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Looking To Purchase A Mustang Convertible, Some Questions

NY Yankee Pride

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Hi, I'm new here. I've been looking to purchase a convertible as an extra car. This won't be my daily driver, it will be more of a car to enjoy on nice summer days. The two things that I really wanted were a manual transmission and a hard top convertible. I looked at the Infiniti G37 convertibles but there aren't many to be found throughout the country especially with a manual. And I don't have much faith in reliability of German luxury brands so I've decided to go with a Mustang. The soft top obviously isn't my preference but that's okay, I can't have everything. I've been a Mustang lover since the I was kid in the 80's but never actually owned one.

My budget is a maximum of $25,000 and I'm looking to get a used 2015 - 2019 model. Are there any major reliability issues with the Mustangs that I should know about or be on the lookout for? To be honest I'll probably end up with the Ecoboost or the V6. The V8 would be nice but considering this is just an extra car to enjoy on nice days I can't justify the large premium price of the V8.

And although it's not impossible to find these with a manual, my recent searching has shown that I'm going to have to travel fairly far from where live. The closet I'm finding right now are 2.5 to hours from here.

As I said above my question is if there is anything specific I should know about or be on the lookout for.

Thanks in advance
Brian
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Hi, I'm new here. I've been looking to purchase a convertible as an extra car. This won't be my daily driver, it will be more of a car to enjoy on nice summer days. The two things that I really wanted were a manual transmission and a hard top convertible. I looked at the Infiniti G37 convertibles but there aren't many to be found throughout the country especially with a manual. And I don't have much faith in reliability of German luxury brands so I've decided to go with a Mustang. The soft top obviously isn't my preference but that's okay, I can't have everything. I've been a Mustang lover since the I was kid in the 80's but never actually owned one.

My budget is a maximum of $25,000 and I'm looking to get a used 2015 - 2019 model. Are there any major reliability issues with the Mustangs that I should know about or be on the lookout for? To be honest I'll probably end up with the Ecoboost or the V6. The V8 would be nice but considering this is just an extra car to enjoy on nice days I can't justify the large premium price of the V8.

And although it's not impossible to find these with a manual, my recent searching has shown that I'm going to have to travel fairly far from where live. The closet I'm finding right now are 2.5 to hours from here.

As I said above my question is if there is anything specific I should know about or be on the lookout for.

Thanks in advance
Brian
Hey Brian. Its hard to go wrong with a beautiful weekend and a Mustang with the top down. The soft top works well, and has decent insulation, so it pretty quiet when the top is up. You are right about manual convertibles being hard to find. I looked too, and ended up with the 10 speed automatic. Which is an excellent transmission, especially with the various drive modes, when so equipped. Be careful as many of the pre-owned Verts are ex-rental fleet. Not necessarily disqualifying for many buyers, just do your extra careful due diligence. Good luck!!
 
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NY Yankee Pride

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Hey Brian. Its hard to go wrong with a beautiful weekend and a Mustang with the top down. The soft top works well, and has decent insulation, so it pretty quiet when the top is up. You are right about manual convertibles being hard to find. I looked too, and ended up with the 10 speed automatic. Which is an excellent transmission, especially with the various drive modes, when so equipped. Be careful as many of the pre-owned Verts are ex-rental fleet. Not necessarily disqualifying for many buyers, just do your extra careful due diligence. Good luck!!
Thank you sigster. I hadn't even thought about the pre owned convertibles possibly being ex rentals, that's a great piece of advice. Probably the one's with manual transmissions wouldn't have been rentals I'm thinking but who knows. Of course being a manual transmission could bring many other possibilities for abuse by a previous owner.
 

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I wanted a manual too, but "settled" for the A10 so my wife could drive it. I am thrilled with the A10 and glad I went that direction. Drive an A10 before you write it off. It is an amazing transmission. Put it in the most aggressive mode it offers--Sport, Track, Drag...not sure which years/packages have what--and get on it. It will put a smile on your face.
 

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Another vote for the A10. If you do any research about the MT-82 6 speed you may decide to avoid it. I have owned lots of manual transmissions and it just doesn't feel right. If you want a manual transmission, why not just buy a Vette?
 

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Another vote for the A10. If you do any research about the MT-82 6 speed you may decide to avoid it. I have owned lots of manual transmissions and it just doesn't feel right. If you want a manual transmission, why not just buy a Vette?
This is good information and the type of info I was looking for. I had no idea that there was issue's with the MT-82. I did some quick googling and it appears that Ford made some improvements to it for the 2018 model year however I haven't dug further yet to see if it was actually an improvement. I also just saw this:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/33972...it-over-faulty-six-speed-manual-transmissions

This is rather disappointing to hear. As far as a Vette, I've never been the Corvette type. Plus my two grade school kids want to be able to enjoy the car with me so I need a back seat.

I wanted a manual too, but "settled" for the A10 so my wife could drive it. I am thrilled with the A10 and glad I went that direction. Drive an A10 before you write it off. It is an amazing transmission. Put it in the most aggressive mode it offers--Sport, Track, Drag...not sure which years/packages have what--and get on it. It will put a smile on your face.
I definitely understand what you're saying. And I don't want to seem like I'm arguing, I'm sure as fellow auto enthusiasts you'll understand why I want a manual. The thing is that I know that the 10 speed auto is an awesome and advanced transmission, that cannot be disputed. And I'd probably be happy with it for a year or so but then I know I'll be sorry that I didn't get the manual. Ferrari doesn't even make manuals anymore, they say their automatics are far more advanced & faster than any manual transmission and again I don't doubt that. But to me a manual is just so much more fun an engaging to drive. I don't care if it takes an extra second to get from 0-60 because I'm not racing anyway. You know what I mean?

I'm so disappointed to hear how bad the MT-82 might be and if that's the case then I'm probably going to search for an entirely different convertible. Again I appreciate everyone's input. If anyone has any additional helpful information on the MT-82 please post it.
 

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Hi Brian, I own a 19 GT convertible with A10. Never owned a Mustang before this, nor was I a Mustang fan. In 2018 by chance my wife and I ended up with a leased 19 Ecoboost convertible with A10 for a month, we lived in Oklahoma at the time. And we completely fell in love with it. The thing was quick and nimble around corners, and the turbo inline 4 really packed a punch! After coming back to California, we knew we had to get one so we bought a 19 GT. We got it as a certified pre-owned with 25k miles. It had a lot of miles for a 6-month old car, but we only paid $28k for it so it was a pretty good deal.

You are right, it's a bit difficult to find a manual convertible. We were also looking for one at time, but eventually gave up because it was too hard to find unless you order it brand new, which was hard to justify given that we would have to pay at least $15k more for a new one compared to a slightly used CPO. In terms of things to watch out for, I would obviously check out the usual stuff: fluid leaks, brakes, tire condition, AC, paint conditions and etc. If it's just a couple of years old, you shouldn't really find anything majorly wrong. Also being a convertible, I would definitely check out the top: look for any scratches, loose threads, holes, any abnormal wear, and whether it goes up and down without issues. Also make sure the window panels line up without gaps, our car had a bit of gap when we got it but got adjusted before delivery. Other than that, really not a whole lot to worry about. We've had the car for almost a year now, haven't had any issues. I drive my car very hard, and I often go carve canyons and do mountain runs on weekends (mainly uphill, I will probably melt my brakes going fast downhill so didn't want to try) I have never driven a fastback, so I can't compare the handling but at least for me the convertible is plenty capable bone stock. (I have the non-magneride OEM suspension, and the only mod I have are Steeda 2-point G trac brace and jacking rails, honestly don't feel too different with/without them installed.) Coming into a corner, shifting down from 3rd to 2nd (yes the paddle shifter for the A10 works great), whipping it around, skidding a little and punch the gas into the next corner... the car does everything I want it to, no complaints.

Hope you get your new ride soon!
 

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I did a lot of searching for a convertible with a rear seat big enough to actually hold people. The Mustang was the best that I could find for room, performance and weight. Camaro has a decent manual transmission and the previous generation (before 2016) actually has a decent sized rear seat. Door height is very high on a Camaro, so the rear seat is out of the wind a little better than with a Mustang. A word of caution... the wind buffeting in the back seat of any convertible is enough that it loses it's fun pretty quickly.
 

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Since you said that a V-8 is out of your budget, don't worry about the MT-82 issues. Most of the problems are on V-8 cars, the MT-82 was never designed to be behind a 400+ hp engine and that's a major issue. Also the v6 was only from 15-17, they were discontinued after that. All 15-17 ecoboost verts are premiums, and all GT verts are premiums too. You stand a better chance of finding a manual if you look for a 16-17 vert with the performance pack, because you could not get the PP on a vert with an auto until 18.

Just for reference, out of 165,263 mustangs built in 2017, only 2,595 GT verts had a manual, in all colors. So finding a used vert with a manual is gonna be about as hard as finding a needle in a hay stack.
 

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Although I bought mine new, zero regrets going Ecoboost over GT and auto over manual. Sure I could have bought a GT, we’re not exactly poor, but the premium was a little harsh in my estimation and besides, if you’re buying a convertible it’s more of a cruiser than flat out performance. It’s not how fast you get there, it’s how you look when you arrive©️.
 

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For me it was GT or nothing. I actually got lucky when I found it. I wanted a GT vert in grabber blue with a manual and the GT performance pack. I glad I bought it, turns out there is only 24 just like it out of 165,263 mustangs for 2017
 
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Since you said that a V-8 is out of your budget, don't worry about the MT-82 issues. Most of the problems are on V-8 cars, the MT-82 was never designed to be behind a 400+ hp engine and that's a major issue. Also the v6 was only from 15-17, they were discontinued after that. All 15-17 ecoboost verts are premiums, and all GT verts are premiums too. You stand a better chance of finding a manual if you look for a 16-17 vert with the performance pack, because you could not get the PP on a vert with an auto until 18.

Just for reference, out of 165,263 mustangs built in 2017, only 2,595 GT verts had a manual, in all colors. So finding a used vert with a manual is gonna be about as hard as finding a needle in a hay stack.
I'm not questioning you but from the research I've done there appears to be complaints on the MT-82 on the V8 and Ecoboost engines although it's possible that it's more of an issue with the V8. I did find this while searching: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...upgraded-mt82-manual-transmission-121592.html

That seems to indicate that there were some fairly good improvements for the 2018 model year for the MT-82 for both the V8 & Ecoboost models.
 
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Although I bought mine new, zero regrets going Ecoboost over GT and auto over manual. Sure I could have bought a GT, we’re not exactly poor, but the premium was a little harsh in my estimation and besides, if you’re buying a convertible it’s more of a cruiser than flat out performance. It’s not how fast you get there, it’s how you look when you arrive©️.
Yeah I agree with you about the Ecoboost over the GT. I could afford to purchase a GT but the premium is substantial and I really don't care to spend that much extra for a car that will basically be used only in the summer.
 
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Hi Brian, I own a 19 GT convertible with A10. Never owned a Mustang before this, nor was I a Mustang fan. In 2018 by chance my wife and I ended up with a leased 19 Ecoboost convertible with A10 for a month, we lived in Oklahoma at the time. And we completely fell in love with it. The thing was quick and nimble around corners, and the turbo inline 4 really packed a punch! After coming back to California, we knew we had to get one so we bought a 19 GT. We got it as a certified pre-owned with 25k miles. It had a lot of miles for a 6-month old car, but we only paid $28k for it so it was a pretty good deal.

You are right, it's a bit difficult to find a manual convertible. We were also looking for one at time, but eventually gave up because it was too hard to find unless you order it brand new, which was hard to justify given that we would have to pay at least $15k more for a new one compared to a slightly used CPO. In terms of things to watch out for, I would obviously check out the usual stuff: fluid leaks, brakes, tire condition, AC, paint conditions and etc. If it's just a couple of years old, you shouldn't really find anything majorly wrong. Also being a convertible, I would definitely check out the top: look for any scratches, loose threads, holes, any abnormal wear, and whether it goes up and down without issues. Also make sure the window panels line up without gaps, our car had a bit of gap when we got it but got adjusted before delivery. Other than that, really not a whole lot to worry about. We've had the car for almost a year now, haven't had any issues. I drive my car very hard, and I often go carve canyons and do mountain runs on weekends (mainly uphill, I will probably melt my brakes going fast downhill so didn't want to try) I have never driven a fastback, so I can't compare the handling but at least for me the convertible is plenty capable bone stock. (I have the non-magneride OEM suspension, and the only mod I have are Steeda 2-point G trac brace and jacking rails, honestly don't feel too different with/without them installed.) Coming into a corner, shifting down from 3rd to 2nd (yes the paddle shifter for the A10 works great), whipping it around, skidding a little and punch the gas into the next corner... the car does everything I want it to, no complaints.

Hope you get your new ride soon!
Thank you! I know it will take a little longer to find one with a manual but I don't think it will be too bad because I'm willing to purchase long distance & have it shipped.
 
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I've been combing through the Transmission section of these forums and although the opinions are all over the place there does seem to be more positive posts and reviews of the 2018-2020 MT-82's. I'm still researching though. If anyone has any other input on the MT-82 please post it. I'm worried about this transmission being an issue.
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