Hey guys. I've been lurking on here for a while, and thought I would post up an update. My wife and I used to have a 03 GT, and sold it a couple of years ago. She thought she needed something with more space so we currently have a 03 Tahoe. She does like the extra space, but we regret selling the Mustang. Well we have been kind of holding off looking for one because my daughter is turning 16 in a couple of years and we were focusing on getting her a vehicle. Well I scored a sweet deal on a 04 F150 Heritage XL for her, so my wife said it's time to get a Mustang.

Now that I have rambled on long enough I'll get to my point. We are looking at the 05-09 GT's this time. I'm not as familiar with these as I am with the 99-04's. Anything I should keep an eye out for issue wise? I was kind of leary of the 05's just because it is the first year of the new style, however they are primarily the ones that we are finding in the budget we want to stay in. I tried talking her into spending a little more for a lower mileage 08-09, but she doesn't want to spend that much. At first I was bummed, but then I started thinking that gives me more money to play with.

Any advice you guys can give would be greatly appreciated. I can't wait to get behind the wheel of another Mustang!!

 

I bought a grabber orange 08 gt with 30k miles last year and I am very happy. But if I was in your shoes now I would either get a rare 05-09 gt's like Roush, Shelby gt, Shelby gt500, saleen.. something that holds it's value later on and is nice.. especially if your looking for power

If your looking to cruise a gt/cs convertible is pretty sweet.

Or you can wait a little longer and try to get a used 5.0 ( which I doubt there are many and would be a bit pricey still )

If your looking to do performance mods that would consist more then a cold air kit then save your money and get a supercharger or if u wait longer put that money down more on a new car ...

That's my opinion its up to you and what your budget says and what you want .. but just don't jump to buy anything...

Also check out the mystic chrome cobra 04-03 terminator.. that car is insane all around ..

Hope you find what your looking for

 

Thanks for the input. This will be my wife's daily driver so we are just looking for a GT. When my youngest daughter graduates in 4 yrs, which doesn't seem possible, I may look for a more special edition Mustang. I really like the Shelby GT's, and the GT/CS's.

 

I bought my 5.0 used with 6k miles... You just have to look around online often and be watchful for rental cars... Nobody wants a ragged out 5.0 rental w/ 20k miles... Too risky

 

Here this is what you'll want to look for in the 05-09 S-197s



The good: They've got a bit more power over the regular GT and they tend to have better high speed manners

The bad: Gas mileage is a bit worse and they only come with an M6.

 

Yeah one more bad: Price!!!

I would love to have one of those, but that is WAY out of the price range for us right now. Maybe years down the road.

I think we are happy with just a GT right now. A toy can come a few years later after the youngest is out of school.

 

Ok here's the rundown of the differences from what I can recall.

'05 some of them had issues with leaking on the passenger side floor... turned out to be blockage of the drain on the cowl but I don't know if this was re-designed (I have an '06 and have never had the problem but I keep my car CLEAN).

'06 had color changes and dropped these colors :

Legend Lime, Sonic Blue, Mineral Gray

And added:

Tungsten Silver, Vista Blue
Not sure when Grabber Orange was introduced, but I believe it was '07

'06 also came with driver's side airbags as an option (I don't know if the '05 offered those) and 3.55 gears (same as '05)... also a little-known fact... '06 cars have the rear seatbelt guides deleted, not a big deal and really only cosmetic, but there ya go.

'07 is where they changed more stuff.

'07 the unibody was stiffened and they added approx 100 pounds with the stiffening.

This was done to accommodate the GT500 power plant which is much heaver than the 4.6.

They also came stock with 3.31 gears and you had to pay extra for the 3.55 gears as an option.

I'm pretty sure that's the extent of the changes. There were wheel option changes and so on but nothing major as far as I can remember.

'08 started offering the ambient lighting options (colored lights in the cupholders etc.)

I think that's all.

I still have my '06 and drive it every day to work and love it!

 

Wow thanks for all the info. Gives me a little more knowledge. Can't ever have enough of that.

 

You say, tell me another mid 12 second car that goes almost 190 mph (unfettered) for less than 50k (at the time).

Or tell me another car that you only have to add a modest amount of equipment (bolt ons) and can dip into the 11s and crack the 200 mph barrier.

Granted, a GT500 is no 911 GT2 RS or a Nissan GT-R or even a Corvette Z06, but in terms of accessing serious levels of performance its hard to beat the price.

Even better since Ford hasn't rested on its **** when it comes to the GT500's performance, the first gen cars aren't all that expensive. I've run across 07-09 GT500s around 30k and a rare few under 30k.

That said, a GT500 isn't for everbody, its a brute pure and simple (when compared to its contemporaries), if finesse is your game then look elsewhere.

Just imagine in 10 or 15 years when they really drop in value and any 16 year old kid with a few bucks in thier piggy bank can get one

 

Oh don't get me wrong. If I had the money I would for sure own one, or two, or....

I was just saying the price is way out of the range that I can afford at this point. I didn't mean to make it sound like they weren't worth the price, or that you didn't get a lot of bang for the buck. Just not for this guys pocket book.

 

Pretty sure I remember hearing about more than their share of clutch issues with the early GT500s. You may want to stay away from those especially since the warranties are basically done now.

I've got an '05, an early one and aside from the battery shinnanigans and the squeeling brakes in the back (TSB which I had done) its been solid.

 

I have an 05 GT simply as that's the year I bought it. I would prefer though to have a later build. I would look for an 09 first and back down to an 08-07 only. 09's also have the latest option packages for that series. Do a search and check for tsb's for all model years and you'll see various problem possible for each.

 

Thanks for the input guys. The GT500 isn't one that we're looking for. We're going to stay with a regular GT. Since it will be a daily driver it won't be getting any major mods either. Just a nice clean GT for my wife to enjoy daily, and something fun to cruise around in.

I appreciate all the input. I've found a few 06 Premiums that look really nice. May go check them out this weekend.

 

Good luck man

On my '06 there have been two things that crapped out.

1. The paint on the inside of the driver's door handle is basically worn away but you can't see it... only feel it. I'd pull it off to paint it but just haven't gotten around to it.

2. The leather on the driver's door insert fell away from the door (I'm guessing due to heat).

I repaired it with some cement glue from Home Depot and it's been fine ever since (about six months now) and I'm in Texas where we've had months of above 100 degree temps hehe.

 

check for rust around the lip of the hood. I assume your looking for an auto trans car?
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tru...C000%2520miles
I did a search for 20k miles or less in a 2006 gt and came up with the results above. I would say don't limit yourself to a small 100 miles from your home for a new car. shipping isn't to expensive imo for the right car. Once again best of luck finding the right gt for you.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'd be looking for a late '08 or an '09. They've got the revised 3V heads that use the improved spark plugs. Unless you really need the driving lamps, a Bullitt may be fun... I'm still loving my '08 Bullitt.

 

I'll sell u my 07 vert

 

Yeah it's been a record setting summer here in Oklahoma too. We're coming up on 50 days of 100+ degree days. It's crazy.

I've been looking at around a 300 mile radius. I just like to see what I'm buying instead of just pictures on e-bay, and buying it. I know there aren't that many problems with these newer cars, but I guess I'm a hands on kind of guy.
We are looking primarily for an automatic. My wife is still flip flopping on this. She wants a 5-speed, but driving in traffic to work causes her knee to bother her. That ended up being one of the problems with the 03 GT we had. Since she will be the one driving it everyday I have to concede on this. However she said if the right one came along that she would deal with the pain.

I would love a Bullitt, but still a little high for our budget. That and I can't convince my wife of the green. I love it, and the retro idea behind the car, but she's not feeling it, and like they say "If mama isn't happy, nobody's happy!"

Not looking for a vert, but thanks for the offer.

 

Well I'm sitting at the dealership now looking at a 08 Vista Blue GT. Keeping fingers crossed everything works out. They shot me a pretty good price so we'll see what happens.

 

Good luck dude!! At this point you may have realized that the clutch is so much easier to live with because of its hydraulic design rather than cable. Definitely look out for the water getting into the interior on the passenger side as it can damage the computer located in that area. The underhood rust has been mentioned along with the earlier design heads having the horrible spark plug design. I was fortunate enough to have a late 08 with the updated plugs.