Hello, I have recently turned 17 and have started looking at cars and was just offered by one of my family members their old 2003 ford mustang, I have been told it probably has only around 70,000 miles on it but hasn't started in nearly 10 years, its been kept out side and is a convertible with the top up and its been under a cover. Does any one think that this would be a good first car, I'm aware its gonna be a project and think it would be a good way to get some hands on experience working with cars and think that it shouldn't be too much work just to get it running.
No. It's going to be a curb-side wonder.
Those Essex V6s run forever, but your insurance will be sky high if you're only 17. That Mustang is older than you are, and it's been sitting for 11 years. God knows what could be wrong with it. A friend of mine had an Essex V6 in his 2003 Mustang that he bought in 2008. He had at least 220k miles when he crashed it. He would have gone further if there weren't ice on the road that day.
If it had been running and driven all this time, that’s one thing. But based upon what you said, forget about it!
They're ok cars but just realize for a vehicle sitting for decade all the fluids (Oil, gas, coolant etc.) need to flush out and put fresh ones. Rubber hoses may be deteriorated.
If you know it is a project car, and you are getting it for next to nothing, it might be a fun little project.
But if you need a reliable daily driver, you might want to look elsewhere.
A car sitting for 10 years is going to need a lot of work. And I’m not necessarily against all the work that needs to be done. You just have to know what you are getting yourself into and what you are committing to.
