For a while now I have been looking for a new vehicle to replace my wife's current 94 V6 Mustang. I haven't been in too much of a rush as I have been quitely looking without her knowing and keeping such a thing away from her prying eyes has been a challenge in and of itself. Last Saturday morning I just happened along an ad on CL for a 95 GT at $2,000 and I recognized the car as I had seen it listed before for $3,800. I noted, with a bit of intrigue, that the ad also said that the owner needed the car gone from where it was parked by the end of the next day (Sunday). So I texted the lady with the ad and later that afternoon I went to look at the car.
Here is what I found:
So upon initial inspection the car seemed fairly solid but I didn't have much else to go on other than the exterior appearance since the car was stored up near me but the owner lived over an hour away. Thus I had no way of knowing the condition of the motor/trans/suspension/etc. The owner did tell me though that they were the second owner of the vehicle (purchased in 98) and that it had been garaged all it's life. She did comment to me that the front windshield was cracked, the radio was missing, and that the car needed a battery to start.
After mulling over for a few hours I told her that since there were so many unknowns I could only comfortably give her $1,000. She asked me she could give me an answer the next morning and I said yes. By almost 2pm I had given up hope & was leaving to go to a family function when she texted me saying the car was mine. I met her at the car a few minutes later & the car was officially mine. I learned from her that her dad gave her the car as a birthday gift for when she turned 17 and that he had possession of the car until he passed away a short time ago. The house that he had been living in had been sold & thus why they needed the car gone by Sunday evening. I told her that the car would be going to a great home & she could take comfort in knowing it would be restored to it's former glory.
I called my towing company later to have them pick up the car. Once we got it into the shop we quickly realized that I had a pretty serious ant infestation so the was washed down with highly pressurized water. We then went to work making a list of all the needed items that would need to be taken care of before we put the car back onto the road. First things first though we needed to get the car running and after installing a new battery & starter and adding some fuel to the completely empty tank the car started right up! I've got a long, long, long list of items that need to be addressed but for now it's at least moveable!
Here is what I found:
So upon initial inspection the car seemed fairly solid but I didn't have much else to go on other than the exterior appearance since the car was stored up near me but the owner lived over an hour away. Thus I had no way of knowing the condition of the motor/trans/suspension/etc. The owner did tell me though that they were the second owner of the vehicle (purchased in 98) and that it had been garaged all it's life. She did comment to me that the front windshield was cracked, the radio was missing, and that the car needed a battery to start.
After mulling over for a few hours I told her that since there were so many unknowns I could only comfortably give her $1,000. She asked me she could give me an answer the next morning and I said yes. By almost 2pm I had given up hope & was leaving to go to a family function when she texted me saying the car was mine. I met her at the car a few minutes later & the car was officially mine. I learned from her that her dad gave her the car as a birthday gift for when she turned 17 and that he had possession of the car until he passed away a short time ago. The house that he had been living in had been sold & thus why they needed the car gone by Sunday evening. I told her that the car would be going to a great home & she could take comfort in knowing it would be restored to it's former glory.
I called my towing company later to have them pick up the car. Once we got it into the shop we quickly realized that I had a pretty serious ant infestation so the was washed down with highly pressurized water. We then went to work making a list of all the needed items that would need to be taken care of before we put the car back onto the road. First things first though we needed to get the car running and after installing a new battery & starter and adding some fuel to the completely empty tank the car started right up! I've got a long, long, long list of items that need to be addressed but for now it's at least moveable!
