I had to pay significantly less than the estimates that I got to paint the car ($6k-$10K and 6-8 weeks). I don't know what they will be selling my car for, but they gave me $25K for it (not bad considering I bought it for $27K and got to drive it for a few months.

Go to Future Ford in Concord, CA, and ask for Kai Robinson. Tell him Rommel sent you. I think they have something like 16 GT's on the lot right now. When you talk to Kai, be sure to say hi to Ken, the GSM, and Franco, the closer. They're great guys, and I really enjoyed the experiences (yes, experience times two).

Good luck.

 

Not too fond of those wheels.
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I agree. They might be a little too "bling" for me anyway. It's a moot point, though. 20" wheels like that are out of my current budget. My priorities are the hood/roof/trunk stripes and the body kit. Wheels will be sometime this summer (I hope).

The dealership where I bought the car, Future Ford in Concord, CA, had some sweet 20" wheel packages with Eibach lowering springs on a few of their Mustangs. Each package was $6,995. Ouch.

 

You are absolutely right. I mean no offense to those who have or will have a Mineral Gray car. It's a great color, but it just wasn't for me.

I bought it thinking that it was the closest that I could get to Dark Shadow Gray, but in the end, for me, "close" wasn't enough.

Also, a lot of my friends think that I am nuts (for lots of reasons), but the least of which is they thought that Mineral Gray is the best color option available.

 

rcinco, did you actually see the mineral grey in person before ordering the car? my bet is no. Let this be a lesson boys and girls...

Anyway, it's great that you were able to get what you really wanted in the end. Looking forward to some pics, before and after you modify it!
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I did see it before I bought it. I think the lesson here, for me at least, is not to pick the color of your car at night...outside. Also, I was so excited to have a shot at the Mustang GT without having to wait an indeterminate amount of time (I ordered one at another dealership three months ago, and they still haven't started to build the car).

I'm impulsive. That is another...issue. This is my 11th car in 3 years.

 

Holy rusted metal Batman! 11 cars in 3 years? I've had 6 in the last 6 years and I thought I was crazy!

1: 1989 Fiat Panda
2. 1989 Ford Tempo
3. 1991 Crown Vic
4. 1999 Ford Escort
5. 2002 Ford Escape XLS
6. 2002 Ford Mustang V6

and soon my killer hotrod . . .

7. 1997 Ford Escort Wagon *ROCK*

 

I think I know what you were looking for, both the brochures and the Mustang website showed the mineral gray as being more of a pure gray like the car they were presenting at the auto shows with the stripes. That was in my opinion, the ultimate color. Then I saw one on the street around Thanksgiving and was somewhat dissapointed, maybe because I was expecting the color that I saw in the magazines.

They are probably saving that for the Cobra or something else. So I went with black.

I also researched having it painted and got the same response.

 

 

Hey FourLights, according to Brad's info, that color you showed is called Titanium and will be available on all mustangs for the 2006 model year. I agree with you. I think it is gorgeous.

 

As has been said, to each his own. I saw my first Mineral Gray 05 in Dallas just 2 weeks ago.

I flew in for a business meeting in Austin but decided to stop in Dallas to see some of the local dealer's inventory.

I hadn't been considering MG at all. Previously, I had been going back and forth between Satin Silver and Legend Lime.

I saw an MG and an SS sitting side by side, and I liked the MG better. I was really surprised at how good the MG looked - especially the one I drove with a Light Parchment interior. I like the fact that it looks different on sunny days and couldy days.

Just my 2 cents...

 

Congratulations on the new car. You did the right thing in getting what you want. It was also probably most cost effective to do it now while the dealership can offer you the most money for your used GT, as they are in limited supply. As for raiding the kid's college fund, here in Seattle we would just go with one less latte per week to make up for it.

 

Thanks. I feel pretty good about my decision. Realy, I am just glad that I made a decision. I was agonizing over this for weeks, and I really did want to do it while there was still a short days' supply of the Mustang GTs on the lots.

BTW - Seattle rules! My wife and I were either going to move to the Bay area or Seattle a few years ago, but I got a job in SF.

 

I can't believe you got 25k, that's such a good deal on a trade. Guess used gt's have great reasale. Do you get a tax credit on the new one because of the trade in your state?
I think mineral grey defenately looks brown...steely light brown, but brown the same. I think it's the perfect color for the '05 though...it's kinda subdued retro I think. But I can clearly see why someone wanting grey wouldn't like it...

 

Yeah, the GTs are definitely hot right now. I got three estimates from Bay Area dealers, and the range was from $24,500 - $25,500 (the place that was offering this was also selling their GT for almost $5,000 over MSRP).

In terms of the tax credit, I don't know. Please expound on that because I would love to be able to get a write-off on it. The only write-off that I am aware of is for the registration fees. In that case, I'll have two registration fees to claim.

 

It's not an end of the year tax credit, it's a credit on the sales tax you pay on your new car. Say the gt you buy after the trade is 29k and your trade is worth 25k. What happens in ct is that you'll only pay tax on 4k, the new car cost minus the trade value.
Only problem is around here is that dealers use that as another excuse to stiff you on the trade-in value.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll check to see if there are similar tax codes here.

 

Congrats on the do-over!

Re sales tax... a simple example:

County/state sales tax is 7%...If I want to buy a $25,000 car:

Deal A:
Old car trade-in, dealer low-ball....$10,000
Difference ($15,000) financed.......$15,000 ($350/mo)
Tax on difference..........................$01,050
Total............................................. $26,050

Deal B:
Sell my old car privately...............$12,500
Difference financed......................$12,500 ($292/mo)
Tax on price ($25,000).................$01,750
Total............................................$ 26,750

Deal B total is $700 more than Deal A, but is $2,784 cheaper on
finance, saving a net $2,084 in the long run.

 

Don't forget that you now have the option of deducting sales taxes on your federal return. For folks who live in states with no income tax, this is a big deal. (Sales tax on my car will be well over $2,000; the car deduction alone is worth more than $700.)

 

I went back and forth a hundred times during the waiting period for my car to arrive if I should have ordered something besides Mineral Grey. I had never seen it in person and everyones pictures that they'd post all looked different. Some looking too brownish. When I picked it up it was love at first sight. And I immediately wondered why I ever questioned the MG color. It's beautiful in every light and under no circumstances have I ever thought it looked too brown. But I'm liking the fact that it seems like it's going to be a pretty rare color because so many people le were iffy on the color when ordering. I guarantee they'll be selling a lot more this spring when people see them on the lots. But like somebody already said, the 05 looks good in every color. So you can't make a mistake.

 

I completely agree I too was concerned about the "earthy" hues on MG in different lighting, but that's one of the things I love about it. I'm coming from a black 96GT that showed every swirl and speck of dust, so the metallic content in MG is very welcome