Going to be looking at a stang (2003) gt convert in texas help

[bswor]

Well im in need of a new daily driver. So i found one in houston texas, 2003 gt convertible. Not necessarly my color but i do like it and i could go either way on it being a coupe or convertible. The thing is the price is insanely cheap, I ran a carfax report and it comes back clean etc.

What im worried about is hurricane or any other kind of damage that might be hiding. How would i check this, where to look, etc? Its located at a dealership and was more than likely a trade in. Any tips guys and gals? (if theyre any that view the site reguarly)

[coz]

Water stains under the carpet, inside doors, tailpipe, inside the valance, etc.... I've heard check the brake fluid in the res. - sitting in water for a while will allow water into the brake system. Rusty rotors would be a good check. Saw a 20/20 show I think about how there's literally hundreds of thousands of water damaged cars between NO and FL last year.

Water marks was their big thing. Electrical issues also. Where was it DOS'd? I would be leery of cars shipped to that area from Ford.

Otherwise, I could think of worst daily drivers than a 03 gt vert. Unless you live up north....

['69Mach1]

You could check all that coz mentioned, plus the dipstick's if there is rust above the oil line ,also ask to see the title ,it would have been marked salvage, or flood ,also carfax would tell how many times it was titled ,and if it was accuired at an auction sale ,it's a good possibility it came off lease, perhaps high mileage? the '03 is reliable,and a great platform if you wanted to modify a little (you probably already knew that) the worst thing I've seen happen to an '03 4.6 is the timing chain tensioners wore down to almost nothing the car still ran ,it had a huge rattle! it was taken out of service ,I pulled it into our shop ,pulled it apart ,got all the pieces out of the pan ,installed new tensioners the car run's no differen't than the '06's we have in service now ,we keep it around for a garage beater, as I said reliable!

[bswor]

Thanks guys thats the answers I was looking for. The Carfax is clean,the car has been in texas all its life. And has had two owners the later being in houston where the car is located now. And it was apparently traded in on a lexus. I wont actually get a chance to look at it until friday or monday. But we have reached an agreement, but nothing is final until i sign the papers..

[FallujahMedic]

Don't forget to check under the spare tire, water collects in there and most people don't think to check it.

[bswor]

Thanks for all the helpful info. It looks like i waited to long to commit because I called them today and the car is sold.

Was a 2003 GT vert. 51k miles for $10995.00 , and book on the thing is $18,900. I guess i'll keep looking. But definetly gonna go bookmark this thread for future reference.

['69Mach1]

Wow that was a good price ,sorry you missed out,another one will come along.

[bswor]

Yeh that price was unreal which is why i wanted to be prepared when going to look at it. They must know something that they are not stating at that price. Guess i'll keep looking. My current daily driver has 212,000 miles on it. 95 ford explorer xlt 4.0 litre v6. Still hasnt used any oil, but i'd rather get into something else before something does happen.

[Pakrat]

Well, I'd see it as a blessing in disguise. While it's not impossible that it was a true value, the odds are better that someone wasn't giving it away at almost half value, something had to be wrong with it somewhere. 2 owners in 3 years seems a bit much to me, especially since my 69' only had 2 previous owners.

I paid like 1k less than that price in Northern Texas in 2001 for a 99' V6 coupe and it was a good buy so something isn't quite right.

[69grandecj]

I have an '02 GT Coupe for sale, but it is in California. One owner and babied with 44,000 miles. Looking for $13,500.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/723000-723999/723477_38_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/723000-723999/723477_40_full.jpg

[bswor]

Well, I'd see it as a blessing in disguise. While it's not impossible that it was a true value, the odds are better that someone wasn't giving it away at almost half value, something had to be wrong with it somewhere. 2 owners in 3 years seems a bit much to me, especially since my 69' only had 2 previous owners.

I paid like 1k less than that price in Northern Texas in 2001 for a 99' V6 coupe and it was a good buy so something isn't quite right.

Yeh your pakrat, they said during their "routine inspection" they found evidence of paint work. Which means there was some kind of accident and it just wasnt reported.


Well im looking for something within 500miles of me 69grande, but your car looks like its kept up very nicely. Oh well I really need to wait another few months before I get a new daily. Thanks for all the tips guys.