I'm restoring a '72 mach 1 and my wife hasn't killed me yet (but she's
gettin' close!!!)

Not bad advice...  Do not buy the V-6 for less, but end up paying 'more'
long-term...   Although, my 2000 v-6 5-speed coupe was very reliable over
the 6.5 years I had it... The following things went wrong in it's history..

1.  Rear Engine seal leaking shortly after purchase.  (warranty)
2.  Clutch at 40k, (related to rear seal).. Ford made good and replaced
under warranty.
3.  Water pump gasket at 110,000
4.  Clutch at 100,000

I traded it in with about 130k on it... Still running well, although the
suspension was starting to feel slightly 'loose'...

Other than that, just tires, oil, belts, and antifreeze

John:

First:  I checked out your URL.. Nice Car! Has the engine been replaced
since the #5 cylinder "Issue"?

The point of my post, and wasn't as clear on the second read through, was
that my '00 V-6 was very reliable, in spite of the "Reliability Concerns"
that were raised back then about it...

So, Consumer Reports concerns regarding the 05+ V-6 could be more 'alarmist'
than real.. I myself, have never taken CR as 'gospel'..

The bottom line is that everyone should buy the Mustang that are happy with,
and can afford.. We are all 'different'..  For me, the 06 GT, Leather, and
Ragtop were the critical factors.. Others may have different requirements..

Tony

I was just having this conversation with a friend yesterday.  How do you
suppose this de-tuning is accomplished?  We all know that the parts changers
working in Ford dealership shops can only flash newer programs, not
selectively tune anything, or even step back to an older program.  Do you
believe these deliberately "crippled" cars are left that way when sold as
used cars to the public?  Do you think that could have any adverse effect on
their resale value?  Do you believe that the rental car companies have
invested in the technology and infrastructure to address de-tuning/tuning
issues that can't be addressed at the Ford dealership?

I have driven rental 05 & 06 V-6 mustangs, and test driven them off the
dealers lots, I can say, I don't think there is a difference, I don't think
anything is different between the rental car and the all other new V-6
Mustangs.

If anyone has any first hand knowledge of any de-tuning / tuning  programs
either at Ford, or within the rental car companies, please enlighten me.
Who is doing it?  Where, when and how are they doing it?  I just don't think
such a thing is going on.

You are correct about the 05+ V6 because in the past I have driven rental
Mustangs including an 04 (Yellow rag top last year) and the engine was
nowhere near as smooth or powerful as the 06 I just rented.
Also I had an 87 T-bird 3.8L for a while and it was a nightmare with head
gasket problems and just about everything else that could go wrong :(
Bought it used, sold it after a year.
I've also driven my fair share of Taurus rentals and they sucked as well.

Nahh.
That's an urban myth kinda like alligators in the NYC sewer system AFAIK
anyway.

Yes, I did notice this but I wasn't sure what it was?
It seemed like the computer was getting confused or something and the car
actually felt like it was in the wrong gear (too high).
It kinda bogged down, almost like a weak accelerator pump from carb days,
I found that you could fool it by goosing the throttle a little and then
stomping on it.
It didn't always work though.
It was a bit weird but seeing as I'm not the jack rabbit start type it
didn't really bother me.

For the record, this tranny has to be one of the smoothest I have ever
experienced in any car excepting maybe a Lexus.
It always seems to be in the right gear, doesn't hunt, has AMAZING pulling
power in ALL GEARS...
There is virtually no "wind up and go" factor, which I hate.
IOW, some cars when you stomp the pedal at say 60mph the engine roars, and
the car winds up and goes.
I find that annoying.
This car just downshifts smoothly and you feel the pulling of the engine
instead of the roaring and of course you have a nice exhaust sound as well.

I liked passing slowpokes on 2 lane VT highways with no effort at all and
then looking at the speedo and seeing 90 mph.

(My BEL RX65 is a must for driving in Vermont, the speed trap capital of
the US)

Now my Impala SS (Vette motor) is no slouch, but it has no rush
factor at all. It has so much torque however, from a standstill I can
easily lite the tires or pull tree stumps out of the ground!

With the Mustang, cruise at 60 mph, stomp the gas and get pushed back
in the seat as the car roars ahead.
Pretty neat for a rental V6!

The V6 like I've said (10 times already!) is a very strong puller and the
exhaust sounds wonderful but not obtrusive at all.
It all makes for a very fun car to drive.

The suspension is very nice and tight and the car felt solid as a rock
without being jittery.
Expansion joints in the road go thump with a solid feel instead of a hop
and skip
I did notice a little tail spin when making quick right turns
(real quick!), but it was totally controllable. This thing is VERY
comfortable to ride in on long trips, which surprised me. The tight
suspension does not cause driver fatigue on those long hauls and I will
say it is just as comfortable as my Impala SS and more so in the seat
department because the SS is like riding on a couch.
Can you say back pain!

Great site!!!!

So what about the rest of the car?
Ok!!
Here are some of my musings in no particular order.

This one had larger tires (I think?), aluminum rims, Shaker 500 sound
system, Sirius sat.radio, vinyl power seats (drivers) and was a cranberry
metallic red color.
No fog lamps in the grill so I guess it didn't have Pony Package?

Radio is easy to use and sounds pretty good for a factory unit.
I think it had a sub because I could feel/hear some thumping going on.

I'm also a musician/audiophile with a small project recording studio
so I am sensitive towards crappy sounding audio. This one isn't bad.
I like staying with the factory unit if at all possible so I would buy the
biggest/best they make.

Seat adjusts easily, but I could not find a lumbar adjustment?
It might be hidden somewhere?

I'm not sure I like the multi-position seat back thingie that you use to
let passengers escape from the rear seat <bg!>.
It seemed awkward to operate.

Trunk is quite large for a car this size and because it is flat and
boxlike it is actually all useable space.

Turning circle seems quite tight which is good compared to the Saturn Vue
I rented a couple of weeks ago that turned, well, it turned like a *large*
truck and was so slow and sluggish it was dangerous.

Mileage, mostly highway hovered around 25 mpg and I was not easy on the
throttle at all.
Impressive IMHO.

A/C was ice cold and all controls were logical and easy to operate.

Not enough storage bins, etc...Oh well it is a sports car though :)

One thing that did bother me a little bit was that my right leg/knee
rested on the right side of the lower dash and it became uncomfortable at
times no matter how I positioned the seat.
I think I would put a little foam rubber pad over there.
I am 6'1" tall BTW and other than that I fit in the car extremely well
which is not always the case.

Example: A Suburu Outback I rented required me to almost fall out of the
seat to get out because no matter how I adjusted the seat/steering wheel,
the steering wheel was almost resting on my knees.

Horrible car BTW.

One thing I noticed with these Mustangs, convertibles especially, if you
don't want to attract attention, don't drive one!

Last one (04) I had was yellow and I figured it was the color.

Nope.

It's the car/convertible.

I had people honking, flashing lights and coming over to ask me about the
car.

God, if I wasn't married.......well....let's just say this thing is a
chick magnet as well as a testosterone builder :)

So there you have it.

As you can tell, I rent a lot of cars mostly on business trips and because
my company is a gigantic Hertz customer, I get upgrades all the time and
my contract always has free mileage.

This car was for pleasure, but I still get the business rate which in NY
was $40.00/day with all miles free.
This car normally goes for about $180/day with mileage extra.

For those asking questions about renting a Mustang from Hertz, here is how
it works.
Most major airports will have them on the lot, but you can't normally
reserve a Mustang or any other car (Except minivans and Expeditions)but
you can reserve a class of car.

What I did was choose a small location near my home and called them
directly and spoke to the manager.
She took my name, told me to make my Gold Reservation for a "Standard
Class, Grand Am/Alero etc) and she would see what she could do.
Bottom line was they had the Mustang waiting for me when I went to pick
the car up.

Free upgrade for me.

Nice letter to Hertz thanking them for making my day!

You could also take the "go to the airport and ask method" which from my
experience will usually work if you go midweek.
Be nice to the people and just ask them.

For those that don't know, rental cars for Gold Card members (sign up, it
doesn't cost a dime I believe) who work for companies with large corporate
accounts are along the lines of airline tickets. The price you pay, has no
bearing at all on the car you drive just like the person sitting next to
you on the plane may have paid 5 times what you paid for the same ticket.

My contract says I have to rent a class C car or lower, which is a
standard car and my reservations always say Class C.

I've driven Volvo's (Prestige car), Outbacks, SUV's, Mustangs and so forth
all at the same Class C rate.

There is no rhyme or reason to it for corporate Gold Card members.
the yellow 04 Mustang I got was just the car they gave me.

So that's it!
I'm still trying to decide between a V6 rag top or a V8 coupe.
I think I will visit the dealer this week and test drive the V8 to see
what it's got :)

Thanks again for all the advice and if you have any ??  fire away and I
will do my best!

Tomas