It was my idea so I'll start
I’ll start this forum with the story about how I got my feature car (which, believe it or not, I have not yet written about on my Web site). My first car, a 1991 Mustang LX Hatchback, was the only car that I ever regretted selling. I have had the Mustang itch for a long time and that car with its 4 cylinder was my first car out of college. Only a couple years after buying it, it became obvious that rear wheel drive was a big issue in bad weather. It could not remain my daily driver and I could not afford to have more than one car. So it was replaced with a Ford Probe GT.
A few years ago, in late winter, thoughts of spring entered my head and I had a renewed interest in finding another Mustang. I was now in a better position to have one as a second car. I had no idea what year I wanted. The classics were my first love. But, feeling uncertain about whether I had the know-how to upkeep a classic, I decided that a late model was a better idea. I first started looking at SN95 “Edge†Mustangs. At the time, they had been out a couple years so it was possible to find one with relatively low miles at a decent price. I looked at a few but never found anything that I really liked.
Thinking back to that first Mustang purchase in 1991, I remembered the very first Mustang I ever drove which was also on the dealer’s lot that day. It was a 1990 7-up LX 5.0 Convertible. That was way more car than I could handle at that age (according to the insurance company, at least), so I had passed on it to get the new 1991 hatch.
That sense of reliving the past got me looking for a car like that convertible I had passed on. Over the coming weeks, I checked a couple of leads on 7 up cars out, but I always got there too late. So, I expanded my search to other fox body convertibles and, in searching a local car bargain magazine's web site, I spotted a 1993 white Mustang convertible at a local car dealer two towns away. It was rare to find a 9 year old car at a dealer so I went to check it out. The ad mentioned nothing about it being a feature car only that it had 39k miles. I wasn't sure I could picture myself in a white covertible.
The day I went to check it out was a Sunday so the dealership was closed. The car looked really good so I called immediately on Monday. I asked a few questions and made a tentative appointment to drop by that night. Later that afternoon, it started to snow. I decided it was probably not a good idea to look at and potentially test drive a rear wheel V8 car in the snow so I did not go that night.
The next night I went to the dealership to see the car. It was not there. Apparently, earlier that day it had been loaded onto a truck and moved off of the lot in preparation for offering it for sale at auction. Since I was really interested, I considered taking the next day off to go to the auction, but, I was told that it was a dealer only auction. The salesman told me if the car did not sell he would call me to have me come back.
A couple days went by and I heard nothing. I called and was told that the car sold at auction. After some prodding they did tell me the name of the used car dealership that bought the car and even the price range of what it sold for. I called the used car dealership to inquire about the car. The owner was REALLY surprised that I already knew that he had the car especially since I was from out of town. I fibbed and told him that my business took me through his town. I did not want to raise his suspicion that I was chasing the car. After I hung up and thought about it for a while, I decided it probably wasn’t the right car. The dealership was about two hours away in a neighboring state and I was really just a few weeks into my search. There had to be others out there. This was the one that got away so I forgot about it and moved on.
A couple weeks later I decided to see what was being offered on ebay. I wanted a local car that I could look at in person so I used their advanced search to search in the area identified by the nearest major city to me. No hits. So, I expanded my search to include the next major city. One interesting car showed up. A 1993 white convertible 5.0 LX with 39k miles. I started to think that maybe this was the car for me. I made plans to go see the car that weekend before the auction ended.
I went to see it, test drove it and bought it on the spot. I went into ebay in the owner’s office and used the “buy it now†option on the auction. Although, I really paid less than the "buy it now" price so not every transaction on ebay is as it seems.
So, I went two hours to another state in order to buy a car that started only two towns away from me and spent its entire life prior to my ownership in my immediate area. I’m sure it was meant to be.
A few years ago, in late winter, thoughts of spring entered my head and I had a renewed interest in finding another Mustang. I was now in a better position to have one as a second car. I had no idea what year I wanted. The classics were my first love. But, feeling uncertain about whether I had the know-how to upkeep a classic, I decided that a late model was a better idea. I first started looking at SN95 “Edge†Mustangs. At the time, they had been out a couple years so it was possible to find one with relatively low miles at a decent price. I looked at a few but never found anything that I really liked.
Thinking back to that first Mustang purchase in 1991, I remembered the very first Mustang I ever drove which was also on the dealer’s lot that day. It was a 1990 7-up LX 5.0 Convertible. That was way more car than I could handle at that age (according to the insurance company, at least), so I had passed on it to get the new 1991 hatch.
That sense of reliving the past got me looking for a car like that convertible I had passed on. Over the coming weeks, I checked a couple of leads on 7 up cars out, but I always got there too late. So, I expanded my search to other fox body convertibles and, in searching a local car bargain magazine's web site, I spotted a 1993 white Mustang convertible at a local car dealer two towns away. It was rare to find a 9 year old car at a dealer so I went to check it out. The ad mentioned nothing about it being a feature car only that it had 39k miles. I wasn't sure I could picture myself in a white covertible.
The day I went to check it out was a Sunday so the dealership was closed. The car looked really good so I called immediately on Monday. I asked a few questions and made a tentative appointment to drop by that night. Later that afternoon, it started to snow. I decided it was probably not a good idea to look at and potentially test drive a rear wheel V8 car in the snow so I did not go that night.
The next night I went to the dealership to see the car. It was not there. Apparently, earlier that day it had been loaded onto a truck and moved off of the lot in preparation for offering it for sale at auction. Since I was really interested, I considered taking the next day off to go to the auction, but, I was told that it was a dealer only auction. The salesman told me if the car did not sell he would call me to have me come back.
A couple days went by and I heard nothing. I called and was told that the car sold at auction. After some prodding they did tell me the name of the used car dealership that bought the car and even the price range of what it sold for. I called the used car dealership to inquire about the car. The owner was REALLY surprised that I already knew that he had the car especially since I was from out of town. I fibbed and told him that my business took me through his town. I did not want to raise his suspicion that I was chasing the car. After I hung up and thought about it for a while, I decided it probably wasn’t the right car. The dealership was about two hours away in a neighboring state and I was really just a few weeks into my search. There had to be others out there. This was the one that got away so I forgot about it and moved on.
A couple weeks later I decided to see what was being offered on ebay. I wanted a local car that I could look at in person so I used their advanced search to search in the area identified by the nearest major city to me. No hits. So, I expanded my search to include the next major city. One interesting car showed up. A 1993 white convertible 5.0 LX with 39k miles. I started to think that maybe this was the car for me. I made plans to go see the car that weekend before the auction ended.
I went to see it, test drove it and bought it on the spot. I went into ebay in the owner’s office and used the “buy it now†option on the auction. Although, I really paid less than the "buy it now" price so not every transaction on ebay is as it seems.
So, I went two hours to another state in order to buy a car that started only two towns away from me and spent its entire life prior to my ownership in my immediate area. I’m sure it was meant to be.
Comments
I have owned many Stangs through the years (more about that in the Member Intro thread), and was looking for an older vert to replace the '01 GT Vert that I had just sold. After going through a divorce, I could no longer afford the payments, taxes and insurance associated with the '01, so she had to go...
I went to see the car and almost cried when I saw the sad sight in the driveway. Front fender wrecked, top held together with duct tape, the front seats trashed, you could tell she had had no love for a while. I drove her anyway, and while the engine ran well, the trans would not shift out of first.
I reported back on the condition of the car and my friend said he didn't think he would buy her because of the trans problem. The guy called and lowered the price, down to $1,200., so I told him I wanted to buy the car. I went and retrieved it later that day.
After I got the car to the shop, I started looking at her more closely. Although I was not familiar with the Feature cars, I began to suspect that there was something different about this Stang. Excited, I made inventory of things about the car that was different from other white Stangs I had seen and went home to do some detective work on the web. I quickly realized that this little girl was a rare bird.
During my web surfing, I came across this site and gained invaluable info on these cars. After confirming authenticity, I began to address her sad condition. A new fender, bumper cover, and hood, new top, and recovering the front seats worked wonders on her looks. I had to have the seats recovered in vinyl for now, but hope to be able to replace all the upholstery in the near future with correct white leather. (Thanks John for providing a link to a company that sells these at a reasonable price!) Next I had the trans rebuilt, and she now runs and drives great!
I would drive this car anywhere (as soon as I get the cruise fixed...
I'm glad I found her and this site...
Sue [B-)]
It sounds like you rescued your car from a tough life. I'm sure it's much happier now.
Also, I now understand why your car was in the shop for a long time. I remember you mentioning it and I was going to ask but didn't want to seem nosy.
Thanks!