On a scale of 1-10, how bad of an idea is buying a new S550 in the next 6 months, and other buying questions

[CorvZ061]

If this is your primary family car, I would even bother test driving one. I only get away with it because my son very seldomly goes out in the Mustang.

car seats make all the difference. Both of my boys ride in the back of my car. One 3 one 7. 3 year old sits behind me and I’m 6’2”.

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[Stranger706]

Mustangs are perfect for kids. All 3 of mine love riding in the back. The engine note puts them to sleep right away.

 

[EFI]

I see lots of low mileage 2018 GTs for mid $30s. They are excellent values and have already taken the worst depreciation hits.

Considering just about a year ago you could buy a brand new GT for that, it goes to show how effed up the used market is right now.

 

[sk47]

Hello; Back in January 2021 I tried to get a discount on a leftover base GT. The dealer and I got to about $1,500 difference apart but well below list. My crystal ball was on the blink so I passed on the deal. Now the whole scene is changed and my guess is it would hard to pay list for one.
My crystal ball is still not working so I will have to guess. I have seen similar times before and figure if you can stand to wait things will swing back.
It is hard to predict the future but some patterns do seem to hold. Go to a store and look at the stock of things such as hand sanitizer, alcohol, masks and such. A few months ago you could not find the stuff. May not be the same with chips and cars, but production will ramp up again.

Three other things seem likely to happen. One is by next September the federal $300 bonus money on unemployment checks will end. Might be replaced with other stuff so there is that chance. Some states are ending the extra payments in July. So those folks will not be feeling so flush and may stop paying outreagous prices for used cars.

Second thing is the price of fuel will very likely still be high in a few months. That should reduce demand for a low MPG car.

Third thing is inflation is getting bad. I have lived thru a couple of bad inflation spells. This one may be worse in that any savings you have are not drawing much interest. If you are still flush in a few months things may be more normal. May take a lot longer tho. One thing I have some confidence in is if you buy a mustang now at high prices it will depreciate big time in the future. I guess it will depend on just how bad you have to have a Mustang.

I know the idea sucks, but it may be mini van time with two kids.

 

[thunderstrike]

NYT reported yesterday the Biden inflation is resulting in used car price increases at 29% or higher. Why pay high used car price when you can own a new car.

I would buy a new GT Premium, without popular options as they stay on the lot longer, and may be open for better discounts. Leather from Premium option would be good w child hauling.

Even though I would love to own a GT350, I would opt for GT to be more safe driver hauling precious cargo in backseat.

 

[spaz mk will]

Kids are totally doable in a Mustang if you want it to work. Our toddler loves “dada’s car” and makes Vroom noises in the back seat - which is super cool We’re entering a tough stretch where he’s less comfortable in a newborn seat but he’s only in it for short trips to/from daycare. Newborn seat allows me to pack him up and then just place the seat into the base in the car, nice and easy. Once he outgrows it, there will be a less fun time whereby I have to get into the back seat to put him in a normal car seat that doesn’t remove from the base. But he’ll be bigger by then and can get himself back there I think. Only downside to a car seat is a front passenger is pretty cramped in front of a rear facing seat, but once they flip around that goes away. We just use our SUV for most family drives so it doesn’t matter. So yeah, it can work if you want to deal with some annoyances. Worth it to me to drive this every day.

 

[thunderstrike]

Ouch. I purchased my 18 GT in January 19, used with 11k miles and 11 months of ownership. 401a, active exhaust, shaker, blackout, and security package. MSRP ~45k. Paid 32K. Seeing mid 30s as a value is tough to me but true in the current (wacky) market.

I picked up a new GT Premium 6 Spd for near $32K price in August. I traveled from Alabama to Northeim Virginia, Koons Ford. You'll be seeing good discounts soon. I searched dealerships west to east coast for couple of months... I didn't get two options, Active Exhaust and higher end stereo w woofer, but took a huge discount instead.

 

[Torched10]

I would do a nationwide search and see what you can scare up. You may have to pay a couple grand to travel to drive it/ ship it to you, but opening up your geographic circle would be very valuable right now. Hate it for you though. I bought my used 2018 Roush at the start of the pandemic when everything dropped like a rock. For what I bought mine for with 5,700 miles on it you can't get a PP1 with 40K miles on it now. Just a crappy time to buy used right now. If a nationwide search doesn't help you, you may just want to sit on the sidelines for a little bit while the market hopefully unscrews itself. Good luck with it!

I use car gurus.com.theres av1000 mustangs nationwide

 

[3rdRGR]

I use car gurus.com.theres av1000 mustangs nationwide

Yep. Cars.com is good as well.

 

[Kermut]

One thing I have some confidence in is if you buy a mustang now at high prices it will depreciate big time in the future. I guess it will depend on just how bad you have to have a Mustang.

I know the idea sucks, but it may be mini van time with two kids.

We already have a Subaru Outback as the primary family hauler; unless we add another two kids it's not quite mini van time yet. My wife wants me to have the capability of hauling the kid(s) for things like dropping off at daycare/school, but this won't be our primary family car, so I am not at all worried about this aspect.

At this point, from reading the comments on this thread/these forums and other research, I'm pretty sure paying over mid $30's on any GT/premium will result in significant depreciation at some point, even if it holds value over the next year. I'm planning on keeping the car for 3-5 years though, so I guess I'm resigned to it. Might as well order it the way I want. I'm just hoping to get an OK discount from Granger when I order.

Still, if anyone sees a new manual 2021 GT premium with the 401(a) group for sale for $5k+ under MSRP, let me know hah. I can always book an airline flight and/or ship it.

 

[3rdRGR]

I'm just hoping to get an OK discount from Granger when I order.

Grainger the Industrial Supply company? I used to work for them and they had the VPP program. I got two Infiniti's and a Nissan for my wife while I worked there and they were all little below invoice. Pretty sweet deal, but that was like 2004-2012. Not sure what they have available these days.

 

[oneheadlite]

...I just sold my '20 Challenger Scat Pack yesterday to CarMax.
Got $5000 more than I gave for it 5 months ago.

Just as soon as my bank releases the money I'll have
a new 2021 Mustang GT. Hopefully a Black car/w manual trans.

I did have a dealer in Charlotte, NC tell me today that they
would NOT hold a car for me for 6 days.
Even if I paid several thousand dollars for them to hold it...........................

 

[TGYNYY]

Here you go...

 

[NotagainV2]

Buying new on a scale of 1 to 10 is a 0.

If you have good credit. I bought my car in the middle of Covid last summer and paid 6k off Sticker, no payments for 90 days and best of all 0% interest!

Want me to make the payment for a new car with 0% where do I sign?

I can tell you one thing Ill be paying other things off long before the car given I dont plan on getting rid of this car either.

 

[NotagainV2]

Here you go...

Thats 10k too high!

About a year ago 2016 GT350s were going for well under 50k!

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