I've got a 60-mile commute every day, so I wouldnt mind getting something a little better on gas than my F-150, and a little less hazardous (shes past 400k miles and little things are starting to creep up). I'd like to keep it as a weekend warrior.

I've always had a thing for the latest Mach1s. Of course, my two requirements are: Oxford White and manual transmission.

I found one several hours south of me for a not-so-bad price. I know most retail from $10k-$16k, this one has $7,999 on the window. I can't help but think it has some damage history, so I've e-mailed the dealer for a copy of the carfax. It has the cobra front fascia and aftermarket wheels (I kinda prefer the stock Mach wheels, TBH). The front bumper has a piece missing, which makes me think its been in a fender-bender.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-...sting=90263960



Anyway, I've never bought a car before and I'm new to Mustangs, so I'd like some input. I'll be posting this over at the Mach1 Registry forums as soon as my registration goes through.

ETA: I also found one in Orlando for 10.5k, with slight damage being reported, but no pics.

 

Personally, I'd be very leery about buying a car like that and having to count on it for everyday transportation. The first thing I think about when I look at this type of car at this price point is that someone pounded on this thing pretty good during a past life.

If you were telling me you were looking for an economical toy to play around with on the weekend, I'd say go for it! But as a vehicle you will need to rely on day-in-and-day-out, my money says this isn't the car you should be purchasing for that kind of duty -- especially when your "fallback" vehicle has almost 400k miles on it!

Plus, if your goal is better gas mileage, I can think of many better vehicles that could be had for this same price point that would be more reliable and blow away the mileage you're likely to get from this old 'Stang. Call me "old and boring" if you want to, but a person becomes "old and boring" as the years go by precisely because you've been burnt by decisions like this in the past......

It's a sharp-looking little ride, though! Good luck with whatever you decide......

 

They are solid cars and will put up with abuse. Hard to beat the HP/CI ratio on a 4.6 4v

 

Well I should add- the mileage is a short term thing. I plan to move down to Daytona in about a year, and my commute will be only a couple miles to work. Mileage isnt really a killer for me, but something fun, more economical to drive, and a Ford, its got all the check marks.

Edit: I just had the carfax e-mailed to me, and it has NO damage reported. The inside sure is worn out, however.

 

I saw one of these cars on ebay a few months back that had 4,800 original miles - ridiculously low. The buy it now price for that car was $17 grand. That tells me these cars can be had for a reasonable price. I'm wondering if the car you're looking at has been on the lot for awhile.

 

The website says it been listed for a month, so it's been sitting on the lot longer than that.

I'm looking for any members in the Fort Lauderdale area that could go do an initial look up before I make the 5 hour drive.

 

My wife has one she got new in 04 and it hasn't been driven too much. Gas mileage isn't all that great though it is better than the FX. Her best has been around 20 mpg. My 08 Supercharged Saleen gets 22 regularly on my commute of 70 miles round trip daily. I can tell you that you wouldn't get her Mach 1 unless you pried the keys from her "cold dead hands". It's her favorite car to date and she is now 57 years old. The low mileage ones woul be the best bet if it has a good carfax. I live near MPS Auto Salvage and they have built several mach 1's and Cobras with salvage titles.

 

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of it already. I just want to make sure theres no major problems with the car before I make the trek down there

 

The car having 128k miles... I think that would be around the right price. I'd still try to grind them down.

 

I'm thinking 6500 max, what do you think? I'm going to try to score a compression gauge to take down there with me. My main concern is the engine having problems like a gasket leak

 

It would be hard for me to buy a used sports car with 130k miles on it. It could all be easy miles and its could be extremely hard miles. Good luck though, Have always liked the Mach's.

 

I *think* you can rent a compression gauge from AZone. All tho i don't know that the used car lot would be really happy about you tearing that deeply into a car on their lot?