Need some buying advice

matthewr87 said:

I had a premium 2011 V6 automatic with the pony package. I would not buy that car again. Those are my two cents.

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I'm curious, what was bad about it? The things I've read about the 3.7L seem to be pretty polarized, with a good many folks saying that it's a Hertz car, a granny car and you should never buy one... and other saying that it's track worthy, mod-friendly and good performance on the cheap.

Definitely interested in hearing from someone who actually owned one...

I would lean towards #1. Personally I don't care for the earlier s197 body style. The hp is nearly the same between the old GT and the new V6. Insurance will be cheaper for the V6. Auto is better for drag racing of that's what your into. A supercharger kit will put you at more power than a stock GT of the same year.
The only thing that turns me off the V6 is the auto. I prefer manual trans but still. I would go that way over the older cars.

blu13gt said:

I would lean towards #1. Personally I don't care for the earlier s197 body style. The hp is nearly the same between the old GT and the new V6. Insurance will be cheaper for the V6. Auto is better for drag racing of that's what your into. A supercharger kit will put you at more power than a stock GT of the same year.
The only thing that turns me off the V6 is the auto. I prefer manual trans but still. I would go that way over the older cars.

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I agree on the body style. I much prefer the 10+ body style too. In fact, I prefer it to the new 2015 body style, as well. That being said, car #2 has had significant customization done to it, visually, so it looks better than most 05-09 Mustangs I think. Here's the link to it:

Used 2007 Ford Mustang 2dr Cpe GT Deluxe

fantasticsprite said:

I'm curious, what was bad about it? The things I've read about the 3.7L seem to be pretty polarized, with a good many folks saying that it's a Hertz car, a granny car and you should never buy one... and other saying that it's track worthy, mod-friendly and good performance on the cheap.

Definitely interested in hearing from someone who actually owned one...

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My 2011 had a host of issues during my 35,000 km of ownership (most were factory defects eventually addressed by TSBs at the dealership) so my experience was definitely soured by that.

However, if I try to suppress my negative feelings due to mechanical "problems" and focus strictly on the abject qualities of the car itself, the following list comes to mind:

1) The automatic transmission is the true definition of a "slush box"; upshifts are ponderous and downshifts are even worse. For instance, cruising on the highway in 6th, you can hit the throttle and count to two before the downshift occurs. This can be remedied by a tune, but I don't like to tune my cars and so I was stuck with the terrible stock performance of the automatic.

2) The V6 just doesn't make enough torque below 3500 RPM. From a standing start you can hit the throttle, and not much happens before the engine reaches that RPM threshold. In fact, it almost feels like turbo lag, but that is just a characteristic of the torque curve with this engine. Combine this with the slush box automatic described above and you have a car that drives like a 2011+ Toyota Camry rather than a Mustang.

3) The stock V6 suspension is terrible. The nose dive on even mild braking is very noticeable. The stock GT suspension isn't anything to write home about either, but it is better than the stock V6 suspension.

4) Fuel economy. It just isn't that good. This isn't normally a consideration when buying a Mustang, but there are some people who mistakenly buy the V6 because it is "fuel efficient". It isn't. Over the 35,000 km that I owned the car I averaged 10.5 L/100km (23 MPG). In fact, my 5.0 with 3.73 rear gears consumes only 1 more litre per hundred km than my V6 did.

5) Exhaust sound. This is of course subjective, but if you are interested in Mustangs and you buy a V6, you will die a little bit inside every time a V8 Mustang drives by. I know that from personal experience. That's just the way it is. No amount of exhaust mods can make a V6 sound like a V8. Also, the older 4.6 V8 platform sounds even better than the Coyote 5.0 platform.

FWIW my insurance actually went down when I traded in for my GT. I was 26 at the time.

My 2 cents anyway.

I see you looking to pay cash. That makes a difference in my mind. I wouldn't look at financing a car that's much older than 3-4 years. Consider a typical 5 year loan, a five year old vehicle will be 10 years old when you are finished paying it off. You probably won't be left with much value unless you drive very little and garage it.

As for the older V6 models (05-09) I wouldn't consider one. I have a 2006 V6 pony convertible, and we love it, but it is feeble.

Try to get the most engine and options you can. Of you've never owned a V8, do it. Who know how much longer they will be around. If the late 60s - early 70s was the golden age of the muscle car, we are currently living in the platinum age. Who knows how much longer you can go plop down $20 grand (used) and get a car that can do a 11-12 sec 1/4 mile, have nav systems, traction control, etc. It will end someday and why live with that gnawing feeling that you could have had a really cool Mustang.

From your list above, I would pick a GT, probably the 2009. I too would stay away from the V6, but only because there are better options out there. The 3.7 makes my 2006 look like a golf cart though :wink:.

The pics of car number 2 are incredible. Perfect looking Stang IMHO. Six years ago I bought a 2001 GT Premium convertible with 40k miles. It was an automatic and I owned it completely trouble free for five years. Traded it in with 77k miles. Most of the time I wished it was a manual, but now that I have a 2014 5.0 Premium manual, I don't think it's as big of a deal as I used to think it was. I've test driven a 2013 six cylinder and it was plenty fast enough, but knew I really wanted the sound of the v8. I don't think you can go wrong with option 2, the 2007. The car is perfectly customized and is a real head turner! 8)


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Just go drive a 2011-14 gt and you will see how much of a car it is, mind you you are looking at a v6 and 05-09 gt which a pretty much in the same league imo. if you are firm on not financing the difference on an 11-14 gt then car 2 looks really nice. but keep in mind if you prefer the 10+ then do whatever you can to stick with it,buy it once! If you have any of a performance bug in you I can guarantee if you buy either one of these three then drive an 11+ you will be sorry!! just my opinion of course!!

14'Five Point O said:

The pics of car number 2 are incredible. Perfect looking Stang IMHO. Six years ago I bought a 2001 GT Premium convertible with 40k miles. It was an automatic and I owned it completely trouble free for five years. Traded it in with 77k miles. Most of the time I wished it was a manual, but now that I have a 2014 5.0 Premium manual, I don't think it's as big of a deal as I used to think it was. I've test driven a 2013 six cylinder and it was plenty fast enough, but knew I really wanted the sound of the v8. I don't think you can go wrong with option 2, the 2007. The car is perfectly customized and is a real head turner! 8)


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I'm with you on that. Something about it looks right. I've had to do some serious negotiating just to get them at 14.5k... it's likely I'm going to have to scrounge the $500 difference. But I think it's worth it. I'm going with Car #2, supposing we can work the numbers right.

It's not the 10+ body style, but it's damn nice. Yeah, for $5k more, I could get a 5.0L. But payments bug me a lot. I've never been very comfortable with debt. I like to know the car is mine and not the bank's. And it's still a V8. It sounds right, and I don't care what they say, it still FEELS faster than a 3.7L. It has low end grunt in spades. And I actually prefer the automatic. My wife would have to drive it now and then, and even if I could teach her stick, she'd complain about it all the damn time. That, and traffic really blows around here.

I'm not in it for pure performance. I want a car that's a head turner, reasonably fast and doesn't look like a ricer. If I do mods, they'll be more small time bolt on stuff, and even then more for fun than for serious track work.

TLDR: I'd regret a V6. But a V8, even the 4.6L, still feels like a 'stang. Going Car #2.

Thanks for the advice and thoughts!

I would go with #2 or 3. My fiancee has an 07 GT in that same color but hers has the white stripes that go over the hood, roof, and trunk lid. Her's is a premium edition with a manual trans. Her car is what got me interested in Mustangs in the first place as I was strictly a chevy guy before then. I bought my 14 GT almost two years ago.

She bought hers in March of 2010 with 6,900 miles on it from a Toyota dealership for $19,200 which I thought was a heck of a deal. The car was like new with no scratches, dinks, or dents and still smelled new inside. She now only has about 17,600 miles on it.

Her car is still mostly stock with only a Ford Racing AB exhaust on it and a Bob's oil catch can. Her car is very fun to drive and sounds great. I think you will enjoy one of the GT cars you are looking at.

Wayne

Here are a few recent pics of hers.

Well... crap. I got outbid on car #2. Someone else nabbed it. The dealer won't tell me for how much, obviously, but it doesn't matter. Car #3 has also walked. And I no longer want car #1.

So back to the drawing board. ****... I liked it, too. I was getting excited about it. Man, it is TOUGH getting a good 'stang at this price.

At least the 3.7V6 is scratched off. Should narrow down the search.

If you plan on using this as your daily driver I would go with the Automatic. Main reason is you get a Tuner on that car and they can do wonderful things with mapping shift points and Torque Converter management. That along the rest of your drive train will last longer hard shifting with a manual can rec havoc. Commuter stop and go traffic is no place for a a muscle car the clutch will wear quickly or glaze over either way it's replacement time. Also do your research on the car look for all the recalls it has had. And like the man told Indiana Jones, "Choose Wisely".