Why get a V6 over a GT? doesnt make sense....

[BrutalStang]

Ok before i start, dont flame me here, please read. this is a legit question for you guys, and i want to know what you think. i have always gone with the V8's ever since highschool, but this is a new age and things are different. reason i ask is i have a son turning 16 soon, and he want to buy a car. now all the dads out there know your first instinct is to say "hell no your not driving my car!" and also the more important one here "your not getting a car like that under my roof!" but all that a side, i need answers. i was at the Ford dealer today checking out all the new stangs(real nice comp orange) and all. but what i saw disturbed me
what i saw was a brand spankin new redfire GT(not unlike mine) with a sticker of 25,750, not a bad sticker, but the kicker here folks was the mineral grey 3.8 V6 sitting right next to it. with a sticker of 23,250! it had most options plus pony package, but wtf? i mean why are they so close? and yearly fuel cost for the GT was 1065(if i remember that correct) while the 3.8 6 was just 905(pretty sure). so why get a 3.8 6? its not for the fuel economy thats for damn sure. but what i look to you for is answers here, can you help me? why buy a 3.8?
one factor i dont know is the insurance, now i know a GT is gonna be high on a 16 year old male kid, but whats it like on a 3.8 6? i gotta know, so if anyone knows please tell me
but aside from that i dont see the difference, and why to buy a V6? so help me out here cause im stumped

 

[Lsredy2kstang]

Insurance and the base car is not that much! More like 14-15K.

 

[Corsec]

The base model is much cheaper, you have to remember you were at a Ford dealership where they try to up sell on everything.

Insurance, I am not too sure about. Sorry.

 

[Ernad]

The main reasons I can think of are insurance, and base car costs.
However, I could ask you the same question. I saw GT's at a Ford dealership selling for just about 30k. So why not get a Cobra for a few grand more?

 

[SpectorV]

im a college student paying for all my crap myself so i have no other choice at the moment. Its a great car and cheap to buy/maintain. I dont want a POS rice rocket so my options are limited to find a decent car. What other american cars are in the same range that you would pick over the mustang?

the reasons are right in front of you..... why was the v6 designed? so people who didnt want to spend the extra money for a v8 either due to the price/economy/insurance/payment or due to they dont give a crap about performance/speed.

Some find out how much fun it is to modify the car and just start at it and fall in love and dont want to trade the car off or be different and not mod a v8 like everyone else. Perhaps they start out wanting to mod the car, of course a v8 would be a better plateform but its all about what you want in the end, most dont want a 10 second street car they want to keep a car reliable and have decent milage all that.

It seems almost all of the guys that I know whom mod their v6 are younger and this leads me to belive that almost all of the v6 guys do it due to budget and wanting a reliable car with out alot of hassel, true a 5.0 is cheap but they are older and usually have high miles.... this usually deters people. Their parents probably play a role in this as well being as they are young and probably still live at home and all that.

why on EARTH would you buy a gt instead of a cobra? now THAT really doesnt make any since? answer that and you may have just answered your own question on why people choose teh v6 over the standard v8 (gt)....

the performance lvl has came a long way for the v6 its not a little geo metro slow pos car that every one thinks it is.... people call BS when they ask what my car runs and i tell them high 14s on average~ not that this is impressive its just shocking i guess most feel its a 17+ car thats in the same range as a civic. I mean the 99+ v6 cars not the pre 99s... the auto pre 99s were nearly 17 second cars lol

i dont plan to have a v6 forever but i have found a great nitch in the moding world that has a TON of great people in it, the v6 has a very massive following and its getting bigger every day. I find it tons of fun to mess with the car and I consider it a hobby until i get out of college then I will be capable of getting a new cobra and keeping my v6 for a daily driver.

most of the people that drive them do it for the main reason they were produced, price/economy/insurance keep in mine with out the v6 mustang there would be no v8 mustang..... so be thankful there is one else you would not be driving around in a new v8.

as far as before price goes there are packages and crap you can get on the v6 REMEMBER the auto tranny is a 1k option (you were possibly pricing a 5 speed gt)..... so that adds alot, the pony package is nearly 1k also.... leather is 500+ mach 1k for top of the line version..... if you go out and buy a premium v6 with all the options, leather all that crap you will no doubt have a very expensive car probably even more than a base gt or getting nearly it. so in that respect i see your point, but even with that some just want to stay with the v6 cuz if you price a v8 with the same options it will be quite a bit more....., i managed to get 25mpg + easy which is far superior to the gt and i still get nearly 22 with what mods i have (gears being main factor) so the gas milage is decently better. I paid 13,500 for my car brand new off the lot with 5 miles on the odometer so i got a good deal, the gt is alwasy going to be a good bit more than the v6 if both are equiped the same.

 

[peyotesands]

3.8 V6 sitting right next to it. with a sticker of 23,250! it had most options plus pony package, but wtf? i mean why are they so close? and yearly fuel cost for the GT was 1065(if i remember that correct) while the 3.8 6 was just 905(pretty sure). so why get a 3.8 6? its not for the fuel economy thats for damn sure. but what i look to you for is answers here, can you help me? why buy a 3.8?
one factor i dont know is the insurance, now i know a GT is gonna be high on a 16 year old male kid, but whats it like on a 3.8 6? i gotta know, so if anyone knows please tell me
but aside from that i dont see the difference, and why to buy a V6? so help me out here cause im stumped

My 04 cost 12.5k... The dealership was doing a major promotion to get them off the lot. Why a 6 over an 8? Gas prices. And they will get worse. Why a 6 over an 8? Insurance. The question should be why an 8 over a 6? Why bother with an 8 unless you're a HP freak? I'm not a HP freak, and if I wanna reach 225rwhp (which to me is more than enough for street use) i can do it spending around 2k. Totalled up I will have spent way less than a brand new GT with only 35 more hp. Why buy an 8?

 

[BrutalStang]

ok, well thanks so far. and to all you guys that say i should have gotten the cobra, let me tell you why. see i had an 01 SS that was cool, but in january of 03 a guy in an eagle talon decided he was gonne run a stoplight at 60 and hit me dead on my passenger door. now both cars were wrecked, but surprisingly i was ok, just bumps bruises. why do i tell you this? i was in need of a new car, so i went out and got the GT, i had alot to think about but i got it even after testing all the others. i liked the mach the best buy my dealer just wasnt working with me on that one. plus i got a company discount(my company has a plan thing with ford) that put my GT just at 19. but i did already order my 05 GT, so that should make up for my actions of not getting a cobra.(at the time the dealer was asking outrageous prices for that too) so thats why i have a GT
im pretty sure im getting my son an 04 V6. but another question in my mind is should i wait and get him an 05? some help there would be great too.
thanks guys!

 

[The Brahma Bull]

My reasoning is simple. Right now my insurance is $101 a month for my V6. For a GT my insurance would be over $300.

 

[peyotesands]

ok
im pretty sure im getting my son an 04 V6. but another question in my mind is should i wait and get him an 05? some help there would be great too.
thanks guys!

you want to wait and get an 05 v6? expect to pay out the nose...

 

[hiattwl]

If you ask me, and this is my opinion of course, don't get the kid anything. I'm 19 years old, i've worked for my cars, and i think it's a good thing for a kid to work at a job to pay for their own vehicle, insurance, and gas. But that's just me. But if you're going to buy him something, don't spoil him with a v8, get him a v6 until he's good and experienced. I've seen too many of my friends start out on fast cars and lose their licenses quick. It's better to be safe than sorry. Get your kid a less powerful car so he won't be inclined to use that horsepower, so that you won't end up having to drive him around later after his license is suspended. I started on a v6 and worked my way up to the GT, and i still have my license, however, 3 tickets in about 3 years though, but they were tame.

Wayne

 

[BrutalStang]

If you ask me, and this is my opinion of course, don't get the kid anything. I'm 19 years old, i've worked for my cars, and i think it's a good thing for a kid to work at a job to pay for their own vehicle, insurance, and gas. But that's just me. But if you're going to buy him something, don't spoil him with a v8, get him a v6 until he's good and experienced. I've seen too many of my friends start out on fast cars and lose their licenses quick. It's better to be safe than sorry. Get your kid a less powerful car so he won't be inclined to use that horsepower, so that you won't end up having to drive him around later after his license is suspended. I started on a v6 and worked my way up to the GT, and i still have my license, however, 3 tickets in about 3 years though, but they were tame.

Wayne

thats good advice wayne. the biggest reason i want to buy him this car is because he has been saving for an 87-93 mustang being as hes a mustang nut. he has about 3500 saved for this car, so i figure it would be best if i kick in the rest to get him a new more reliable v6 pony. using his money of course and he will be paying the insurance. if i dont do this he will most likely go out there and get a 5.0 and drive like theres no tomorow. but if i wasnt offering him this deal he would just get the 8, which i dont want. the problem now is since i have given him this offer hes alreadly looking at superchargers which pretty much defeats the purpose of getting the 6 in the first place

 

[hiattwl]

That makes sense, at least he saved money. You should make the deal that he cannot get the supercharger, and must give you the money to put towards the down payment/insurance. But i like to see how that he has saved money. I have way too many friends that have been spoiled by their parents, brand new ls1 trans ams everywhere, and i had my paid for v6 that i spent my money on. My GT is financed by the bank of mom, i make payments to her every month, this is so i don't have to carry full coverage, but i'm still working to pay it. It makes me feel good every month when i pay my bills and don't have to ask mom for money.

Wayne

 

[Ghostalker]

wooh i payed for half my car and the repairs that had to be done before it would be of any use to anyone. (The clutch was in TERRIBLE condition, and cost ~650 to fix after the car for 3200) i dont see myself losing interest in my car for many years to come, although when i turn 18 i might get a GT and my little brother, who would be turning 16 at that time, would get my car (for what its worth)
But i didnt pay for everything, so you could say im a bit spoiled 0_^
and all the mods ive done to my car have yet to be payed for... but we have a way for that to be done (ill end up working at my moms store... for a little while, after all i didnt put THAT much money into it)! lol

 

[Ernad]

BrutalStang, if you have some extra money left, send your kid to one or two driving schools (i mean the "performance" ones). That might make him more of a serious driver, no matter what car he ends up with.

 

[BrutalStang]

yeah guys, my first car was a pinto runabout. my first real car was just out of highschool i bought a 79 Trans Am, brand new, and i paid for all of it. we have pretty much settled on he cant get the S/C but he can mod other stuff(i dont want him having to much power you know?) i had to pay for every car ive ever had so i figured i'd be nice and give him a little break.
hey wayne, you mind if i ask you what you payed for your insurance on your 6? im just curious cause i havent gone out and gotten any quotes yet and i want to know what to expect

 

[joshs21]

GT's hold their value a lot better than the sixes. Keep in mind that a lot of us buy our stangs used, so after a couple years that gap widens a lot.

 

[jasonlee0704]

Well, let me tell you why I got a V-6 model Mustang....

First of all, the price. I picked up a 1995 coupe for $1500, 125,000 miles, ran fine (not great, but for $1500, it's a steal). Like joshs21 said, after a few years, the price gap between well-kept GTs/Cobras and a well-kept base model becomes much wider.

Second, I'm using it as a daily driver right now (I gave my wife the Infiniti), but eventually I'll get a more up-to-date daily driver and gut this one as a project car. I'm looking at several different Windsor-based buildups, all of which necessitate new engine blocks (and new drivetrain components to complement it), so why would I pay more for a V-8 model initially, when I'm bound to replace just about everything mechanical in it anyways?

That's why Saleen used base models to build their S351s. There wasn't anything about the GT models they were going to keep, so why not save some money and a GT for somebody else?

 

[Integraholic]

I honestly wouldn't get him an 04 or 05 anything. Chances are, he's going to have an accident with his first car. I know I did, and many others did as well. Why waste a nice looking car on that? I suggest finding an older car for him at first. Just my $.02.

 

[striped]

thats good advice wayne. the biggest reason i want to buy him this car is because he has been saving for an 87-93 mustang being as hes a mustang nut. he has about 3500 saved for this car, so i figure it would be best if i kick in the rest to get him a new more reliable v6 pony. using his money of course and he will be paying the insurance. if i dont do this he will most likely go out there and get a 5.0 and drive like theres no tomorow. but if i wasnt offering him this deal he would just get the 8, which i dont want. the problem now is since i have given him this offer hes alreadly looking at superchargers which pretty much defeats the purpose of getting the 6 in the first place

Your son is in the same situation I was in. I was saving for a while and my parents didn’t want me to get an older gt just like your son being that I was just learning how to drive and they wanted me to have a newer/more reliable car that was a decent price. They paid half of my 9k car and I have paid for all the mods. Ill tell you right now that it would have been cheaper for me to just get a gt being that iv modded the piss out of my car. But when it comes down to it im paying $90 a month and if I got that gt it would have been $300+ being that I was only 16. But when it comes down to it…im glad I learned how to drive and didn’t get myself hurt by getting a gt.

 

[Mustang5L5]

When i turned 16, i wanted a 5.0 Mustang. The problem was i couldn't afford it then so i ended up buying a 2.3L Mustang. It was a nice little car, but i hated looking fast and not being able to go fast. My friends made fun of me constantly for it.

SO i saved and saved and by the time i was 17, i bought my '88 5.0 Mustang. Insurance was not that much more expensive and the extra gas cost was well worth it.

I'm 23 now and all i have owned are v8 Mustangs. Not sure i could ever own a V6 Mustang myself as i need power and most importantly torque!

Nothing wrong with V6 Mustangs. They keep the car alive, but i myself just figured having a V8 was worth the extra cash i would need to pony up for gas and insurance which in reality was not that much more