5 Surprisingly Affordable Mustangs Sold at Recent Auctions
Picking up a vintage or collectible Mustang isn't always as expensive as you might think. We combed through a lot of recent sales and found 5 surprisingly good buys.
1. 2007 Mustang Saleen Parnelli Jones
Legendary tuner Steve Saleen teamed up with legendary racer Parnelli Jones to create this car, which pays homage to Jones' SCCA winning 1970 Trans Am racer. Only 500 of the tribute cars were built, all of which feature the same iconic styling as the original, and an upgraded, 400 hp 5.0 liter (302 ci) 24 valve mod motor capable of propelling the car to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and down the 1/4 mile in 13.3 seconds. This particular car is number 49 of 500, and despite its rarity (and heritage), only brought in $18,000 at the 2017 Mecum Los Angeles auction. That's quite the discount on its original $60,000 MSRP.
2. 1965 Mustang
You might think that scoring a clean first-gen V8 Mustang on the cheap is impossible these days, but you'd be wrong. This red 1965 managed a selling price of only $15,000 at the 2017 Mecum Los Angeles auction, a pretty stunning price when you consider the condition of the car. There's believed to be only 80,000 original miles on the original 289/3-speed manual drivetrain. The previous owner did install some aftermarket parts such as headers and front disc brakes, but nothing so outlandish that it should significantly affect the car's value, and if you plan on driving it, those disc brakes will be much appreciated by the car in front of you.
3. 1972 Mustang Mach 1
Early Mach 1 prices went into the stratosphere long ago, but collectors still essentially ignore post 1970 examples, which means that you can pick up nice cars like this 1972 Mach 1 for a fraction of the price. This particular car hammered home for $22,000 at the 2017 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, which is actually on the higher end of what we've seen recently. For that extra cash this Mach 1 carries a lot of desirable options including the optional stripe package, plus 1972 was the last year before those small bumpers gave way to the big, ugly 5 mph version.
4. 1979 Mustang Pace Car
Remember when everybody used to buy up pace car replicas and store them away as investments? Well, that hasn't worked out too well, except in the case of the rare muscle car era examples. Others, like this 1979 Mustang pace car, haven't exactly exploded in value over the years, or gone up at all. In fact, this one only managed to return $11,000 at the 2017 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, despite showing only 25,000 original miles and retaining all of the original promotional items. It even looks to have the rare, impossible to find today (Coker makes a few sizes and sells them for $350 each) metric TRX diameter rims and tires.
5. 2007 Mustang GT500
Early fifth-gen Mustang GT500's are surprisingly cheap no matter where you look, but if you're looking for one that has the best chance of appreciating in value, look no further than this Tungsten Silver 2007 model. Only 332 cars were produced in that color, and this one has only 20,000 original miles. Still, it sold for a mere $29,700 at the 2017 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, which is pretty darn good value for the money.
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