Back

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by StangFlyer

How's that Stang these days? Still running?

I sold it in May of 2005. I'm a former Mustang owner, now. Sort of a 'Mustanger Emritus'.

My beloved '90 5.0 hatchback (that I ordered and bought brand-new in February, 1990 for $13,600.) was a full 15 years old and had 125,000 miles on it - with a lot of factory-original parts still functioning, such as the starter and alternator. Original head gaskets, too. It held up well. Yet I felt it was time to sell it before something major needed replacing (like head gaskets or the infamous heater core). I had upgraded many parts and made the Mustang better (3.55 pinion gears, 'Pro 5.0' shifter, subframe connectors, etc) and had certainly gotten a lot of driving enjoyment out of the car. It ran beautifully, too.

Unfortunately, time, northeastern weather and the fact that I never had a garage for it all took their inevitable toll. Although the Mustang was never hit or flooded, the Strawberry Red (metallic) paint was faded, along with the red cloth interior. The lower body had developed a few minor rust spots, too, which I knew had to be fixed, pronto, to avoid a spread of the rust 'cancer'. With 125k on the clock (honest, original mileage) I knew the 5.0 could use a rebuild if I intended to push it much in the future. I was faced with pouring money into the old 'Stang - or selling it. I opted to sell it. Here's why:

I finally had to face the reality that I hardly ever drove my 'Stang anymore. Mainly because it just wasn't very practical and I didn't want to put 'unnecessary' miles on an already-high mileage vehicle. Gas costs, even back in 2005, were also an inhibiting factor to my ability to enjoy the car, along with the high annual insurance rates that I was tired of paying. The fact was that I was keeping the 5.0 more as a possession than a car I actually used. I'm not all that affluent and keeping a car that I almost never drove just seemed selfish - and futile. What was the point? Nostalgia? Not reason enough, I'm afraid. So, I reluctantly decided to sell it.

I advertised the 'Stang in the statewide 'Bargain News'. As a result of their online ad that came out about 5 days prior to the print ad, I immediately began receiving inquiry calls.

The first call was from the father of a 16-year-old (from out of state) who I firmly discouraged, due to the Mustang's power and his sons lack of driving experience. I also (selfishly) didn't want my carefully cared-for 'vintage' Mustang wrapped around a tree within a week of it being sold. The father of the teenager saw my point. I'm sure his kid still curses me. (I coulda had a 5.0...but noooooo!)

The second caller turned out to be a very convincing no-show, the bane of folks trying to sell a car. He talked a good game - but ultimately just wasted my time. It's all part of selling a car - any car.

The third caller was a friendly-sounding guy living about 40 miles away from me, presumably in his 30's, who once owned a (late '80's) 5.0 Mustang, but sold it due to high gas and insurance costs - and always regretted it as he "loved that car". A very familiar story, is it not? He impressed me by arriving at my home on schedule, with his pleasant, attractive wife and (surprisingly) well-behaved young son, driving an immaculate '94 Taurus SHO. He was obviously a 'car guy'. He said that he owned a small trucking company (his wife worked in the business).They were both very impressed that I supplied them with the original purchase papers for the Mustang, the original Owners Manual - and - a detailed 15-year maintenance log. He loved that log. I also supplied a CarFax report proving my 15-year ownership - and no accidents. I could tell - within minutes - that I had a sale.

We took a brief ride and he drove it fairly easy, no hard acceleration at all, which surprised me. Back at the house, where my patient wife was entertaining his wife and son, we haggled over the price, of course. He finally pulled out 30 $100. bills and we shook hands on the deal. I signed over the registration and allowed him to drive it back to his home with my plates, which he promptly mailed back to me. Nice guy. I'm satisfied that my '90 Mustang now has a good home. This guy appreciated it and has the money to do whatever it takes to bring the old 'Stang up to par, as it were. It's pretty likely that the Mustang will not be abused. Best of all, we were both happy with the deal. His wife even sent us a 'Thank-You' card a week after the sale. Now, that's class.

I used the $3,000. sale price as a down payment on a very practical (if not very exciting) then-new 2005 Honda Civic EX 'Special Edition' sedan. It's dependable, well-made and exceptionally good on gas (now appreciated more than ever). I already have equity in the car -after only 15 months of ownership. Life is good.