrades are personal, and the side airbags I want for safety's sake, but are there any others that are "crucial" or ones that I might want to consider.

Finally, here's the real problem, I live in Akron, Ohio. For those of you who live in a cave or in another country, it snows here. Now, what would a pair of decent snow tires cost? Also, this would be my first RWD car (and also the first manual, as I'm not going to get it in auto) and, as most people say, RWD isn't so great in the winter. As that will probably stir up quite a storm here, I think I can manage in the winter with some conservative driving, experience and snow tires. Also, how well does the vehicle handle in the rain?

While the V6 is still a great car, I'd really like the GT model and think that's the route I'm going to go. As far as price, I really don't know what I can get the dealer down to, so that's why I'm posting.

By the way, my current car is a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire. Yes, she's a beast, but I'm ready for something else.

It's a long post, I know, with quite a few questions, but I appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.

P.S. I'm pretty mad at all the dealers around here who won't let me test drive because I'm 19 and they're just not that nice to a 19-year-old. While that's "just the way it is", it really made me mad today as I went to 4-5 dealers asking questions and getting a price. One dealer quoted something like $37 grand for the premium GT and I almost laughed. I finally did find one with the semi-reasonable $29K.

Lasered01

Do yourself a favor and buy a used one once you're out of school. I bought my 01 with all the extras including a bunch of performance upgrades for $13,900 and it is like a new car. I shopped around for months before buying. If you wait you can save a lot of money and find a nice one that somebody has already put the extra bucks into.

On the other hand if you can't wait, I was concerned about the snow tire situation too. As it turned out, the car I bought already had a nice set of M/S rated P275/40ZR17's on the back and 245/45ZR17's on the front. As for handling in the rain, no problem as long as you stay out of it. Handling in the snow is not bad either as long as you turn off the damn traction control and drive smart. I went up to Lake Tahoe one day to check out a job and ended up driving in about 2-3" of fresh snow. I could get going up a hill and was about 30 degrees sideways ubtil I switched off the traction control. Once it was off I straightened out and was able to get up the hill.

Good luck with your car choice! The 05's are nice and someday when I can get a nice used one for half the price of new (and my 01 is worn out) I might just move up a notch!

Herknav

If you want one, get one...

But, be prepared to pay for your snow-driving "experience" with some body shop bills. Nothing can substitute for it, not even AWD, (I had a $2200 5 mph experience in Alaska with my Subaru). Also, I would get some insurance quotes. You are likely in for a shock on the price increase, (you want a 300 hp car).

Car drives great in the rain. It is nicely planted, and the TCS stays out of your way, (or it is very subtle about when it does do some work). Have not driven in snow, (and I don't plan to.. kept the WRX for a reason).

As far as what you *should* expect in pricing, well, the car is a hot item right now, so don't expect much, (here is where everyone who got a "deal" chimes in!). All I got was a $500 discount for being a Servicemember...

tacticalnuke

See, the other car I'm looking at is the Subaru WRX (not STi). That runs about $26K on Kelly Blue Book expected price. It is AWD, and that would do well in the snow. Basically it comes down to a car that comes in handy 10 days out of the year (WRX) or one that suck 10 days out of the year ('stang).

The insurance will be high, I know. But, with full coverage I'm already paying 1500 a year or so. The Pontiac is considered a "sports" car.

I'm not interested in a used vehicle. I had bad experiences with the one that I have, my father had bad experiences with one, and I'm not in the market for a used Mustang. If I was looking to spend less I wouldn't be looking at a mustang. Look, I know for me it's going to be a stretch cash-wise. I know it's a lot of car and I'll need to be careful. I know I'll need to learn to drive it.

What I want to know is whether it's feasible to drive in the snow a few days out of the year without running into things left and right. I also want to know what I should shoot for price-wise. As they say, if the car is in your driveway you got screwed by the dealer. But, it's a question of how hard.

Redfire

29 large for a loaded '06 GT is in the ballpark. Dont expect huge discounts on this car since they sell more than they can build. [send pics when you get it!] As for snowtires, you have some choices. I live in the Pacific Northwest and you know we have bad winters up here. Now, you can get a "beater" to drive in the winters to save your new car, or get a good set of tires. Personally, I dont fornicate with winter. I go all out preparing for the worst. I run a full set of 4 studded snows. Get new ones, from a place like Les Schwab that knows what to sell you for bad winters. And **** on the All Season tires. They are fine till the heavy snow and ice hits. But I recommend gettin a winter car and leavin the Stang in the garage. A few winters will beat it up plenty.

tacticalnuke

Leaving the 'Stang in the garage in the winter is something I probably won't be able to do.

How much would a nice set of 4 winters run me?

Further, if I'm going to run winters when the snow hits, should I get the all-seasons factory or get the summer tires? I'm guessing all-seasons because it is going to rain, but I figured I'd ask.

http://www.lesschwab.com/tires.html

Looking at the website I'm having trouble identifying winter tires.

Looking at the STi prices and understanding that there's some more room to negotiate, I think I'm going to also consider that. It's $32K from Kelly Blue Book, but I figure I could get it to $30K.

Redfire

Its the wrong time of year to buy snowtires, so they aint listed on their site. Check back with them this fall. Figure $400-500 for a good set, studded, mounted and balanced. Well worth it if they even keep you out of ONE accident! The stock Pirellis are fine for all but winters.

tacticalnuke

Not bad at all, I was thinking like $1K easy for good snows. I can do $500.

Now, I would get the tires mounted on the stock wheels, so what would that cost each year. In other words, I'd get the tires remounted to the wheels twice a year (once all-season off, snow on, once snow off, all-season on). I would take a guess but honestly I have no idea. I understand it matters where you go, but let's just say a Pro-Care or if Les Schwab is around here I'd get it done there. Thanks for all the help. I enjoy learning about these things but my car knowledge is severely limited. So, thank you for all the help and keep the good advice coming.

It might even be easier to just grab a set of wheels and use them for the snows. I don't know what a decent set of wheels would cost, though.

don_w

Can't help with the snow tires question (don't see much of the cold stuff here in San Diego).

But don't get your hopes up that you can negotiate on a new Mustang. Its the old supply and demand principle... in all honesty, MSRP is a good deal. A lot of places are charging way more than MSRP.

Oh yeah... I went to 9 dealers before I ordered mine, and never did get to test drive one... and I'm 46. I only saw two on the lots, and neither dealer wanted to put any miles on it. They said, buy it and you can drive it. I didn't order mine from either of those two dealers, BTW.

tacticalnuke

I figured $29K was a decent offer. It was nothing solid, just something he said, but I'll hold him to it. If I can eek a few hundred out I'll try for that. Adding the options will get me a bit more negotiating room. The only reason I was mad about test driving was one dealership I called, they said there was one I could drive, then I went there and there wasn't one. Perhaps it was miscommunication, but I sensed I was getting the cold shoulder. The dealership that gave good service was where I talked to a salesman about 25ish, and so I think he was treating me a bit better being a younger guy himself. I guess most of these guys don't understand that I have the money and am there to do business, but it's their loss on commission.

I went to 4 dealers today, and plan to visit some more. Once I get some prices down I can say "I got a price of such-and-such, will you beat it?". Then again, I may wait until after the winter to buy it (so I can get some experience with the vehicle before hitting a snowstorm, as well as save some more money up and do more research). I'll probably do this but it doesn't hurt to research now.