sams66

I may have to give up my beloved stang because I am considering a career change where I would lose my company car. Here in Ohio, I really dont want to make the stang a daily driver, although the thought has crossed my mind and is a possible option.

I am thinking of the following and looking for advice and comments.

1. trade in the stang and get a new ford escape V6 xlt on A-plan
2. keep the stang and buy a 1/2 way decent older suv/smaller truck to drive throughout winter
3. keep the stang make it a daily driver ('05 GT 5spd with only 13k miles on it right now) and deal with the occasional snow fall
4. other ideas?

appreciate the comments

thanks

Sam

Etnix

I jsut got an 08, for now its a daily driver. When it snows Ill just drive my girlfriends car ( I work nights). I plan on buying a winter beater for next year, I just have to deal with it this year.

mlgstang

I would try to find a reliable car to drive in the winter and keep your mustang. I have a 1998 Buick Regal with 157k on the clock that i picked a couple years ago for $3000. I think any of the GM cars with the 3800 (grand prix, impala, reagle, ect.) are a good choice as they can found relatively cheap, the motor and drivetrain are bullet proof, and they work well in the snow.

If you are only looking at Ford products, there are a ton of late model taurus around for a good price.

poldrv

Keep the stang after all the effort you have put into it why sell it. I would go with option #2. That's exactly what I did after I got the my mustang, I went out an bought a reasonably dependable 4x4 Chevy Blazer beater to drive in the winter. I will never part with my stang no matter what happens.

crucut

hang in there SAm, I would hang on to it if at all possible, you'll be glad you did. Your decision of course is going to depend on you financial situation as well I assume. I suggest you by yourself a Ranger or the best commuter you can afford, even if you have to drive the stang for a while till you can do it. Personaly, I couldn't live without my truck, not just for bad weather but for hauling stuff etc. It's the perfect second vehicle for me. Good luck.

theedge67

Make it a daily driver. I do and love every day I go to work!

Cheese302

keep the stang there are so many bulletproof relible cars you can buy. Old escapes are getting cheap.

karman

I vote for #2.
My Stang never sees rain let alone snow.
My Ranger is a 2WD. They are cheap even brand new.
300 lbs. of sand in the back and super aggressive off road tires get me the winter no problem (better than some 4x4s).
With rebates and discounts, 2008 XLT should be about 13K.

zaghloul

I vote to make it a daily driver. Get yourself some winter tires and enjoy the car.

frdtch05gt

Having a winter driver anywhere that snow falls is a wise move. The Mustang wasn't made to be used in snow. Snow tires will certainly help if you really need to drive in the snow though.

I'm driving an Escort right now as a winter car, it's getting the job done.

SONICBOOST

I would definently go with #2 if your worried about driving it in the winter.

slipnotovk

before I bought my stang i decided to keep my old car and im SO glad i did. 171k miles on my grand marquis and still runnin strong. although i might have to trade my beloved stang in because of financial problems it wont be because i had a problem with winter driving.

wjones14

If you can afford the second car to use when it snows, that's the best option, providing you have a place to put it. The Mustang is not a good car in the snow - pretty much any FWD car is going to get better traction.

However, my '05 GT is a daily driver in New England, and I will say that this car is a LOT better in snow than my 1995 GT and my 1987 GT, because this car has much better front/rear balance (I used to put three 60-lb sand bags in the trunk of the '95, and no longer have to do that). Like I said, it's still not as good as my wife's FWD PT Cruiser, and not even in the same league with our kid's Subaru Forester, but the S197 Mustang is the best Mustang yet in the snow.

If it's snowing and the Subaru is in the driveway, I'm going to take that over the Mustang every time. If the route includes some inclines that I might have to stop on, the Mustang is going to be in trouble.

I did go the winter beater route once, and every day I had to drive the POS beater, I missed the Mustang. I bought the Mustang to enjoy it, and that's what I'm going to do. If it's actually snowing or the roads are just real crappy and covered with salt, then I'd take the Subaru, but otherwise, I don't really believe in parking my toy for the entire winter. And despite driving it in all kinds of weather now for almost 3 years, it still does not have a single nick, scratch, or swirl mark anywhere on the body (knock on wood).

sams66

guys, thanks for the opinions. I think I will try to find a cheap priced ranger or something like that. I havent even decided 100% to change careers, but if I do, I think I'll find a that 2nd cheap car.

Sam

ShowGT

Keep it!

2006GT

I have my wife's old Sable as a daily. However if you do have to get rid of the stang, look at the Edge. That what I bought her. She's loves it and so do I. The ride is second to none and the power is impressive.

kevinb120

All three options are good ones. If you can swing the extra vehicle and have a few spare bucks, your best bet is to pick up a clean used Explorer for 3-5k(one of my buddies just found a spotless 98 for $2800) and you can also insure it as your primary vehicle to save a few extra $$. Even a decent FWD car with good ground clearance would be fine too, like an earlier Focus or a Taurus that both excellent in the snow in a pinch. The car would be the best $$ choice, but if you don't have any kind of utility vehicle the Explorer would be better so you never have to stuff stuff in the stang...Well maintained Explorers are very durable, as are Pathfinders. If you have a good cheap SUV in the 'stable' you can pretty much keep whatever 'toy' that you want.

I go through cars like water and lease promos were excellent on Edges last month so I once again swapped out. I needed the utility and time to focus on other stuff so I changed cars altogether for now. When I get a place with a garage I am sure yet another Mustang will be in order. It's just too much of a headache right now for me and my manic cleaning with my 'baby' when it just sits in an appartment parking lot exposed. Plus, it had 6 rock chips so it had to go

DynamicmustangGT

my 98 taurus had 257,000+ miles when I gave it up, now my 98 lumina has 128,000+, I would say either has a good drivetrain, the taurus tranny dies around 80,000 or so though. Both cars have good heat and handle well in the weather.

AGBULLIT

#2, keep the Stang and get a beater for bad weather.

mlgstang

Wow, 257k on a Taurus is awesome...
I think the late model taurus was a pretty reliable car.
I see a lot of posts for SUV's, I have found that you can get explorer's very cheap, and they are very good trucks. i personally would rather have a sedan. you obviously give up on the utility but the better gas mileage is worth it to me.
Plus most mid sized sedans do very well in the snow. basically the only time they are not good is if you have more then a foot, then ground clearance becomes and issue. but in the detroit area we dont see that much snow at one time very often.