[Lukester115]

Hello all! I have saved up my money for the past couple of years and currently looking to purchase a 1999-2004 mustang v6 for my first car! So I figured that the best place to ask questions on mustangs would be a mustang forum!

To give you all some background on me I am 15 in high school and a responsible kid and have never gotten in trouble/done anything stupid in school, with the police, etc. So I would be driving this car responsibly and wouldn't be unwinding it on back roads/highways.

Anyway here are a few questions I have about the 1999-2004 mustang v6`s!

1.) Are they reliable cars and do they require a lot of maintenance?

2.) Do they handle well in rainy conditions?

3.) I`ve heard that the rear ends in the v6`s aren't the best so would you all recommend upgrading the rear end potentially with a GT or even a Cobra rear end or do the stock rear ends do just fine?

4.) What are some great and recommended modifications for the v6`s?

5.) Last but not least and one of the things I`m most concerned about, are the 1999-2004 mustangs safe? Do they do well in wrecks?

Thanks in advance- Luke

 

[Markstang]

Hello all! I have saved up my money for the past couple of years and currently looking to purchase a 1999-2004 mustang v6 for my first car! So I figured that the best place to ask questions on mustangs would be a mustang forum!

To give you all some background on me I am 15 in high school and a responsible kid and have never gotten in trouble/done anything stupid in school, with the police, etc. So I would be driving this car responsibly and wouldn't be unwinding it on back roads/highways.
hah yeah right.
Anyway here are a few questions I have about the 1999-2004 mustang v6`s!

1.) Are they reliable cars and do they require a lot of maintenance?
All cars require maintenance, tires, oil, filters, transmission fluid every once in a while, clutch if applicable... that sort of thing. no more than other cars if taken care of I'd say.

2.) Do they handle well in rainy conditions?
Yeah they're pretty good, they have no sway bar in the rear and an open rear differential which pretty much guarantees at least one of the wheels retains traction so it's difficult to get the rear to kick out and lose control.

3.) I`ve heard that the rear ends in the v6`s aren't the best so would you all recommend upgrading the rear end potentially with a GT or even a Cobra rear end or do the stock rear ends do just fine?
I wouldn't immediately upgrade the rear end until you're more experienced at driving. Putting a GT rear end in adds a limited slip differential, both wheels are 'locked' together which adds straight line traction but makes it easier to spin out in turns. Rainy days makes it easy to lose control, and when you eventually get this mod going, you should be very careful the first couple times out until you know the limits of the new rear.

4.) What are some great and recommended modifications for the v6`s?
Pick and choose from the many appearance mods, that's all up to you. In terms of power, there's not much that will make appreciable gains for reasonable amounts of money. The GT rear end with a rear gear swap is pretty close to being worth it. you can look into other things like the Windstar upper intake swap, Exhaust modifications, lowering springs and other handling hardware.

5.) Last but not least and one of the things I`m most concerned about, are the 1999-2004 mustangs safe? Do they do well in wrecks?
They appear to be quite safe, I've seen a bunch of wrecks where the car's destroyed and the driver survives. They are a bit old to have the fancy side air bags and other safety measures other cars can have nowadays but otherwise they do quite well in front and rear collisions. Your best bet though is to not hit anything! haha

Thanks in advance- Luke

See my responses entered in bold^

 

[Derfdog15]

1.) Are they reliable cars and do they require a lot of maintenance?
Yes, I have had mine for a while and beat on it constantly, it is reliable and low maintenance.
2.) Do they handle well in rainy conditions?
SO far so good, as long as you drive normally.
3.) I`ve heard that the rear ends in the v6`s aren't the best so would you all recommend upgrading the rear end potentially with a GT or even a Cobra rear end or do the stock rear ends do just fine?
Do not upgrade unless you plan on building for over 400 HP, gearing is one option, a complete new rear is a whole nother world.
4.) What are some great and recommended modifications for the v6`s?
CAI, Tune, Gears. Tloc as well. DO the gears and tloc, then tune, then go from there.
5.) Last but not least and one of the things I`m most concerned about, are the 1999-2004 mustangs safe? Do they do well in wrecks?
Have been in 3 wrecks, no fault of my own, car has always ended up fine as did I. They are a safe car for the generation they were made.

 

[heavy metal]

Over all,these are great cars.I really enjoy mine!team.gif

 

[metalman302]

If you're worried about safety in a crash then do not get a convertible, stick with hartop

 

[b1lk1]

Biggest thing I hated about the 02 I had was the cheap interior materials, panels broke when moved and such. Mechanically it was a great car though.

Not that much difference in the convertible vs hardtop in accidents. Convertibles come factory with alot of extra bracing to make up for no roof.

 

[Ryan S]

All the really wrecked 99-04's that i've seen have had the cabin area mostly intact, for the most part. Serious rollovers and high speed head on collisions are what they are, but the cars fare pretty well if they have to sacrifice their life for yours.

 

[Ponyboy4]

As long as they are well maintained, they are wonderful first cars. If you can, aim for a 2001-2004 as these have updated wiring, better seats, and all in all less quirks. Very safe cars too, I managed to flip my first one and damage nearly every inch on the body, and i walked away completely fine. Also, if you can drive a manual, i highly recommend getting one. Gas mileage is way better with a stick, and they also make much better use of the power that the car has.

 

[car5car]

1.) Are they reliable cars and do they require a lot of maintenance?

2.) Do they handle well in rainy conditions?

3.) I`ve heard that the rear ends in the v6`s aren't the best so would you all recommend upgrading the rear end potentially with a GT or even a Cobra rear end or do the stock rear ends do just fine?

4.) What are some great and recommended modifications for the v6`s?

5.) Last but not least and one of the things I`m most concerned about, are the 1999-2004 mustangs safe? Do they do well in wrecks?

Thanks in advance- Luke

Buy Honda Accord with ABS and side airbags.

 

[Ryan S]

As long as they are well maintained, they are wonderful first cars. If you can, aim for a 2001-2004 as these have updated wiring, better seats, and all in all less quirks.

Very true. Although some people dislike the intake manifold runner controls on those years of the car.

Important to note that on the '99-'04's, very common problems that you'll see are:

--seat belt tensioners losing their tension (droopy selt belts)
--fuel pump issues. They're finicky when they get moisture/ water in them, and when they start to go, it feels like a compression/ power issue
--door lights not coming on when opened/ staying on permanently. With the dome light switches and other gremlins, sometimes these are difficult to diagnose
--aggressive PCV that sucks oil into the intakes. Not the world's biggest problem as the cars still run well, but the intakes get pretty gummed up. All the intakes that i've seen at the wrecker and online have the same problems

Other than the fuel pump, those are more nuisance things than anything else. My belts hang loose and i'm not really bothered by them enough to fix 'em. The 3.8 is a very reliable workhorse engine that has proven to run a long time and in some cases, over 250,000 miles and more. Ford had fixed the head gasket problem that plagued the '94-'98's.

 

[Markstang]

generally the IMRCs go completely unnoticed by the average person.

 

[carbuff]

These are generally good cars and parts a dirt cheap and theres a huge aftermarket for them. One thing though. If youre used to a front wheel drive car you need to be careful with this car in the rain and snow until you get used to it. It is a light rear, rwd car that will fishtail if you lose traction going around a corner and such. My sons friend got a 2004 and spun it around a few times before he got used to how it handled. Luckily he never hit anything. I grew up with rwd vehicles so I knew what to expect. Just something to think about.