Starting to miss everyday practicality

[Vato]

Oh.....if I do get a beater ride, I'm making some improvements to better prepare the Saleen for track duty.

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[2morrow]

Oh.....if I do get a beater ride, I'm making some improvements to better prepare the Saleen for track duty.

There you go! Been shopping for roll bars and harnesses all weekend...

If you ever make it out west again hit me up!

 

[Ecoboosted]

Oh.....if I do get a beater ride, I'm making some improvements to better prepare the Saleen for track duty.

I had a 12' Camaro SS and traded it for an economy car when gas prices got really high and always regretted trading it. Trading a car to a dealership you usually get beat up on trade in price. Then when you get the muscle/sports car itch you have to start again. Better off getting a beater/nice used vehicle for DD/family and keep your Mustang for weekends/fun/track days.

 

[PJR202]

Just be patient and find something very used but decent if you won't need to drive it a lot. My girls are 9 and 11 and both act like they hate the back seats but they don't really complain after we get going. The older one is about 5'3". My truck is an extended cab Tacoma which is FAR worse for back seats. Faced with the choice, the Mustang wins every time. We really are almost never in a situation where they have to ride more than 20 minutes in my car anyway, so I tell them to suck it up...dad's gonna do a burnout.

 

[Lorne34]

Just be patient and find something very used but decent if you won't need to drive it a lot. My girls are 9 and 11 and both act like they hate the back seats but they don't really complain after we get going. The older one is about 5'3". My truck is an extended cab Tacoma which is FAR worse for back seats. Faced with the choice, the Mustang wins every time. We really are almost never in a situation where they have to ride more than 20 minutes in my car anyway, so I tell them to suck it up...dad's gonna do a burnout.

AMEN to that Dad! I am with you all the way.. LOL
:cheers::ford::headbonk:

 

[Lorne34]

I often contemplate whether I should have waited until all of my kids were out of the house before purchasing my Mustang. I am 52 and have a 13 year old and 16 year old still at home. Plus 2 in college and 2 married. I recently had a co-worker pass away in her sleep at 52. I also had my Mazda SUV rear ended a few weeks ago and was shopping for used Ford Escapes at a small family Ford dealership. I noticed a beautiful green 2014 Mustang GT out front and asked about it out of curiosity. It only had 1,000 miles on it. The salesman shared with that a long time customer purchased it in his 70's... he had always wanted one and knew he didn't have much time left. He passed away a year later and his family traded it into the dealership. I am not a big fan of the YOLO and going crazy with irresponsibility. But if you can afford it and it is not hurting your situation or family, I say do it now and enjoy every minute of your ride because we really don't know how much time we have. I'm finding that as you age time seems to move forward faster.

 

[Vato]

[MENTION=19793]2morrow[/MENTION] I've been looking for stuff too and found this guy in Livermore, CA. I think this bar would be more for me.

https://mikemaierinc.com/product-category/2015-mustang-interior-safety/
[MENTION=22771]PJR202[/MENTION], that's hilarious!
[MENTION=24573]Lorne34[/MENTION], I agree. A co-worker in his late 50's just passed away too. Really nice guy from Wisconsin who had a heart attack on a Friday night. Totally unexpected too. Never showed signs of being ill.

Today I drove into work without any complaints. It was a routine day of rumbling exhaust in traffic while in 1st or 2nd gear. The other commuters in their lifeless beaters wishing they'd break off from the "appliance" Toyota into something fun. Now I know if I'm having a bad day, it's not the car's fault. I just need to zone out and press the reset button.

 

[2morrow]

[MENTION=19793]2morrow[/MENTION] I've been looking for stuff too and found this guy in Livermore, CA. I think this bar would be more for me.

https://mikemaierinc.com/product-category/2015-mustang-interior-safety/
[MENTION=22771]PJR202[/MENTION], that's hilarious!
[MENTION=24573]Lorne34[/MENTION], I agree. A co-worker in his late 50's just passed away too. Really nice guy from Wisconsin who had a heart attack on a Friday night. Totally unexpected too. Never showed signs of being ill.

Today I drove into work without any complaints. It was a routine day of rumbling exhaust in traffic while in 1st or 2nd gear. The other commuters in their lifeless beaters wishing they'd break off from the "appliance" Toyota into something fun. Now I know if I'm having a bad day, it's not the car's fault. I just need to zone out and press the reset button.

Mike Maier is legit. Im sure he's at SEMA now waiting for the Optima street car challenge final to start. I have 3 friends in the finals and cant wait to see the results.

I often contemplate whether I should have waited until all of my kids were out of the house before purchasing my Mustang. I am 52 and have a 13 year old and 16 year old still at home. Plus 2 in college and 2 married. I recently had a co-worker pass away in her sleep at 52. I also had my Mazda SUV rear ended a few weeks ago and was shopping for used Ford Escapes at a small family Ford dealership. I noticed a beautiful green 2014 Mustang GT out front and asked about it out of curiosity. It only had 1,000 miles on it. The salesman shared with that a long time customer purchased it in his 70's... he had always wanted one and knew he didn't have much time left. He passed away a year later and his family traded it into the dealership. I am not a big fan of the YOLO and going crazy with irresponsibility. But if you can afford it and it is not hurting your situation or family, I say do it now and enjoy every minute of your ride because we really don't know how much time we have. I'm finding that as you age time seems to move forward faster.

Time is the only true luxury.

 

[ahl395]

Oh.....if I do get a beater ride, I'm making some improvements to better prepare the Saleen for track duty.

I vote for a beater!

I spent $5k on a Infiniti G35X with 135k. A few small problems but overall not a bad price for a pretty nice "beater". You may be able to find something halfway decent cheaper than you think.

 

[PJR202]

AMEN to that Dad! I am with you all the way.. LOL
:cheers::ford::headbonk:

They know when we hit the on-ramp if I pick them up from school (20 minutes away) that it's game on. If she's up front, my 9 year old just pushes herself against the seat and says "ready!"

The 11 year old is like..just finished with basketball or something and trying to chug her precious gatorade and always looks over at me before taking a swig, just in case I'm about to punch it. Or she tries to change the radio station and I hammer it so she can't lean forward. They hate it, but they still always laugh at some point.

 

[Lorne34]

They know when we hit the on-ramp if I pick them up from school (20 minutes away) that it's game on. If she's up front, my 9 year old just pushes herself against the seat and says "ready!"

The 11 year old is like..just finished with basketball or something and trying to chug her precious gatorade and always looks over at me before taking a swig, just in case I'm about to punch it. Or she tries to change the radio station and I hammer it so she can't lean forward. They hate it, but they still always laugh at some point.

Oh my gosh that is too funny!!! :lol::lol:
I had my 13 year old daughter and a friend in the car taking them on a back country road to visit a friend.. I was punching it while going over a bunch of rolling hills. They loved it...

 

[racered_ppGT]

this thread is exactly how i was feeling :lol:
I have a 75 mile a day commute in a fair amount of traffic, driving the mustang as civil as possible, without going WOT, with traffic i would get ~20mpg at most (3.73s didnt help) and well i was REALLY missing my stage 1+ 16 gti that i traded on my mustang (i have a huge soft spot for euro cars) so me being the type of person that hates my wallet, i bought a bagged 07 jetta GLI with the DSG trans as a daily for the 4 door sedan life for about 8k with 94k miles on it, yes i know its a VW with 90k:shrug:

When i was daily driving the mustang i would fill up about 2 sometimes 3 times a week, and at about 40 dollars per fill well....it was rough, it didnt really affect my budget but, if i could save some money on gas and have another car that was still enjoyable to drive everyday and fun, it was a no-brainer for me and it only made my insurance go up about 15 a month. I love my jetta (11 year old vw, still over ~30mpgs), even if it gives me headaches sometimes :doh:

 

[Hack]

There are plenty of fun options if you just want 1 car. Here's a list of some.

Grand Cherokee SRT
Charger R/T or Scat Pack
Camry V6(300 hp)
Nissan Maxima V6(300hp)
Accord V6(278hp)
Focus ST
Focus RS
F150(nice, any terrain, fast)

Not many cars have a V8 these days because the fuel efficiency sucks. So you pay a premium for the v8 and another premium for the gas cost.

Your definition of fun and mine must be very different.. Most of those options are pretty crappy - especially the ones in bold. Some are acceptable, though. If you don't drive the Mustang ever, over time you will get used to a crummy car and forget about how bad it is.

F-150 Crew Cab... nuff said

F-150 not a bad choice, but not fun to drive either.

Who says the Mustang isn't practical?

I agree. It's perfectly practical for me as well. My wife has the car that fits all the boring wants that the original poster is writing about. If you're married, why do you have to buy the "practical" car? If she's nagging you to buy something that she wants, just say no.

 

[2morrow]

this thread is exactly how i was feeling :lol:
I have a 75 mile a day commute in a fair amount of traffic, driving the mustang as civil as possible, without going WOT, with traffic i would get ~20mpg at most (3.73s didnt help) and well i was REALLY missing my stage 1+ 16 gti that i traded on my mustang (i have a huge soft spot for euro cars) so me being the type of person that hates my wallet, i bought a bagged 07 jetta GLI with the DSG trans as a daily for the 4 door sedan life for about 8k with 94k miles on it, yes i know its a VW with 90k:shrug:

When i was daily driving the mustang i would fill up about 2 sometimes 3 times a week, and at about 40 dollars per fill well....it was rough, it didnt really affect my budget but, if i could save some money on gas and have another car that was still enjoyable to drive everyday and fun, it was a no-brainer for me and it only made my insurance go up about 15 a month. I love my jetta (11 year old vw, still over ~30mpgs), even if it gives me headaches sometimes :doh:

x3

 

[AGM2018]

There are plenty of fun options if you just want 1 car. Here's a list of some.

Grand Cherokee SRT
Charger R/T or Scat Pack
Camry V6(300 hp)
Nissan Maxima V6(300hp)
Accord V6(278hp)
Focus ST
Focus RS
F150(nice, any terrain, fast)

Not many cars have a V8 these days because the fuel efficiency sucks. So you pay a premium for the v8 and another premium for the gas cost.

I agree with this 100%! In fact, I went through what the OP is going through about a year ago. I had an early build EB (Spain motor). I thoroughly enjoyed driving the car but, I missed the "practicality" and everyday "usability" of a sedan..AND my EB had a subtle "tick/ticking noise" in the engine that multiple dealers couldn't identify and diagnose (the car was 100% stock). At 10K miles, I traded it in on a 2016 Nissan Maxima SR. Four door sedan "practicality" and "usability", very solid reliability from the 3.5L V6 engine, good gas mileage (19 city/31 highway is my average over a year and 13K miles), lots of tech , very comfortable to drive/somewhat "sporty handling" and lots of luxury/upscale amenities in the car...with 300 HP/261 FT-LBS of torque. My trade in loss was minimal (2K), considering I traded in a new car after 12 months.

OP, if you can find a 3-5 year old Maxima for a reasonable price, the 3.5L V6 is a great engine, gets good gas mileage and will comfortably seat 4 adults, or 2 adults and one child in the back seat, for extended drives/trips without an issue...while providing enough "juice" for an entertaining drive. While the Maxima isn't as "fast" as the EB, it is decently quick (0-60 in 6 seconds and 1/4 mile in 14.2@101) and it has a nice, throaty sounding V6. The SR model handles well for a sedan weighing 3500 pounds. I am looking into purchasing a new 18 'Stang next year, because I do miss having and driving a Mustang (I have had 3 previous GT's); I am waiting until I have the opportunity to drive the GT with and without the PP option, to see if I want to purchase it as an option.

Good luck on your decision...were the decision mine, I would, as many have already suggested, buy another car for a daily driver and not sell the 'Stang. Had it not been for the "subtle ticking noise" in my 15 (and the fact that so many EB's during this time were having engine issues), I firmly believe I would still have my black-on-black PP EB today. I would have eventually purchased a "beater" to drive when I needed "practicality" and "usability."

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