Everything,.. its a 22 year old car.

Unless the car was fully restored or meticulously maintained and/or with very low mileage (70 - 90k on the odometer is typically 270 - 290k on these cars) expect a host things that will need to be repaired, replaced or addressed. 20 year old hoses, vacuum lines, gaskets, under hood plastics, wiring, connections etc etc dont fair well for 20+yrs.

Rust is the primary problem with these cars. Any small rust that you do see,.. I promise you that there is 2 - 3 times more that you dont see. If the suspension is still stock then odds are the shocks and struts are shot, bushings will be in bad shape, motor mounts will probably be no better.

Mechanically they will run almost forever IF (Big IF) they were well maintained. The most common problem with Mustangs are the owners. They buy a 20 year old car for cheap and expect to be able to just get in and treat it like a newer car. Cant do that with these cars. Do not buy a fox body Mustang unless you can afford the upkeep and maintenance to properly take care of the car. So many people buy these cars and just run them in the ground, then end up parting them out when it was a perfectly good car to start with. They spend more time cleaning the interior and worrying more about how the car looks, all the while never raising the hood. Or they buy plugs and wires, a K&N filter, new coil and call it an engine over haul.

Common issues with these cars are electrical gremlins. Worn contacts in the ignition switch will cause so many different electrical issues its almost comical to spend the time tracing it down (Replacing parts in the process) and in the end it was just the ignition switch. 89's still had the smaller gauge wire feeding the fog lights and they will burn through in some cases. The rack and pinion if still original will be well worn and have some play in it. The valve covers, oil pan and lower intake gaskets will be leaking. The rear engine seal will probably be leaking. The rear tranny seal will be leaking. The rear axles will be due for new bearings, seals and a fluid change. Rotors will need to be checked.

All of that is a worst case scenario. There are some nice cars left out there. Expect to pay at least $6500+ if you want a car to just get in and drive with minimal issues. I havent seen a totally problem free Fox for under $5k in years. So if your looking for a $3k car expect to put another $2k - $3k to get it right. Sadly thats reality.

Word of advice,.. dont buy the first car you see. If there is anything about the car that doesnt feel right, walk away. Mustangs are a "Me Too" car. Everyone and his grandfather has one. There is another car exactly like what your looking for just down the road.

Hurst