Buying a 93 mustang GT. What to look for?

[QuickSilverShel]

Hi all.

I am buying a stock 93 Mustang GT convertible. The deal on this car is it is an 12000 original mile car with 1 original owner and zero mods or alterations except for fluids and a battery. She even has original tires on and of course I am going to take a hard look at the all the paint.

What I am wondering is what are the specific things that indicate original panels and what not. I know that the front fenders have the "hologram" sticker on the front of each fender. Are these "hologram" stickers anywhere else on the car?

Would there be a build sheet on this car and where could I look for it? (or did Ford do away with build sheets by 1993).

Other than the regular stuff to look for, anything else that is unique that you would recommend?

Thanks for your help.

Doug
QSS

 

[seijirou]

I usually find the build sheets under the rear seat or under the carpet.

The rear seat is no big deal, but she probably won't let you yank the carpet.

I would be very suspicious of 12k original miles. I'd ask her for a carfax before bothering with anything else.

 

[wythors]

If it's a real 12,000-mile car, it should be quite obvious. Things should all be very minty. The driver's seat, pedal pads and carpet/floor mats will all be giveaway areas of wear. Look under the hood and under the car. They might be dusty, but shouldn't be grimey. The hoses and plug wires should be date coded. The original spring clamps should still be on all the hoses. When I got my 93 with 19k on it, it still smelled new inside.

 

[citmov]

VIN stickers are also on the quarters, hatch, doors (underneath) and hood I believe. If it's really 12k you should be able to read each on clearly. +1 on the Carfax!

 

[QuickSilverShel]

I usually find the build sheets under the rear seat or under the carpet.

The rear seat is no big deal, but she probably won't let you yank the carpet.

I would be very suspicious of 12k original miles. I'd ask her for a carfax before bothering with anything else.

I have a carfax and it looks good. Everything seams in line and the owner has the original bill of sale when they bought it so everything seams to check out.

I guess I'm also somewhat concerned about this car but between the carfax, original bill of sale, my checks with the state DMV, and a bunch of other things everything seams legit.

Only thing I have to do is a visual inspection of my own and that is scheduled for next week. 12 hours of driving one way to check the car out. That seams a little looney but if this car is really what I think it is, it will definitely worth the drive.

QSS

 

[QuickSilverShel]

If it's a real 12,000-mile car, it should be quite obvious. Things should all be very minty. The driver's seat, pedal pads and carpet/floor mats will all be giveaway areas of wear. Look under the hood and under the car. They might be dusty, but shouldn't be grimey. The hoses and plug wires should be date coded. The original spring clamps should still be on all the hoses. When I got my 93 with 19k on it, it still smelled new inside.

VIN stickers are also on the quarters, hatch, doors (underneath) and hood I believe. If it's really 12k you should be able to read each on clearly. +1 on the Carfax!

Thanks to you both.

These are the exact things I want to add to my "check list" when I take a look at this car.

I really appreciate the help.

QSS

 

[QuickSilverShel]

Thanks to all of you for your help on this.

I was on the road for a round trip total of 27 hours of driving time out of a total of 42 hours away from home. Yes that's seams a little insane to me as well but man o man was this car worth it.

All of the advice I received here helped me feel comfortable with the purchase. The info about the stickers on the hood, doors, front and rear fenders were right on. I found another sticker on the front nose and all stickers were mint and clean.

The date coded tags were in place in the engine compartment and again they were mint, clean and super easy to read. I had no idea to look for these until I found the answers here.

I was actually stunned by how perfect this car was for an 18 year old car. It did indeed appear "minty" everywhere I looked, and I looked pretty hard. It appears all original including the paint.

The original owner even gave me their custom vanity license plates all the way back to 1997 along with a ton of documentation. I could write pages about the adventure and some really great stories during my whirl wind trip to see, and ultimately buy this car and I will probably do that at some point in the future.

Once again, thanks to those who responded, you all made my trip and purchase a little easier.

QSS

 

[seijirou]

Thanks to all of you for your help on this.

I was on the road for a round trip total of 27 hours of driving time out of a total of 42 hours away from home. Yes that's seams a little insane to me as well but man o man was this car worth it.

All of the advice I received here helped me feel comfortable with the purchase. The info about the stickers on the hood, doors, front and rear fenders were right on. I found another sticker on the front nose and all stickers were mint and clean.

The date coded tags were in place in the engine compartment and again they were mint, clean and super easy to read. I had no idea to look for these until I found the answers here.

I was actually stunned by how perfect this car was for an 18 year old car. It did indeed appear "minty" everywhere I looked, and I looked pretty hard. It appears all original including the paint.

The original owner even gave me their custom vanity license plates all the way back to 1997 along with a ton of documentation. I could write pages about the adventure and some really great stories during my whirl wind trip to see, and ultimately buy this car and I will probably do that at some point in the future.

Once again, thanks to those who responded, you all made my trip and purchase a little easier.

QSS

Good to hear.

And no, the travel doesn't sound insane. I once drove 20 hours straight for a hood.