Well group.....
Years ago I re-did three 1966 stangs. While the '66 model year has a special place in my heart, I swore I would never have an old one again. The last one I did had metal fatigue and the now infamous cracks in both rear quarters at the rear quarter windows.
In 2000, I bought a used 1996 GT Convertible with about 63,000 miles on it. Forest green, camel leather/top, premium wheels. Loved it. My mistake....it was a daily driver. I am not a small fella, so the daily grind of getting in and out of it in small, tight parking spaces became a chore. So....I traded my stang for an extended cab Silverado. I do not regret the Silverado, but lamented getting rid of my convertible stang.
In May of 2004, a Miata caught my eye. Nice little car, good price. I bought it (I know, blasphemy to a real Stanger!) We used it as our, "let's go get some Ice Cream or a Snow Cone" car on Sunday afternoons. It was fun, but it was no Mustang. Sold it in December '04 for $250 less than I paid for it.
I have been looking seriously for another Mustang for about a month. There was not much available where I live that was not ragged out and with high milage, so I started looking on the Internet (Ebay, Autotrader). I missed out on what I thought were a couple of good buys. I did notice that the Mustangs are hot and bring high prices. I believe the 2005 Mustangs are so popular, that they have had a positive ripple effect on the pricing of the entire Mustang line for all years (excluding Mustang IIs of course).
I happened on to one this past week listed in Autotrader. I guess it was fate, as the owner said the ad had only been on Autotrader for one hour before I called. Excellent price, 60K miles, Original owner, bone stock 1996 Convertible GT. It is the exact same color scheme as the 96 GT I had a few years back only in much better shape. It has to be the cleanest nine year old car I have ever seen. I met the owner at a local eatery, drove it five minutes and new I had to have it. We did the deal right there and I drove it home the next day.
I still have the Truck as a daily driver, but now I have a Mustang as my Ice Cream car. It is wonderful to be able to say I have a Mustang GT Convertible sitting in my garage. Something about that phrase...Mustang GT Converible. As an aside, since my initials are GT, I couldn't help getting a plate that says, "GT's GT"
Regards, GJT