2016 GT with 5 previous owners

[dzonis77]

So, I’m looking at this 2016 Mustang GT, which was side swiped and written off and is now up for auction in a few days. It has 80k miles and during the 9 years it had 5 owners. How big of a red flag if any is this ? Service records seems pretty good. I also added carfax

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[ORRadtech]

Well, you're already looking at a wrecked Mustang at auction so it doesn't get much schetchier than that.
On the surface I wouldn't worry too much about the multiple owners if service records and carfax are OK.
But the Mustang is one of the most modified and beat on cars out there. About the only car I would worry more about would be a Charger/ Challenger.
So do your homework on value, parts, fees etc then set a price you're willing to risk and stick to it. Auctions depend on people getting caught up and making stupid decisions.

 

[junits15]

Its almost a 10 year old car so it isn't too surprising that it has a few owners. Idk i'm with @ORRadtech if you're buying a wrecked car it doesn't really matter that much. Its already a risk.

 

[Sparky1337]

As someone from the South East, the Ohio and Pennsylvania registration would be a hard pass for me.

If it’s still something you’re interested in, set a low bid if you can’t see it in person before the auction. It does look like it was serviced regularly by at least one of the previous owners, but there are quite a few unknowns without physically inspecting the car.

 

[SBR70.3]

You have to look at it from a value standpoint. If you can buy it for a damn good price, then yes......do it. If they want market price for a car with zero damage, then they can F off.

If you want a reliable, daily driver then you might want to look elsewhere.

If you plan to gut and cage the interior, remove the A/C system, and upgrade the brakes and suspension to track it, then go for it.

 

[Justpassingas]

I’ve posted this in the past….FWIW I don’t trust Carfax…Back in 2014 my wife’s new Scion Tc was involved in two minor accidents requiring insurance claims & body work both times. After the second accident I decided to trade it in for a new 2015 Ecoboost for her.The dealer put the Tc on the lot with a clean Carfax noting only a recent oil change.The 2015 EcoBoost has since been upgraded to a 2021GT. Maybe things have changed since.

 

[dasrider]

What are your plans for this car, daily driver, track/autox build, drag, etc.? And how much budget do you have to fix stuff after purchase? 80,000 miles in 9yrs isn't terrible but depends on how hard those miles were. It would need to be a smoking deal to be worth the risk being salvage title imo.

 

[dzonis77]

What are your plans for this car, daily driver, track/autox build, drag, etc.? And how much budget do you have to fix stuff after purchase? 80,000 miles in 9yrs isn't terrible but depends on how hard those miles were. It would need to be a smoking deal to be worth the risk being salvage title imo.

Daily

What are your plans for this car, daily driver, track/autox build, drag, etc.? And how much budget do you have to fix stuff after purchase? 80,000 miles in 9yrs isn't terrible but depends on how hard those miles were. It would need to be a smoking deal to be worth the risk being salvage title imo.

What are your plans for this car, daily driver, track/autox build, drag, etc.? And how much budget do you have to fix stuff after purchase? 80,000 miles in 9yrs isn't terrible but depends on how hard those miles were. It would need to be a smoking deal to be worth the risk being salvage title imo.

daily lol, and I got like 5k set back for maintenance. Sounds stupid

 

[Skye]

What are your mechanical abilities?

What is your budget?

What do you plan to do with the car?

Multiple owners (who seemed to have several tire and alignment issues), several states of residence, ultimately ending in an accident that earned it a salvage title.

In my area, auctions let the person look at the car, but the cars are not started or driven. People stand around the vehicle and bid.

Looking at the one photo, it could have been the accident involved forces directly opposite the other driving wheel. The result might not only be unibody damage, but rear diff, suspension and everything that goes with it.

Given the mileage and number of owners, I wouldn't consider it a donor car. Mechanically, virtually everything is well-worn. Unibody and body panel wise, expect the worst and pray for the best.

This vehicle is way beyond my abilities. I'm more at a Fisher Price level myself.

Pass.

Edit,

Will your state allow you to register and drive a salvage car? Insurance?

 

[RocketGuy3]

It seems quite strange to me that a Mustang GT would change owners that often. I would question whether something is wrong with it (not to mention the other more obvious risks with this particular car).

With some more exotic cars, having multiple owners in short periods of time is normal as people want to own one for even a few months just so they can say they did it. And they have incredible resale value, so they can turn around and sell it to the next guy without losing much... I don't think any of the above is true with a regular ol' Mustang GT. That tells me there's some other reason it's changing hands so often. But there's exceptions to every rule, of course.

 

[dasrider]

daily lol, and I got like 5k set back for maintenance. Sounds stupid

eh, if it was my money I'd hold out for something less abused. I'd hate to get a car I've been wanting for a while just to have to deal with problems the previous owner(s) made. I don't know what your overall budget is but this should be a better time of year in general to pick up a Mustang that didn't sell over the summer.

 

[dzonis77]

eh, if it was my money I'd hold out for something less abused. I'd hate to get a car I've been wanting for a while just to have to deal with problems the previous owner(s) made. I don't know what your overall budget is but this should be a better time of year in general to pick up a Mustang that didn't sell over the summer.

I’m looking at a few, but seems like this one could go for a steal tbh. What do you think would a fair price be, which you would go for ?

 

[dasrider]

share the link

 

[dzonis77]

Auction ?

 

[RocketGuy3]

I’m looking at a few, but seems like this one could go for a steal tbh. What do you think would a fair price be, which you would go for ?

I just saw what you said about how you want to daily this and you have only $5K for repairs.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but in my opinion there is almost no scenario in which it makes sense for you to buy this car. The only exceptions would be if you are highly skilled in multiple key automotive shop skills, OR you know this car is in decent driving shape. It will almost certainly not save you any money over buying a more expensive car that is already known to be in decent condition.

And even if this one IS in good driving condition, you probably have to be ok with driving around with that big gash in the side, because you won't be able to fix that halfway decently for $5K either.

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