Ohioguy's Mustang Journey

[glenng6]

I'm in the Southeast. If it snows an inch, people panic, businesses and schools close and it's home we stay.....

When I worked in NYC, in the last millennium, I owned an Audi Fox. I was driving home from work after an all-night snow. Crossing the upper level of the George Washington Bridge, that's what we call Martha, I had to get off the bridge onto the Palisades Pkwy. The snow plows went across the bridge, and where the exit ramp was, they kept going straight and left probably 2' of snow. Needless to say, it stopped me cold. I had a stick, so I just kept driving into the crap they left behind until I finally broke through. NO SNOW TIRES! But I did grow up in Canada, so I guess that's cheating! Glenn

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[Roushracing1]

400 Miles in and first purchase......SNOW TIRES!

Very nice! Can't go wrong with Carbonized Gray

 

[LFPCam]

As the title suggests, thought I would capture my Mustang journey. To be clear I have not historically been a "Ford" or "Mustang" guy. In fact, the only Ford products that I have personally owned were a 1980 Ford Van with a 300 Straight Six / 3 speed manual and a 1991 Mercury Tracer Wagon 5spd. I am much more a "Mopar" Guy, but don't hold that against me

So how does a self-proclaimed Mopar guy buy a Mustang?

Well, after 9+ years, my 2016 Charger SRT392 was getting a little long in the tooth. 255,000 trouble free miles, but it was time. I had the itch for something different after driving 2 Chargers as dailies for the last 17 years and a combined 460,000 miles. So I started searching for a car (not suv/truck) that had a 0-60 under 5 seconds, did the quarter in under 12.5, had parts that I could get at the average parts store without waiting/ordering them, and wasn't going to be over the top expensive to buy. Since I tend to drive a ton of miles, really didn't want the overhead of forced induction.

The Mustang came up #1 or #2 in nearly all of my comparisons. Plus I really liked the looks of the S650 and could get into a new Mustang for the price of some used alternatives. Mustang it was.

After my first test drive, I was underwhelmed. The car was quick but felt sooo different from my larger displacement and more aggressively geared Charger. I was on the fence and I had to change my expectations. It was a completely different driving experience - not better or worse - just different. I took my time, did my research, to figure out how to option out the best car for me.

My musts:

Auto (I drive too much in city traffic and I'm getting old lol)

401A Premium (Got me a lot of the creature features I have come to expect in my daily)

Active Exhaust (The 5.0L has always had one of the BEST stock exhaust notes and I have no idea how you can hear the car and NOT fall in love)

Performance Package (I wanted the big brakes and the more aggressive gearing; the upgraded suspension was a plus as well)

Upgraded Sound (I like a good stereo, but I'm not an audiophile)

Exterior must be BLACK


So the search began......It was a very challenging search given how late in the 2025 model year I was looking. I was struggling to find what I was looking for, and had just decided to expand my color options, when the dealer I was working with (Josh Davis @ Lebanon Ford) asked if I would consider a 2024 with all the options I wanted - but the colors he could offer were Atlas Blue, Carbonized Gray, and Silver. I liked the Gray, but was waffling a bit when he hit me with the good news.....there was a HUGE discount to take a new 2024 at the beginning of the 2026 model year!

So I drove 3 hours to the other side of Ohio to get the car it was love at first sight!

Thank you for choosing us! You got the best of all worlds, especially taking advantage of the 2024 sale lol, have fun! We expect more miles on this than the Charger lol

 

[stellymaGT]

I follow that dealership on social media and when they acquired these 24s from another dealer who didn't make them into shelby/rtr, I, like you, jumped on the discount (probably not as steep as yours as I purchased in October) and 0% over 48 and had it on a truck down to TX. I chose Silver, but at the time had red, blue, silver and grey. I could not find anything but black in DFW and then 25 stop sale due to that recall, I snag a Silver from up North. Great deal and they still have some today!

 

[ohioguy]

5 Month Check in:

12,100 miles so far....

-Car did great in the nastiest winter we have seen in a few years. Snow Tires and Slippery Mode for the Win!

-The location of the oil filter and the resulting mess makes me curse engineers. If these guys actually had to service what they designed, they would make it better.

-I'll be interested to see how that underbody panel holds up over time

Upgrades:

-Summer Wheels & Tires....Went with the Shelby Wheels with 275 upfront and 305 out back

-Blacked out Badges

-Steeda Jacking Supports and Rear IRS Braces

Coming Soon:

-4 Point Front Chassis Brace

-Oil Filter Access Door in Underbody Panel

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