I am still a couple weeks out on pulling the trigger (need to sell a curent toy first), but with my target price of ~$65k I just saw a 2009 V8V priced under $70k with 42k miles... This is starting to compete with a 2007 with potentially 15k miles... Since I'll probably only be putting 5-7k a year.. milage isn't a huge issue, but low miles are nice, and typically the lo milage cars are in pristine condition.. probably more a priority for me.. Any input if the 2009 is 'that' much worth it for a 30k mile hit?

 

One thing to consider is 09 = 4.7L and 07 = 4.3L. There is a noticeable difference between the 2 if you care about that detail.

 

THis is a tough one, if miles don't matter with you, then maybe you'd like to go w the 4.7 engine, but the 4.3 isn't much slower then than that at all I don't think with only 4/10ths displacement difference...

 

It really comes down to 4.7L and 4.3L choice. The overall car shouldn't be affected by low miles or high miles, these cars are pretty reliability. The two other things I'd factor in is the interior wear & tear and exterior paint (likely to have more chips).

 

Agree with above... 4.3L vs 4.7L is the main difference. I think hi-flow cats/ exhaust/ & tune will get me 420hp on a 2007 with the sound I want. The milage compared to others on the market is whats driving down the price of the one 2009 on Autotrader. Agreed both cars are reliable... which is why I am no longer shopping for a 355 ;-)

Overall condition is probably key for me. I tend to put near zero wear on a car's interior when I own it... and I'll only be driving local miles so the exterior doesn't see that much in the way of stone chips. The 'newer/lower milage' to start the better. The 2007 is probably prime path if its only the .4L difference.

Thanks!

Jeff

 

If the interior and exterior of the 09 do not show the miles and it was well taken care of then I would go with the 09. Compare the service history and chose the one that seemed to have been taken care of the best. The 09 will have the OEM iPod connectivity and the crystal key on top of the 4.7 engine.

 

newer interior on 09 as well. 42k miles is high, but look at the maintenance records, if all the maintenance has been done and the clutch has been replaced, that may actually be a better car longer term.

The motor is a ford motor so as far as maintenance goes its pretty reliable. Other than clutch, the only thing that goes out prematurely are the cats (can go bad as soon as 20k, as high as 50k). Those should be covered under warranty though in theory (as per law, 8yr 80k).

 

I'd suggest test driving a 4.3L and a 4.7L. The difference is quite noticeable. I had the power pack on my 08 which helped a lot but that's a very expensive option.

On a side note, the Quicksilver exhaust sounds VERY good so I'd upgrade that from stock either way

 

Just out of interest what were your impressions of the 4.3 w/powerpack vs. 4.7?

Cheers,

 

In my opinion the 4.3L felt sluggish in the lower RPMs and didn't seem to come on till later when compared with a 4.7L. The power pack brought more power in the lower range which made it feel much more inline with the 4.7L. It's been a while but I think if I were to blind drive the 4.3L PP and the 4.7L I wouldn't notice the difference.

 

No question a high mile 09. People get to carried away with miles. They document how many time the wheels have rotated (not how they rotated) It is all relative for example give me a car for a couple thousand miles and after some good abuse you won't be able to ride it back to your house after buying it or you can have someone like sunir who is meticulous in his maintenance and love for his car (and likewise with a majority of members of this forum) and buy an high mileage car and it will not give you any problems and run like the day it came out of the showroom floor. So in other words do a PPI and get history on the car and go for it. Exploit peoples misconceptions that arise from false pretenses and its actually good that people scare away from high mile cars so easily it allows people that don't belive in the fallacy to get great deals. Remember the odometer its a tool in determining value they are in the end just NUMBERS nothing more.

 

How much does the performance difference matter to you? If it’s quite a bit, then the 4.7 is the way to go (assuming its condition meets your requirements, and at 42K miles, if it's been well cared for, it should still be excellent). I have always (and will continue to) defended the 4.3’s performance against those who say it’s not quick enough. That said, the difference between the 4.3 and 4.7’s performance is significant. The 4.3 really does need to be revved to extract its performance, whereas the 4.7 doesn’t have to be worked that hard to be genuinely quick. Of course, if you do work a 4.7 hard, the difference is very noticeable -- not night and day, but significant. Cats, exhaust and a tune won’t give you 420 hp from a 4.3 – unless, perhaps, the exhaust is the whole thing – including headers. Even then, you won’t get the torque of a 4.7. That torque is also why there is still a significant difference between the feel of a Power Pack 4.3 and a standard 4.7. I think it would be fairly easy to tell a 4.3 Power Pack from a 4.7 in a blind drive (scary thought for other reasons…).

4.3
380 hp @ 7000 (or 7300 depending on what you read)
302 lbs/ft @ 5000

4.3 Power Pack
400 hp (with the right fuel) @ 7000 (or 7300 depending on what you read)
309 lbs/ft @ 5000

4.7
420 hp @ 7300
346 lbs/ft @ 5000

The torque figures show why the 4.7 feels so much more effortlessly fast. The Power Pack adds only 7 lbs/ft to the standard 4.3. Small difference. The 4.7 adds 44 lbs/ft. Big difference.

Another question: does the 4.7 you’re considering have the Sports Pack? If you like a more firmly sprung car – firmer ride along with sharper handling, then the Sports Pack is fantastic. All V8Vs handle well, but the Sports Pack, IMO, is superb if you want that extra sharpness. If you don’t, the standard 4.7 suspension is an improvement over the 4.3’s as well, but again, they’re all really good. Also, the Sports Pack can be fitted to a 4.3 (or a standard 4.7).

After saying all of this, you may well find the 4.3’s performance plenty quick (entirely reasonable), and see more benefit in the lower mileage of the 4.3, depending on the condition of the cars.

 

I'd go with the 4.7 even with the higher mileage. The 4.3 lacks low end grunt and the 4.7 goes a long way to remedy that. Read any review of the 4.7 when it first came out and you'll hear that from the reviewer

 

I would buy the lowest mileage example you can afford. I have been behind the wheel of these car when they have 40K+ miles and things just aren't as new and tight as a low mileage example. If you want to experience what these cars were like when new or how the factory intended them to be, I suggest buying the lowest mileage example you can. At 40k+ miles I would definitely recommend changing the trans, diff, power steering, and coolant fluids if they haven't already been done.

 

The additional torque from the 4.7 means that you're making 4.3 max torque several thousand revs lower down the range, so it always responds much better, without having to drop gears to get the revs up. I'd definitely go for the 4.7