Opinions on a 95 mustang needed

[iwannadie]

The wife is looking to finally get her license and we were car shopping around and saw a 95 mustang. It's a single owner car, the woman bought it new in 94 and has been meticulous on maintenance with all the records. It's red and the bumpers, side skirts and tail light plastics all seem a bit faded(pink). From what I know so far there is nothing wrong with it. I'm not sure on the mileage yet but I'm guessing high it seems to be a DD. It's a v6 automatic and asking price $2100 and looks very well kept based on the pictures. Would that be an acceptable price or room to go lower if everything is as described?

I was pretty set on a v8 if going with a 90s mustang but the v6 I'm sure is perfectly capable for a first time driver doing DD duty. Gas mileage isn't really an issue it won't be seeing a long commute.

Any opinions on those cars or what to look for in particular when looking at a used one? I read the head gaskets were some what of a problem but over blown. Head gasket job is in my world of do-ability if that does come up.

I know a lot of people will recommend something else but I'm sorta just looking for opinions on this car in particular .

 

[Shorty]

- check trans fluid and walk away if it smells burnt (trans=$$)
- look at rotors for signs of past damage (especially rears) as caliper brackets often cause calipers to stick
- as noted, 3.8L is good 'til it gets hot. High mileage= look into replacement for it (common as belly buttons)
- check power window operation- regulators are often sticky

 

[AIbandit]

No, looks like a honda, buy a fox.

 

[iwannadie]

Thanks for the input I am going to go check it out tomorrow morning. I just spoke to the owner, it's actually an old women eheh. I may have struck a little gold here, old woman, single owner, never beat on and who has all the paper work dating back to the day she bought it for 2 grand is sounding pretty sweet. If it were a v8 I'd camping out on her door cash in hand though.

 

[iwannadie]

I just got back from checking the mustang...

I get there it looks really good and they are fine with me taking it for a test drive. As I am about to get in she makes a suddenly rush over and tells me to be sure to turn the over drive off... I'm like sure no problem and start the car she is then leaning in and telling me to press the button to turn it off. My first reaction is, it has a transmission trouble code and flashes the OD light. She wants it off so the light is on steady and can't flash the code. At least that's how my toyota transmission trouble codes flash.

So, I start driving and the thing has a pretty ruff idle but smoothed out. It had no get up and go, I know it's only a v6 but still it had nothing my 4.0 xj had more power! The transmission shifted smooth and kick down gears as it should. So I'm not sure if it has a problem that just didn't present itself to me but still throws a code. I keep driving making small mental notes of sounds. The power steering pump had a nasty groan when doing slow tight turns, a slight exhaust puff puff leak sound, brakes screech a bit.

Then suddenly as I'm driving I see steam pouring from the passenger front hood area. I pull right over and pop the hood. Coolant is Pouring out of the radiator inlet! I kill it and it still is pushing out under pressure. I call them up and they came and picked me up. I couldn't tell if it was just the plastic radiator inlet was cracked or I'm betting it has a blown head gasket.

I felt so bad though that it happened while I was driving I didn't know what to say or do really I mean it's someone else's car. The husband was very nice and was asking my opinion on what I thought was causing the leak. The woman kinda seemed seriously pissed at me or the car I couldn't tell. I was offering to show them where the leak was but she pretty much came up and slammed the hood in front of me. I was really wanting to get the radiator hose off and look for a crack to know if that was the problem or not but the woman didn't want any of it.

They said they are taking it to their super awesome mechanic who takes care of it and will call me later to see if I am still interested.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

I'd run away from that thing.

Plus if you want a Mustang v8, you're not going to be satisfied with the 6.

 

[iwannadie]

I'd run away from that thing.

Plus if you want a Mustang v8, you're not going to be satisfied with the 6.

I've never driven any mustang until today so I wasn't sure what to expect from the v6 one. If the one I drove was any indication then there's no way I'd want it. My moms v6 mercury sable feels like it has more power than that mustang.

 

[Mesh]

The V6 has room for improvement. My brother has a twin turbo V6 Mustang it's less weight and a lot more power.

 

[iwannadie]

The V6 has room for improvement. My brother has a twin turbo V6 Mustang it's less weight and a lot more power.

Twin turbo wouldn't be in the future, after all it will be the wifey DD mobile. If I can get some power by going v8 up front then thats doable ha.

 

[kastein]

I'd walk away, the fishy behavior and breakdown on test drive are NOT good signs.

 

[iwannadie]

I'd walk away, the fishy behavior and breakdown on test drive are NOT good signs.

Yea that particular mustang is not going to be in my garage ha. I'm wondering if that's just a sign of what's to come with these cars though. I have no experience with fords and everyone is telling me to run away from all of them because of stuff like I just experienced.

 

[mrrbby]

I wouldn't touch that car. I'm sure you can find a comparable one in better condition.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

I've never driven any mustang until today so I wasn't sure what to expect from the v6 one. If the one I drove was any indication then there's no way I'd want it. My moms v6 mercury sable feels like it has more power than that mustang.

My ex girlfriend has an 02 v6 convertible. I had an 03 GT coupe for a while.

Difference was night and day between the two and even my 4cyl Accord feels like it has more pep than her vert did.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

The V6 has room for improvement. My brother has a twin turbo V6 Mustang it's less weight and a lot more power.

More power yes.

The weight is likely marginal.

 

[Darky]

My roommate had a 95 GT convertible. My stock XJ was almost as fast as his Mustang. He pulled a half car length from a dead stop, and that was a far as he could get away. My front tire never dropped behind his door handle. The XJ would likely smoke a V6.

Piece of advice in general...if this is the wifey car, bring her down and have her drive it (obviously not this particular one). It doesn't matter if you want more power, so long as she's happy. Especially if this is to be her first car. It may not be wise (in fact I'd say it's almost a guarantee) to give an inexperienced driver a muscle car, even an anemic one like the 90's V8 Stangs are.

 

[iwannadie]

My roommate had a 95 GT convertible. My stock XJ was almost as fast as his Mustang. He pulled a half car length from a dead stop, and that was a far as he could get away. My front tire never dropped behind his door handle. The XJ would likely smoke a V6.

Piece of advice in general...if this is the wifey car, bring her down and have her drive it (obviously not this particular one). It doesn't matter if you want more power, so long as she's happy. Especially if this is to be her first car. It may not be wise (in fact I'd say it's almost a guarantee) to give an inexperienced driver a muscle car, even an anemic one like the 90's V8 Stangs are.

Yes, she definitely will test drive anything before we bring it home. It just has to pass my inspection first before we move to the next phase of her testing it and deciding if she likes the fit and feel of it. I hear ya on giving someone too much power but at the same time I don't want to leave her needing more. I am worried about being on the freeway and needing to pass and in a little 4 banger she will stomp the gas and not go anywhere. A stock mustang I don't think would have enough to get away from her. Definitely taking it under consideration though and I won't know until I actually get in one myself also to know if it would be too much for her.

Just on a related note of giving someone a car with too much power. A guy on another forum let is mother inlaw drive his 450+ HP supra. He kept telling the woman to go easy and remember it has a lot of power. She blew him off saying she has been driving a long time and just won't get on the gas too much. Well, she failed to do so and also failed to realize there's turbo lag. She was going around a curve and spun out of control when the back tires broke free suddenly.

 

[iwannadie]

Ok, still looking at mustangs and I saw one in ok shape except it has some rust in the engine bay. Here's a picture of it, seems strange to me all the fasteners are rusted like that. Could that be a sign of a flood car? Or, is that just poor quality fasteners from ford? There is another picture where you can barely see under the front seat and it looks rusty also.

 

[RadioShackSpecial]

If you get the VIN number I can run it through NICB and Experian for you, kind of like Car Fax. That will tell you if it was ever a total loss and where it came from.

https://www.nicb.org//

 

[Shorty]

my '03 looks like that too (only 35000mi) and I know it doesn't have any floods in it's history-- I do live at the beach, but I've seen a ton of them that look that way.

 

[Darky]

Yes, she definitely will test drive anything before we bring it home. It just has to pass my inspection first before we move to the next phase of her testing it and deciding if she likes the fit and feel of it. I hear ya on giving someone too much power but at the same time I don't want to leave her needing more. I am worried about being on the freeway and needing to pass and in a little 4 banger she will stomp the gas and not go anywhere. A stock mustang I don't think would have enough to get away from her. Definitely taking it under consideration though and I won't know until I actually get in one myself also to know if it would be too much for her.

Just on a related note of giving someone a car with too much power. A guy on another forum let is mother inlaw drive his 450+ HP supra. He kept telling the woman to go easy and remember it has a lot of power. She blew him off saying she has been driving a long time and just won't get on the gas too much. Well, she failed to do so and also failed to realize there's turbo lag. She was going around a curve and spun out of control when the back tires broke free suddenly.

As far as needing more, I started in a 65 hp Geo Tracker, moved to a 170hp Isuzu Trooper (one of the big heavy ones, so barely more powerful than the Tracker), back to the Tracker, than a 20 hp Samurai (running on 3 cylinders...) and now my XJ. Somewhere in there was a 2000 Focus with 103 hp. I was never wanting for power until I put 33s on my XJ with stock gears.