Automotive Forums

So I've been researching cars and now I'm stuck - Scion tC or Mustang v6?
I have most of my pros and cons for the 2 cars laid out clearly, the only thing that's stopping me from buying one or the other is - maintainence/reliability.

I know the Scion tC being a Toyota is going to last atleast 10yrs and give me no significant problems. I have almost no experience with American cars though, and i don't know what kind of problems a Ford is going to give me for the 10yrs that I am going to own the Mustang. I definitely don't want to spend another $5,000-$10,000 on repairs and maintainence after having spent $25,000 on the Mustang.

So, help me make a choice...?

thank you!  

If you want to keep your car for 10 years, I can't think of a single good thing about the Mustang.  Even it were totally reliable (which it isn't), it would still be worth virtually nothing after 10 years.  No 10 year old car will be worth much, but a TC will hod its value likely better than a Corolla, which are often stupidly expensive even after 10 years and over 100K miles.  

But to me, resale value and reliability are simply bonuses of the tC, the REAL advantage being its overall superiority to the Mustang.  There's no denying the Mustang has massive styling appeal, with its very nicely rendered retro shape and classic muscle-car proportions.  But if you've researched the car already, then surely you're aware of its sloppy handling, its utterly cheap "wall-of-plastic" interior, and its low-revving, low-power V6 lifted straight from a Ford explorer.  Its 210HP may win the horsepower race over the Scion, but I doubt its actually much faster in a drag race, and its sound and power-delivery is about as exciting as....well, an Explorer.  

As I'm sure you're aware, a well-equipped tC with that huge sunroof, properly excellent handling (suspension from a Celica), torquey 2.4L engine, slick shifting manual transmission, and genuinely usable rear seats costs less than the MSRP of a similarly equipped Mustang.  Add to that the fact that you can really flog your tC for 10 hard years without a problem, and I have a hard time seeing any real "pros" going for the Mustang.