1998 Ford Mustang

Coupe

4.6L 281Cu. In. V8 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated

Manual

1fafp47v3wf178432

Clear

GAS

Thanks for viewing this auction! The listing may end up being pretty long- because I like to give as much information as possible, so you can make the best decision possible. If you have any questions after reading the listing, please use the contact seller link eBay provides, or email me at harryhrowe@aol.com, or phone/text (between 9am-9pm Eastern Time) me at 443-404-6296. Kelly Blue Book value on the car if even only rated at just fair condition is $9100. That value would be for a stock car and doesn't account for the better rims and the stereo system this car has. In very good condition (I would rate the car in very good condition- and I am extremely picky) the value is around $9,500. In excellent condition the car is valued at approximately $10,000. Reason for listing the car for auction- I had a lumbar fusion where titanium rods and screws were put in my lower back a few months ago and it looks like a 2nd surgery is going to be needed... they aren't optimistic an additional surgery will fix the ongoing issues. Shifting gears and pushing a clutch is no fun. Edit: today (12/18) I got the report from an MRI done Friday 12/14 and my back/spine is in worse shape than what it was in prior to the surgery. I kind of was holding out hope that I would be able to keep the car, but the MRI erases any possibility of keeping the car. I am starting the bidding at $7995 without any reserve. "Buy it Now" will be set at $8495. I am seeing '96-'98 Cobras within 200 miles of me selling for over $8,000. I won't poor mouth cars other people are offering to try to make this one look better. However, I will say that I strongly feel that my car is a great purchase even at the posted Buy it Now price- which is $600 below the KBB fair value while including nice rims and nearly $2,000 in stereo equipment. Car History: I got this car in May this year- got it with the intention of leaving it basically stock mechanically. I am 44 years old and have had my share of high horsepower Mustangs (have had at least 5 with built engines and superchargers) throughout the 27 years I have been driving. I specifically looked for a bone stock, black on black Cobra coupe, that had only been adult owned. A great amount of hours were spent, and miles driven, checking out cars to find this one. The car was originally purchased by its first owners in Houston Texas and they had the car there from June 1998 through March 2006. They moved from Houston to Fairfax, VA in 2006 where they had the car for another 6 years up until March 2012. The car was dealer serviced for its first 14 years. In March this year they decided to move back down to Texas. At that point they were in their late 50's and decided they had grown too old for this type of car and didn't want to ship it back to Texas when they moved back down. Their next door neighbor, over 50 himself, bought the car from them in late March to help them out. They were neighbors/friends for 7 years and he basically bought the car to do them a favor (nice favor, but he was wealthy) because he knew he would sell it because he already had too many cars and motorcycles. He owned the car for about a month- before I bought it from him in the beginning of May. Prior to getting the car from him, at my request he had the engine pressure tested prior to me purchasing it- 100% good with the receipt showing so. So, the 1st owner had the car 14 years, 2nd for about a month, and I am technically the 3rd owner and have had it only for about 8-9 months so far. At 44, I am the car's youngest owner. General Details: 1998 black 5 speed manual coupe with black leather interior- interior is nearly perfect. Leather is nice and supple, no tears. Carpet and headliner are perfect. All gauges, lights, knobs, windows, heat, A/C, defroster... etc... everything works 100%.4.6 liter 4v DOHC Teksid block engine - engine rated at 305hp. The engine is very clean- not all gunked up. I like clean engines, but don't like spraying everything to make it look wet because I have found that dust sticks to the spray and defeats the purpose. Currently at 78,350ish miles- may increase a little here and there due to test drives. I listed the mileage at 78,500 in the listing to account for additional test drive miles. Mechanically 100% in every way- starts, has good power, shifts, stops, etc... Doesn't burn oil, smoke, or drip any kind of fluid anywhere. '03-'04 chrome Terminator style rims 17"x9". These wheels are in very good condition- 1 wheel has an area with literally 1/8" chip on the lip and there is a 1mm nick on the same wheel right at the edge of a bolt hole. Chrome lugs with a lock lug for each wheel are used. 275x40 Hankook tires with at least 50% tread left. Absolutely no rust anywhere- was in dry air Texas for over half its life. Anywhere means anywhere- no rust on the body, the frame, anywhere. Absolutely no rock chips in the windshield or cracks in the windshield. 'The windshield isn't pitted. All the rest of the glass in the car is perfect also. Have original window sticker, SVT promo books, etc. Have 2 functioning remotes with keys. Don't believe it has ever been smoked in- very fresh inside. Worth noting:The passenger side has a few dimples on the passenger side rear fender- I think probably from a bicycle handlebar. There is also a door ding on the passenger door. Paintless dent repair has quoted me $150-$200 to repair these- but with going to physical therapy, having x-rays, MRI's, doctor appointments, and life in general... I haven't had time to get them taken care of. There is also a small scuff on the driver side corner of the rear bumper that is noticeable if within 1-2 feet of the car.. The car also has a few 1mm chips that one of the previous owner touched up and can be seen if you are 1-2 feet from the car and know specifically where to look for them. These are probably fewer in number than most cars with 78k miles. The car already gets many compliments-- but with the paintless dent repair this car would look absolutely awesome. The car was professionally detailed on Saturday 12/15- and was already so nice the detailer asked me why I got it detailed. The car was gone over with a clay bar, was compounded, was glazed, sealed, and given 2 coats of wax. Every inch of the body is mirror like.Accident History: In 2008 someone stepped off a sidewalk in front of the car and one of the headlights was cracked when it hit the person's backside. The headlight was replaced- only repair needed. If you look at the Carfax or Autocheck you will see that there no frame or unibody damage has ever been reported. Also, there was an accident case attached to the report. I can't remember how I did it, but I searched and found that the person only got a bruised backside out of the accident. I wouldn't have purchased the car if someone had been seriously injured. The headlight was replaced without a claim going through insurance- cost of a headlight was less than the deductible. No insurance claim number is listed on autocheck or Carfax- showing the repair was very minor. You will also see that the Autocheck value score, which factors in the accident, is 71 which is a fair amount above the average of between 25-55.In viewing the attached photos, please excuse any dirt on the tires. Our home has a stone driveway- difficult to keep dirt off the tires. Also, I believe the last 4 photos should show the dimples, a couple rock chips, and scuffing on the rear bumper. I did what I could to try to get the issues to show in the photos. Please keep in mind that I chose the photo option that should allow you to supersize the photos, and that I was within 1-2 feet of the car when I took them. If you want any other photo, please let me know. I have probably 100 photos of the car.This is a used car with nearly 80k miles on it. Is it going to be perfect? No. If you want an absolutely perfect car, buy a brand new car. Having bought many cars in my life, I assure you that I have mentioned things that many people wouldn't have. I also have been "around the block" a few times and know what I am doing buying- so don't buy junk. I deal with people as I would like to be dealt with. I like to err on the buyers side when describing any car I offer for sale/auction- to insure that you will be happy. When you see this car, you won't be disappointed.The car passed a legit MD safety inspection (Maryland is very strict) in May only a few thousand miles ago- so I have every reason to believe it should pass any state safety inspection. With that said, the car is sold as is and without any warranty. The car passed Virginia state exhaust emissions testing in March, and also just passed Maryland emissions testing on December 5th. Autocheck shows the car always passed emissions. Passing emissions is one sign of a healthy engine. Autocheck also shows the car has always been dealer serviced. It also verifies the number of owners, and length of ownership for each of us. The report also confirms the stated mileage is correct. Notable Maintenance with Receipts: OEM clutch, flywheel, throw out bearing and sleeve were replaced at 46k miles- this is the only major thing the car has needed. Synthetic oil changes throughout it's life. I myself have done 3 Mobil 10w 30 changes with filters through the short time and few miles I have had the car. An alignment was done in May. The accessory drive belt was replaced at that same time. Though the A/C blew cold when I got it, I had it fully charged in May- but never used the A/C when I did drive. I prefer windows down.... Regular maintenance and repairs were all completed at dealer service centers for the first 14 years with receipts in hand. The Good Stuff:Stereo System:The only "major" modification on the car is the stereo system. The system was made to play loud, clean, have good bass, while having speakers that fit under the stock speaker grills. There is between $1700-$2000 in parts (not inflated retail cost) in the system. The system has been completely re-wired with good quality wiring- including power, ground, signal, and and all speaker wires. The system bypasses the stock amplification. The system is built to all work together without any fear of anything overheating or being damaged in any way. NO - I WON'T REMOVE ANY OF THE STEREO EQUIPMENT!!! I do have the stock head unit and CD player, but trying to put them back in isn't as easy as anyone may think. I don't have the stock 14+ year old paper cone speakers- that are worthless after 14 years. The stock amp isn't powerful enough to drive the component speakers installed in the car. The stock head unit can't be wired to an aftermarket amp. There are a several reasons the installed stereo can't easily be removed. Could I remove the subwoofers and the amp that powers them, yes. But I don't think that would affect the price enough to make it worth doing so and the bass they provide really makes a nice difference.System Details:1) $225.00 JVC Arsenal KD-A95BT head unit/receiver. Among its many features, this stereo has MP3, Bluetooth (for wirelessly streaming phone calls, Pandora, directions from GPS units (even from your phone), and songs from your phone or MP3/Ipod/Iphone player. The display has many variable colors and I currently have it set to match the teal colored dash and HVAC control lighting. 3 sets of 5V pre-outs send great signal to the 2 amps. Many stereos use 2V pre-outs. Cleaner signal means what is amplified will be clean sound.2) $349 Polk PA500.4 4 channel speaker amplifier. At a minimum this amp offers 125 watts of continuous (not peak) power at 4ohms. This is 125w to each of the 4 speakers. At 2ohms it cranks up to 200w going to each of 4 speakers! As a comparison, the internal amplifier in most aftermarket stereos only offers around 20w to each of the speakers. 3) $598 for the 2 pairs (they are $299ea.) of Infinity Kappa 680.9cs component speakers. One set is in the front doors under the factory door grill and factory tweeter grill on the corner door sill, the other set is in the back deck under the factory speaker grills. All new high quality, high gauge speaker wire is run from the amplifier to these components. The components use extremely high quality crossovers. Component speakers separate the highs from the mids to provide crystal clear music. There is a world of difference compared to standard speakers.3) $349 Polk PA D1001.1 subwoofer amplifier. This amp, if wired to 1ohm can supply 1200w rms power. It is currently wired to 2ohm (subs in parallel) so can supply up to 800w without sweating. 4) $358 for the 2 (they are $179ea.) Polk MM1040svc subwoofers in separate sealed enclosures. These are single voice coil subs which are rated at 250w rms each so 500w for the pair. I have the gain on the amp turned down. These still supply plenty of good, tight bass. 5) Kicker high quality 4 gauge dual amp wiring kit is run to power and ground the amps. There is an in-line fuse after the battery, and there are another pair of inline fuses where the 4 gauge wire splits to power each amp. Kicker Z2 signal cables (their highest quality) send signal from the stereo's 3 sets of 5 volt pre-outs back to the pair of amplifiers. Price all the wiring, fuse holders, battery terminals, and grounding kit and you will find that will run approximately another $250. The sub enclosures and sub grills add another $100.** eBay wouldn't let me post manufacturer links for the above equipment to verify their values, and to show specific specifications for the. Sorry- you will need to Google them.Add up all of the above costs and you will see there is over $2,100 in equipment - which doesn't account for any shipping costs to receive them or installation costs either. I didn't pay full retail for anything other than the stereo itself, but I still spent approximately $1800 (including shipping) for everything. Wheels and Tires:17x9 chrome '03-'04 Terminator Cobra style reproduction wheels, with OEM "SVT" center caps, and "FORD" brushed aluminum valve caps. The wheels are wrapped with 275x40 Hankook tires. I paid $750 for the rims/tires- they were used when I got them. They are in very good condition. As stated above, the tires have at least 50% tread left. I am picky about wheels- these aren't all rashed up, pitted with brake dust, or have chrome faking off them. I DO NOT have the stock wheels. Value:I know that performance and stereo equipment is valued at 50% of purchase price- even if it was bought yesterday. With that said, the $1800 in stereo equipment would be valued at $900. The rims and tires were purchased for $750, but you won't be able to find a used set anywhere for under $500. KBB fair value of $9100 + $900 (stereo) + $500 (wheels) = $10,500. At $8,495 Buy it Now that is $2,000 below the value. At an opening bid of $7995 it is $2500 below value. These figures are even $600-$1,100 below the KBB fair value compared to a stock car. The pleasantries called FINE PRINT:1) The car title is clear in hand ready for a new owner - no bank lien to deal with.2) I am not considering trades for anything. Again, not removing any of the stereo equipment to lower the price, and I don't have stock wheels to put on it to lower the price.3) This car will be available for sale outside of the auction only if no one has yet bid on it. If even 1 bid has been placed, the car will go to whoever is the highest bidder or whoever uses Buy it Now.3) If you need permission from your parents, your girlfriend/boyfriend, or spouse... get it now. Keep your kids, friends, or whoever else off of your computer who might mistakenly bid on it, or bid on it to prank you.4) Have your finances in order. If you need to pull money out of a credit union, get financing, break your piggy bank, dig under your mattress, etc... do it prior to bidding on the car. I have enough challenges that I am dealing with- don't have the time to deal with someone who can't follow through with payment. No, I don't take payments. No, I won't take personal checks. If you bring a bank check, we will go to the bank to get the cash off the check prior to me signing title over. If you pay through Paypal, I will wait for confirmation from Paypal and my bank that the funds are clear before signing title over- particularly for any Echeck through Paypal. If you want everything to go quickly and smoothly, green cash will do that- otherwise, you will need to exercise patience.5) If you are looking to have the car shipped, you find the transport company. All shipping fees and any risks are your responsibility. Full payment for the car must clear before the car and title will be released to the transport company. If you prefer that the title be sent via FedEx or Ups with tracking, let me know.6) Don't ask me to deal with your assistant because you are oversees- or any other scam. This isn't my first rodeo. Anyone attempting any fraud will be reported to all appropriate authorities.7) If you want to see the car before bidding on it, let me know. If you want to bring your mechanic, your best friend, a fortune teller, or anyone else to check out the car- do so. Don't hesitate to check the car out before you bid on it. 8) I won't sell the car for less than the opening bid- don't waste anyone's time asking. I also have an SUV with an automatic transmission that I can drive and so am not hard pressed to sell for less than what is already a very good price.9) If you have less than 10 positive feedbacks- contact me BEFORE bidding or I will cancel your bid. If you have less than 95% positive feedback- contact me BEFORE bidding or I will cancel your bid.10) A $500 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit is due immediately after the close of the auction. Immediately means that as soon as the auction ends, you log onto Paypal to make the payment. This is to be paid through PAYPAL and only through PAYPAL. If you don't have a Paypal account, you will need to get one to make this payment. The non-refundable deposit is protection against someone dreaming about buying the car when they didn't really have the means to do so- will cover my sellers fees to re-list the car on eBay. I am not here to beat you out of $500. Verifiable Seller Reputation:I have sold several cars and motorcycles here on eBay with excellent feedback every time. I have sold several Fox body Mustangs and SN95 Cobras on SVTPerformance.com (username: FHATTCATT), on Corral.net (also username FHATTCATT). You are encouraged to check my feedback on all of the websites to see that I genuinely deal honestly with everyone. Of the cars I have sold, at least 4 of them were purchased by people who flew in and drove 1000-2000 miles back home without any issue. If you are out of state and want to fly in- I can pick you up at BWI south of Baltimore, or Reagan National in Arlington, VA just SW of Washington D.C. I enjoy and value being able to trade with others and won't risk dealing badly with anyone. Also, with the health issue I am dealing with- I don't have the time or energy to deal with a disgruntled buyer- so want you to be happy. Please be assured you can bid with confidence. ** I would like to think that I am a nice guy and very accommodating and easy to deal with. But sometimes fine print is a necessary reminder so everything goes smoothly for everyone involved. Setting up the guidelines has helped me smoothly complete deals for several cars and motorcycles that I have offered here on eBay. We are very easy to find in Tracys Landing, Maryland right off of Maryland Route 2 Solomons Island Road which is 45 minutes south of Baltimore, 30 minutes east of D.C., 20 minutes south of Annapolis, and/or 20 minutes north of Prince Frederick- once more, you are welcome to check the car out prior to placing a bid on it. GOOD LUCK BIDDING!!!