I’m 25 and just landed a great job as an engineer last year. My first job out of college. I grew up with a grandfather who loved cars. He owned a 70’s Camaro SS and a Cadillac. I also grew up playing Midnight Club games. So I’ve always loved cool cars, but I’ve never driven one. Even still, I’ve always prioritized fun factor when buying my cars, so I started with a V6 Infiniti, and now drive a small, low-weight manual transmission convertible.
Then I rented a 2024 Convertible 5.0 GT for the Thanksgiving roadtrip and I’ve wanted one ever since. I can afford the monthly payments by conventional financial wisdom (it’s a quarter or less than my monthly income), but I’m still gonna wait a couple of years for it to make a lot more financial sense.
What got you guys into Mustangs, and how did you make it work to own one?
Bro life’s too short and they’re always changing things. If you want it & can afford it, go get it! Take it from a guy who recently totaled his sports car, I miss it daily. GO GET IT
This is a good suggestion: since times are tight for a lot of folks, used mustangs (considered by a lot of folks a “want”, not a “need”) will be popping up as people deal with rising COL.
That way you aren’t sunk into it with a big loan in case you find it’s just not for you. And if it is, upgrade down the road.
The sound is what got me into Mustangs back in the mid 90s (Highschool for me). The old 289/302 and early mod motors sounded so good with an h-pipe and original 40 series mufflers. Unfortunately, that sound died with the early mod motors.
Great call. What you can “afford” and what you should actually buy are usually 2 very different things. A lot of people assume that if the bank approves them they can “afford it” and that could not be further from the truth. Wait a couple years, save up some cash and buy a well-maintained used model for probably 60%-70% of new.
@Cade
That’s my current plan. I love the older cars, but the interior features are so dated even up until like 2023. That’s not a deal-breaker for me usually cause my car is from 2012 (and I prefer older cars in general), but that car was $7000. For 30 - 40k I want something a little nicer if it’s new-ish. I also don’t like the look of the '25 very much, so I’m going to wait a couple of years for the '24 to be more reasonable and see if I can snag one.
I also got a big pay bump from a new job last year. Currently saving for a large down payment for a 26 Mustang GT premium. Most likely will put an order in around November of this year. Have about 20k saved right now and hopefully going to have around 45k -50k to put down. Then plan to pay it off ASAP. I just hate having a loan sitting over my head
I’ve always thought Mustangs were cool cars in passing, but never really gave much thought to them. At my previous company, my colleague had a s550 that I’d see almost all the time, and they’ve started growing on me since. I also went the route for waiting for it to make financial sense, but by then my previous car started having lots of issues (cost of repair > value of car) so I decided to just go ahead and buy one. It helps having money set aside for it of course, but life is short so if you can afford the car then by all means go ahead and get it!
Price was a bit steep for me at the time so I had to start with an ecoboost and finally traded it in for the gt a few months ago and man it was worth it!
Addison said:
Price was a bit steep for me at the time so I had to start with an ecoboost and finally traded it in for the gt a few months ago and man it was worth it!
I’m curious what made you get the Ecoboost instead of waiting for the big boy. I’m usually a “Buy it nice or buy it twice” person myself.
Get in financial trouble like the rest of us! I will never regret owning a COBRA at 18:raised_hands: 36 now and I feel so grateful that I got it young. Now I’m old and want a minivan so people never account for this when you get old you don’t want it anymore so what’s the point… Or you can be like the mid-life crisis crew that buys them but never go over the speed limit.
I grew up in a family that was big on classic cars, but they were all Mopar guys. I started learning about Mustangs when I was 10, and I fell in love with the classics, so my dad and I bought one when I was 14 and started restoring it.
Bought a 2020 GT back in October. Best decision I ever made honestly. Granted I’ve wanted one for 10+ years and finally had the budget for it. As long as you’re not robbing retirement funds and you won’t be living paycheck to paycheck to get one, pull the trigger.
If you want to see if you can swing it, put aside the increased costs on the car/insurance/gas in savings for 4-6 months. See how your budget feels after that and make a decision.
@Tai
Yeah I’m bypassing my retirement for now for increased cash flow . I had to move across the country for the job and am finally getting my first real, non-college boy furniture and getting everything set up in my apartment, fixing my current car, etc. Lots of large, one-time purchases these days so I need financial agility until things settle. Retirement contributions will resume likely around summer as I’m wrapping up the furniture stuff soon. Given my stage of life, this is exactly why I say it needs to wait lol.
I’d say buy an older one. You can get a good running 5.0 for less than 10k if you look for them. Buying second hand is much less of a hassle anyway lol.
I’m an EE. Bought mine 6 months out of school. Should I have waited? Maybe. Would I wait if I could do it again? Maybe. Do I have regrets for getting it so soon after school? No.
Benjamin said:
I’m an EE. Bought mine 6 months out of school. Should I have waited? Maybe. Would I wait if I could do it again? Maybe. Do I have regrets for getting it so soon after school? No.
That’s kind of where I’m at, man. It’s like I’m brainwashed lol.
“You worked so hard for this life man, you deserve it.”