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Originally Posted by RBatson
I can't believe you actually sold your car. Then again, I can't believe you actually voted for Bush either(actually I have a hard time believing anybody did).
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Over 62 million Americans also voted for President Bush so it was not exactly a rash act. Kerry was a total phony. I do not regret my choice but I don't really wish to debate it, either. Bush won. Let it go.
I owned my beloved Mustang LX for over 15 years and it gave me much pleasure but life goes on and things change. Although my Mustang ran great, it had fairly high (actual) miles, the dark red paint was faded out - as was the otherwise flawless red cloth interior - and it had a few (minor) rust spots. I had a choice of dumping quite a few thousand dollars into it (as my friends advised - talk is cheap when it's not your money) to bring it back up to near-original condition - or sell it before something big went that I would have to repair just to be
able to sell the car. Like me, it wasn't getting any younger and I figured that a major component might go at any time.
Besides, my transportation needs had changed, big-time, and after owning a long series of 'muscle cars', including a '71 Camaro that I rebuilt from the ground up back in the '80's and turned into a very sharp, quick car, I was growing bored with stick-shift V-8's that were fun to drive but that I almost never got to 'let out' anymore and that also got poor gas mileage in an era of relatively expensive gas. I couldn't even use it in winter (5 months of the year where I live) and I was also weary of paying the insurance surcharge every year just for having a 'performance' car. In short, it was 'time', as the negatives of owning the Mustang had began to outweigh the positives for me.
I sold it relatively cheap, I know, but I didn't want to deal with the aggravations of people picking my 'baby' apart day after day just to get the price down, and frankly, I wanted a quick sale. I got just that...the third call was from the guy that actually bought the 'Stang'...and he was a Mustang lover that planned to dump some cash into the car. He looked it over very, very carefully but my 15-year detailed maintenance record and my unabashed enthusiasm for the car seemed to sell him. He took a very perfunctory test drive (never got on it at all) and came with his wife, their 10-year-old kid...and cash, all in hundred dollar bills. We made a deal in an hour and he drove it home that evening. I never heard from him again (he lives 40 miles away) but I trust that he is enjoying the Mustang.
I used the Mustang sale money as a down payment on a (then) brand new, 2005 Honda Civic EX SE sedan, which, compared to the 'Stang, is boring to drive, granted, but it fits my needs at this time, is of excellent quality, gets great gas mileage and holds it's value like almost no other car. I never bought into the animosity some Mustang owners have for Japanese cars. The Mustang I owned and my Civic are two totally different cars with two totally different purposes. I don't even try to compare them as it's pointless and they both have their respective virtues. However, I plan to leave the Civic stock...no 'rice'.
I may own another Mustang in the future, strictly as a 'toy', but probably not, unless my finances drastically improve. They
are getting pricy. I only paid $13,600. for my '90 ($20,600. in today's dollars). It would be real hard to pay $25,000. or likely even more for a new Mustang, even if I could afford it. Meanwhile, the Civic does the job, looks quite decent and will return a good portion of it's original cost when I trade it in, probably in 4 or 5 years. I can deal with those realities just fine.
In any case, I'll always be a Mustang fan. I still hold fond memories of long drives, some exciting races and the many appreciative looks I got from driving my '90 LX 5.0 between 1990 and 2005. The drive home from the dealer and the first few days I owned the LX were like magic. So was my first race (I won). You don't forget that stuff. The fact that the 'Stang held up beautifully over a decade and a-half with almost zero defects was awesome and a testament to it's quality. I'm very glad that I owned it and also glad that I sold it to a Mustang-lover before it got tired and junky...which could have happened. It has a good home. I have good memories. All is right with the world.
