I will be looking at a 2000 Saleen Mustang this weekend and I would like to ask a few questions before I make the purchase. I hope this is not an inconvenience as I truly appreciate your time. First off, how do I tell if the car is the real thing before I find myself driving a clone? I believe the gentlemen told me it was number 281, a black on black coupe with a 5 speed. How can I find out the production numbers for this year, color, tranny etc.? It has 77,000 miles (which is a concern for me). Is there anything I need to be aware of concerning this years mustang? What type of maintenance does Saleen recommend for a car with this type of mileage? The car is being offered for approximately $15,000. Using Ebay as a price comparison, this does not seem an out of the ordinary price. Thanks for your time men. CW3 Scott Bruce U.S. Army
First of all, don't rely on eBay for determining a sales price. Use the NADA Used Car Price website for Collector/Exotic car prices. They recognize Saleens as unique vehicles. 77,000 miles for a 6 year old car is not out of the ordinary as that equates to approximately 12,800 miles per year. Obviously this particular Saleen was purchased with the intent of driving it every day instead of being a garage queen. Maintenance of a Saleen is no different than a Mustang GT unless it is a supercharged model. Saleen probably recommends different maintenance schedules for those models so equipped. A real Saleen has 3 distinguishing markings; the serialization plate on the dashboard, the serialization # on the front bumper cover underneath the left headlight & most importantly, the serialization plate riveted to the firewall in the engine compartment. Unfortunately all of these markings can be faked so the only way to be certain is to contact Team Saleen & provide them with the FoMoCo VIN so they can cross-reference it with their production files. If your VIN matches one of the Mustangs converted by Saleen & the serial # assigned to it by Saleen matches the # on the car, then you're in luck.
If the correct number is 00-281, it's a coupe that came with the Saleen floor mats, 3.55 gears, chrome wheels (but not the 10" rear wheel upgrade), traction-control and an option marked as FLeather which I'm guessing is the Ford leather seats? The last 3 of the VIN should be 829 and the original owner was M. Oriani in Georgia, at least according to the Saleen Book.
Thanks gentlemen, I appreciate the info. I will contact the seller and get the vin to see if I can dig up more facts about the car. The seller is an older guy who is looking to maybe work a trade for a Harley. I have a low mileage Roadking I may work in the deal... or I may just try to buy it... can't have too many toys.. ;-) Thanks again. Scott
