How to you view your Mustang?

[PoCoBob]

I’ve been coming here for a few years now and I’m curious about the different philosophies people have about their Mustang. Some treat their car like it’s a exotic that should never see a drop of rain or a gravel driveway. Others, like me, believe it’s a car that was built to be enjoyed and while I hope it stays looking as good as new I accept there’s going to be a few war wounds that are unavoidable.

I understand if you have a Shelby or very limited edition car there may be some merit to try to preserve it, but not mine. My GT could have just as easily ended up at Budget rent a car instead of my driveway. Truly there is nothing special about mine over the thousands and thousands of other ones on the road, no need for me to limit how I use the car because I somehow think it’s anything other than a mass produced car.

Curious what others think?

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[Balr14]

I agree with you. I bought my 2018 GT premium convertible because it had the best rear seat room of any current convertible and because it was an excellent value for a performance car. I wanted a rear seat for the grand kids. At all of the local area cruise nights, 75% of the cars are Mustangs. If I see a muscle car on the street, the odds are it's a Mustang. So, I'm quite aware it isn't anything special. But, since I don't drive a lot, it was never driven in bad weather or winter... no need to. So, I guess it was treated better than many.

I sold it about 6 weeks ago for about what I paid for it. It has 18k miles. I enjoyed it while I had it.

 

[MarkM]

Mine is one of 4 vehicles so barely gets used. I like to keep it looking it’s best as it’s not a daily. It’s an occasional toy at best, it’s my on going project to make prettier and drive better lol
I’m in the UK though, Mustangs aren’t an everyday sight here

 

[skinnyb]

Mine is definitely a weekend warrior. Rarely gets out of the garage unless I go out for a drive on the weekend, my daily driver is much more suited for the work I do (mobile service technician). I do use it for a road trip car though for vacation trips and such, and enjoy driving it any time I get the chance and can. It is excellent on road trips, the 10 auto and all the electronic doo dads, plus magneride make it swallow up the miles very comfortably. I go out regularly with a local group and we burn up the back roads too, a nice balance I do try to keep it looking as new as possible, am getting a 9 year ceramic coating applied in a couple weeks to hopefully help make it easier to clean when I do get it dirty and protect the paint as much as possible.

 

[noGreta!]

I treat all my cars with a healthy dose of love, respect and care regardless of what they are for as long as I have them. I do that because I love cars...period.

Having said that, it's a mass produced car with a ton of budget parts from the lowest bidder. It has many flaws and compromises to be able to give you 450ish horsepower for that price range.

As such, I treat it in the same manner as the company that made it: a disposable, depreciating asset that was knowingly not built to last forever.

 

[Rhyanski]

Mine is a dream come true! Literally! I was born and raised in a communist country, which opened to the western world in the early 90s. I was like 12-14 back then and I have very fond memories of smuggled posters and photos of mustangs and other cars. My uncle had a poster of a 1968 red mustang in his garage and I was spending hours trying to draw it.
I was trying to get my hands on one since 2015 when it came to Europe officially and 2 times I failed for various reasons, and the third one was the charm, so in 2022 I got a manual mach 1.
Initially I wanted to preserve it intact, but then I realised I won't enjoy it. The car had barely around 1000km on the clock when I got stuck on the highway traffic jam in a hail storm. The car did not suffer any damage then but this event was my eye opener. Now, less than an year later I have already 13000km on the clock and I try to drive it every day anywhere, enjoying each growl of the exhaust.
Yep, there are some rock chips but it's normal. I wash it myself only and do my best to detail it and keep it pristine as much as possible. I want to live my dream to the max. I will track it and won't sell it till I can still drive the bloody thing.

 

[PhillyMike]

I plan to drive the fuck out of mine, once it finally arrives. It will get paint chips. It will still be fast.

 

[Justpassingas]

I traded in the wife’s 2015EB and ordered a 21GT Premium as a retirement present. I bought it to drive it and I put over 40K on it in less than 2 years touring the US. Our last trip was over 3 weeks, 23 states & 8300 miles. Like all my vehicles it’s well maintained but the Mustang gets all the special attention…The dealer keeps sending me junk to trade in for a 24…I don’t think so

 

[lacanteen]

I bought my first Mustang in 2019, 9 months after my wife passed away, just for fun. My daily is a company provided F150, so I figured a nice weekend car, maybe 4K miles per year. Didn't happen. The Race Red EB was easy to keep clean and fun to drive. Drove it 3 years, 45K miles, and saw 19 states, wrecked it, and was paid 3K more than I paid for it.
I special ordered my current EB and love to drive it, though it's a bitch to keep clean. The purple, while beautiful in full sunlight, looks black the rest of the time. However, I now get 4 weeks of vacation per year. Have put 11K miles on this car in 8 months, and still have 2 road trips planned for May and June over 3K miles each. Still a weekend car, but I have some great weekends. I try to park smart, stay back in traffic and so far no chips, dings or scratches. In fact, Da' Grape goes to the beauty shop this week, weather permitting, for its 6 month spa treatment after getting 3 year ceramic applied last October.
Drive it and love it.

 

[PoCoBob]

My story is similar to a couple of these, I bought the car as a retirement present to myself. At first it was going to be just a road trip car but after a while I felt it wasn't getting used enough so now it's my go anywhere car. This year spring has come very late and we are just now getting to where I don't have to worry and hitting snow going through our local mountains. So this week the SUV gets put away in the garage and the Mustang becomes the daily driver until the fall when snow becomes an issue again.

Just for fun this morning I went on Craigslist and searched for Mustang GT for sale between years 2018 -2020. Currently there are 23 listed for sale in my area. So a very common car around here.

 

[Virnman]

This is what I drove in my 20’s…..this is what I drive in my 50’s. Both daily drivers for pure fun in the sun. For me Mustang’s are the best bang for the buck.

 

[Zooks527]

I agree with you. I bought my 2018 GT premium convertible because it had the best rear seat room of any current convertible.... I wanted a rear seat for the grand kids.

AYKM? Unless everyone in your family including you is 5'3" or shorter, what back seat room? And as far as "best" rear seat room, you clearly didn't look at a BMW 4-series.

Seriously, I love my Mustang, but behind the two front seats there's nothing but an oddly shaped parcel shelf with seatbelts.

 

[Spartan1]

It's a summer fun toy that will get between 3-4k miles a year, rarely sees rain and get's stored 5 months a year as I'm not throwing winter tires and sand bags on it and beating the hell out of it through a Michigan winter.

Not a practical car for a one car person as the rear seat is unusable (spare me the "my kids fit fine' comments, the rear is tiny) and it's unsafe in snow/ice, as any 450 HP rear drive car would be.

It's why I cringe when people talk about mounting a bike bracket or tow hitch on it, if you can only afford one vehicle, probably not the one to buy.

But it is a hell of a lot of fun, and brings a huge smile to my face when I look atand drive it.

Our Maverick was built last week, should be getting it in the next 4-6 weeks I'd assume, curious if that will be fun enough to cut into my mustang driving time.

 

[daSNAK3]

I drive mine everyday it’s nice out when I’m not feeling like riding my GSX-R.. I have the Jeep for shit days. I’ll never need or want to drive it during crappy rainy days or during winter, that’s what the Jeep is for. While I don’t pamper mine like some other guys, I’m not gonna trash it either. I take care of it the best I can but she definitely gets used and a little abused at times.

 

[vaeevictiss]

I don't care if it's a mustang or a Lambo. It's still a car and I bought it to drive it and enjoy the experience of driving it.

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