Take it or leave it?
 

First off, apologies if I have posted in the wrong section. I didn't see anywhere fitting.

My mom (61) has a 2005 Mustang GT 5 speed that she bought new in 2004. Long story short, her engine broke. :doh: I am not a mechanic, obviously :heh: so I am not positive exactly what happened, but the dealership said she would need a new engine. Rather than pay the $6k they quoted her, she has decided to sell... I think I might be interested. The only other problem the car has ever given her is that she also recently replaced a cam. 100k. babied, never raced. besides a low oil incident, it has been meticulously maintained. near perfect body, tranny is perfect, etc.

what should I offer on this? should I offer? what else should I look for? I may not be a trained mechanic, but I did most of the maintenance on my jetta when I owned it, so I know basic stuff.

any suggestions would be awesome! I would love to pick this car up, upgrade to a better than stock engine, and clutch and have this as my toy... :D

I know you can get a engine used for around 2-4k. If this is your moms car why not ask her to take it and just use the money to fix it? Though to be honest paying her 6k plus the price of a engine and install you could have bought a 99-04 GT. Also I have seen 05 GT's going for 12-16k though miles will vary greatly depending on price and location.

Put the money on a 13. You'll be in over your head getting that car back to speed. Time and money. No one likes a car payment but at 100k that car has seen better days.

@EuroGirl -my mom doesn't want to keep it anymore. she doesn't have the money to keep a 8 cyl and she is afraid it is going to continue to be costly. Plus she recently had a heart aneurysm and is not nearly the speed she was before. she actually has it for sale (in her mind, she doesn't have any active ads and no for sale sign on the car... it's just parked)

@Getportfolio - I currently have a car payment: 2012 acura tsx SE. kind of why I was thinking of picking this up, perfect opportunity to mod to my hearts content since many things will be coming due for repair or replacement.

but two votes for leave it, then?

ha! @EuroGirl - I think I misread your post. you meant to ask her if I can have it? I thought you meant ask her to keep it and I fix it for her (which I would consider, if she really wanted to keep it, but she has moved on).

Did the dealer say what exactly is wrong with the engine?

These motors are pretty tough really and unless your mom is a total hotrod driver I'd be very interested to know what happened to the engine.

my mom said it threw a rod and punched a whole, but my friend's husband - who is a mechanic at the ford dealership that looked at the car when it happened - said it did not throw a rod, but the engine was toast. I will ask him again what happened, because I don't recall now. (it happened this last summer or maybe spring).

she wont get much at all for it with a blown motor, I'd see what she could get and buy it...if you have time/room, putting a engine in shouldnt be too insane of a project- especially if you have a friend or three that might lend a hand a evening or two.

rebuilding will cost more than a used engine, if you have time on your side, take a month or two have some friends keep a eye out for a decent motor from a light wreck, bet if time permits a motor could be found for 2k or less...note that sometime late 07-early 08 the engines had some revisions- new sparkplug/head design was a plus, but reworked coolant flow/hose routing might present some issues if installed in earlier model... look for same generation unless you can get the newer cooling system parts/harness etc, as some external bits might be needed. take LOTS of pics before pulling anything, tape/mark every hose/wireplug (bolts too) well enough a stranger could reassemble it- if time marches on too fast, you might forget everything before time to reassemble, ive done that before...same on any donor car, look for extra hoses/plugs/etc compared to the blown one.

crate engines are getting cheaper all the time, expect 3V versions will be reasonable soon if not already... be sure new motor has a pilot bearing in the crank, if it was on a automatic, it wont have one...made that mistake when I was 16, tore the tranny up a week later...

I'm sentimental about cars, would hang onto Mom's likely even if it wasnt a mustang :)

Motors are electric, internal combustion devices are engines.

If you have the money for a second car to mod, buy it from her, no matter the cost. It's family, you should be overly generous when dealing with family. Then don't even bother with engines from wrecked cars, buy a crate engine from a speed shop or Ford. It'd be great if you could put a BOSS coyote in there. I've heard that they'll fit.

Then you'd have a bullet-proof base to add some boost or just enjoy the 440bhp.

If you can't really afford a second car, then help her sell it for whatever you can get. Won't get too much for a car with a blown engine. Draggers might be interested but they're looking to buy at bottom dollar.

GLWS.

If you're really looking for a great Mustang, we're selling our unmolested 88GT. Less than 29K miles.

Thanks for the replies, guys. We love our cars enough to name them and always hate to see them go. Coyote was exactly the upgraded engine I was thinking of, too.

My friend said it dropped a valve.

I totally agree :agree:

well she wants $7k for it (when she originally put it up for "sale", not sure what she would want nearly a year later). the dealership quoted her $6k for engine including install.

it is a 2005 gt MT 5-speed windveil blue. someone special ordered it in 2004 and then never came to get it, so my mom picked it up. never gave her any problems at all, until she had to replace a cam and then the valve issue.

it would definitely be a slow go on the mod part, at first, because I would need to pay her off and then move on to the engine. the $6k quoted was not for a coyote, which is where I would want to go. the best part of having things break is getting to upgrade them :D

One thing to keep in mind, if you buy a new engine make sure it is a stock replacement. If not, the fuel system needs to be changed to a return syle fuel system in most cases.

I asked her again today and she said she'd like $6k. I am going to talk to my friend a little more about engine options and I will go from there.
thanks guys!

there was a lengthy (useless) thread on another forum about this, many engineering/dictionary references sprouted up, in the end ALL agreed by definition a gasoline engine IS a type of motor, but a motor is NOT necessarily a engine... was kinda interesting as after a lot of bickering everyone came to agreement, you hardly ever run into that :)

Unless this was a car you wanted as a "project" where you restored it yourself, and were getting enjoyment after seeing something you put together yourself come to life, I wouldn't do it... Since you said you're not a mechanic, I think after paying a mechanic to remove and replace the engine, in the end you will spend as much as you would have by simply buying a used 2005 GT that already worked.

Yes, someone said you could pick up a used engine for possibly $2-$4K, so now you're up to $9,000 to $11,000, and you haven't put the engine in yet. Since the engine is used, who knows what kind of internal condition it's in, or what it's been though? How much is the labor to replace the engine? I really have no idea, but let's say $2,000... Now, you're up between $11K - $13K, and you have a car with 100,000 miles on it, and unknown mileage on the engine (but perhaps more).

For private party sale, Kelley Blue Book says a 2005 GT Premium with 100,000 miles in very good condition should sell at about $12,900.

yes, that is the big thing (and the fact that I don't need two cars). I wouldn't be able to do the engine myself (obviously), so the fun would come in on the maintenance afterwards (which I can do myself) and the aesthetic upgrades... and driving it.

My mom said she was offered a police interceptor (the whole car) for like $150. She said she was thinking she would swap the engine from the interceptor, and either sell it or keep it as a back up. Personally, I can't find that the interceptor engine's are faster than her stock one, so if I bought it I would probably not go that route - even though it is cheap. I could be wrong, the interceptor could be quite powerful and an awesome option.

I will probably not buy her car, even though it would be fun to own and modify, due to the cost and the impracticality of it. I mainly wanted to help her financially, since she has had rough times over the past two years and the car is just sitting in her driveway.

pretty sure all the interceptors were 2 valve engines, would take a lot of computer fooling to run that in the mustang...I dunno, but would guess a 100k 8 yr old mustang with a blown motor would go more in the 4k range tops- but just a guess... hate to say it, but our cars are becoming 'old' :(

if they are all 2 valve, then that will definitely slow down the process... :-) I don't know anything about the interceptors, only that she was offered one. I am trying to look around for crashed GTs, maybe we can get a less expensive but correct engine that way... then, at least she can sell it as a running vehicle.

Sounds like your emotionally involved and with not being a mechanic that car will just eat your money before it's ready to drive. At the right price a mechanic or someone with access to used engines will buy this car, fix and resell. The car's already over 8 years old and depreciating faster every day. Keep your newer TSX, it gets good fuel mileage and should be a reliable car for years to come. That 05, even if fixed, will nickel and dime you from age alone. If you really want a Mustang sell your TSX for a more reliable current model. Good luck. Just my opinion.