2004 Ford Mustang GT owners: What to expect?

[propellerhead]

Originally posted by: Quixfire
The line up for the 2005 Mustang is as followed.

Mustang is a 202hp V6, Auto & Manual, starting at 18,000.
Mustang GT is 300hp 3valve V8, Auto & Manual, starting at 25,000
Mustang GT Convertible is 300hp 3valve V8, Auto & Manual, starting at 28,000
Cobra Mustang is delayed until 2006, which will also include a Cobra R model.

There aren?t any plans at this point to release a Mach 1, but these plans might change after the first production run.

BTW, I should be driving a Pre-Production Cobra R next week.

I've read all the posts above pushing the 05. I also like what I've seen in pictures. Again, I would be pretty happy with an 04, and I plan to keep it. The 03 Expedition purchase was highly influenced by my spousal unit. We were trading in her 94 Explorer for it and she was convinced we still needed an SUV.

I'm a little nervous about buying the first few 05s off the lot and have to live through the growing pains of it. As someone has pointed out, the 04s have matured from when they first came out. That ranks high in my book.

A V8 is a must.

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: propellerhead

Originally posted by: Quixfire
The line up for the 2005 Mustang is as followed.

Mustang is a 202hp V6, Auto & Manual, starting at 18,000.
Mustang GT is 300hp 3valve V8, Auto & Manual, starting at 25,000
Mustang GT Convertible is 300hp 3valve V8, Auto & Manual, starting at 28,000
Cobra Mustang is delayed until 2006, which will also include a Cobra R model.

There aren?t any plans at this point to release a Mach 1, but these plans might change after the first production run.

BTW, I should be driving a Pre-Production Cobra R next week.

I've read all the posts above pushing the 05. I also like what I've seen in pictures. Again, I would be pretty happy with an 04, and I plan to keep it. The 03 Expedition purchase was highly influenced by my spousal unit. We were trading in her 94 Explorer for it and she was convinced we still needed an SUV.

I'm a little nervous about buying the first few 05s off the lot and have to live through the growing pains of it. As someone has pointed out, the 04s have matured from when they first came out. That ranks high in my book.

A V8 is a must.

I'm hoping the '05 Stangs will have minimal "growing pains" since the basic DEW98 platform has been in use for a few years now (of course, this is a modified "lite" version which might have its own problems). Hopefully Ford has learned its lesson from the Focus, which has actually turned out to be a reliable car despite the onslaught of first-year recalls.

If you like the '04 and you know you will be happy with it, go for it. It seems like you're aware of both the pros and cons of buying an '04 right now.

 

[propellerhead]

I forgot to ask again, does anyone know for sure when the 05s will be at the lots?

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: propellerhead
I forgot to ask again, does anyone know for sure when the 05s will be at the lots?

I believe the plan is late July or early August.

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: propellerhead
I forgot to ask again, does anyone know for sure when the 05s will be at the lots?

I believe the plan is late July or early August.

All the car mags I've read say the Flat Rock plant will make the switch in late summer and the cars will hit dealerships in the fall.
Anticipation is so high I am sure they are trying to get it to market as soon as possible.

I did go back and check AutoWeek regarding the convertible and they say it will go on sale 6-8 months after the coupe, and will probably be unveiled at the '05 Detroit show.

 

[propellerhead]

All the reviews of the 05 Mustangs sound really nice. It's making it really hard to decide. However, it seems like all the reviews of upcoming cars are very positive. I might have to look at it like buying a PC. Get what you want now, then quit looking because the next one will always look better than what you just bought.

With an 04, there's now $3000 cash back, which I can apply on top of the X-Plan price, and the dealer near me still honors the $750 cash back for military. And I'm tired of driving the Expedition.

Crap. Decisions... decisions.

 

[propellerhead]

I just got this reply back from a dealer.

"We can start ordering them sometime in late May/early June..anticipated date of 9/7/2004 for building and should start arriving in the dealership sometime late October, early November."

That's a long time from now. Maybe I will visit the dealer and check out the 04s on the lot.

 

[nitrousninja]

Get a used '03 Cobra. $800 in mods gets you 470rwhp Lots of fun to be had.

 

[Crazymofo]

Originally posted by: propellerhead
I just got this reply back from a dealer.

"We can start ordering them sometime in late May/early June..anticipated date of 9/7/2004 for building and should start arriving in the dealership sometime late October, early November."

That's a long time from now. Maybe I will visit the dealer and check out the 04s on the lot.

That's if you special order one... they will have them on lots just as Quixfire has said.

 

[Twista]

STICK RIGHT? manual ;p! huh? race that baby on the tracks (not streets ;p). Hehe... not sure about the insurance but cheapest i was going to get was $90 a month for 97 cov. stang. A 2004 is very nice.. have fun with the cat and let that engine purr loud at night hehe.

notice WAS... i dont have a stang.

 

[propellerhead]

I am looking at getting an automatic, for sure. I know, a manual is more fun. But that will last only a few times. My left knee is bad and I would really hate it the first time I got stuck in traffic. I can still punch an auto and get the rush.

I drove the 04 GT last night. I love the rumble. It was louder on the inside than I thought it would be. The driving position was good and the seat was comfortable. Acceleration was really felt and the brakes were firm. The dash seemed cheap compared to the Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer. The pieces didn't seem to fit together as good.

With the X-Plan and $3000 and $750 rebates, it would be around $21,800 + TTL. Tempting... I just have to convince my neighbor's son/daughter that they need to buy my Expedition.

The insurance on the Mustang can't be that much different from the $39,000 MSRP Expedition I have now.