Question About Purchasing an S-197 Project?

gasykes

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Good afternoon/morning to ya'll!

So, I'm starting to save up to buy a Mustang GT, and my favorite generation has always been the S-197, the first few years (05-09). I owned an '06 for about 5 years before I traded it off (kicking myself over that ever since.)

Anyway, my question is about finding an S-197 as a project car. Not really wanting to have to do extensive body work or repainting, but more of finding one for a low price, decent everywhere else, but would need a new (well gently used) engine and maybe, a new transmission. I would love to drop a 5.0 Coyote in it. I have always been in love with the 05-09 body style, and would love to have another like the one I had (except different color), but with a newer engine and a few updates elsewhere.

Can anybody give me any good advice on this? Would I be better off saving my money and buying a present generation Mustang GT, or could I find what I'm looking for, do the engine swap, and still not put in as much as I would a new(er) 'stang?

This would be a Mustang that I would keep until the wheels fell off. I wouldn't care about resale value or anything. If I ever did sale it, I'd sale it to another Mustang enthusiast, but otherwise, I'd keep this as long as I could keep it running.
 

Recon

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Lower mileaged ones can be found, but people generally want a little much for them. I'm like you I adore the S197 I, I have 2 3V's and don't plan on selling them ever.
To give you an idea, I bought my GT in Nov. 2015. It had 49.5K on the odometer for $13,500. The other is a Roush so the price will be different.
You'll have a hard time beating the new S550 GT's. The new Coyotes are strong. If you have to pay someone to put a Coyote in an S197 I, then you'll be very close to a new GT in price. Unless you get a used Coyote out of a truck.
 

gasykes

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If I could find a good S-197 with under 50K miles for $13,500, I'd consider myself very lucky. People around here (NC) tend to ask as much as $17k for one with similar miles. Heck, even ones close to 100K miles, people will want $12k for them. I just think that's too much.

I never thought about getting a Coyote out of a truck. Are you talking about the F-150's?

I guess for me, it would be breaking up the cost. For instance, once I sold my Honda Accord, I could probably get enough off of the sale to purchase a Mustang GT S-197, but would probably have to settle for one that was a bit higher mileage. If the car's engine lasted long enough for me to save up enough to replace it, then I'd have the Mustang I wanted, with a new(er) engine, and life would be grand, lol!

I just really, really miss my old Mustang. I wish I still had the VIN number to it, I would love to find out where it's at and if the new owners have been taking good care of it.
 

Weather Man

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Get on some of the S-197 3V facebook pages. You see some good deals pop up now and then. Also, S197forum.com has good deals pop up in the vehicle for sale thread.
 

Recon

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If I could find a good S-197 with under 50K miles for $13,500, I'd consider myself very lucky. People around here (NC) tend to ask as much as $17k for one with similar miles. Heck, even ones close to 100K miles, people will want $12k for them. I just think that's too much.

I never thought about getting a Coyote out of a truck. Are you talking about the F-150's?

I guess for me, it would be breaking up the cost. For instance, once I sold my Honda Accord, I could probably get enough off of the sale to purchase a Mustang GT S-197, but would probably have to settle for one that was a bit higher mileage. If the car's engine lasted long enough for me to save up enough to replace it, then I'd have the Mustang I wanted, with a new(er) engine, and life would be grand, lol!

I just really, really miss my old Mustang. I wish I still had the VIN number to it, I would love to find out where it's at and if the new owners have been taking good care of it.

You just have to keep looking. A friend and customer of mine recently (6ish months ago) bought a 06 GT Convertible with 40k on the odometer for 11K. My GT was local and he bought his from Texas.
You can use them, and yes from an F150.. Given you'll need to swap over some stuff from a Mustang Coyote. I haven't researched Coyote swaps heavily, being it was plan B for my Roush.
With routine maintenance the 3V will see 300K.
One reason I refuse to sell mine. I don't want sellers remorse.
 

gimmie11s

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11-14 Coyote S197s have dropped in price in a BIG way in recent months.

Plenty can be found for well under $19k. I'd go that route if i were you, OP.
 

gasykes

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Wow, if I found one with only 40K miles for $11k, I would jump on that in a heartbeat, even if I had to finance a few thousand to cover the purchase. My wife would probably kill me, because we're trying to avoid car payments, but that would almost be a deal I couldn't pass up.

I guess it kind of goes through cycles. Before I had my car paid off, I'd check Craigslist and Autotrader, and every now and then, I'd find a pretty good deal on a Mustang that I had I had the funds in the bank, I would have pulled the trigger that day and bought it. But, right now, there's about two or three S-197s that I see on Craigslist in my area that are out of my price range. I did see one that was an hour away that only had 5000 miles on it. It was white. Automatic, though, but it looked brand new. They were wanting $20k.
 

gasykes

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Get on some of the S-197 3V facebook pages. You see some good deals pop up now and then. Also, S197forum.com has good deals pop up in the vehicle for sale thread.

You just have to keep looking. A friend and customer of mine recently (6ish months ago) bought a 06 GT Convertible with 40k on the odometer for 11K. My GT was local and he bought his from Texas.
You can use them, and yes from an F150.. Given you'll need to swap over some stuff from a Mustang Coyote. I haven't researched Coyote swaps heavily, being it was plan B for my Roush.
With routine maintenance the 3V will see 300K.
One reason I refuse to sell mine. I don't want sellers remorse.

Weather Man, I've signed up to the S-197 forum. Thanks for pointing that forum out to me. I love reading this forum to and will continue to do so. I'm usually more of a lurker though.
 

Recon

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Wow, if I found one with only 40K miles for $11k, I would jump on that in a heartbeat, even if I had to finance a few thousand to cover the purchase. My wife would probably kill me, because we're trying to avoid car payments, but that would almost be a deal I couldn't pass up.

I guess it kind of goes through cycles. Before I had my car paid off, I'd check Craigslist and Autotrader, and every now and then, I'd find a pretty good deal on a Mustang that I had I had the funds in the bank, I would have pulled the trigger that day and bought it. But, right now, there's about two or three S-197s that I see on Craigslist in my area that are out of my price range. I did see one that was an hour away that only had 5000 miles on it. It was white. Automatic, though, but it looked brand new. They were wanting $20k.

I'd also check eBay. That's how I found my Roush. They were going for around 33-35K with less than 30K on the odometer, at the time. I managed to get mine with 27K on the odometer for $26,600. Given mine wasn't taken care of well and it had very little Roush options. But I'm an auto tech so it didn't bother me. Just another site to consider when looking for a car.
That does sound high. You could get a Coyote for that price. Which is a much better engine. Then again it's a 5500 mile car so...
 

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