RE: 2005 Ford Mustang GT

[russ4956]

Mpescatori,



Hang on you missed out a few little countries that also drive on the left. Some really small like Australia, India, Indonesia, New Zealand and smaller ones like Cyprus, Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Malta, Singapore. Oh yeah and really really small like Fiji, Grenada, Honduras, Seychelles, Sri Lanka - oh and lots of parts of Africa (you mentioned the south). I could go on... and on... and on...

I take your point though - not many of us drive on the left and use RHD cars - about 2 billion (population only not car use) Tiny wee amount

Russ

[LuS1fer]

Dan said:

It really annoys me that US manufacturers think they can just add 50% to the price of the car and ship it to the UK. I'd accept an increase in price if they did a RHD version. 22K for a RHD 'stang would be perfectly acceptable, in fact I'd probably buy one. It's not just ford, Chevrolet dont do a RHD Corvette due to low volumes.. Guys, the reason they are low volumes is that you hike the price and make driver sit in the gutter! If a RHD corvette was £35K, you wouldn't be able to make em fast enough. Same goes for the Viper. So to all you American car makers out there... Make a bloody effort, or sod off back where you came.

Dan, it's not the US manufacturers at all. Let me explode the myth of cheap American cars in the US.

Firstly, a US car is very basic. It has an arm's length of options which are all added to the base price. Accordingly and just to take an example, a base Corvette costing $42k is actually about $54k by the time you add a decent set of options to it. A basic US car would not be considered acceptable in Europe which is why Eurovettes come to these shores with a whole raft of standard extras including the Z51 suspension.

Secondly, the US price doesn't include their sales tax and delivery etc so it's misleading.

Thirdly, in order to get a US car to officially comply to Euro regs takes an enormous amount of effort. If you read the options list on my Euro Z28, you would see that all the glass is Euro-specific and many of the oprtions are specifically to cater for the European regulations. They can't just SVA a car like a private individual.

Finally, whenever a car comes to the UK, Gordon Brown takes 10% import tax on the cost price. Once that's added, he adds another 17.5% VAT. That actually takes up a large percentage of the cost over here.

Manufacturers don't go to all that trouble just to do you a favour to enable you to own a US car, they also want to make a profit which will defray all those extra costs. Importers also want to make a profit plus they want to maintain demand. If they sold the cars cheaply, they would have to do lots more work and may not be able to get the cars - so they price the car according to the market.

What it boils down to is whether you'd rather drive a LHD Mustang or a boring Eurobox. I think the £25k price tag being applied to the plethora of Stangs on Auto Trader is reasonable given a base Monaro is £28k.The Camaro Z28 was about £23k when they sold it in the UK several years back and that was amazing value then so the Mustang is a snip for a V8 muscle car.

The trouble with a RHD conversion is that it would probably add £5k to the price and suddenly the Mustang is competing with a Boxster. Not going to happen is it?

[john_69]

I am a Brit living in CA and it makes me laugh when I hear y'all talk $ vs pounds.
First off, earning a dollar over here is like you earning a quid (just compare the national average incomes in both countries). So a $15,000 car here is like you buying a 15,000 pound car there.
As a long time Mustang fan and owner of the previous model I was quite excited by the prospect of a new model... improving on the lousy handling of the old. What a disappointment, nice car to drive but oh so tacky inside and cheesy on the outside.
As far as pricing, I don't know where you all come up with such low numbers in the States, the base model here starts at $19,810 and they are driven by secretaries, college students and used as rental cars. Add another $1000 for auto transmission and $2500 for tax/license and dealer fees and you are looking at $23,500 for a base model out the door (on the road). Are you starting to get the picture?
A GT with auto is going to cost $30 - 32K out the door here, that's like you paying 32,000 pounds for it. The only time the exchange rate pound/$ means anything is when you go on vacation, and in the US you all make out like bandits while I suffer with my 60 pence to the dollar.
Now, why would I buy a Ford for $32,000 when I can get into an Audi, BMW, Acura etc for the same kind of money??

[qldmick]

RHD 05 Mustangs 'down under'. Try mustangmotorsport.com.au or carpoint.com.au or carsales.com.au

[henrikegt]

HI PPL

hi i need some advice i live in london and i seen on autotrader some nice mustangs

i want to buy a mustang gt convertible v8 and here, is were i need some advice should i buy it from america and get it shipped over or buy it in uk from any import car company..
just wondering if i buy from america ill save some $$
if anyone could help me please reply or send me any good website with mustang's for sale or a shipping car company
thanks
henri

[Mustang Baz]

Henrike - suggest you spend some time on this forum as there is lots of advice there for the taking. A quick link attached has some good guidance and other links to websites which will guide you on the potential purchase.

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=296327&f=105&h=0