wjones14

So this is my first post as a Mach 1 member (500 posts). Firstly, kudos to this forum. It was like a much-needed therapy session while waiting for delivery after placing the order. Not sure if I could have gotten through that period with my sanity intact without the forum. And of course, it is the Bible when it comes to Mustang info.

My '05 GT will be 2 years old in a couple weeks. It has 16K miles on it. There is really no bad news to report. It has not had a single problem yet, and has not been back to the dealer at all. I change the oil/filter and rotate the tires myself in the garage. 1,500 miles was the first oil change, using the factory Motorcraft synthetic blend. Then at 3,000 miles I switched over to Mobil 1, and have used it since, every 3K miles. Motorcraft oil filters.

I try to keep good care of it as far as washing, waxing, interior care, and most importantly - watching where I park. To date, it doesn't have a single scratch or swirl mark on it [knock on wood]. But I have had to be quite **** to keep it that way - always parking in an end spot, washing it at minimum once a week with chenille pads (weather permitting), waxing it (Meguiar's NXT) every 3 months or so, etc. I also don't do much highway driving, so I've been lucky about not getting any paint chips on the nose from rocks and pebbles.

One thing that hasn't hurt as far as keeping it scratch/nick free is that I have a winter beater car for the first time. I never really wanted one before, because I just always wanted to be driving my main car year-round, but this year we ended up getting a Subaru Forester as a third car, for the kids to use when they're home from college, and because two cars ain't enough any more. Anyway, the Subaru is a perfect winter car being AWD. I've still been driving the Mustang too, on the nicer days, but when there's a threat of snow (or even rain - haha), I've been taking the Forester lately and leaving the Mustang in the garage.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I really don't feel any need at all to do mods to this car, other than really minor ones. I put a Hurst shifter in it, and that might be all I ever do. The way I look at it, this car is a daily driver, I won't be taking it to the track, I don't street race it, and 300 hp is basically enough for me. I've heard Mustangs with SLPs or Flowmasters, and they sound great, and obviously not stock, but to me the stock 2.5" pipes sound great too. In fact when co-workers or friends get in the car for the first time and I start it up, their first comment is always something like, "Wow, this car sounds awesome!" Don't get me wrong - I know there's room for improvement - and I like reading about all the mods that people on this forum do to their cars. But most mods are a compromise of sorts; for instance you get better handling at the cost of a harsher ride, or you get an improved tune at the cost of having to use premium fuel, etc. So for me, it's still a great car when left stock, and more fun than any car I can think of in the price range.

There are some minor gripes:

1. Mine does have the fuel filling issue. The first time I filled it, the pump kept shutting off like every 1/2 gallon. So around the 10 gallon mark, I started filling it as slow as the pump would allow. And it overflowed! So embarrassing... Since then, I've learned that it will fill at full pump speed if I put the nozzle in only halfway.

2. It had a rattle inside. Only in cold weather, and only when the engine rpms were between 2500 and 3300 or so. It sounded like it was coming from the gauge area, but I'm not really sure. So during last Spring and Summer, the rattle disappeared, but it came back in the first cold weather of December. Then for Xmas, I got 4 Pioneer 6"x8" speakers, and after pulling the door panels off and putting them back, the noise is miraculously gone! I can't really be sure what it was. I think maybe it was the plastic trim piece that covers the screw behind the door opener handle. Whatever, it's gone, and good riddance.

3. I love the IUP MyColor gauge lighting and message center, but couldn't Ford have used a digital readout for the Instantaneous Fuel Economy mode instead of bars?! What does 7 bars mean? Why not display 25mpg if that's what it is? Other cars I've seen use a gauge with numbers. It would have been just as easy as the silly bars.

Overall however, the pluses FAR outweigh the negatives. I'd buy another one in a second, and would recommend one to anyone who is looking for the best performance bargain anywhere under $30K. It's raw and unrefined, but that's part of its personality. I'll never get sick of its looks - it's just so fresh and unique in a world full of cookie-cutter car designs. There are no Mustang badges or labels anywhere on the outside, yet it's instantly recognizable as a Mustang, even to non-car buffs.

Buying this car was a no-brainer for me - there really wasn't another choice. A year before the S197 appeared on dealer lots I knew I wanted one. I had briefly toyed with the idea of going with a pre-owned BMW 330Ci, until I drove one. It handled like a dream, the steering was instantaneous and phenomenal, and it was fairly quick. But it wasn't Mustang-quick, and there was no low-end push-you-back-in-the-seat torque. Right then, I knew I would always miss that torque if I bought the BMW. Not only that, but the dealer wanted $31K for a 2001 car with normal nicks and scratches and 47,000 miles.

Summing up my experience after two years - it's been a heck of a ride, and I'm looking forward to several more (and my next 500 posts).

2005GTDELUXE

sounds good to me.

runfox

wjones14, I could not have said it much better. I would have to agree with your summary, MY experience after 2 years is pretty much the same. Hard to beleive its been two years. I remember how exciting it was picking her up right after christmas 12/04. The best christmas I have ever had as an adult.
I park as far out as possible and so far no dings or scratchs. I do see a nick or two where a stone or such have chipped into the paint but not too bad. I got 22k on her and it has been great. Only had to go to the dealer for repair one time, battery was dead after a month vacation, after a charge up, drivers side door would not go up all the way after opening it, they replaced the switch, no more problems. No rattles, sitll drives and sounds like new. I still get a grin when I start her up and hit the gas on the on ramps. I have heard Vetts, Vipers, and so many cars, but none sounds as good as my mustang.

I agree on the stock looks too. The more I look at it the better it looks from all angles. They got the lines right , all classic angles that are timeless. From the curved rear glass on the fast back to the fender flares , to the headlights, they all say Mustang. The Mustang will continue to evlove and change, but I belive this body style will never look old or dated. I think this one will be a classic like the 68;s and 69;s

WERKED 66

you can get a read out of avg. mpg scroll through all the options in the message center you will find it.

DynamicmustangGT

Try shaking out the nozzle at the fuel pump, mine did the same thing once and it was the vapors and left over gas from the guy in front of me topping off his fuel, sending a signal telling the pump to shut off. It worked and the attendent gave me 5 bucks off.

Bill, Rich and everyone else in CT there is a show scheduled for April 29th at Central CT State University, I'd like to see some people from this forum there. Also mustangs unlimited released their show schedule june 10th be there

Hollywood_North GT

Which is sort of a double-edged sword, since this car just screams "road trip."

Nice write up, though.

wjones14

well yeah, there is average mpg... and I look at that all the time. I'm talking about the instantaneous mpg. On the Mustang msg center it's called Fuel Economy, and instead of using numbers (like every other car I've seen), they use bars - more bars means higher mpg. Why didn't they use numbers instead of bars?! That's my point.

You can get almost the effect of instantaneous mpg by using the Avg Mpg readout, and constantly hitting the refresh button, but it always is just an average except immediately after refreshing.

Like I said it's a minor gripe, but I only pointed it out because it wouldn't have cost any more for them to show a number instead of the bars.

The BMW 330, btw, has an actual instantaneous mpg gauge. (and that's one of the reasons it costs what it does. )