OP,

Don't listen to these naysayers.

I graduated college with an engineering degree and a job and bought my loaded '12 GT immediately. Without a trade in, and without a previous car loan, or a lot of credit, Ford Credit approved me immediately. All they needed to see was my offer letter with my annual salary.

$650 a month on a 72 month loan, and I afford it no problem.

Buy what YOU want, when YOU want. It's worth it. I ordered my '12 in January and picked it up in May, and it made my spring semester fun with something to look forward to.

 

The stock suspension configurations on both vehicles should be adequate for daily driving. The SVT performance option on the GT500 would most likely feel more aggressive, depending on your tolerances, driving habits, and the road conditions.The larger consideration, as mentioned in 05fordgt's response, is tire traction, especially in lower temperature conditions. And in terms of sound level, the stock exhaust systems are tuned to noise regulations.

Lastly, fuel economy might enter into the picture because the GT500 will eat more gas because of the engine's power levels. Empirically, I've seen more people reference higher MPG numbers on the 5.0L GTs and Boss 302s than 5.4L GT500s. Your mileage may vary, as the saying goes

Good luck in your purchase decision. My first car out of college, bought before I had even walked the stage, was a 1987 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z. It was my credit building purchase

PS - No comments on Camaros from the audience please. My dad worked for GM.

 

Sometimes ya just gotta treat yourself, right?

 

OP I agree with this here, obviously being an accountant you have a clue about personal finance. right out of school in 07 i bought a loaded fusion, passed on the mustang that yr for reasons that still dont make sense to me, 2 years later summer 09 bought a 2010 GT, and I am likely going to get a 2013 GT unless i go soft and get an S4.
Being partial to the GT, i would say you might get more everyday useability out of that than the GT500 or boss. Not saying those arent outstanding performance machines but if this is your commuter car as well the comfort features are worth weighing in. you will get 97% of the daily fun out of a GT that you would out of the GT500. obviously on that 3% with dry road and no traffic the GT500 will be insanely fun. Its all about the opportunity cost.
Plus if you want a GT you can just go out and order/buy one without having to play the allocation game, MSRP or ADM pricing. You can grab a GT even order new 2013 at invoice. That extra money will be well spent on dates and the bar.

 

Maybe I should have lived it up more after college. My first car after I graduated was a 1995 base Plymouth Neon with a manual trans that had 6,000 miles on it, and I paid about $10,000 (my dad helped with the down payment). My payments were $198 a month, quite affordable even with my $18,000 salary (I was only paying $320 a month for my first apartment).

Hard to believe 1995 can sound like the good old days, but when it comes to prices, it sure seems that way (and did I mention that gas was 93 cents a gallon?)

 

Not ideal to buy right out of college - true. That's why I bought my first brand new Mustang ('88 LX) when I was a sophomore in college. Then I traded that one in on a brand new '89 Mustang 5.0L LX Sport when I was a junior in college. I'm so glad I had cool toys before starting a family and settling down. Life is too short to wait to have fun, IMHO.

 

You don't have to tell me that. If I didn't have my transplant, I would have been dead two weeks later. That's why I bought my Mustang, as you never know what can happen to you at any given day. Plus I didn't have any other bills at the time, so the payment was low with the money I saved up for down payment.

 

Haha, I couldn't agree more with you guys. You hit the nail on the head pretty much. If I can afford it, why not live a little before I have to settle down? Always been a big Mustang fan, and I always wanted to own a big bad V8. Gas mileage be damned! Thanks guys.


Glad everything went well for you and that you are in good health man.



I think if there is one thing this thread has shown me is that I need to consider all my options. Being able to simply "afford" to buy a Boss or GT500 is great, but maybe on a more practical side of things, I could see the benefit of ordering a 2013 GT, and being able to tailor it to my desire ('11 Boss Front Fascia, '13 GT500 Rear Fascia anyone? ), while saving some cash. Either way, it's great to have all this input, thanks again everyone. I should have never stopped visiting this forum!

 

Whatever you do dont settle. Be sure and get EXACTLY what you want . If that means having to hold off and save a little longer so be it. I wish you the best in whatever decision you make and congratulations on getting your degree.

 

How much $ can u save tho

 

Here are 2012 Mustang prices for my zip code (Central Florida)
sorry about the alignment.

 

Look around. A lot of the questions you have are answered in multiple threads.

 

Just keep in mind that it would be cheaper to make your perfect car in the aftermarket buying a very low mile used car and put on new aftermarket parts than it would to order it new the way you want it. You can make a 2011 5.0 out perform a new Boss for much less $.

 

That is true, but it will never be a Boss and you won't have the forged internals of a Boss engine

 

.. +1

 

^ this..
i could strap a jet-pack & roller skates to my dog but that won't make her a Boss either