Low miles older Car

I’m looking at a 2001 Mustang Cobra SVT with 1600 (sixteen hundred) miles. The original owner wants? $19,500 which is $5000 above NADA. It has been garaged and covered, with a trickle charger on the battery. It looks exceptional in and out. But, I think the price is too high for this car. What could I expect in repairs or replacement parts for this older car?

Generally we look for few miles on a car, but too few is at least a bad as too many. It would appear that it has had a life of short trips, which is hard on a car. However even after saying that, It has advantages like being out of the weather.

It is not what I would call an older car.

I am not a big fan of the various book prices. Remember they are the result of willing seller and willing buyer. They should not set the price. That said, they do tend to do so.

Make an offer you are comfortable with and see. If someone is willing to pay more or the owner wants more, keep walking.

The owner bought this car as an investment, he never intended to drive the car very much. It sounds like he has kept it stored properly and likely has kept it very clean and changed the fluids over the years. He wants to recoup his investment and is looking for a “collector” who will value the low miles and pristine condition.

It doesn’t sound like this is the car for you. Unless you intend to buy it and continue to pamper it without driving it. If you want a Mustang at a price close to NADA value then look for one that has been driven and used as a daily driver.

If you buy this car you shouldn’t really expect any significant repairs. It might need all new fluids. Inspect the rubber hoses and belts carefully but most should be OK at this point. The original tires might have evidence of drying out and replacing the tires might be a good idea for safety sake.

The price seems in line with those at Hemmings. They have a 2001 SVT convertible with 31,000 miles at the same price. If you plan to drive it, I’d find another car. This is a collector’s car, and priced accordingly. It’s not the current value, but the future value the owner is trading on. If you buy and hold this car for 10 years, you could likely double the value. But only if it has abut 1600 miles on it.

take a look at some of the threads concerning long term storage of a car or truck. then you will have a butload of questions to put to the seller about how he has cared for this car.

I just can’t get excited about $20k for a 2001 car that will be trounced by a 2011 Mustang GT, equalled even by the V6 (identical quarter mile time). They’re much better overall cars.

How do you plan to use the car? If this is a car that you will drive only on week-ends when it doesn’t rain and for pleasure that is one thing. If this is a car for daily transportation, this is something else entirely. In the first case, having a rather unique car like this might be quite enjoyable if this is the type of car you like. It probably won’t lose too much value if you treat it as it was maintained by the original owner. If it is daily transportation, then it probably isn’t a good purchase for you.

The car is very over priced. If the car has not been driven in eight years you may expect that every rubber hose, belt, tire and gasket is suspect. The engine oil needs to be replaced, as does every other fluid. The tires are old, and yes they do have a shelf life.

The seller did not count on “Planned Obsolescence” when he made his “investment”…Ford has pulled the rug out from under him with the 2011-GT and he knows it…You need not pay for his mistake…

I plan on driving this car on some week-ends and keeping it covered in the garage. I don’t have plans of keeping it as a collectable.

Then walk away. As others mentioned, this is a collector’s car, and priced for a collector’s market.

The tires will need to be replaced, since they are old. And I agree with the old belts and old gasket comment. I acquired my grandmother’s 1988 LTD when it was 10 years old. Only had 30,000 miles on it and it was garaged. I started driving it on weekends, and suffered separated belts in the tires, constant check engine light from various vacuum leaks (rotted hoses), oil dripping for engine and transmission, a leaking water pump, and a shredded alternator belt. I sold it and the new owner (a friend) had a fuel line burst on him.

You can’t take a ‘garage queen’ and turn her into a reliable driver. At least without dropping a bunch of extra cash.

P.S. Another word of caution. Every fluid in this car needs to be replaced. The fluids are probably all 9 years old, and motor oil just doesn’t last that long. Coolant is another concern. Even with long-life fluid, 2001 fluids only had a 5 year life span on the anti-rust additives.

Price is too high yes. It may appeal to you but to me a 2001 Mustang is desirable as plain vanilla white Ford Taurus with 1600 miles. That is how depreciation works.

Thanks, this car really isn’t for me. I need a fun car to drive on occassion and then to sell later when I get tired of seeing it in my garage. Just being honest with myself.

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/chevrolet/corvette/?year=1996