Want to Buy 01-04 GT, What Problems Should I be Aware of?

Hi everyone......I use to hang out in the Classic section forever since I have a 65 Fastback....But I'm contemplating the purchase of an 01-04 GT or Bullitt Mustang as a daily driver/play toy. This decision makes sense to me because the going price seems to be right around the 12K-15K range these days, which means I'll have some money to throw at it.

What I NEED to know is, are there any major problems that could be considered re-ocurring issues with these models? And to further the question, do these vehicles begin going down hill at any particular mileage? Or are there a bunch of guys rolling around with 100,000+ mile GT's and Bullitt's?

there are plenty of guys here that have 100,000+ miles on thier 4.6. its a damn good engine if you ask me. I would do a compression check and get a carfax. if your buying from a dealer try and find out if the car had mods on it because it could be a sign of the previouse owner beating on it. drive the car in the morning and see if you get a slight buzz when shifting to 2nd because the tr3650 that the switched to in mid 01 has a design flaw nothing seriuse but something you should know about.

yeah 01+ is damn safe. The notchyness of that tr3650 as mentioned is hit or miss and usually not an impairing problem. These same engines are used in police cruisers then converted into taxi cabs until around 300k w/ on the clock maintenance. But as in any cars case, it's best to find one that hasn't been beaten on

IMO, if you are willing to spend 15K, then I would try to find an '03/04 Mach 1. Much better platform to start with. Interior is awesome, 4 valve engine, 3.55 gears, Cobra style brakes, Tokico shocks and struts are stock. You can find them in my area for $16-18K.

He is NOT going to buy a mach 1 around here (so cal) for around 15k. but he can find a nice mid milage GT for around 11-13

edit: okay there is 1 or 2 for 15k that are 87-95k miles

Try to buy an 03 or 04...can be done in the price range you are seeking. I was only asking $12K for my '03 when it was briefly for sale

This is a good start guys. Thank You. Keep the info coming!

FYI: I'm looking for a low mileage vehicle......so Mach 1 vehicles with less than 30K miles in CA are hard to find for cheap....but I did look at that option for a bit...

My 02GT has a little less than 12,000 miles on it, I have had it since it was new but I am sure that I am not the only one with low miles on them. I always lived in Northern States with long cold snow covered winters until this year so it was stored alot. Good luck in finding the right car.

theres not really many common problems...normal stuff goes wrong. Your alternator might go bad at 100k. Brakes could lock up. cant really think of anything major.

If this helps....

I've put 51K miles on my GT since i've bought it. It's a 2003. I never had to bring it in for warranty service.

Only part to ever "break" was a rear axle seal that started leaking at 50K. It was an $6 part plus the $20 diff fluid change (which it needed anyway so i consider it maintainence) and took me 3 hours to replace.

Out of all the vehicles my family owns....both my Mustangs have been the most reliable.

I just hit 100,000 yesterday, mines blown and ive never had anything major break, if you take care of them they will last past 200k miles. There are plenty of taxi cabs and cop cars with 4.6's that have well over 200k miles...

This is all great news......I always here people saying fords are horrible...and this and that....but after owning my fastback and after working on my friends Bullitt ang GT I feel pretty confident about the reliability of the more modern mustangs...... Now the Focus i just picked up from Enterprise.....TOTALLY different story lol


Are there any electrical issues that pop up????

Alot of people have had there IAC go out, but usually it can be cleaned or a replacement from Ford (no one seems to have luck with Autozone brand IAC) will fix it and it's no big issue.

yep their pretty much bullet proof unless u wanna run alot of boost

mose crow victory around here is over 200k miles, im a big fan of import and alway saying american car will not last long and american car hater, mostly mustang , but after my mustang and get into knowing more about american car, conclusion that american car will out last import car. I will never go back to import again....never....

Brake could lock up ? how this possible ? tell me more .......... im in prosess learning these car.

I bought my car brand new in October of 2000. I had the whole clutch assembly and shocks replaced under warranty at around 30K miles, the clutch was chattering a bit and the shocks were blown. Outside of that, I replaced the brake pads at just over 100K and put all new COPs in about 10K miles ago (one was bad and I figured they could all use replacing) and I just rolled 130K last week.

I owned three pushrod 5.0s before this one and never had anything break that I wasn't beating on. I'm sure Ford has built some crap cars but I don't thing the Mustang falls in that group since the Mustang II. Change the oil and do regular maint. and it'll take care of you.

I have a 2000 GT auto with 135k miles. Only problem I've had is the alternator failing at about 120k miles. Another person I know had their alternator also fail at around 120k+. Besides routine maintenance, I haven't had any issues with the vehicle.

well...I would say watch out for alternator after 100k

The brake caliper could lock up from being so old...the pad will wear fast and then you will have metal on metal and ruin your rotor. It happened to me...probably some others too.

My car has 105k on it and it runs like new...only problems ive had is the brake caliper locked up, winshield wiper switch stopped working.

If you get a 2001 look for the mid year 2001 as i here the letter 2001 have the upgraded transmission.

I have a 2001 with 60k miles and never had one problem. (knock on wood)

I also sold my 98 escort that had 160k miles and it never had a problem either

My mom had a 98 eddie bower explorer she sold with over 100k miles and it had no problems.

My stepdad bought a brand new 2007 gmc sierra 2500 superduty diesel 4 dr truck and before it had 200 miles had a major problem, cant exactly tell you how but the brakes ended up causing it to excelerate and the gas cause it to decelerate. A bunch of stuff had to be replace.

My moms cheverolet gladiator express conversion van is which is a 00 or 01 had many problems with the electrical side and just recently she thought she needed new brakes and it turned out the guy told her she is lucky she made it to the shop because the whole wheel setup in the front was about to fall out.

Get a 01 up mustang and rock on....

also you can find a mach 1 for 16k with 20k miles just keep checking , or a 01 cobra for 13k with 50k miles