True Valuations Of Special Edition Mustangs

Nightwatcher

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Aug 10, 2017
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I recently joined to find information about true valuations of Special Edition Mustangs. I have owned three Mustangs during my lifetime. My first one was a red 1967 Mustang 390 GTA Fastback and my second one was a blue 1973 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback.

Back in 2000, my son pointed out a zinc yellow 2000 Mustang GT at my local Ford dealer. I did like the zinc yellow color and the design of the 2000 Mustang GT. My 2000 Mustang became my fun car that I used for touring and just for fun driving. I had other vehicles to go to work and run errands such as shopping. At the time, I had no idea about special edition Mustangs and if they were worth more than a standard production. There were times that I thought about trading it in or selling it. But when I found out it was a special edition, I decided to keep it and have historic license plates put on once the Mustang turned 25 years old on 2025.

When I took it to the Ford dealer for brake work a couple of years ago, the employees mentioned how pristine and new the Mustang appeared. My Mustang was garaged and stored winters to protect it from road salt. It did get caught in a couple of rains. It had a little over 32,000 miles and it was pure stock with no modifications. The exterior paint is all original and not a single scratch or dent except for a couple small paint chips around the headlights.

Unfortunately for me, my prized Mustang was totaled earlier this year when a semi truck struck a car from behind and pushed it into another vehicle. I was coming from the opposite direction on a two lane road and could not avoid the first car and semi when they both went left of center over the double yellow center line.

The Spring Edition or Spring Feature, as some call it, was about a $990 option which shared a couple of the 35th Anniversary Edition appearance items, mainly the hood and side scoops. There were a total of 3091 Spring Edition Mustangs produced in 2000. There were only 917 zinc yellow Spring Editions produced since zinc yellow was only used on the Spring Edition and not on any other 2000 Mustangs.

I know that the value of a car is what a willing seller and a willing buyer will pay. NADA price guides has some Special Edition Mustangs listed but not the 2000 Spring Edition. while researching the past few weeks, I came upon many 35th Anniversary Editions that were not valued correctly, especially in insurance auction lots. There were some true 35th Anniversary Editions valued as common 1999 Mustang GTs.

I have been checking sales of limited production Mustangs and see some 1999 Mustangs selling at a premium, even by dealerships. A 35th Anniversary fender badge does not mean that the 1999 Mustang is a true 35th edition. A coin such as a quarter is only worth 25 cents to me but to a coin collector might be worth much more. The same could apply to any car sought by willing buyers. I have seen some older cars in pristine condition in a dealership showrooms selling for almost what a new car would cost.
 
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Welcome to Stangnet.

I'm not sure about the specific collectibility of your particular mustang.

Things can be fickle when it comes to value in the later generations of mustangs.

I personally have an '83 t-top coupe. Only 700 were made that year. It's still not worth a bunch more than the average fox.

But yours is an edge, different audience entirely.

If you don't mind, I'll move your thread over to the SN95 general talk subforum. Maybe the guys there could offer some knowledge up on this car.

Just for me though, would you mind posting a picture of your mustang?

It's good to have you with us.
 
One thing about my Mustang is that it was in pristine condition and all factory original except for the battery and front brake calipers. The tires were also original but not ready for replacement. I had comments from the Ford service manager when I had brake work done on it a couple of years ago. He used the word "pristine" a couple of times. Also the service technician who replaced the calipers on the front mentioned that the car was beautiful. The Mustang was 15 years old at the time. I will go check the dealership service records to see if the service manager made any type of notation such as using the word "pristine" in the description of my Mustang but I doubt it.

I will have to look for photos that are in storage that were taken by a film camera if they exist. Some of my digital photos might show the Mustang in the background but they would not show close-up images of the condition that it was in. I will have to look through for some older digital camera cards to see what photos I can come up with.

Of course a 1999 Mustang GT 35th Anniversary Mustang would be more valuable than mine if it were in pristine condition and had low mileage like my 2000 because of additional appearance features such as the spoiler and other features related to the 35th package. The 35th package was a $2695 while mine was only about $990. Both packages are appearance packages and not performance. I have the original window sticker stashed away somewhere.

NADA has this statement: Note: Vehicles with low mileage that are in exceptionally good condition and/or include a manufacturer certification can be worth a significantly higher value than the Clean Retail price shown.

So a regular Mustang in pristine condition maybe could have a higher valuation than some special model Mustangs such as the Cobra, Bullitt, SVT or third party such as Saleen and Roush. Many factors come into play such as the appearance, condition and history of the vehicle.

A visual inspection of a vehicle and appraisal would be far more accurate of a vehicle's condition and true valuation than a price guide like NADA.

http://www.nadaguides.com/FAQ/values-and-pricing

Many Mustang enthusiasts are aware of the 35th Anniversary Edition because of internet information exposure but little information about other limited edition Mustangs. Some say that the 35th Anniversary and Spring Editions are not worth more than regular Mustangs because they are only appearance features and not performance.

I have seen some over-priced vehicles online and some under-priced ones. A example is the 35th Anniversary Edition.

BTW, do not trust CarFax for a vehicle's history. I almost bought a used 2005 Focus station wagon and CarFax did not have complete history information. I was suspicious of the paint over-spray, new glass and mud and water stains in the spare tire well. I used AutoCheck which has more information. That 2005 Focus was probably damaged by a tornado that went through the city where the car was serviced.
 
Welcome to Stangnet.

I'm not sure about the specific collectibility of your particular mustang.

Things can be fickle when it comes to value in the later generations of mustangs.

I personally have an '83 t-top coupe. Only 700 were made that year. It's still not worth a bunch more than the average fox.

But yours is an edge, different audience entirely.

If you don't mind, I'll move your thread over to the SN95 general talk subforum. Maybe the guys there could offer some knowledge up on this car.

Just for me though, would you mind posting a picture of your mustang?

It's good to have you with us.

I will try to find a decent photo after going through some photos taken with a film camera and also digital camera cards that I have in storage if the photos exist. I do see some online photos of a 2000 Mustang GT Spring Feature in zinc yellow that look the same as mine but they would not be photos of my Mustang. Mine also had the AT and not 5-Speed manual transmission. I do have some ready to copy and paste photos of my Mustang but the photos were of the Mustang in the background. Mine was the coupe and not convertible.
 
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Are you trying to get a better price from your insurance?
Yes. Insurance payments for total losses vary from state to state. I live in Ohio, a state that uses corrosive road salt during the winters. I was told that my insurance company uses a third party company to determine Actual Cash Value (ACV) for total losses. At this time, I do not know what figures or parameters this third party used. I believe that they use some type of software to put in figures and locations. There are so many questions that I need answered. I also have to prove somehow that my Mustang was in pristine condition (before crash) which would add considerably to its valuation which is primary to the secondary fact that it was a limited edition Mustang.

Once my Mustang became 25 years old, I had planned to get a different insurance company such as Hagerty or Hemmings.

At this time, I am looking for answers to my questions. I do know that a Southern vehicle that was not exposed to corrosive road salt is worth much more than a vehicle from Northern states that use road salt.

http://www.insurance.com/auto-insurance/claims/understanding-your-options-for-a-totaled-car.aspx
 
Your best tool is to find past sales of similar cars showing what they were sold for. Ebay is a great tool for this. You can search past auctions and see what similar condition cares have sold for, and use that to go back to the insurance company.

Usually, the special editions that garner the most attention have some sort of performance attributes associated with the package as well. The anniversary editions, and spring edition mustangs were really more decal packages, so they may not be as sought after as a car with a performance package would be, like a Mach 1, which is also limited production. Why buy a GT with a decal package for the same price that I can get a Mach 1 for? Know what I mean?

So you have two challenges here. One is proving that your pristine car is worth more than average book value for a same year GT. This one should be easy with past sales data you can collect. The next one to prove will be that your special edition car has a significant premium over a regular GT in the same condition. This one will be harder to prove, as the lower numbers means lower sales data of cars is like condition.

PS, You do not need to wait to age 25 to insure with haggerty. They will consider newer cars if there is something unique about them, like a special edition. I believe the min value of a 2000 must be $7500
 
I also live in Ohio and currently have two limited edition 1999 mustang convertibles. The red one is one of about 1100 produced and the white one is one of 515 produced. So the limited editions in prestine condition are going up in value because of the low production numbers.

The red one I have is exactly the same car that was sold this year at Barrett Jackson Action for $55,000. That car was a wrapper car with 100 miles never titled but mine having 23,000 miles should bring decent money to the right buyer.

The White one has 12k Miles so it should sell at a decent price as well.

There are features on the limited edition that are getting harder to find especially the aluminum wheels which they only made for this car for one year. On EBay the center caps NOS go for 100 bucks each and the rims even in average shape if you can find them are bringing 1,000 bucks for a set.

As far as insurance, I have them classified as limited use with a value of 18k and 20k.

I entered the white one in a all mustang show with about 20 cars in my division and brought home first place trophy. Great cars and they are starting to get noticed as there aren't many of them in nice shape.

Did you know Ford dealers were only allowed one to sell and that was it. Most were special orders.

Believe it or not the 1999 fully equipped limited edition convertible sticker price was more than a 2004 Mach 1.
 

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Lot #400.4 - This 35th Anniversary Limited Edition VIP build convertible has over 100 assembly-line photos and a one-off convertible parade boot with unique anniversary logo. It's powered by a 4.6-liter SOHC V8 engine and 5-speed manual transmission. The Window Sticker and all build/shipping markings are still on the car. Never dealer prepped, it still has plastic on the seats and steering wheel. 13 actual miles (the title reads mileage exempt). All books, records and manuals. Deluxe Marti Report included.
 
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