Thinking of getting a Mustang, need your input

importkiller412

New Member
Sep 11, 2004
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Hows it going everyone? I am the current owner for a Subaru WRX and while its fun and all, I can not stand turbo cars anymore after modifiying it. Lag is terrible and it became apparent that there is "no replacement for displacement". I got a chance to drive a mustang gt recently and I loved it, I loved the feeling of the rwd and the fact that there is always power. Anyway I wanted to know what you guys had to say about the mustang. What are the weak points, what are the strong points. Is there any major flaws, for instance on the wrx, the transmissions suck. Is it easy to get more power out of it, and at the same time be reliable. Also I went to the dealer and because 2005 mustangs will be coming in and I get a deal for working at radioshack(the x-plan) I can get a GT for 20k or a mach 1 for 25k. I can afford both, which would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
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well if u can afford a WRX, trade it in for a cobra, u will definitely love it :) the 03 Cobra is the way to go (or 04 cobra).
some of the strong points of a mustang is the torque. they are well known for the torque and that "throw you back in your seat feel". also, parts for almost any mustang out there is easy to get.
another good thing about stangs is that it responds well to mods! 4.6L engines love boost (just dont over-do it). if you buy a GT, they recommend u buy a 99+ GT and not the 96-98 GT. Also dont forget about the 5.0's! they rock!
there arent too many bad things that are wrong with mustangs. the most obvious is the gas mileage depending on which you get. some year stangs have a small over-heating problem that was corrected with a TSB.
In the end, try to get a Mach 1 or a Cobra! supercharged cobras were 03/04 and the rest are just N/A at 300hp (flywheel). the 94/95 year cobras came with the 5.0 engine in it and im not sure about their power output.

hope that helps
 
Wow where to start...

I could write a book on those few questions...others here could write a complete encyclopedia over those questions. These cars last a LONG time. The 4.6 unfortunately has not been as lucky as the 302 5.0L in the field of aftermarket power adders. Wtih a 4.6 there's really one way to go: you forge the bottom end, Port the heads, add some cams, and bolt on a blower. Exhaust, gears and suspension however offer a wide variety of options depending on your preference. Also, with a Mustang you can do any number of asthetic applications to individualize it, including making any model look like another with a simple bumpers & hood swap.

Weak points include factory internals(depending on how hard you drive and what mods you add) and the tranny depending on how much power you pump the motor up to. As far as I know the Ford rears are still strong from the factory. No need for a $2300.00 10-12 bolt rear. Factory suspension lacks in a few areas, but is EXTREMELY easy to do yourself. In fact as a strong point, mostly everything that can be done to any Mustang can be done yourself! All cars have little problems here and there like sensors that go bad and what-not, but for the most part Mustangs are simple, cut and dry.

Soon hopefully more will chime in with more informative posts, but there's a starting point to build from. And if you're looking for opinions, I'd go with an 03/04 Cobra.
 
simply read the forums, there is so much info you wouldnt believe it. if you are interested i say take a few days and read a few tech forums and then ask some more specific questions. good luck, i think the coolest thing about stangs is the racing community.
 
Thaks for your responses guys. I was browsing the forums and I noticed the sticky on the transmission, but by the way it sounds, the transmission is not to bad, unlike the wrx one that blows up and you cant simply get it fixed you really just have to buy a whole new transmission (4-5k dog boxes). Anyway in time I plan on going supercharged, and I was looking at the cobra for that reason, I called up my insurance company for an insurance quote and it is pretty high for me, also the payment will be pretty high. How is fords warrenty?If you have an exhaust on the subaru they will tell you that your warranty is voided(Not even joking).
 
Also I am pretty happy about the fact that its an easy to work on car, the wrx is rediculous, do not even get me started on how much of a pain in the ass it is to do any work to it, especially things like injectors.
 
white99gt said:
If you can afford either one stock to stock the mach1 is better..But im not sure what changes are gonna be made to the mach1 come 05..

All our cars have quirks.Nothing major until you start looking at power adders..

no Mach 1's for 05.
 
Some info for you...

03/04 Cobra - Yes Cobras are expensive, but if you can afford it you are looking at at least 390 horsepower at the flywheel and a factory warrantied supercharger (not a bad thing IMO) There are rebates right now that bring them to around 30K (35K window sticker) That is before x-plan price - im sure there is someone on here who could give you more details on pricing if you were interested. I test drove one less than two weeks ago. They have DOHC 32V engine under the hood.

Mach 1 - They too have the beefy DOHC 32V'r under the hood, but not supercharged. A very nice car IMO. Saw one last night that was supercharged with full exhaust - owner stated numbers of 450 horsepower and 400 ft lbs of torque at the rear wheels. Not too shabby :D

Mustang GT - These are real fun bang for you buck cars IMO. They have a SOHC 16V engine. 260 hp at flywheel and 302 ft lbs of torque. I have read some people on here are getting them for as low as 19K.

Some things to keep in mind. Say you cant afford the Cobra, and it boils down to the Mach 1 vs getting a GT. The DOHC 32V is going to respond to mods better than the little 16V'r. Each mod you do will react better on the 4V than the GT's 2v V8.

Also, you picked a great time to be buying a new car IMO. The last of the 04 Cobras are on the lot, so there are excellent rebates etc, and ecspecially the GT's since the brand new and much different 05's are going to be hitting the showroom floor here right quick. I dont think there are any Mach's on the lots out here in San Diego...Im sure you could get a great deal on one of those as well. Good Luck, and welcome to StangNet.

Pardon for superlong post - it didnt sound like you knew the differences between the three and i am bored here at work :nice:
 
Ford giving a deal on a Cobra?

I remember in 1998 they wouldn't even think for one millionth of a fraction of a second about dealing off window sticker for any Cobra in exsistence. This has changed?? :jaw:
 
sgtfirormsg said:
monthly payments will be much higher with the cobra...
I learned from buying cars with only a few thousand down, about high payments.... From now on I put at least half down or 100% cash, no exceptions. I sold new Chevrolet's in OKC for a little while, so I know what kind of shape the car market is in, but if Ford is dealing on Cobra's I'd think they were about to go broke! :D
 
Back2Mustangs said:
I remember in 1998 they wouldn't even think for one millionth of a fraction of a second about dealing off window sticker for any Cobra in exsistence. This has changed?? :jaw:

Yes it has changed, ill bet when the 03 Cobras first came out you paid at least the window sticker.

Its a bit surprising, that the deals are so good. I think they are having a tough time selling them off. I know there is no Cobra for 05, but this time of year they want to push the rest of the 04's off the lot. I have a friend who can get me the x-plan pricing and to go with the rebates, thats the reason I was looking into it. The price is still a bit out of my reach :(

I do have big plans for my GT, and I do enjoy that car alot :D
 
Just bought my 02 GT for $16k. I can't really afford a cobra or i would have gone with that. But i traded in my 98GT for this one, and i LOVE it.

Where i bought mine:
www.verackamotors.com

They have a few Mach1's and Cobras there. I COULD Have bought a cobra, but insurance is REDICULOUS on cobras. Might want to take that into consideration. At 21, insurance on my GT (full coverage) is $4300 and full coverage for a *99* cobra was 8100 :rolleyes: So keep insurance in mind. I live in New Jersey by the way..and please don't stone me. I know jersey sucks :rlaugh:

You better believe when im 25 and insurance prices drop im getting a cobra :D

IMO I would go with a Mach or a Cobra if you can afford it. Although i dont like the shaker scoop on the Machm because u cant put on any custom aftermarket hoods. But the engine is great. I went with the GT because its affordable and you can make it as fast as a mach or Cobra for less money put in. However resale is not as good as a Cobra or Mach. Goodluck in ur search. :)
 
The weak spot of the current mustang is the interior design. the shifter and the pedals are all put in the wrong places so you can't sit comfortably back in your seat. and the GT seats are terrible.

that said, the mach 1 is a vast improvement power wise over the GT. and it has better seats, too. :)

for an extra 5k, the mach is worth it. hands down.