Trading a Mustang

[ay1820]

Agreed never give up those three bits of information.

Negotiate the cash price of the car. That will drive payment amount. Once you start talking payments and money down, game over.

I'll foot stomp this point, get your financing lined up first. Dealers will want to match the financing from Credit Union. If you are willing to let the dealer compete on rate, do not give up the rate you got from the Credit Union/Bank.

Dealers make money on the financing. They may quote you a rate of 3.9%, but the dealer is getting a lower rate from the lending institution. Ask the dealer what the buy rate is.

After cash price of car is established, then figure out trade in.

I recently ran into a situation where the dealer refused to sell me a car for cash. They said they would only sell if I had a trade in or if I financed. They told me that if I financed, they would expect me to hold the paper for at least 90 days before paying it off. I walked away.

I ended up buying a different car from Carvana. The Carvana price was comparatively much better than anything I found on a dealer lot, and while the process felt a bit weird at time, it ended up being easy and painless.

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[Marsalad]

Try Driveway. I think $41k is a good deal for a base PP2. How many miles do you have on it?

As for the Cup 2's. My dealer said the same thing. I took it in for my first oil change @ roughly 500 miles and the service guy told me to lay off the burnouts because I'm going to need tires soon LOL. I laughed and said I haven't done a single burnout. It's a PP2 package. Of course he had no idea what a PP2 was and they had 3 of them sitting on the lot.

I have about 6600 miles on it right now. I bought it used last November when it had 1300 miles.
I’m not entirely sure I want to get rid of it and would never have considered it if my cost of living had stayed where it was. Now that the expense of feeding it (and my family of course) has doubled and it’s the most efficient vehicle in my “fleet” I have been looking at alternatives. It’s a matter of spending a greater portion of my income than I’m comfortable with on a relatively impractical vehicle. I’m not convinced prices will return to pre-2020 levels anytime soon, if they ever do at all. I’d rather put the extra $200 I’m spending on gas per month into my deferred compensation account. Retirement gets closer every day.

 

[bigmixx]

I have about 6600 miles on it right now. I bought it used last November when it had 1300 miles.
I’m not entirely sure I want to get rid of it and would never have considered it if my cost of living had stayed where it was. Now that the expense of feeding it (and my family of course) has doubled and it’s the most efficient vehicle in my “fleet” I have been looking at alternatives. It’s a matter of spending a greater portion of my income than I’m comfortable with on a relatively impractical vehicle. I’m not convinced prices will return to pre-2020 levels anytime soon, if they ever do at all. I’d rather put the extra $200 I’m spending on gas per month into my deferred compensation account. Retirement gets closer every day.

In regards to the market returning to normal, unfortunately I don't think it ever will. Seems like it's going to get worse before it improves. Just curious, what other cars were you looking at replacing the PP2 with?

 

[Marsalad]

Since my goal would be to lower my expenses while still driving a fun vehicle, and I must have RWD and a manual transmission, I am leaning toward a new Miata. I have wanted one since the original came out in 1989 but have never owned one. I know the Miata doesn’t directly compare to the Mustang in performance but I think the fun factor is similar. The purchase price of the Miata is much lower and the fuel economy is higher. The cost of consumables like tires and oil changes is also much lower for the Miata. I’m just not sure the savings is enough to offset losing the sound and greater practicality of the Mustang.

 

[IPOGT]

Since my goal would be to lower my expenses while still driving a fun vehicle, and I must have RWD and a manual transmission, I am leaning toward a new Miata. I have wanted one since the original came out in 1989 but have never owned one. I know the Miata doesn’t directly compare to the Mustang in performance but I think the fun factor is similar. The purchase price of the Miata is much lower and the fuel economy is higher. The cost of consumables like tires and oil changes is also much lower for the Miata. I’m just not sure the savings is enough to offset losing the sound and greater practicality of the Mustang.

I know where you’re coming from having owned an RX-7 in the past. It’s a DIFFERENT kind of fun.
it’s much more nimble, tossable if you will than Mustang, yet at the same time cramped, cheap and it’s size makes me feel vulnerable in traffic. Great gear box shifter, etc. but to me overall, I’d miss the V8 and the American muscle car looks. Assuming you paid off that beautiful red beauty, there’s no way I’d let it go. It’s money already spent. Having said that, Mazda does in fact IMHO makes a fine , fun reliable quality automobile and has done so for many years.

 

[Dharri21]

Yes, it is exactly that. It's taking control of the situation, rather than sitting back passively and letting others be in control. It's dictating terms 100%, with no other options to be considered.

That this has to be explained to you.....

You must walk a lot.

 

[KingKona]

You must walk a lot.

I mean....sometimes....

To my car. From my car to work. From work to my car. From my car to the tennis court. From my desk to the coffee machine....or to the bathroom.....the printer......

 

[Marsalad]

I know where you’re coming from having owned an RX-7 in the past. It’s a DIFFERENT kind of fun.
it’s much more nimble, tossable if you will than Mustang, yet at the same time cramped, cheap and it’s size makes me feel vulnerable in traffic. Great gear box shifter, etc. but to me overall, I’d miss the V8 and the American muscle car looks. Assuming you paid off that beautiful red beauty, there’s no way I’d let it go. It’s money already spent. Having said that, Mazda does in fact IMHO makes a fine , fun reliable quality automobile and has done so for many years.

The Mustang is not paid off. If it was then I wouldn’t consider selling it either. However, the increased cost of fuel has effectively raised my payment over $100 per month. While that alone is still within my budget the increased cost of just about everything else is imposing limits on what I can spend on family fun and what I can put toward retirement. Replacing the Mustang with something that is $200-$300 per month cheaper would allow me to maintain my desired lifestyle until prices (hopefully) return to normal. I’m not willing to force sacrifices on my family so that I can have a Mustang. There are less expensive alternatives that are still fun to drive.

 

[Vertex]

Since my goal would be to lower my expenses while still driving a fun vehicle, and I must have RWD and a manual transmission, I am leaning toward a new Miata. I have wanted one since the original came out in 1989 but have never owned one. I know the Miata doesn’t directly compare to the Mustang in performance but I think the fun factor is similar. The purchase price of the Miata is much lower and the fuel economy is higher. The cost of consumables like tires and oil changes is also much lower for the Miata. I’m just not sure the savings is enough to offset losing the sound and greater practicality of the Mustang.

Don't forget about the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ. I think all 3 (miata included) are pretty close comparisons on vehicle size and power. I personally have never driven any so can't comment on any one in particular. I just know Toyota's are pretty solid vehicles in general. I work at a Subaru dealer, however, have not had a chance to drive a BRZ and only seen about 2 or 3 come around for service.

 

[Bronco2fan]

Kia Stinger. Light, nimble, AWD, Turbocharged. Think they're putting a lot of other AWD to shame.

 

[Marsalad]

Don't forget about the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ. I think all 3 (miata included) are pretty close comparisons on vehicle size and power. I personally have never driven any so can't comment on any one in particular. I just know Toyota's are pretty solid vehicles in general. I work at a Subaru dealer, however, have not had a chance to drive a BRZ and only seen about 2 or 3 come around for service.

My son has a 2017 Toyota 86 that I have driven a few times. It’s a fun car but too “youthful” for me plus if I make a change I want a convertible. Besides I don’t want to make him jealous if I get the new version of his car.

 

[Marsalad]

Kia Stinger. Light, nimble, AWD, Turbocharged. Think they're putting a lot of other AWD to shame.

The Stinger does look like a nice car but I don’t want a sedan and they also don’t seem to be available with a manual transmission.

 

[Call_Me_Bruce]

I had a Miata NC. Bought a 2006 with 29k miles on it in 2009. Lots of fun. Highly impractical. The trunk is good for a gallon of milk and 2 bags of groceries. Not good in bad weather. Miata's are generally a low production run car, if you need parts most likely you'll be paying through the nose at the dealer. I had to get a new sway bar link on mine, dealer only at the time. To change a headlight bulb on an NC you either take the front of the car off (bumper cover) or jack up the car remove the wheel and take out the fender liner and hope you can fit your hand up behind the headlight fixture. (that's the way I did mine). Also, no spare tire. I had a flat once and it had to be towed home. Puncture was in the sidewall.

On the NC's, the rain gutters tend to clog and flood the interior. You have to get a trombone cleaning brush to keep the drains clean.

The 2.0 in the NCs runs great and the 6 speed is a nice transmission. At highway speeds the car always felt like it needed a 7th gear. Mazda tuned/geared it that way to keep it in the power bands as much as possible. As for fuel economy, it got right around 32MPG.

I put 100k miles on mine before I sold it for something a lot more practical. It was rock solid reliable. The only trouble I had with it was a thermostat housing leak and the before mentioned sway bar link. I got an aftermarket housing assembly, but it leaked worse than the factory OEM part. I ended up ordering a factory replacement housing and leak was solved. I had fun with it, but probably would not buy another.

My Mustang will not be my DD, will be a toy, an expensive toy for sure. I have a very practical 4 door Toyota for my DD.

If you have a family, and are looking for a practical DD, a Miata is not it. 2 seats becomes very limiting very quickly. Its a toy. I bought mine once my kids were grown and had their own transportation. TBH, for my DD I'd get a Toyota hybrid of some sort.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do with your current ride.

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