Second-guessing my decision...

[Curse The Sky]

Hi guys.

I've been a Mustang guy for years and years, and with the exception of my '66 project that has been... "progressing" for 10+ years, I haven't owned one until recently.

On Saturday I picked up a Ford Gold-Certified 2020 GT Premium in Magnetic Gray (3rd favorite color) for $34k. She has 41k miles and several small dings. Interior is perfect, it rides and drives well, CarFax is clean... except that I recently found out it was a formal rental car in Florida. The car has no other options, aside form A10 and spare tire. Still, the certified status puts it with a 100k mile powertrain warranty that doesn't expire until 2027, which is quite nice.

Before settling on this car, I had inquired at a different dealership about a 2019 GT Premium. Kona Blue (my favorite color), PP1, 401A, used (not certified), 19k miles, asking $43k. Two owners and one accident reported ("minor" with front/rear damage). PP1 is what initially drew me to it, but it's more than I really wanted to spend and who knows if the accident will come back to bite me later. In addition to the 401A package, and PP1 It also has the Safe and Smart package, for what it's worth.

There's also another 2019 GT Premium that's local. Used/not certified, 14k miles, Kona Blue, 401A, Safe and Smart package (no PP1), $43k. 1 owner and no accidents. The low miles is great, but it is also a model year older than what I have. It's similar to the other Kona Blue car above, except it lacks PP1, one fewer owner (resale value), and no accident reported. If this car had PP1 for the asking price, I'd be all over it.

While I'm thrilled to have a MY2020 even though the mileage is a bit higher, and $34k is a much easier pill to swallow than $43k, I keep second-guessing my decision. I'd like to get some opinions. Would the Ford Gold-Certified status sway you to that vehicle? Would it matter to you at all? Would the extra $9k be worth it to you for 20-25k less miles (although 1 year older), 401A, and other goodies? Would you consider the car with the accident reported at all? Would you consider the former rental car at all, even if it's Gold certified?

Supposedly the Gold certification comes with a 14-day/1000 mile money-back guarantee, so if it actually works the way it sound it does, I still have one more week to return my 2020 and cringe at the extra payments on one of the other two vehicles.

Unfortunately none of the three vehicles mentioned have Magneride or active exhaust - two options that I'd really like to have but can't justify the $ for at this time.

Thanks for your opinions everyone.

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[geep81]

I wouldn't buy a former rental at all, no matter the certification.

I would be looking for a clean, 1 owner car that was mostly cared for its whole life.

Honestly though for 43k and 3 years old, I would order and wait for a new one.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

Personally, I would stay away from a rental car, especially a GT. People treat rentals rough, and I know what I’d do with a rental GT, LOL. I just got a ‘19 GT, 19k miles, 1 owner car, 400a with Safe and Smart package, A10, and the 20s. If you can swing the payment, but not be stretched too thin I would go for one of the 19s. Personally I’d chose the 1 owner with no accident. Used cars are selling for more right now unfortunately, and if you ever try to trade or sell it, you’ll likely take a bigger hit on value because of the accident. But if the payment is to much, keep the 20

 

[Prymetime1]

ah man, thats quite the pickle to be in. while i think all 3 cars sound like good options, the prior florida rental car thing would probably push me from that in particular. I wonder how hard those rented miles were on it? Or maybe it had an easy life. No way to really know.

Good luck with your decision, the extra week to kick it over is actually a nice thing considering your situation.

 

[Rapid Red]

Wait it out, none of those choices are good. The least being the once upon a time rent-a-car.

 

[BimmerDriver]

I always go for lower miles. With the way the crazy car market is these days, quite often a new car (which has the lowest miles possible, like, you know, nearly zero) is often not much more expensive than a used one. Sometimes cheaper.

I also avoid rentals and unless I know the seller and the history, I avoid accidents history as well.

Yes, I probably pay more than average because I am so picky, but it tends to reduce issues down the road.

If you can broaden your color choices, skip the premium options, you could likely find a new one for under $40K. Plus you tend to get better financing rates.

Best of luck.

 

[br_an]

The '19s should still have some of the 5 yr/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. You could also look into a Ford ESP to get some extended warranty for them, but used cars have a few additional hoops to jump through.

The question I have is do you want to go through the hassle of returning the '20, and then be on the hook for 43k + TTL?

Of the three cars you listed I'd pick the last one, Kona Blue is a great color, low miles, one owner and supposedly no accidents.

 

[Crowd Hunter]

Enjoy the car. Many people on here treat their Mustangs like they are museum pieces instead of the commodities they are. The fact is, 50k-100k of them are sold every year, and they are not collector cars. Drive it, enjoy it, and when you get tired of it, sell it.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

Well for reference. I got my 17 back in early 2018. It was a 10k mile car that was leased to a Ford executive and was like new inside and out. That was a fully loaded 12 speaker 401A car. Back then it cost me 34000, with the top level cpo warranties. The only thing that concerns me on your purchase is the mileage as it’s a bit high. Heck my 2017 is nowhere near that mileage yet. Out of your options though I would say it’s probably the best one though since the price on those 2019’s is insane. Although I think the best option today would be going new and my local dealer is offering very low rates on financing.

 

[Curse The Sky]

And there it is... the 2019 with 1 owner and no accidents is a manual. The dealership had it mislabeled as an auto at first, and doesn't have pictures up yet. Unfortunately I need to stick with an auto so my wife can also drive the car if needed.

So that makes me feel a little better about my choice, I suppose.

 

[Crowd Hunter]

The only thing that concerns me on your purchase is the mileage as it’s a bit high. Heck my 2017 is nowhere near that mileage yet.

The average number of miles that people put on cars is about 15k per year. At that rate, your 2017 Mustang should have about 75k miles on it. I'm sure the next owner of your vehicle will appreciate the fact that you didn't drive it much, but I definitely wouldn't wear that low mileage as a badge of honor. People really need to stop treating these cars like they are special and just drive them.

 

[Curse The Sky]

Thanks for the input everyone. Since the 1-owner car isn't an option after all (6MT), it's really water under the bridge to me now. I guess the way I'm going to look at it is, if it was a rental for a couple of years and it survived all of that abuse, it should survive whatever I throw at it from here on out.

 

[Vertex]

As a few others have mentioned I would definitely steer clear of rentals even with that extra extended warranty on the powertrain. Can't say for certain how it was treated on those 40k miles. Were there any warranty repairs on it prior to going outside of it's B2B warranty? Any powertrain repairs? Nobody cares what happens to a rental outside of an accident so it's hard to know how much it was beat up on prior to the rental company dropping the car.

 

[Zrussian13]

Spending 40k on a used car seems insane. If your happy with the ex rental car just drive and enjoy it. Sounds like they gave you a good warranty so as long as you don't do anything to make them question any repairs you should be fine. Or if you have the mechanical ability to repair it yourself. These new mustangs were built to take abuse. I've got over 70k on my 19. Been tuned on e since 5k and then boosted at 48k miles. I beat on my car like it's a red headed step child and it still runs like hell all day everyday.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

The average number of miles that people put on cars is about 15k per year. At that rate, your 2017 Mustang should have about 75k miles on it. I'm sure the next owner of your vehicle will appreciate the fact that you didn't drive it much, but I definitely wouldn't wear that low mileage as a badge of honor. People really need to stop treating these cars like they are special and just drive them.

LOL trust me I’m not babying the car for miles and I drive it year round. I couldn’t care less if it had 100k miles on it, at the end of the day it’s disposable and I have no trouble buying a new one when this one calls it quits. Thing is I have a lot of other cars as well and don’t have to commute to a job which is the reason mileage is low on this one.

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