Thinking about buying a used Mustang GT.

[thereds]

Manual ofcourse.

Came across the following GT for sale:

2003 GT
Manual
Convertible
33,000 miles
Added Original SVT Cobra Rims, new Tires, KnA filter, convertible boot, and Flowmaster 40 series exhaust
Brakes have about 20,000 miles left to go before they need to get replaced
Mint interior
Minor scratches and some paint chips on the hood

Seller is asking for $15,000.

Should I go for it? Is the price reasonable? Looking for first hand input. Thanks!

 

[Vette73]

Probable been beaten to hell and back. I would pass.

Also is the 2003 the old style right? If so then that would hurt it even more.

 

[thereds]

Why do you think it's been treated harshly? All i've got are the seller's words that says it's been "adult driven and pampered." The car also went through a check through the dealer and there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[AmigaMan]

be sure to pick up your mullet and 12 pack of Coors when you buy the car

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: thereds
Why do you think it's been treated harshly? All i've got are the seller's words that says it's been "adult driven and pampered." The car also went through a check through the dealer and there's nothing wrong with it.

People don;t put exhaust, filters, etc... on their car to "pamper" it. They do it so they can flog the hell out of it.
Now the level of flogging may differ, but I would check it out with great doubt.

 

[bananapeel21]

hold out, 15k is an ok price, just the convertible price tag jacks it up there.

do you really want a convertible?

If you are looking for speed, the last generation gt's are quick, but the new engines are beautiful and quite a bit better.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: thereds
Why do you think it's been treated harshly? All i've got are the seller's words that says it's been "adult driven and pampered." The car also went through a check through the dealer and there's nothing wrong with it.

People don;t put exhaust, filters, etc... on their car to "pamper" it. They do it so they can flog the hell out of it.
Now the level of flogging may differ, but I would check it out with great doubt.

That's not true. A lot of enthusiasts (like me) will do upgrades like that just because they like cars and modding them. Every car I've owned has had bolt-on mods, and I drive like an old granny and do regular maintenance religiously. Most of my car-guy buddies are like this, too.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: thereds
Why do you think it's been treated harshly? All i've got are the seller's words that says it's been "adult driven and pampered." The car also went through a check through the dealer and there's nothing wrong with it.

People don;t put exhaust, filters, etc... on their car to "pamper" it. They do it so they can flog the hell out of it.
Now the level of flogging may differ, but I would check it out with great doubt.

That's not true. A lot of enthusiasts (like me) will do upgrades like that just because they like cars and modding them. Every car I've owned has had bolt-on mods, and I drive like an old granny and do regular maintenance religiously. Most of my car-guy buddies are like this, too.

It's like having a quad core overclocked to 4 Ghz and a pair of 8800GTX cards in SLI so that you can surf the web.

Edit: close your italics.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
be sure to pick up your mullet and 12 pack of Coors when you buy the car

Nice stereotypes made up out of envy. Every time I've looked at an import car message board they are comparing their cars to the Mustang. It is the benchmark of low budget performance cars.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: thereds
Why do you think it's been treated harshly? All i've got are the seller's words that says it's been "adult driven and pampered." The car also went through a check through the dealer and there's nothing wrong with it.

People don;t put exhaust, filters, etc... on their car to "pamper" it. They do it so they can flog the hell out of it.
Now the level of flogging may differ, but I would check it out with great doubt.

That's not true. A lot of enthusiasts (like me) will do upgrades like that just because they like cars and modding them. Every car I've owned has had bolt-on mods, and I drive like an old granny and do regular maintenance religiously. Most of my car-guy buddies are like this, too.

It's like having a quad core overclocked to 4 Ghz and a pair of 8800GTX cards in SLI so that you can surf the web.

Edit: close your italics.

And your point is...

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: thereds
Why do you think it's been treated harshly? All i've got are the seller's words that says it's been "adult driven and pampered." The car also went through a check through the dealer and there's nothing wrong with it.

People don;t put exhaust, filters, etc... on their car to "pamper" it. They do it so they can flog the hell out of it.
Now the level of flogging may differ, but I would check it out with great doubt.

That's not true. A lot of enthusiasts (like me) will do upgrades like that just because they like cars and modding them. Every car I've owned has had bolt-on mods, and I drive like an old granny and do regular maintenance religiously. Most of my car-guy buddies are like this, too.

It's like having a quad core overclocked to 4 Ghz and a pair of 8800GTX cards in SLI so that you can surf the web.

Edit: close your italics.

And your point is...

Not everyone is like that. Some guys will use the speed that's available to them. It's pretty much a case by case thing. The car might be in great shape if someone like you had it, or it could have been ridden hard...

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
be sure to pick up your mullet and 12 pack of Coors when you buy the car

Nice stereotypes made up out of envy. Every time I've looked at an import car message board they are comparing their cars to the Mustang. It is the benchmark of low budget performance cars.

hardly. it may be the benchmark of rednecks with small wangs, but that's about it.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I would find out the age of the seller and get proof of when ownership began. If it is an older guy, then the mods don't necessarily mean it was beaten on IMO. If it is a young guy, then yeah IMO he probably beat the snot out of it.

Also keep this in mind - you can drive your car hard and as long as you TAKE CARE OF IT, things will be fine. It is a performance car, though on the bottom of the scale overall, and not meant to drive Miss Daisy. You might want to look into the reliability of that generation 4.6L motors and see how long they last with good care. GM LS-motors are extremely reliable in the 100K mileage range, unless you're running at redline on a regular basis for extended periods of time - aka racing a lot.

If the motor will last a while, tranny rebuilds aren't that bad (plus last a long while once it is done), the rear end is probably fine with those power levels, and suspension is a consumable over the long life of a car anyway - same with brakes.

If that's your style, go for it. But for $15K, I'd spend $15-18K and get an 04 GTO. Faster, nicer and with an extremely proven drivetrain. Drop in an aftermarket suspension & it will leave that live axle antiquated Pony behind like a flash

EDIT Although it is a vert - if you specifically want the vert more than the best performance for the buck, I guess that about answers it.

 

[Viper GTS]

Price doesn't seem bad, I paid just under $13K for a 2002 GT (non 'vert) with 43K back in June. A year newer, 10K fewer miles, and convertible for $2K more? Mine had a K&N + Flowmasters on it too, in fact I think every used GT I looked at had those.

Gas mileage really blows if you're enjoying it, my record so far is 10.8 mpg. I've managed 26 on a trip up I5, but most of my time is spent in the 12-15 range average.

The number of heavily molested imports that do stupid shit around me is good for daily entertainment.

Definitely a fun car, though it's been barely over 4 months & I really want something faster. I figure a LS1 Corvette next year, or maybe wait another year for used LS3's to start showing up.

Viper GTS

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
be sure to pick up your mullet and 12 pack of Coors when you buy the car

Nice stereotypes made up out of envy. Every time I've looked at an import car message board they are comparing their cars to the Mustang. It is the benchmark of low budget performance cars.

hardly. it may be the benchmark of rednecks with small wangs, but that's about it.

Honda vs Mustang search on Google has 1,660,000 hits

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
be sure to pick up your mullet and 12 pack of Coors when you buy the car

Nice stereotypes made up out of envy. Every time I've looked at an import car message board they are comparing their cars to the Mustang. It is the benchmark of low budget performance cars.

hardly. it may be the benchmark of rednecks with small wangs, but that's about it.

The V8 Mustang IS the benchmark of budget speed in this country, and if you don't know that you don't know cars.

I don't own one, and it's not my scene, but you've got to respect the aftermarket that the Mustang has to offer.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
be sure to pick up your mullet and 12 pack of Coors when you buy the car

Nice stereotypes made up out of envy. Every time I've looked at an import car message board they are comparing their cars to the Mustang. It is the benchmark of low budget performance cars.

hardly. it may be the benchmark of rednecks with small wangs, but that's about it.

Generalize much? It's also the most popular car at the strip.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Its 30k miles people. Even if it was beaten every single one of those miles its not going to have hurt it that much as long as it was maintained. Its a car built to be beaten on. People worry way to much about that stuff.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Its 30k miles people. Even if it was beaten every single one of those miles its not going to have hurt it that much as long as it was maintained. Its a car built to be beaten on. People worry way to much about that stuff.

This is true. The engines are pretty much dirt cheap anyway.

 

[thereds]

Here's the reply I got from the current owner about it being tracked/raced etc:

I assure you this car has never been tracked or raced around...the first owner and i are just family guys who liked having a nice car..The only reason I put the new exhaust on it was to give it a better sound, it is by no means an obnoxcious sound, just a nice mustang rumble. The KnA airfilter isnt even a performance upgrade, it just keeps the engine running cleaner and improves gas milege. The car has never been in an accident and if you want to do a car fax history report i will give you the VIN number so you can check out the whole history of the car. You are also more than welcome to take the car to your own mechanic or the local ford dealer so you could feel more comfortable about the car.. Feel free to call me on the phone and we can go over the whole car....I am home all day every day because I am a stay at home dad


--

Looks good to me so far.

 

[AdamK47]

Here's a nice Mustang

Another one

And another

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: AdamK47
Here's a nice Mustang

Another one

And another

That looks great, you can just drop the top down and cruise all day.

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: AdamK47
Here's a nice Mustang

Another one

And another

That looks great, you can just drop the top down and cruise all day.

With the right tools you can cruise with the top down every day.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: AdamK47

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey

Originally posted by: AdamK47
Here's a nice Mustang

Another one

And another

That looks great, you can just drop the top down and cruise all day.

With the right tools you can cruise with the top down every day.

Hah. I guess a good saw would do it.

 

[foghorn67]

If you are in the market for a used car, and will be buying one in the next month or so, Carfax or a similar service is worth it. I think they are unlimited lookups for the set amount of time. (I got one for 60 days when I shopped for my car).
For fun, my friends emailed me their VIN's just to check it out.