The First Ford Mustang Owner Kept The Car, It's Now Worth $350K

DEARBORN, Mich. (WJZ) -- A family's decision to hang on to their old Ford Mustang has literally paid off. Gail Wise was only 22 when she bought a brand new Ford Mustang in 1964; her car is now worth over $350,000.

At a celebration honoring Ford's 10 millionth Mustang rolling off the assembly line, Wise and her husband Tom brought the original model back to the company's Michigan headquarters.

The Wises reportedly drove the sky-blue Mustang for 15 years before it stopped working. The car sat in the family's driveway until Tom retired and wanted to start working on restoring the classic vehicle.

After seeing a report saying that someone claimed to have the very first Mustang sold on April 16, 1964, Tom went looking for Gail's receipt. "Tom came to me and said, 'I think you bought the car a day earlier,'" Gail said, via THV11. "Sure enough, he went down to the basement and found the receipt and the owner's manual. Sure enough, I had purchased the car on April 15."

Gail's car was Mustang number one.

"It's like being a movie star at 76," Gail added. "I felt like a movie star at 22 when I bought the car. I mean, that was 54 years ago and we're still talking about it."

Wise paid $3,447.50 for the new car in 1964. The fully restored Mustang is now said to be worth between $350,000 and $450,000, according to Jonathan Klinger of Hagerty Insurance Company.

The Ford original is being placed on public display from Aug. 16-18 in Royal Oak, Michigan, as the company continues to celebrate its Mustang milestone.

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