I saw this 1988 Thunderbird at the local dealership and I'm considering to buy it just as a weekend toy.
So long story short - the car is in an amazing condition for being 23 years old. No rust at all, interior looks brand new. I'm pretty sure this is one of cars that some old guy bought brand new and then barely drove it and took great care of it.
80,000 miles on the odometer.

The bad ... 3.8L V6, so it's not a V8 and it's also an automatic.

Dealer is asking $3,500 for it. Based on the condition it might be worth it, but it's still a 23 year old Thunderbird with only a V6 engine in it.

I know there are few members here who own 1980s Thunderbirds so any help is thankful.

 

I used to have an 88 turbo coupe 5sp and that was a fun car! Sounds like it's in great condition, but the price seems a little high for a v6. I would try and talk them down a little. Either way it's a good find and definitely rare in that condition.

 

My Dad had a 88 . Had a few problems with the brakes but the 3.8L engine is a long lasting engine and the automatic trans had no problems too.

 

Is this the same 3.8L that was in a 1994-2004 Mustang?

 

Yep same engine.... I had two 3.8L Fords... 89 Tbird and 99 Mustang. They were both just fine to me with no problems. I also know someone who used to have an 88 Tbird with a 3.8 for a very long time that car was indestructible.

If the car is in excellent shape then it is defininitely worth getting though I would get the price down because it's a V6. Maybe later a good V8 swap would be in order.

 

I'm thinking to offer maybe $2,000 and not to go over $2,500.
It's just one of those cars that's too old to be a daily driver, but it's not old enough to be considered a classic.

 

^this. Issa nice car, but it's 20+ years old. Good thing, though, is that Mustang stuff for the chassis can go in it if you wanted, including a 95 5.0 crate motor if you wanted, 'cause its a Fox underneath.

 

Get it! You can make one awesome sleeper later down the road to!! I saw a tv serious, on power block, were they took a older tbird like this one and made a seriously mean sleeper.

 

I had an '87 Cougar with the 3.8. Basically this exact car. The car was good. The only problem was I wish it had the 5.0.

Roomy. Big trunk. Well equipped for the day. I think the fastest I ever got it to go was about 115. Mine had the digital speedometer that only went up to 85mph. But if you switched it to kmh it would go to top speed.

 

If I decide to buy it I would like to eventually turn it into something like this.

 

Beautiful car. Gotta love that nose and tail. The whole car is gorgeous. Just needs to sit a little lower and have dual exhaust.

 

Went to cars.com looking for comparables and found your car...

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

 

Yep, that's it.

 

That is almost identical to how mine looked. I gotta find some old pics now.

 

There's only like 3 88's for sale in all of America.

 

They turn up on the Craiglist every now and then, but they're usually in a really bad shape with the asking price under $1,500.

 

Get it!!

 

Told ya.

 

I always liked the look of the 80's and even the 90's T-Birds. I think Ford messed up when they quit making them. Ford 'really' messed up when they tried to bring it back as a two (and over priced) seater....

 

Personal coupes were dead by the mid 1990s, most of them were discontinued.