BiH115

Hey all, decided to set up a new account to try to get some valuable advice.

I'm currently in the market for a new car, my current car is a 2006 330XI BMW, so far loving it. My father is considering trading in his 08' Elantra (at least 4-5k in trade is what we may get), and taking my BMW. I was looking around at various other cars, including other BMW's and now am seeing what Mustang's are all about. Don't get me wrong, I know they are wonderful cars from reading and watching things, but I have never sat in one, nor have I ever really done incredibly in-depth research on owning one.

I recently saw this: http://www.modernautosales.com/for-s...ord/069-12-29/

I am unsure however, whether they are reliable in terms of the mileage climbing, or whether or not the V6 is built more for longevity versus the V8. I feel as it's almost a calling to get the V8 in some respects, which is what interested me into forming a thread here. What kind of maintenance can I expect with the V8's and this specific model I linked. What kind of actual gas mileage too (I travel about an hour and a half highway alone 5 days a week).

What kinds of things can I expect as a different to the BMW, if anyone has any experience there.

Thank you!

Young_Gun

These V8s tend to run forever. There are people on here who have over 100,000 miles with no issues

That price is WAY too high, though

I got mine with about 40,000 miles for only 16 grand

BiH115

Really, you think?

BiH115

I found a few others that also seemed reasonable, though I'd like some input. They all seem great to me, but I need to know which ones to choose to test-drive and which one's I should stay away from. Like I said, I'm as newbie as you can get when it comes to this, also keep in mind I'm doing a trade in so about 4-5 grand can be subtracted right off the bat:

http://starautoma.com/vehicles/Whitm...tang+GT+369134
This one's a 2006, 40k miles, $18k.

http://www.salvadoreusedcars.com/Veh...-MA/1682976373
This one's a V6, but it's a 2010, and it's 43k miles, $17k

http://www.auto-wholesalers.com/2006..._145412561.veh
2006, 51k miles, $18k

http://www.verackamotors.com/used/Fo...f0b5f8e496.htm
2006, 68k miles, $18k

These all look great to be honest. I'm just curiou about the price to mileage. I'm planning on keeping it for a long time if that adds anything as well. Would be willing to do most of the work myself with father in terms of maintenance.

jdmcbride

Oh yeah, that is way too high! You could get a 2009 GT with ~40k miles for around $20k.

Definitely get a V8. The V6 prior to 2011 is very under-powered for the car and has to work harder to move it around efficiently - probably why the EPA mileage is within a MPG or 2 between the V6 and V8. I realistically get 16 MPG in the city and 23 MPG on the highway (hand calculated) with the mods listed in my sig.

Maintenance on a Mustang will be far less expensive than on a BMW. My oil changes run $20-25 with 30k services running about $100.

The Mustang will not be as refined as your BMW, nor was it designed that way. A GT with a quality set of shocks/struts and quality LCAs will provide a huge upgrade over stock. A Mustang will transmit more noise into the cabin - engine, exhaust, and road - but you can install some sound deadening if it bothers you too much.

Good luck with your search!

Young_Gun

Have you tried Craigslist?

Oh, you'll want the v8 - trust me. I had a v6.

BiH115

Very cool, thanks for this post man. I appreciate this. Hm yeah I'd assume that the Mustang will be cheaper, but just didn't want to look like an idiot and blurt it out not knowing exactly how much. Right now I blow about $70-90 bucks on BMW oil, not counting whatever else I may have to do to it, it is a trooper for sure though. Cabin noise doesn't necessarily bother me.

Just out of curiosity, you seem to know a lot about these cars, out of the ones in my last post, would you be able to do a best to worst comparison for me? If it's not asking too much, I'd appreciate it a lot.

Thank you!

BiH115

I see that now , i'd prefer to go to a dealer to do a trade-in to be honest, don't exactly have 15-20 grand lying around. I was hoping to do a low-finance. My budget would be somewhere around 15-19'ish, 20 is sort of pushing it. I'm not broke by any means, just don't want everything going towards the car (but realistically would like that...haha.)

Young_Gun

Dude once you get one everything else will take a backseat.

Next year I'm opening a separate bank account just to save up for car modifications.

jdmcbride

Well, I would do a search for used Mustang GTs at Ford Dealerships rather than unaffiliated used car lots. Reason? There have been a lot of 05-10 GTs traded in for 2011+ 5.0 GTs. I would suppose that Mustangs traded in on newer Mustangs would be better taken care of than what you will find at non-dealer used car lots.

Also, try to find a low miles 08-09 GT for $19-20k. Ford changed the head design in 2008 to a better design that uses a one-piece spark plug (do a search for the dreaded two-piece spark plug). The later years are also less prone to pre-08 TSB issues as Ford worked most of them out.

Not sure where in New Jersey you are, but there is a 2008 GT with a manual transmission with 20k miles at Haldeman Ford in East Windsor, NJ...

http://apps.dealerconnection.com/dea...eownedImg=true

And this car is even certified pre-owned with a 7 year/100,000 warranty included in the price!!!