Copart Mustang as my first car? financial mistake?

[15pgnatsum]

If this is really your first car I'm assuming you're near beginning driving age. If I was your age and my budget was $9k and I wanted to get into Mustangs, I would look for a decent-condition, mid-high mileage 99-04 Mustang GT.

New Edge Mustangs have enough power from the factory to get you in trouble, they have a timeless look, and the aftermarket for them is so vast that you will learn a metric shit ton from working on it. Sure, you may learn something from repairing a wrecked vehicle, but unless you're wanting to become a career auto body repairman, the value in learning that is a whole lot less than the mechanical aspects of a car that's in good shape.

Unfortunately, finding a 99-04 Mustang GT that hasn't been driven to hell and back by some dingus is getting more difficult with each passing day. But with a little patience, you could probably find one with like 100-150k miles for $6-7k and use the rest of your budget on some basic modifications (lowering springs, better shocks/struts and a wheel/tire package) and you'll have a pretty bad ass looking car that you can work on on your own time instead of feeling pressure to get it functional and then being unable to find a buyer because 99.9% of people don't want to buy a previously wrecked car.

So, financially terrible decision to go after a wrecked Mustang? Absofuckinglutely.

You don't need to listen to some of the baby boomers and "not my generation" types that you'll come across on forums telling you to get a 1990 Camry LE as your first car. I owned a Mustang of some sort or another since I was 14 years old and never so much as gotten a speeding ticket. Do what you want and can afford and what won't bite you in the ass down the line. But don't make your first vehicle purchase be a wrecked one. It's really not worth it.

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[Bluelightning]

Current bid is only $1,100. If you could get this for a couple of grand it's probably worth working on. The rear fender is going to be hard to fix correctly without body shop expertise, and and frame damage is going to require an expert.

Not to mention fixing the 2 buckled rear quarter panels..... Even if you got the car for a couple of grand, you will have probably 10K in repair parts on a car with 60K miles and a salvage title... Way better idea to find a non-wrecked, non-salvage title car with less money for probably a couple of grand more than buying this an trying to fix it as your first car.

 

[serpent]

here's a better one. https://www.copart.com/lot/38283278 looks like all cosmetic.

 

[NoVaGT]

here's a better one. https://www.copart.com/lot/38283278 looks like all cosmetic.

You could just replace the windshield and rear window, and roll out.

Won't be pretty, but it would work.

 

[2morrow]

Theres a lot of wisdom here, I'd take advantage of it OP.

 

[Zelek]

1991 Honda Accord EX was my first car. Sold it to someone else with 210k miles. Car was virtually indestructible and just would never die. I recommend the same kind of car, (Late 90's, early 2000's) drive it for a while and save up money, then get what you want later on.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

I know a ford dealer in Daytona that went through a hail storm and all their cars looked like that other one that was posted, other than the broken window. Point being they had a couple body guys come in and take all the dents out. They might not have been as deep but they were all over the cars.

 

[serpent]

Being first car, did OP check how much insurance is gonna cost? While you can find a Mustang in your price range, insurance can be prohibitive having never insured a car before.

 

[wanted33]

No sir, I would not suggest you buy this car. Not when you can buy one that hasn't been wrecked for a little more money. I suspect you would have very close to the price of this car that has half the miles.

https://www.townandcountryford.com/...40a0e0a6b2c0a57062ceac8f4.htm?searchDepth=6:8

 

[Crumpler]

Remember you are bidding against professionals who do these repairs for a living. They are the best at fixing it cheap. If they think the bid is to high, that means they are going to loose on the build (not get ahead vs buying a typical used car). If the pro cant make it work, you definitely will not do better. --- Crumpler

 

[Blade007]

There are deals to be had. I got this https://poctra.com/2017-FORD-MUSTANG/id-Ai5LGMP3CkvCdGbx/MARLBORO-NY for $16k all repaired by the person that bought it from copart with only 2800 miles a year ago. I believe the person got it for about $13k from the auction. Might be worth it to look for something with hail damage but they got for a higher price but less headache

The car you are looking at seems fine to be honest but just be prepared to keep it for a while because with a salvage title it carries a lesser value
Also, you can get a lot of the parts on car-parts.com for a good price from other donor vehicles so that should help keep costs down

 

[jake_zx2]

Lucky kid to have a $9k budget AND parents that will let you have a Mustang as a first car... My parents had a hold on my bank account, so though I had been working since 12 years old to save for my first car (which I DESPERATELY wanted to be a Mustang, even if it meant buying a V6), my parents wouldn't let me access the money unless I bought something more... sensible.

Ended up with my first car being a 2003 Ford ZX2 (essentially a 2 door escort). It was slow and boring as hell. But, in the quest to make it something an enthusiast wouldn't feel ashamed to drive, I gained a vast knowledge of not only working on cars, but the engineering behind them, how to create workarounds for unique problems, and how to work with an extremely vacant aftermarket, which lead to the before and after that I'll attach below. And really, the car is so much fun, that I still have it and drive it regularly to this day. Sometimes I actually crave driving it while I'm driving my S550.

That being said, if you're dead set on a Mustang, I'd do like others have said and find an SN95 to work with... vast aftermarket, still plenty of fun, cheaper maintenance, and the 2v is an excellent sounding engine. However, if you're dead set on an S550... your parents seem quite laid back, so ask them about cosigning on payments. A sub-60k mile ecoboost can be had for around $12k, and I'm guessing that having accumulated $9k already for your first car, you have a relatively well paying job. $9k would be an excellent downpayment, so that way you'd only have to finance $3k or so. That way, you can have a good car that you really want while also building up your credit for any future purchases.

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy this car. Like has been said, the taillights alone are close to $1k. There's probably about $10k of work here, and after all that, you'd have a car that's worth maybe half that. Not to mention, insurance costs on previously totaled cars is absurdly expensive. Ultimately, you'd probably be paying as much extra in insurance as you would be if you just financed an ecoboost

 

[HoosierDaddy]

here's a better one. https://www.copart.com/lot/38283278 looks like all cosmetic.

Oh hail yes!

Drive it while you fix the hail damage at your own pace.

 

[Mustangpursuit]

You could just replace the windshield and rear window, and roll out.

Won't be pretty, but it would work.

Yeah I was kinda cautious about considering a transfer and promotion to Colorado Springs... they are known to have bad hail in the Summer time just like some other parts of Colorado... I can see the other Hail damage cars on that site at same location... Having a garage or roof under the car is a must in hail prone areas.

 

[canyon ed]

here's a better one. https://www.copart.com/lot/38283278 looks like all cosmetic.

hail damage

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