newb looking for info

[unstpabl1]

Hi

I am currently looking for a used car. Money will be tight after purchase so reliability is a concern. Initially i was looking at the usual suspects Hondas, Toyotas and Acuras

I found an Acura and my mechanic told me they were more expensive to repair than the others...I'm still not sure about that but OK.

As I've been looking the rice eaters have been high priced with higher milage. I've gotten around 300,000 miles outta all of my Toyotas so I trust them as long lasting

anyway, I've noticed that Mustangs from 1999-2004 were resonably priced and were in great shape with milage from 70000-100'000 miles....i'm wondering why???.. My mechanic said they were expensive to maintain.

now I trust my mechanics knowledge and he was right about an Eclipse I brought in but all the research I've done on line..Edmonds and JP Powers were very positive on the mustangs..the other thing is he keepstrying to interest me in these cars his other customers are trying to sell or he owns...Sooo

I fugured the best place to get info was from guys who loved the cars and owned them.

Thanks in advance

Mike

[Vslow]

Not expensive at all. Seems like he tries to interest you in cars he owns or people he knows that are selling cars for his own gain. If you like modding and want to build a race car go with a fox body stang a bit older but parts are incredibly cheap. Plus side you can probably get your car up and running faster then ren which would give you +10000000 points here. :laugh:

[Sick06Stang]

:look:

[black3v4.6]

I will tell you from my personal experience between a 97 civic and a 99 Mustang GT that I had. I put 180,xxx miles on the civic and did nothing but change oil, oil filters, air filters, brake pads, tires, adjust valves, spark plugs, plug wires, dist cap and rotor, timing belts, and cv joints.

On the Mustang I put about 60,000 miles on it and changed, oil, oil filters, air filters, starter, fuel pump, water pump, alt, COPs, rear end rebuilt.

I would consider both cars reliable with no major problems. But the mustang had stuff like fuel pump, water pump, starter go bad that the civic didn't many consider that normal problems. All were easy to change and didn't cost that much.

So based on my persona experience I would say that both cars that I had were good but the civic was pretty problem free and only had to really do the scheduled maintance.

And your mechanic is correct that an Acura will cost more to repair than a Honda or Toyota. They have more systems to go bad and parts are more expensive (compared to Honda or Toyota). There are much less aftermarket replacements for Acura's compared to Honda or Toyota. Plus all later Acura's use premium gas too.

[Blind]

I've put ~30k miles on my `97 mustang, with about 32 track days, and the only maint. I've had to do is:

brake pads, rotors turned, oil + filter changes, clean the K&N air filter, trans fluid, coolant, tensioner pulley, starter, water pump, heatercore, thermostat, radiator hoses, tires, spark plugs, spark plug wires.

The only non-scheduled maint. parts replaced were the heatercore, waterpump, thermostat, coolant, radiator hoses, and tensioner pulley. Heatercore went bad so I replaced everything cooling system related. Tensioner pulley blew up when I was getting on the freeway full throttle at 7500rpm when I shifted to 3rd...fluke thing I'm guessing.

My wifes 91 mustang 5.0 and my `89 mustang 5.0 were similar, just normal maint. shit just like any car. We put about 80k miles on hers, and mine has 280k miles on the chassis and about 40k on the engine swap stuff. Maint parts are cheap though, a starter for a mustang is $85 last time I did one, look up how much they cost for another car, they are a mechanical wearing part and will need replacing on any car...same with water pumps. Mustangs use timing chains so the $850 timing belt service on an import is not needed on a mustang until the engine has like 200k miles.

[LXS]

Why are Acura parts more expensive? They the "Cadillac" of the honda line? :scratch:

[06silverbullet]

i think its more like the pontiac :rofl: they think its a cadi

[grumps91GT]

99-04 are a good buy right now.

All cars have issues, period. Preventative Maintenace is just that, to prevent costly issues down the line. Maintenace issues are usually a problem with previous owners not following recommended service intervals.

Acura parts are more expensive because of the name. Same parts can be obtained for cheaper from a Honda dealership if you have a part #.

[Enorbit3]

buy Rens fox, its not like he is using it. :look:

[Sick06Stang]

:metal: :wave:

[unstpabl1]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help....it pretty much confirms what i'd been hearing...and I'm putting Mustangs in the mix


Cars got soooo #@%$#@# boring over the years and Mustangs seem like they're a blast to drive....i mean how exciting is a corolla till you realize how much extra cash you have for gas

[lsxfox]

buy Rens fox, its not like he is using it. :look:

lol, just wait a year. I bet he will end up giving it away like his last failed attempt.

:asswave::asswave::asswave::asswave::asswave::assw ave::asswave:

[SeanTheLight]

Deep down I really hope Ren puts together a mean ass fox and learns to drive it, so he can whoop all the sn95 guys' asses.

2012 year of the fox :asswave:


And in response to OP, consider the foxes (87-93) also. They are older but very low buy in, and most repairs are about as cheap as you'll find. (i bought a new steering rack for $80 from oreilly's). If you want mileage find a 4 cylinder lx, and plan a turbo swap further down the road (junkyard parts from a turbo 4 thunderbird). My car weighs roughly 2800 lbs with full interior and some aluminum/fiberglass parts, and its a 5.0.

[Blind]

the 4 cyl does not get much better mileage at all, when my coupe had a stock 5.0 motor I made 24mpg 80mph all highway trips consistently, that's with a 5speed and 3.73 gears too.

when it had a 4 cylinder/automatic is got me 22mpg on a similar highway drive (the only time I drove it that way, I bought it, drove it home, and took it apart lol).

completely worthless 88hp POS. Don't even bother looking at them, v6 sn95 chassis cars are similar, my buddy bought one as a 'commuter' and got 19mpg commuting, LOL.

[ls1fox]

buy an eg civic and take it to jerry.

[unstpabl1]

Is the rear end a problem on these years of cars???? And i notice people complaining about handling in the rain???? Tires??? Other???


Are they easy to work on??? LOL I'm laughing at that question...like I'd know what to do...thoughI did manage to do some things way back when on my 71 AMX...yeah I'm that old and changed the fuel injectors on my 280z using a screwdriver and Chiltons....just kidding about the screwdriver ....I used a hammer ;o)

[Blind]

rear end, no.

mustangs are rwd and have a lot of torque compared to other cars, and lots of younger kids with little money buy them. When it comes time to replace the tires just like any kid with a car they buy cheap shitty tires.

Decent tires and responsible driving in the rain is fine. Drag radials, bald tires from doing burnouts/donuts, or shitty sumitomo's or kumho asx's are not good tires for the 5 days a year that socal gets rain...


Ford added traction control in the early 2000's to mustangs if you think driving in the rain with bald tires and a heavy foot is going to be common for you.

[LXS]

Like he ^^^ said, its all on the driver! Not trying to glorify it, but driving with full on slicks and/or bald drag radials in the rain (and on the freeway at speed), can be done! I did it a few times, but didn't do it to show off or prove a point. I didn't keep tabs on the weather/news, woke up one morning to rain and drove to work that way. Didn't have any problems on the streets or freeways, but then again I didn't drive stupid either! Get yourself some good tires, make sure your alignment is good and you should be good to go! :cheers:

[grumps91GT]

buy an eg civic and take it to jerry.

yessir

Is the rear end a problem on these years of cars????

a panhard bar will help eliminate axle steer which is the #1 complaint in mustang handling. All Mustangs with the exception of the 03-04 Cobra and the newer S197's come with 28 spline axles which can snap with a hard launch and sticky tires.

I have both along with more suspension goodies and my car handles like its on rails. Even with the tires slipping, I can control the car much better than when it had stock suspension.

[unstpabl1]

I don't know if you guys have ever checked out the years mentioned on Edmunds reliability list but where it gives serious issues it rates better than camry, civic and corolla

I'm only looking at the V6...haven't had an Automatic in years but was thinking about it...I'm old LOL or so my Muay thai buddies tell me....ant thoughts reliabilty. expense or performance? Also read a couple things about speedometer breakage...common??? thanks

[LXS]

Never heard anything about speedo cable issues, but just like what was mentioned about the 4 banger fox cars, don't get a 6er for gas mileage, you're better off with a GT. Mileage depends on where you drive most....street, freeway, or both. For me, when I have a mix of both, I average between 220 - 240 miles a tank. But when I do mostly freeway, I can average between 240 - 280 miles a tank! Freeway traffic acts like street miles sometimes lol. The few times I did all street driving, if I remember correctly, I believe I got between 180 - 210 for the tank! Big difference! :)

[grumps91GT]

Also read a couple things about speedometer breakage...common??? thanks

All pre-96 cars had gear driven speedometers. After a while the plastic gear gets worn/broken. 96+ cars use a sensor that sends a signal to the gauge.

Sometimes when removing the gauge cluster (fox mustangs) re-installing the speedo cable behind the cluster can be a PITA and doesnt engage completely, also causing speedo malfunction.

[Blind]

from everything I've read, the v6 mustangs are far more unreliable than their v8 counterparts.

they have issues cracking cylinder heads, dropping valves, blowing head gaskets, overheating issues, etc. They also have weaker 7.5" rearends (instead of 8.8") which could have problems in the long term.

My `97 mustang gt manual which is essentially a cobra (32v DOHC cobra engine + cobra IRS) pulls down 330 miles per tank all freeway, or 24mpg.

My wifes `08 mustang gt automatic gets 20mpg mixed driving and 24mpg freeway. I would be absolutely shocked if a v6 mustang of the same years could get more than 2mpg better freeway driving at 80mph, or even close to the mixed driving. In traffic and around town the v8 helps because getting up to speed requires less of the loud pedal to get moving...and fords old v6 motors are absolute dogs.

The only v6 mustang I'd consider would be the 2011 and newer with the completely new engine that gets 31mpg and has 305hp.

[unstpabl1]

My mechanic said the rearends were iffy, but then he said that the clutch was expensive to repair on the Mustangs....i don't get that one. Why would it be anymore expensive than any other car???

[reivaxtorres]

All pre-96 cars had gear driven speedometers. After a while the plastic gear gets worn/broken. 96+ cars use a sensor that sends a signal to the gauge.

Sometimes when removing the gauge cluster (fox mustangs) re-installing the speedo cable behind the cluster can be a PITA and doesnt engage completely, also causing speedo malfunction.

Gear driven speedos were up to 98. The small gear in the cluster is the one that tends to break with time and stops reading mileage. Simple $2 part at a junk yard, or brand new for like $35.

[reivaxtorres]

My mechanic said the rearends were iffy, but then he said that the clutch was expensive to repair on the Mustangs....i don't get that one. Why would it be anymore expensive than any other car???

I don't think I've ever had an issue with my current rear end or my original rear end either, I don't think the bearings ever went out on my original one, and it had about 140k miles when I replaced it with the IRS. I've heard some people break the rear ends, but that's usually because of abuse.

As for a clutch....the labor should be identical to any other RWD car, the price of the clutch itself will vary with brand and performance ability, but I think a stock-style one can be had for about $2-300 (I think....)