Hi & Decision Time

[Lewis]

Hi All,

Recently discovered your forum and have been reading with great interest. Seems like you have a great community on here.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of owning a Mustang, but have never been able to realise that dream. I am now at that kind of age whereby I need to figure out how I can make it happen and afford one. I’ve owned mostly BMW’s and Audi’s all my life. Never bought a new car, always used. They have served me well over the years, but never excited me. I want a car I can tinker with and work on. I want to experience that smile that you all seem to talk about when your push the engine start button and hear that V8 roar into life.

I can't afford a new one, so I’m looking at a 2017/2018 GT. I think the only way I can afford one is to go down the PCP route as this fits in with my monthly budget. I’ve seen some decent deals out there at 4.9% over 4 years and final payment of circa £11k (with a £7k up-front payment).

Only thing about PCP is I don’t own it from the start, so probably can’t mod it in anyway, but it does enable me to get one at my monthly budget. My wife wants me to wait until we get some inheritance or downsize, but that could be another 10 years away from now. Who knows. I might not last another 10 years myself!!! I just feel like I need to get one now, end of story.

I’m seeing some for sale on Autotrader from anywhere between £30k - £35k from franchised dealers. Is that the going rate in your view? In your experience is there room for negotiation or are Mustangs in such high demand at the moment?

Thinking of trying to get some sort of warranty with it, as I would want some peace of mind too.

Has anyone bought a Mustang during lockdown? I can’t test drive any at the moment, so would be buying blind. Am I being too impatient and should wait until I can test drive?

I’ve read through a lot of the advice on here about what to look out for when buying a Mustang, but the only other thing that concerns me is the future value and whether the government will soon clamp down hard on V8 owners, making them too expensive to run and rendering them worthless.

Sorry for the long post. Just getting started on that journey and am a bit of a novice, but I just have this massive urge to fulfil that lifelong dream of owning one.

Think I’m just looking for some moral support, as everyone I have spoken too says I am crazy. They just don’t understand...

Appreciate any thoughts you may have.

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[raptor17GT]

if you're thinking PCP then have a look at bank loans. I went down this road and the bank loan was far cheaper (lower interest rate), more flexible and of course I owned the car from day 1. Bought it before lockdown so cannot comment on your other queries but good luck whatever way you go

 

[Lewis]

if you're thinking PCP then have a look at bank loans. I went down this road and the bank loan was far cheaper (lower interest rate), more flexible and of course I owned the car from day 1. Bought it before lockdown so cannot comment on your other queries but good luck whatever way you go

Thanks for your replay. I looked at a loan, but I'd need to borrow circa £24k and the interest jumps up quite a lot from £15k onwards. Might have to shop around a bit and see if I can improve on that

 

[Kristian87]

I want a car I can tinker with and work on. I want to experience that smile that you all seem to talk about when your push the engine start button and hear that V8 roar into life.

This. This is what it's all about!

Welcome to the forum...

for £30-35k I would expect you'll get something decent. Low mileage, low on modifications. Mine is a 2017 model, just before the facelift in late 2017, and benefits from the £140 a year road tax. List price was just shy of £39k.

If it makes you feel any better, I ordered my first one (an ecoboost) never having seen one in the flesh, it was the first Mustang I ever sat in. 18 months later I upgraded to a GT. Really can't imagine myself in anything else.

Pro's - you won't regret it one bit. Driving it is every bit as good as the sleepless nights wondering how to modify it, or where to go in it (or how long to spend cleaning it for me haha). The people and the community you'll experience are everything you'd expect and more...

Con's - Ford generally in the UK are poorly experienced when it comes to the Mustang - even after 5 years. By most dealerships, it will be seen as just another Focus rolling in, not the pride and joy of a Mustang enthusiast. Build quality is "good" at best, so don't expect the levels you are used to with the german cars.

Good luck with the search and keep us posted

 

[Kristian87]

Think I’m just looking for some moral support, as everyone I have spoken too says I am crazy. They just don’t understand...

You have come to the right place haha

Outside of the enthusiast world, no one will understand, but they'll think you are cool.

One other thought - the 2017 vs 2018 models are quite different. Plenty of talk in the UK section about the differences other than the obvious looks, so research that because there's likely to be quite a difference in price.

 

[Lewis]

This. This is what it's all about!

Welcome to the forum...

for £30-35k I would expect you'll get something decent. Low mileage, low on modifications. Mine is a 2017 model, just before the facelift in late 2017, and benefits from the £140 a year road tax. List price was just shy of £39k.

If it makes you feel any better, I ordered my first one (an ecoboost) never having seen one in the flesh, it was the first Mustang I ever sat in. 18 months later I upgraded to a GT. Really can't imagine myself in anything else.

Pro's - you won't regret it one bit. Driving it is every bit as good as the sleepless nights wondering how to modify it, or where to go in it (or how long to spend cleaning it for me haha). The people and the community you'll experience are everything you'd expect and more...

Con's - Ford generally in the UK are poorly experienced when it comes to the Mustang - even after 5 years. By most dealerships, it will be seen as just another Focus rolling in, not the pride and joy of a Mustang enthusiast. Build quality is "good" at best, so don't expect the levels you are used to with the german cars.

Good luck with the search and keep us posted

Thanks for your insight. It's such a personal thing that many people don't understand, which is why I kind of feel at home in this forum even though I don't own one yet. Will definitely keep you posted...

 

[maddog1982]

Where in the UK are you? I've got a late 2016 gt, had it almost 2 years and it's fast approaching the longest car ive ever owned. They are fantastic but the preface lift one's do have a few niggles but can be easily rectified. My biggest complaint was the pzeros and the dreadful 25w lights. I upgraded these to 35w ones from a jag xf. Later mustangs have LEDs I belive. Gearing is different on the face-lift too, not sure what year they changed but you can tell the difference by the front and rear lights. Epic cars and the way the world is going it will be harder and harder to drive these types of cars.

 

[Lewis]

Where in the UK are you? I've got a late 2016 gt, had it almost 2 years and it's fast approaching the longest car ive ever owned. They are fantastic but the preface lift one's do have a few niggles but can be easily rectified. My biggest complaint was the pzeros and the dreadful 25w lights. I upgraded these to 35w ones from a jag xf. Later mustangs have LEDs I belive. Gearing is different on the face-lift too, not sure what year they changed but you can tell the difference by the front and rear lights. Epic cars and the way the world is going it will be harder and harder to drive these types of cars.

I'm in sunny Kent. I was looking a the facelift version, but out of my price range unfortunately. Also prefer the look of the pre-facelift for some reason, but can't quite figure out why exactly. Also used to driving automatic these days (getting old clearly), so wondering what the auto is like in the stang. 10 gears in the facelift seems like to many for me, but what do I know.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

I'm in sunny Kent. I was looking a the facelift version, but out of my price range unfortunately. Also prefer the look of the pre-facelift for some reason, but can't quite figure out why exactly. Also used to driving automatic these days (getting old clearly), so wondering what the auto is like in the stang. 10 gears in the facelift seems like to many for me, but what do I know.

Not sure of the other differences, and would research it as Kristian87 says, but regarding the 10 gears, I think you will find people here are pretty much in unison that the 10 gear automatic ("A10") is the greatest automatic to ever come out from Ford.

Have you ever driven a Mustang? I think it's not worth the risk to buy one without at least a test drive, and preferably several, in different cars. If it's your first time in your dream car, everything might feel awesome, almost no matter it's condition and you'll not be able to look at it objectively.
Test driving a few different cars may help, and if possible, I would definitely try to get a competent mechanic too look at the car, as any second hand car buying guide will say.

I think you may also post links to car adds you are serious about here. I've seen several others new to Mustang do that and receive good, and perhaps more objective feedback, about cars they are looking at.

Good luck.

 

[Lewis]

Not sure of the other differences, and would research it as Kristian87 says, but regarding the 10 gears, I think you will find people here are pretty much in unison that the 10 gear automatic ("A10") is the greatest automatic to ever come out from Ford.

Have you ever driven a Mustang? I think it's not worth the risk to buy one without at least a test drive, and preferably several, in different cars. If it's your first time in your dream car, everything might feel awesome, almost no matter it's condition and you'll not be able to look at it objectively.
Test driving a few different cars may help, and if possible, I would definitely try to get a competent mechanic too look at the car, as any second hand car buying guide will say.

I think you may also post links to car adds you are serious about here. I've seen several others new to Mustang do that and receive good, and perhaps more objective feedback, about cars they are looking at.

Good luck.

Some sound advice there Michael. Thanks a lot. The only time I drove a Mustang was on a drive experience day at a track. It was a late 2016 model and was Auto. Did 3 laps and loved it, but granted it was not a real world test drive. That was a few years ago now.

It's really frustrating that I can't do any test drives. I've enquired at some garages, but none of them allow test drives right now, but everything you said makes sense so I guess I'll have to wait.

From what you've said, the facelift version is the one to go for, but my budget just can't stretch to that and having crunched the numbers further, I think I was being a little over eager and I can only really go for something in the £26k - £28k bracket, so I am probably looking at a 2016/early 2017 plate car. Some are so overpriced that are being advertised, as I am seeing standard 2016 plate stangs priced up at over £30k!

Will definitely post up for opinions on any I see advertised that I am thinking of going for.

 

[Harebear72]

if you get a £25k loan the interest rate is about 3% or it was. I had a £25k loan when I bought mine in 2016 and then got a another £25k last year to get the wife another car.

I have NEVER had any car finance, only personal loans - I would not touch any form of PCP or dealers finance with a barge pole !!!!

 

[Alfa Male]

I take it Ford have stopped the 0% pcp finance deals on the Mustangs then as they are still offering 0% finance ?

I looked at buying a used Mustang at first but then realised with the 0% finance offer I could have a brand new car cheaper ! Then I swapped to the next one again on a 0% deal.

Coming from a series of performance BMWs and Audis which are way better than the Mustang, the Mustang is the one that given me the most pleasure and fun. It’s street presence and kudos is in a different league!

Prepare your self for lengthy petrol station stops as you’ll get collared everytime by someone keen to talk to you about the car !

 

[marzman]

My 2018 registered (MY17) auto might be going up for sale in the near future for around the £32k mark. 17k on the clock with some reasonable mods. Im not 100% certain yet though!

4.9% PCP on a used car is a good deal - dealers usually hugely inflate used PCP rates as they're not really making much money on them. What's the monthly payment on that for 7k down 11k balloon? Because as others have said, you're 2% better off with a personal loan... it just comes down to a cashflow issue and whether you can afford the monthly loan payments over the PCP amount.

 

[Lewis]

What's the monthly payment on that for 7k down 11k balloon?

It was around the £390.00 per month mark, which makes a massive difference to cashflow as you say. Would absolutely agree with everyone that the loan route is the way to go, but it just means I can't afford the Mustang I want doing it that way. I took a loan out to buy my BMW 530e, but still have £8k owing on it and won't get that paid off for another 18 months. Just don't want to wait that long really.

Got some thinking to do, but I guess the choices are:

1) Sell my BMW and pay off the remainder of the loan which should give me circa £10k equity and get an older Mustang with a fresh bank loan

2) Same as above but get a newer Mustang on a PCP or Lease Purchase

3) Keep the BMW for 18 months, pay off the existing loan (should end up with a bit more equity) and get something newer then.

Why are you thinking of selling yours Marzman? Are you upgrading or getting out of Mustang ownership?

 

[WD Pro]

Have you considered looking at all you finances as a whole rather than just the car aspect of your finances ?

Mortgage rates are (were ? I've not checked for a while) very low with a % much lower than the numbers being quoted above.

I know everyone's circumstances are different, but if equity allows - take a fixed rate over a timeframe that suits ?

Just throwing another idea out there for you

WD

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