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1988 Ford Mustang GT With Just 24K Miles

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This is a case where I think the seller has priced this car way too low. It’s a single family-owned 1988 Ford Mustang GT here on eBay with a buy-it-now of $10,000. With only 24,000 miles since new, this is a survivor grade vehicle through and through, especially since so few of these Mustangs exist in preserved form – and with a desirable manual transmission. Thanks to reader Jim S. for the find. 

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I am not a walking price guide, I admit. But the bidding is already pretty close to eclipsing the reserve price, and I think the seller could have asked for $15,000 and gotten it with ease. For children of the 80s, $10K is nothing when it comes to owning a perfectly preserved example of your favorite muscle car. The sheepskin seat covers only add to the perception that this car was treasured from the day it rolled off the lot.

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With the venerable 5.0L V8 under the hood, you’re practically guaranteed to enjoy low-buck operation behind the wheel of one of America’s most loved muscle cars. This generation in particular, wearing its trademark two-tone paint, remains one of the most popular Mustang platforms for everything from drag racing to track events, not to mention cruise nights in the summer.

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My feeling is that this is an investment-grade automobile you can still feel comfortable using for the time being. It’s certainly not rising rapidly in price, but examples like this one are hard to come by. In a few years, they’ll be non-existent. Buy this one now and keep the annual mileage between 1,000 to 2,000 per year, and I’ll bet you’ll still make money inside of a decade.

Comments

  1. Avatar Sukey

    Sweet ride

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  2. Avatar randy

    I did not peruse all of the pics, but on my old T bird my sheepskins covered up worn leather. I think the price is too high myself. These were sheep in wolves clothing. The LX 5.0 was the car to have. These cars were very well promoted when new, hence the high sales.

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  3. Avatar Tom

    Daily Drive it and LOVE it all the way !

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  4. Avatar DENIS

    I’m not a Ford guy, but always liked this model. I think it’s a decent buy, given the low miles and condition and I would drive it all summer.

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  5. Avatar The Walrus

    Not to nitpick, but that odometer looks like it reads “25372” not “24000” to me… Also, when talking about how original a car is you have to take 30 seconds and get those sheepskin seat covers out of there. I’ve sat in vehicles with those before and they always make the car seem/feel dirty somehow. More disgusting than movie theater seats in my opinion.

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    • Avatar Glen

      you’re right

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    • Avatar randy

      Old sheepskins are like someone else’s old carpet, disgusting. When you get them new, they are great. I once spilled my drink on my seat with sheepskins and none of it soaked through to the leather seat below. They are warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

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  6. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    Would also love to know what’s under those covers. If the mileage truly is that low – it’s a steal at this price. Not many left in this condition.

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  7. Avatar dave

    You can tap computer for mileage?
    Nice car. Good $$

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  8. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    Not available on EEC-IV as far as I know, Dave.

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    • Avatar dave

      When I was working on the development on EEC-1 at Fords on Dearborn engineering, we were putting that system to read mileage. Then we had the big layoff in 1980 and I haven’t followed it since. We were also working on the Moter project called (Proco) It was a 302 with 16 plugs and mechanical fuel injection. That engine was really coming on strong.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Stephen

    0 feedback rating though

    Like 0
    • Avatar Bingo

      Bingo! Poor description and poor photos…beware

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Jason Houston

    Judging by recent prices trends, this car is way overpriced. Worse, the post 1985 GT’s are pretty ugly compared to the more stylish non-GTs, without all that silly gorp hanging off the body.

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    • Avatar dave

      A one owner with 26.000 mile car has a good $
      Show us a better deal! 10.000 does not buy much but fixer uppers.
      If your into drag racing, these cars go easily into the nines and that would beat a HellCat in a straight line and cornering. And a HC is 60,000 plus.

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      • Avatar randy

        What? Can you please clarify your statement?

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      • Avatar randy

        “dave’s not here”!!

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      • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

        You DO realize that these aren’t ANYWHERE near 9 second cars right?

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      • Avatar randy

        Much much closer to 18 seconds than 9.

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      • Avatar dave

        Should have phrased, with modes, they have gone into high 9s low 10s. Stock with good tires and fuel, high12s with the bottle. Tires, gearing, traction devices, headers, different intake and carb with cam and nox can achieve the times mentioned above. Also a roll cage and other safety devices when going that fast.
        The guy that said 18s, maybe with you driving and you missed a gear or 2. HEHE.
        Happy new Year and safe driving.

        Like 0
      • Avatar dave

        Here is basically a stock Mustang with headers, gearing and tires, 10.47.
        https://youtu.be/8_VJXIqYAe8

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  11. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    LX’s are definitely better looking and commanding higher prices.

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    • Avatar Al8apex

      x 100

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  12. Avatar Jeff V

    A true bargain, these old fox body stangs have a cult following and are predicted to be in the next “top 10 affordable collectibles” along with the Porsche 924/944.

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    • Avatar randy

      It is still sitting at $8800.00, I agree it is in the same category as the 924/944, but in my opinion that is a bad thing.

      There are millions? of the 5.0 mustangs out there. A good investment it will not be.
      A fun car to drive, sure. $8800.00 seems like a decent price for an almost new example.

      Like 0
  13. Avatar nighttrainx03

    The car sold on the BIN. The car was a nice buy at that price and will only go up. Not many left in that condition. You really cant buy much that nice under 10k anymore.

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  14. Avatar jim s

    sold for $ 10000.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar randy

    Surprises me. I guess a buyer was getting nervous about the bidding going over 10K.
    I wonder if the seller is wondering how much money was left on the table. I would be, in his shoes. It did sell which is a big plus for the seller.

    Thanks for the updates guys.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Howard A Member

    I owned an ’88 5.0 Mustang for a while. It wasn’t a GT, but a LX notchback. It was, without question, the most exciting car I owned. Scared the heck out of me. A comfortable car, but gobs of hp, inadequate brakes, heavy understeer, made for some interesting rides. Heaven help you you if you have to change a heater core in A/C equipped cars.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar nighttrainx03

    Here is an article that I found that I thought I would share with all the good people on Barn Finds.
    Credit goes to,

    Jeff Jimenez

    Last Updated On 12/12/13

    I’ve compiled a list of the 10 quickest 1/4 mile Mustangs, as delivered from Ford, from reputable sources. I know, you guys will argue with me on this, but I only went off of test data from valid sources, and not old wive’s tales, your grampa’s stories or “my buddy’s car” stories. Just the facts. I also didn’t put any “tuner” cars on the list, such as the KR, Saleens, Shelby GT’s, etc., just the cars as they came from Ford. There are TONS of conflicting magazine times, but I took the ones I could easily find that are relatively current, and, in my opinion, accurate. Here’s how they fell:
    1.2013-14 Mustang Shelby GT500 – with its 600+ hp there is no reason this one shouldn’t be at the top of the list! Road & Track tested this beast at a 0-60 of 3.7 seconds and a quarter mile of 11.7 sec at 135 mph!!!!
    2.2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 – 0-60 mph 4.0; Quarter Mile 12.1

    3.07-08 Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500 – 12.6 @ 114.2, Motor Trend – 500 horsepower

    4.03-04 Cobra, 2000 Cobra R – 12.9 @ 112, Car and Driver, 12.9 @ 110.8, Motor Trend – Tie. 03-04 Cobra gets it on mph, but ET is a tie. We did say “quickest”, not “fastest”.

    5.2011 Mustang GT 5.0L – 0-60 MPH 4.5 Seconds & 1/4 mile in 13.0 Seconds.

    6.03-04 Mach 1, 5-speed – 13.2 @ 106.7, Motor Trend – Sure quick for a stock 4.6 with no power adder. The auto is slightly behind it, but I didn’t want to quibble over auto or standard. Automatic comes in as an honorable mention. Mach 1 owners, you get the nod for 3rd quickest on my list.

    7.96-01 Cobra – these all perform very closely, and slightly behind the Mach’s. Car and Driver went 13.5 @ 105 with an 01 Cobra, which is the last of the natural Cobra’s and the one with the most horsepower. The 96-98 cars are down a little on power, but also on weight.

    8.08 Bullitt, 68-70 Cobra Jet Mustang – Car and Driver says the new Bullitt runs a 13.6 @ 104. I’ve got an old issue of Road and Track from 1988 that picks the 68 Cobra Jet to run a 13.6 @ 106.6

    9.2013 Ford Mustang V-6 Premium – 0-60 mph 5.1; Quarter Mile 13.7

    10.05-07 Mustang GT – 13.8 @ 103, Car and Driver – These cars run well box stock, and love to be beaten on the strip – see the other blog on our guy that’s running twelves in one of these cars with bolt ons and slicks, and no gears.

    11.71 Boss 351 – 13.9 @ 102, howstuffworks.com – The quickest early Mustang on the list. Its solid-lifter 351 Cleveland outperformed all prior big-block stompers in stock form.

    12.99-04 Mustang GT, 93 Cobra, 95 Cobra R, 69-70 Boss 429 – Motor Trend, MMFF, Car and Driver, and howstuffworks.com, respectively, pick these cars to run 14.0 @ 100, 103 for the Boss. 99-04 GT? An upset for sure. Don’t tell a Boss 429 owner that you’ll run him in your stock 150k-mile 99 GT for “pinks”. He might get a little pissed – and he just might lose.

    13.68-70 Cobra Jet Mustang – This is not a typo. I’ve listed the Cobra Jet twice, here, because so much legend surrounds the Cobra Jet’s quarter mile prowess. I’d say this time that cobrajet.org is on the money when it lists a stock 4-speed 68 on polyglas tires running 14.25 @ 101.27. The time I quoted earlier on this list from the Cobra Jet, in my opinion, is skewed. You be the judge. We may never know, as the all-stock cars tend to be trailer queens, and the ones tearing up the strips are far from stock. There are a lot of “tall tales” about Cobra Jet cars, but they are true favorites of the die-hard drag racers and they have tons of potential. One of the baddest Mustangs on the strip? Sure. The quickest from the factory, no.

    14.87-93 5.0 HO Mustang – this was the hardest one to find a time from a reputable source. You can’t just Google 5.0 Mustang 1/4 mile times and expect any simblance of accurate stock times. I remember an old Motor Trend showing one running 14.5 @ 94. I’d say that’s on the money. These cars have gotten almost folk-lore status, with reports of stone-stock cars running in the twelves. I’ve seen some quick ones, but never in the 12’s on the stock tires, with no mods at all. I’d say the norm is 13.8-14.9 depending on the driver. I won’t call this the quickest Mustang from the factory by a long shot. I will, however, call it the most favorite for the drag strip, and the one with the most potential.

    Honorable mention – Not on the list here by a long shot, but Car and Driver ran a 15.3 in a 07 V6 5-speed Mustang. Old timers, that’s only 4 tenths off the best times I found for the fabled Boss 302…..

    Like 0
  18. Avatar randy

    Mustang Performance
    1988 Ford Mustang GT
    0-60 mph: 6.4 sec
    Quarter Mile: 15.0 sec

    Like 0
  19. Avatar randy

    Testing 1 2 3

    Mustang Performance
    1988 Ford Mustang GT
    0-60 mph: 6.4 sec
    Quarter Mile: 15.0 sec

    Any car with the mods, not modes you mention will do low twelves or whatever. We are not talking about race cars. We are talking about a bone stock Mustang GT.

    Like 0
  20. Avatar dave

    Stock Hellcat 11s

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    • Avatar randy

      And your point is……….
      You are still saying it will beat a hellcat in it’s stock factory form?

      Happy New Year, By the way.

      Like 0
      • Avatar dave

        I will spell it out.
        For 4000 to modify plus 10.000 for the car. Total 14.000 compare to a 60.000 plus for a Hellcat. The Stang will out perform in a 1/4 and Gymkhana road rally. Mustang, no in stock form. It takes very little money to modify these Stangs to run with the best.
        And a happy new Year to you also.
        Been fun and entertaining! I’m sure other readers agree

        Like 1
      • Avatar randy

        That is what it takes for me, a brick against the noggin’. I see what you are saying. Buy the “new” mustang, drop in another 4K, and you have a new car than can whoop a Hellcat for 1/4 the money laid out. Great plan, man! Very do able.

        Like 1

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