Does Classicamericancarsales Warranty the cars they sell to the new owner?:

Firstly I want to say that every car that comes in unless stated otherwise (projects or “as delivered” sales)  is gone through by our electrical guy, then any parts which are noted to be missing (door rubbers, bonnet bumpers, trim or otherwise) is replaced or renewed where possible. Then the cars go for a checkover and MOT prep. This may include the install of a washer system as many US imported cars don’t have them, replacement of brake or suspension parts like brake hoses, hard lines, springs, spring supports, shackles, shocks etc. Then the cars are put through an MOT (this is not required by law in the UK on a vintage car but we feel it is necessary) Also we encourage you to speak freely with the mechanics who do our work on the car you are considering so you have a better understanding of the car. That being said we tell it like it is. We don’t hide deficiencies that we know about. if the floor has been patched we show you and tell you, if the steering wheel squeaks, you will hear and feel it on the test drive.

We want all of buyers to be happy with their vehicles however due to the partial or unknown history of these cars before our ownership we are not able to offer a warranty on any vehicle we sell

We encourage ANY inspection of the vehicle you are considering including but not limited to, a test drive, top side inspection, interior inspection, underside inspection, body integrity inspection, mechanics inspection and a compression check. We also encourage you to speak to the Mechanic who went through and MOT’d the car. We only use independent garages for all our Mechanical work and we are happy to have you speak to them about the car you are considering.

These cars were bought new in the 60s and were someones dream new car once and then most have went through several owners and then were partially or fully restored at some point or may have been lightly used so that they are nicely aged survivors. But even in the best condition vintage cars an issue, large or small ,can occur soon after an owner has been handed the keys.

We encourage any inspection by yourselves, your mechanic or an independent inspector. We want you to be happy with your vehicle after purchase but we cannot know nor be responsible for issues that occur after delivery.

Of course if you have issues we will do our best to either give you help over the phone or email or if some handiwork is needed and the car can be brought back to the shop we will do our best to help out with an issue but their is no warranty with the classics we sell and we are not under any obligation to pay for or assist with any issue you may have

The good part is that the C4 automatic and Toploader four speed transmissions found in these cars are very reliable. They rarely give issues other than a marking of their spot on your garage floor. The 289 and 302 engines have been stalwarts of the Ford lineup for many years and are usually trouble free. These are quite basic cars so issues are normally related to the occasional squeak and rattle with adjustments being the main tasks that are needed. Regular servicing, with an oil and filter change, Checking of fluids, Brake bleeding, clutch adjustment, visual checking of the wiring and good storage really makes for a trouble free classic ownership experience.

What type of problems can crop up on a vintage Mustang after purchase?:

A brief but common list of some issues you may find with a classic Mustang or other vintage vehicle (check any forum for the Ford Mustang  and you can see how common they are). Drips of fluid on the garage floor, inaccurate fuel gauge or other gauges (many folks fit modern oil pressure and water temp gauges under the dash for this reason), water ingress during heavy soakings around upper parts of windows, front glass, back glass, and cowl.  Another common one is difficulty starting the car after sitting (easily sorted with a drop of fuel put into the carb before starting), Speedo inaccurate or not reading exact speed due to tyre size change or rear axle ratio change over the decades (fixed by changing speedometer gear or tightening speedo cable connection at the back of the speedometer head which can be jogged loose after work is performed behind the dash).

The single biggest complaint for any classic is the dreaded non start situation. You crank and crank and nothing happens. This is almost always due to the car sitting for more than a few days. The petrol drains back to the tank from the carb and thus there is no petrol ready at the carb to fire the engine. This happens regularly with my fanatically maintained 1966 Shelby GT350. So one day I asked on the a popular US forum for Shelby vehicles what to do about this mildly irritating experience. The response from some of the top guys in the hobby who own cars worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars up to over 1 million dollars was:  “have a squeeze bottle of petrol by the car, take off your air cleaner lid (small wing nut) squirt a nice shot of petrol in the carb and start her up” Since following this procedure my Shelby GT350 starts like a fuel injected car every time. A fantastic tip I wish I had 30 years ago. This is normally only required if the car sits for weeks on end. In normal week to week use I need not do this.

We look forward to your visit to our shop and are happy to show you around at the models we have in stock and hopefully help you find your dream Mustang.

The main thing you need to understand when looking at the purchase of a vintage car, whether it be a Mustang or a Rolls Royce and whether it be from a dealer or a private individual. If you normal car is a BMW then this won’t drive or act anything like it. Its 50 plus years old and will have various creaks, groans, little leak and possibly throw a tantrum from time to time, As long as you understand that and are willing to work on them from time to time, tightening this or replacing that then the ownership of a classic car can be a very rewarding experience.

The worst thing we could do is sell a classic car to someone expecting a new Honda. Thus we explain the positives as well as the negatives when buying a vintage Mustang.

Regards: Peter and Louise, the owners of www.classicamericancarsales as well as all of our fantastic suppliers both in the USA and UK  who make us look great