Guidance please, Mustang in the near future(i hope)

[vaughan watkins]

Hi guys, Just after a bit of advice please, i am currently a Corvette owner (1975)sorry didnt mean to swear! and have had it for 11 years, i have always loved Mustangs (my father has had a Mach 1 as well as an 69 350 Shelby) but went the Vette route as it was my first dream car as a kid as well just as avoiding the rust issue in earlier Mustangs, now the question is? i currently run a van for work but due to climbing the ladder i am off the tools and more office based, so i am thinking hey i could get a newer mustang and run it as my every day car, now i am a V8 lover but due to it being an every day car do i go the V6 route, i will still have the Vette for V8 satisfaction and a mustang for looking good and cruising, i would go the 20" route and lower it, what say you? If i were loaded i wouldnt bother you but as im 34 with a family and mortgage i dont have pots of money, will i be satisfied ? What are the V6 like long term i have test driven 1 V6 a couple of months ago in the wet and it felt gutless, was it a bad car or was it wheel spinning (do the V6 had LSD)if not 1 wheel may have been spinning it was hard to tell, your views would really help at the moment as i am finding it hard to decide, the local Mustang place (the one by the M3) are not very helpful as they dont know sh3t about the cars they are selling, as well as taking my Father there some months ago with money burning a hole in his pocket they would not even take a car of the ramp for him to try!
Thanks for reading.

[jvaughan]

Can only add to this ... Forge the place on the M3 .. I soke with them and the response was well, diabolic to say the liest. Your right with the "not wanting to be bothered" attitude.

Ive been looking wit a view to purchase for a while now .. I have a house move and a TVR to sell before I can commit, but my wife is sold on me getting one.. But it has to be yellow or orange, and accoriding to the wife, it must be a V8 and must have 20" alloys :lol:

[vpr]

The only thing I would say is that it's just gotta be a V8

[AdeTuono]

Another Corvette refugee!

I've never heard anyone with a good thing to say about the M3 place (that's not naming & shaming, right?) but can endorse what Swerni said about Atlantic. That's where mine came from, and James is a top guy to deal with. A true enthusiast.

Forget the V6; you'll only regret not getting a V8.

[vaughan watkins]

Hey guys, thanks for the input, i was going to go up to Luton when they had there BBQ but didnt want to waste their time, as at that point it was only a fantasy and i am sure they get tired of time wasters, When i went down to the place by the M3 i took my father down as i wanted him to get a tweaked Roush Mustang as he was in the middle of down sizing in home and had a potential £100k to play with and they were not interested at all! i even left my number for them to call me so that when they had a mustang on the ground my father could at least sit in one to see if he would like it, i wonder if the boss is aware of their good sales technique ! (the other problem of going to Luton is my other dream car is a Viper!and i could end up selling the house to follow that dream!)

[tinman0]

I have the choice of a van and Mustang GT for day to day stuff (UK side), and generally its the van that gets used. The Mustang comes out once a week, and sometimes at the weekends, but thats it as it eats me alive in petrol.

edit

strange what everyone says about the place on the M3. i went down there (my first port of call) for a prearranged test drive on a car that they didn't have in stock. talk about wasting my time. then the salesman tells me they have no V6 GTs (S197) - yeah mate - wonder why, and that would the convertible GT they had in stock be what I was looking for despite explicitly saying that I wanted a manual, coupe, and was on a budget??? so what part of convertible, auto and 3k over my budget matches my requirements????

plus all the S197s they had in stock had wheels that had the wrong offset. i do not want rubber that sticks outside the arch by nearly an inch, that makes it look like a hot wheels toy car....

strange place.

Edited by tinman0 on Wednesday 2nd January 02:19

[Twin Turbo]

Get yourself over to www.s197.co.uk as it's the UK's first "New Mustang" specific website.

I know of a couple of people that have purchased their Mustang's from "the side of the M3" and whilst there's nothing wrong with the cars, per se, the sales technique leaves a lot to be desired.

Pity you didn't go to Atlantics summer BBQ. I was Mustang-less at that point and wasn't going there to buy, more to look around and meet some current owners. The guys & gals from Atlantic made me very welcome. Oh, they do a great burger too.

I ended up buying my car privately (e-bay) but I've heard nothing but praise for Atlantic. Bill Shepherd is another established Mustang specialist, based in Surrey.

Ask all the questions you like on the S197 site....you'll get plenty of feedback.


Cheers

Paul

[Sushi]

when's the next berkshire/hampshire meet TT ?

[Twin Turbo]

Hi matey

Probably looking at the 26th Jan. I'll confirm that and then get a thread going on the Owners Club forum.

[Sushi]

cool, if it's at the same place this guy can come along and take a look at the various motors.

[vaughan watkins]

Hey that would be great, as long as nobody would throw stones at me for driving a Vette! (the old Ford Chevy thing) I will keep an eye out on here, P.S the only reason i was considaring a V6 is that i would use it every day and i have seen an 06 model with 12,000 miles i can get for 13k ?

[LuS1fer]

The 2005-on Mustang is a huge improvement on older Mustangs but the V6 is the poverty spec model and it shows with smmaller front brakes, no rear anti-roll bar and a fairly nasty all-plastic interior and probably cloth seats. The 2010hp V6 is an iron-block engine and whilst not slow, it's not going to set your world alight.

The 2005 V8s (GT) come in deluxe (basic) spec and Premium. The Premium has a better interior with leather seats and many in the UK have interior upgrades that give you leather on the steering wheel and a silver dash and vents. The upgrade is ntable by the 4 gauges in the centre of the speedo/tacho instead of two.

2005s have had a chequered selling history but have been as low as £15k if not less. if you can find one, buy one. Alternatively, the V6 came with a Pony Package (identifiable by small fog lights in the grille and a corral round the grille pony. This has the V8 suspension.

The V8 is undoubtedly the better car and will keep it's value better. Buying a V6 cheap is all very well but you may end up spending more on upgrading the cheap bits.

Your other option is importing one. You can get these V8s in the US for about $18000 or less which is £9k plus shipping, 10% import duty and VAT on top, SVA test and registration. Bank on £1000 for a proper SVA conversion thougfh as the electrics are very tricky and sensitive.

Edited by LuS1fer on Sunday 6th January 10:54

[LuS1fer]

Oops. Bit of a rush that one.

Edited by LuS1fer on Sunday 6th January 22:32

[Double R]

what about the new Mustang Shelby GT seen on the latest issue of EVO? Got good reviews there it seems.

I am now a bit lost with all the surfeit of MODERN Mustang models... Super Snake, Shelby GT, Bullitt, KR

is there a place where one can see some order in the performances of these cars?

TIA

[Twin Turbo]

Double R said:

what about the new Mustang Shelby GT seen on the latest issue of EVO? Got good reviews there it seems.

I am now a bit lost with all the surfeit of MODERN Mustang models... Super Snake, Shelby GT, Bullitt, KR

is there a place where one can see some order in the performances of these cars?

TIA

In terms of performance:
1 - Super Snake (a GT500 with the heat turned up to 11)
2 - KR (a GT500 with the heat turned up to 9)
3 - Shelby GT (a GT +25bhp)
4 - Bullitt (a GT +25bhp, but you're not paying for the Shelby name).

Take a look here for more info on all the latest '05+ Mustangs:
http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/timeline/05/

[Double R]

much obliged TT!

thanks

[LuS1fer]

He forgot the actual GT500 between 2 and 3 - above which would be any supercharged (aftermarket) GT.
There is also a little secret that you can order the Shelby GT (all-alloy engine) with a Ford racing supercharger and get full warranty - that would be above the GT500 too.

[vaughan watkins]

Well i have gone and done it ! Yesterday I bought the one i mentioned earlier, i managed to arrange a car allowance through work which just about covers it ish! So i am now the proud owner of a silver 2006 V6 with 12,600 miles on the clock, shaker 500, electric drivers seat, traction control, grey leather and a couple of small dents, have to say i am really really pleased with it, i thought being a V6 i would be dissapointed but far from it, as i will use this every day for work doing site visits and running around (instead of a transit connect) i cant believe how lucky i am to get to drive it every day! there is a god after all, and i still have the corvette in the garage for noisy V8 fun.So for £12,500 i am a happy chappy.

[Twin Turbo]

Congratulations matey - see you over on www.s197.co.uk

[J4CKO]

Just spent a week in a rented V6 cab in Atlanta, I thought it was a good car, I would prefer a manual to make the most of the power but its quick-ish, sounds nice, drives well and looks great. 210 bhp is enough for most situations and by no means slow, its just not as fast as the GT and upwards.