Looking for Information in buying a GT

Nagakilo · 10-11-2009

Howdy folks, as you can see by my profile I'm a sixxer owner and I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask. I got bit by the bug today to look at autotrader and saw two GT's with great pricing and low mileage. Both are sticks, mostly stock. One is white, the other is blue. I've never bought a stick before, much less a V8. I was curious from your guys experience, what have you experienced with buying a GT? Are there any issues I need to look out for. These cars are a around 200 miles away so these need to be things I can check with just requesting a video or something similar. One is a 2002, and the other is a 2004. I'm leaning towards the 2004 at the moment, but don't know what I'm looking at aside from what I know from the V6 I currently own.

Snake Pliskin · 10-11-2009

Solid cars if maintained. Chassis has been around since 1979. The Engine has been in mustangs since 96. The plastic intake cracking is the only definite bad thing I've heard.

19GT98 · 10-11-2009

Hey, I have a 2002 Mustang GT and I don't have any problems with it! It is a Manual 5 speed with the Tremec T3650. It might take a while to learn how to drive a stick confidently though, but in my opinion it is way more fun than an automatic.

BRENSTANG03 · 10-11-2009

Good cars no problems with mine my favorite body style

my auto is quite fun to drive i must say

Nagakilo · 10-11-2009

The one I'm looking at has the exact same mods as my current one has so I wouldn't lose anything with trade in. That excited me a lot.

BRENSTANG03 · 10-11-2009

whats the miles on them?

Nagakilo · 10-11-2009

The 02 has 35k and the 04 has 39k. I'm leaning towards the 04 because I love having the 40th anniversary one. and while it has higher mileage, it has the charcoal interior and a very clean looking white paint. While I love sonic blue, the 02 just doesn't look as well kept. I've got blue now, and it just doesn't have the same exterior customization possibility.

Nagakilo · 10-11-2009

As a side note, the VIN shows a report of 13 "Items" on the carfaqs report on the 04. Should I be worried? I don't really want to fork out the 30 bucks right now if all I'm gonna find is 12 oil changes and a new tires.

evanjp · 10-12-2009

ask them to send you a carfax and if you have blue already and you think it hasn't been taken care of, and you like certain things about the 04 then get the 04 man otherwise you're gonna be kicking yourself about it. get the oh four (04) (haha)

Nagakilo · 10-12-2009

So I got the carfax on the 04, and it has a little issue.
On 5/07/2007 the car got an exhaust system inspection and reported 24,275 miles. On 10/24/2008 the car reports 20,050, and now 10/12/09 the car has 38,00 miles on it. Should I be concerned. The carfax says "It is hard to tell whether this reading indicates an odometer rollback or a clarical error."

I'm unsure. Honestly if it's only 4k miles I'm not all that concerned, but I get the feeling it's more likely a clerical error than it is an odometer rollback. What's the point of only changing 4k? The expression in for a foot in for a mile comes to mind. Why would you only roll back 4,000 miles?

2Manystangs · 10-12-2009

If there's any doubt in your mind move on...waaaay too many unscrupulous car dealers in this world...make sure that car is as clean as the wind driven snow before you plunk down your cah.

MiltP · 10-12-2009

Averaged ~12K per year through 2005. Unless the owner changed the mileage per year dropped dramatically. Between 2005 and 2009 it averaged ~4K per year. Different owner? The 4000 miles is not as big a deal as the very low yearly average???? Check my math!

Nagakilo · 10-12-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Manystangs

If there's any doubt in your mind move on...waaaay too many unscrupulous car dealers in this world...make sure that car is as clean as the wind driven snow before you plunk down your cah.

Honestly I'm not that concerned about it. And there are different owners, two priors. One appears to unload it shortly after the economy tanked, plus it's not just a normal stang it's already got suspension, exhaust, and intake mods so it may be dicey to some people who aren't sure about stangs.

BRENSTANG03 · 10-12-2009

if their is nothing wrong with it,i say go for it,if it has mods already that will save you cash in the long run.

Nagakilo · 10-12-2009

Well after doing a little more investigation, I decided against getting it. It looks like a great little car, but some of the circumstances revolving around it potentially being a auction car and a few other small factors have made me pass. Anyway, I want a stock GT, so I can turn it into exactly what I dream of, and not live with what other people have made it.