Should I buy a Ford Mustang?

[Ydoow]

Kaye.

So I was driving to school and saw a Ford Mustang, all black, for sale on the side of the road for $1,900

And I said to myself:

"Self, there's something wrong with that car. But it sure is sexy."

So on my way home from school I decided to stop and check it out real quick.

I pulled up alongside of it and noticed it had rust along the wheel wells (I live in WNY, winters + salted roads destroy cars up here) and overall it just looked dirty. Maybe not damaged, but dirty.

So I said to myself:

"Self, this car's condition would make any owner ashamed to own it. This is why it is so cheap." and then I drove away.

And now that I'm home, I want to reconsider. I can't tell you the year, but by looking at the models from this site, it looked like something from BEFORE 2005.

It was closed top, had a small spoiler on the back I believe (definitely not as large as the one in the 2000 model image).

From the images on that site, I'd say it most resembles 2002-2004, but 1999 is a close contender too.

That's about all I can say about it.

So should I keep investigating, or would any Mustang be a bad investment for a college student?

[ddavis425]

Sounds pretty sketchy if it was in that condition. I have a 2003 Mustang myself so I can tell you that they are good cars, but you definitely will want to contact the owner about it, maybe even get someone who knows a lot about cars to come look at it with you.

[PakledHostage]

I have always liked used cars... You know, reduce, re-use, recycle... But I'd be very cautious about buying something with a lot of rust on it. If you really want a Mustang but don't want to pay a lot of money, why not try to find something from somewhere where they use less salt on the roads?

The last car I had before my current one was a '94 and it didn't have any rust on it. I sold it to some university students a couple of years ago for $500 (it wouldn't go into 2nd gear anymore). They took it on a 15000 km road trip and didn't have any trouble with it. I am sure you could find something equally reliable and rust-free if you look around.

Edited September 12, 2012 by PakledHostage

[MrMadGameplay]

In my experience, if it runs well, no damage apart from couple of scratches and little dints and insurance is cheap its worth a look. Any paint missing or rust can be fixed with a little extra cash .

[GOOMH]

depends on how bad the rust is, if it's mainly surface rust that can be still fixed but if the metal is started to get badly rusted I'll past. Plus nothing wrong with the 99-04 'stang though it is a bit under powered depending on model and pretty cheap on the inside but that was the ways of the Big 3 at the time. Anyway if you're serious interested get it checked out by a trusted mechanic.

[UKDan89]

People don't sell things cheap for no reason, they want to get rid of it fast, save the pennies and go for a nicer pony car

[Tiberion]

Sounds super sketchy. It could be rusted from salt-rust, or it could be from something worse. Lots of "flood cars" out there from Louisiana or other places that are just trashed.

Find a mechanic who will do it, pay em $50 to go give it an good look. if the owner won't let them, walk away.

Also get a history (like a Carfax) to see where its been.

[nerfsmurf]

I second the idea of bringing your own mechanic. I would personally pass it up. I'm not a fan of older cars (except 1970 VW beetles) because I too also attend college and I have friends to have older cars and its always "it overheats if it sits", "ac isnt working right" (Im in Texas btw), "it shuts off sometimes", "im loosing coolant somewhere..." and "my transmission isnt quite right...". But my friends possess a bit of mechanical know-how and can just fix it up a bit to save money and get to school.

Also, you forgot to mention your current car and its condition! If you have a dependable car as of now, then a "cool" car may just end up as an additional expense later. If your current car is iffy-iffy, then hell the mustang MAY help ya out!