How do you not trade up?

[eighty6gt]

Also, think about this, all of our cars are modified, and are much faster/handle better (well...) and are more unique than a new car which are belly button common - every middling enthusiast with good credit can get one.

I wouldn't mind a new Mustang, but it would (at this point,) have to be a GT350 or GT350R, which cost a bloody fortune. Who knows what the 500 equivalent will be - I'm excited for a twin turbo 1000 hp world ending machine, but it will probably be 70 or 80 grand.

 

[46Tbird]

Go ahead and buy a 2015. Spend that $35-40k plus interest. And then five years from now you'll have 130K miles, lights that work 1/2 the time, an A/C fan that only works on high, tint bubbling on windows, sloppy clutch, sagging door panels...

Or just enjoy maintaining your current car and watch your bank account grow.

There's always something newer, faster, cooler, or whatever. At some point it makes sense to keep your cash instead of dumping it ceaselessly into a depreciating asset. If you're independently wealthy, then dump away.

 

[dre256]

I rather have no monthly payment and put money in as needed. Great example is I have a 1994 jeep Cherokee I bought 10 years ago. Has 184k miles on it and yes I look to upgrade as it is 22 years old and worth noting if gets totalled but its nice not having to dedicate a constant 300-500 a month out if don't need to. I have a ok house of 1000 square feet, but a nice garage that's 900 square feet! Have my base GT bought new, my wife has 2008 Torrent GXP bought new, and our 22 year old jeep had for 10 years. But my wife and I go on 2-3 vacations a year for 5-10 days each vacation because we try not to have too much debt.

 

[Timmbo]

Wow, you sound like me with all the cars and Harleys over the years! Are you ADHD? If so welcome to the club LOL!

Iv'e found that if you've built a car in little stages over a number of years like I have you grow attached to it and you pay as you go to keep it affordable. Plus in little stages the wife doesn't recognize it as much till ya blow an engine ha ha!! I still drive the same Toyota pickup I bought new 21 years ago too. It helps to have a beater while your building your toy. Today I have a custom built 726 rwhp Mustang that's paid for. I still look forward to a future with it because I left some room to grow. If I wanna push it up to 850 rwhp in the future no problem. Engine and fuel system is built for it.

If I want gadgets I drive my SRT. Would love to have gadgets AND crazy power in a new car package. For that your lookin at a minimum of 70k. Dollar for HP costs today are absolutely nuts, especially for an assembly line car IMO. And with any top of the line high HP car most likely limited model production, your going to pay MSRP and market adjusted pricing over that. No damn way for me. I don't daily drive my Mustang to worry about gadgets or creature comforts, but it is fun to raise hell with and go blowing the fucking doors off a Hellcat when I want to lol!

Not sure what you wanna hear but either get a beater and build a newer dream car in stages, or since your trading all the time look into a lease for a new car with everything you want. If a new car is out of the question do the slow progressive custom build. You can find base Coyote GT's now at a great price. Slowly and progressively you become more dedicated and invested in it as a project. If it's power you want to keep up with the Jones's in the future, built it wild with room to grow. When it comes to gadgets, your never going to be able to keep up with the changes in the OEM market by retrofitting those cheaply on a custom build anyway so get used to that. The way the OEM electronics are now with the PCMs tied to data and CAN buses it would be a nightmare not to mention expensive.

 

[05gtowner]

For me the 15's look like a awesome fusion coupe. Nothing mustang about it. Yes it is a step in the correct direction performance wise but a huge step back aesthetics wise. I prefer the 05-09 models first and the front ends of the 11/12's and rear of the 13/14's secondly. I don't need nor want the gadgets the latest mustang has nor do I want the complexity of those systems. My 05 has all the creature comforts I need with none of the nanny features I don't. It is a more pure form of driving experience for me.

 

[TGR96]

How do I not trade up?

1. I am fortunate that I have already been able to pay it off = no car payment. This allows me to spend a little "fun money" every month on mods, or save up for a vacation, or do some house upgrades, etc

2. I still love my car enough that I can't really imagine NOT having it in my life

Don't get me wrong, I am always thinking/dreaming about another ride. Right now, I am searching the interwebz daily for no less than four different cars, an S550 GT Premium, a mid 2000s Dodge Viper, a C6 Z06, and a 2011-12 GT500. But at the end of the day, I don't see myself parting with my car for at least a couple more years. In the meantime, I will mod it, show it, track it, daily-drive it and enjoy it.

It is fun to look at what's out there, though.

 

[702GT]

I've always posed the question "What would the mustang look like today if they had continued with the SN-95 body style?" I've always liked the looks of the '03-'04 Cobra's. When they went from the '04 to the '05 retro style I knew it was a treat, but how far could Ford milk that design before it wasn't a thing anymore? 10 years I guess lol. The '15 is growing on me as the '10-'14 did. I still prefer the S197 to the S550. I've driven a S550, and I gotta tell ya, the interior candy is worth way more than the exterior lol. Still, I wouldn't want the car payment again.

As many have stated, it's only a matter of money to keep up with the Jones'. I put a D1SC on my virtually stock 3v, pushing a bit more than a stock coyote. So as far as performance feel, I'll keep my S197 over a stock S550 w/car payment any day. Looks, I like the way my car looks. No, it doesn't turn heads like the S550, because it's not "the new mustang". When it was cammed, it turned heads by default lol. In a few years, the S550 won't turn as many heads because it will be just another mass-produced car, it will have its own fan club too.

The only thing that bothers me is the "GT" status. I look on craigslist and see 05-09 GT's starting to go below $10k. Supercharged ones still $14k-$20k (depending on owner pride, lol). I KBB'd mine w/67,000 miles and I'm still happy with its KBB value, but when it hits 100k it will tip. I thought about selling and buying a GT500 (in regards to it holding better value) but the truth of that matter is, I drive my car. Every day, every weekend, few times a month. Either way, I drive my car. If you drive a GT500 into 100k/mi it won't hold value as well as one that is garage kept and driven to church. But where is the fun in owning a badass car and not driving it? Who is going to troll the import guys and Super Tankers (Camaro/Challenger) if I don't bring the Ford 3v w/hair-dryer bolt-on to the streets and give them the whoosh?!

When the S197 is totaled or FUBAR, that's when I will trade up. Until then, trolling the streets is why I don't trade up.

 

[BruceH]

It's easy. The only Mustang that would be a trade up for me would be a 2013 Boss. That's it. I waited many years for the 05-09 body style to come out and it is my favorite all time Mustang from the outside. Ford got it right. It's a fun car that still turns heads when it's all waxed up.

It's fairly easy to turn the power up to the ridiculous level if a person wants to.

 

[DILYSI Dave]

Easy. I prefer no debt to a new car. My 2006 is about to turn 210k on the clock. I need to do something about the door panels, but beyond that it's fine. I may do an '11-14 at some point, but not until they are cheaper. Maybe after a couple of years of the S550 being available the early Coyote's will come down to 10-ish.

 

[JCCNY]

You've bought a lot of shit and can afford an upgrade, so I'd do what you want and while considering finances of course. Personally, my wife and I try to balance between saving for retirement while going on vacations and enjoying life. All of our cars are paid off and I'd love a coyote or 07-09 GT500, but am content with the 06 for weekend fun.

 

[fdjizm]

Pretty simple, I love my car and have not felt the feeling I felt when I first layed eyes on it since.
When I fall in love with another car, I will buy that car.

I can pretty easily buy a new car, as can most other people.
Just don't have a unyielding "urge", my car does everything I need it to do.
SEXY FUCKIN BITCH IT IS! I am never selling my baby.
It will be passed down to my son one day (when I have a kid) and we will work on it together.

 

[05stroker]

For me its easy, its not my DD, and a new car will take as much work as I have in mine to be as fast as mine. Not worth it for my use.

 

[GallopingFord]

Pretty simple, I love my car and have not felt the feeling I felt when I first layed eyes on it since.
When I fall in love with another car, I will buy that car.

I can pretty easily buy a new car, as can most other people.
Just don't have a unyielding "urge", my car does everything I need it to do.
SEXY FUCKIN BITCH IT IS! I am never selling my baby.
It will be passed down to my son one day (when I have a kid) and we will work on it together.

"Dad, why did never install that ProCharger?"

 

[cm581978]

shots fired!

"Dad, why did never install that ProCharger?"

 

[cavero]

Gotta agree with all these points. My advice if you want to keep it is never stop tweaking it. Could be big stuff like a supercharger, or little stuff like detaling the engine bay. Every time I started getting a little bored with how the car was, I started planning my next mod. After the hood and stripes I started getting worried I was done, but there's always the next thing. Yeah mods can get expensive, but I'm still less into it than a new 5.0 (and I bought mine new)

And, if you're really bored with it, take it out on the track and tear it up! Maybe you'll start loving the car again, or at least get some track time without beating on a new car

 

[fdjizm]

"Dad, why did never install that ProCharger?"

You're a .

 

[06silverbullet]

pretty easy really, i can use the money i'm not spending on a car note to improve what i already have and enjoy it just as much if not more.

 

[Wes06]

why? cause screw anything not 05-09!

also the amount of time I'd have to put in to return my stuff to stock to sell off, oh god the horror

 

[NUTCASE]

I am going to help with the echo around here.

If you always clean it, its always clean. If you always fix it, its always fixed. This is just the song of having a car for a long time.

Also I think the style of the 05-09 is timeless. There are a handful of cars out there which the styling will never look old. Its something that I look for in a car.

As far as my car it is an 06 and I got it in 09 with 38k miles on it. Right now I have 97K. I had a DD for many years but for the past 2 years this has been my only car. Leaving the army and trying to get a degree in engineering is a big reason why I still have it. Not even going to try getting a loan until I have a steady paycheck again.

Also the wife won't let me sell it.

That being said I got a little pissed not to long ago. I started looking at cars. I wanted to see if I could trade my car + a couple thousand and get a chally R/T. I kbb'd my car and got a heartbreaker. I missed many points to trade the car. My car is not only high miles and modded, but year wise it is behind the 07/08 upgrades, the 2010 and the coyote, the 13 upgrade, and the s550. When I am on my feet again I am probably just going to buy another car and turn the stang into a drag car.

 

[KatoS197]

My '08 GT had 120k-ish miles. I has finally convinced myself to stick with the 3V and get a daily/truck. Then a guy in an Expedition decided to total it. Only reason I traded to a coyote is because they gave me such a good price and well....it's a coyote