Help me decide quick-Keep 99 cobra, or trade in for 2004 cobra?

[Disneyfun1]

I currently have a 99 cobra that i have had for almost 5 years now. I bought it used with 59,000 miles on it. Only thing ive done to it is put in a water pump. I am now up to 97,000 miles on it. Still looks and runs great!

I have always liked the 03-04 cobra, due to the fact that they are supercharged and have a 6 speed in them. i have never driven one though.

Well i found one online, a 2004 cobra, same color as mine, black, with 40,000 miles on it. asking price was 29,999, and i got it down to 24,990. For my trade, without seeing it as of yet, they guessed at 7300 for it, that one is paid off.

After tax and crap, i would be financing 19,608, unless i get more or less on my trade. They wont go any lower on car, and im pretty sure they wont go higher on my trade, so these are probably final numbers.

I am a bit overextended on my credit, nothing really bad, had a bankruptcy 7 years ago, but still shows, just a lot of credit card debt and almost maxed, though all on time, yet the only lender they could get wants 16.59 %. I tried online already at hsbc-have a loan there now, and capital one, and was turned down. Even ford credit whom ive been with twice didnt pick it up.

anyways, i have no payment now, and to upgrade to the 04 would cost me 435/mo for 72 months, plus my ins would go up about 34/mo.

question is, is it worth it to upgrade to an 04 as described or should i just keep what i have? are they really that much nicer. i love the idea of a supercharger, but is it worth the money? There would be no warrenty on car either because factory one is up, dealer give a 30 day/3000 miles one, but an extended for that car with supercharger is 2500 for only 2 years. that adds a lot to the payment.

Tell me the pros and cons of getting this car or not. Need to decide by tomorrow.

thanks.

 

[Daniel50]

honestly yes they are worth the money. but no this car is not worth it to YOU. you have a lot of debt but it is still manageable once you basically give away a very nice car that has no payment you will be getting into about 500 dollars a month when you add your payment and insurance money together. for the next 6 years!!!!

if you want this car sell your cobra! you will come out with at least another 5k dollars!

next find one someone is selling you can find them for 22k to 25k in great low mileage contdition. and then you are financing maybe 10k instead of 19k!!!!

 

[Daniel50]

p.s. where are you going to drive this car when you have no money to spend?

 

[M.P. Cobra Fan]

Take the roughly $500 a month you would be spending on the Term, and put $200 in to savings, $200 in to paying down your debt, and the other $100 in to a fund to build your car. That way you are saving money for the future, and still get to have fun playing with your car.

 

[99whtsnke]

just build up your car...the terminator in ur situation wouldnt be worth it

 

[COBRA90GT]

At 16.59% - absolutely not! Look into a credit union for financing instead of relying on dealer financing...

 

[Sonic03Cobra]

Cobra's are incrediblely fun but putting that 93 octane in the tank every time you fill up, whew, I hate watching the $$$ go up.....

MOD the 99 cobra ftw!!!

 

[yomadmike]

I also have a 99 Cobra, and I have wondered about an 03-04 Cobra. I did the math and for $8000 I could go with a Hellion turbo kit and lay down 475-500rwhp or spend roughly $10k for an 03-04 with selling the 99(mines heavilly modded), and be around 400rwhp. But the second option leaves no more $$$ for mods. I decided to keep the 99 and do the Hellion kit. I then keep all the mods I've already done to my car. Also my wife owns 2 horses and I'm looking for an F-250 for her(not cheap!). So I need to cut corners wherever I can.

 

[blackfang]

I would keep the car and use the money you save and pay off debts,save some $ and put some into the current car.

 

[dstang01]

Cobra's are incrediblely fun but putting that 93 octane in the tank every time you fill up, whew, I hate watching the $$$ go up.....

MOD the 99 cobra ftw!!!

does the 99 cobra not use 93 octane?

In your situation Id reccommend keeping the 99. I had a similar dilemma awhile back (only for me, it was between far less expensive cars) I could go into debt for a DOHC cobra (96-98) or comfortably purchase a 5.0 GT (94-95) and then do some modifications to it as I worked up my funds. I chose the latter, and I know Im much happier now than I would have been making payments on the cobra Sometimes I wish I would have spent even less on a fox 5.0 so I would have even more modification money (but then I remember all the advantages of the sn95 and realize I made a good choice) My point is, keep the 99 and set aside some money each month to make it into what YOU want it to be. Good luck either way

 

[thomas91169]

i wouldnt get a 03/04 Cobra until you can afford it. your current cobra is nice enough, just keep it, pay off some ****, and be happy with still having a car thats nicer than 98% of the other cars on the road.

 

[EXTRPR50]

You beg, borrow and steal to get a Terminator. Those that say not to..already have one. LOL

 

[h8my408]

99 cobra mac cat back k&n filter 99-01 are disapointing in my opinnion get the 03-04 my 92 honda gsr swaped hatch was as fast or faster then the cobra
cobra 14.4 at 99 gas milage never checked but better then my 99 gt
honda 14.0 at 98 gas milage 35 highway 30 average

 

[Razorsedgepit06]

A 99 cobra is still badass. Pay off your debts man. Thats the best advice I can give.

 

[my05gt]

Take the roughly $500 a month you would be spending on the Term, and put $200 in to savings, $200 in to paying down your debt, and the other $100 in to a fund to build your car. That way you are saving money for the future, and still get to have fun playing with your car.

This is a perfect compromise. And, if you find you can't swing it, you have lost nothing but managed to pay down some of your debt.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I wouldn't trade a Cobra in. They rake you over the coals and low ball you, then sell it for retail price to others. 435 for 72 months is a lot of money man. It would kill me to pay that amount every month, especially here....my car sits 7-8 months out of the year because of bad weather.

 

[Zax]

Talk to "chewbert" before you trade it in, he is looking to buy a 99 or 01 snake. I would go for the Terminator any chance I could.

 

[04sleeper]

I also have a 99 Cobra, and I have wondered about an 03-04 Cobra. I did the math and for $8000 I could go with a Hellion turbo kit and lay down 475-500rwhp or spend roughly $10k for an 03-04 with selling the 99(mines heavilly modded), and be around 400rwhp. But the second option leaves no more $$$ for mods. I decided to keep the 99 and do the Hellion kit. I then keep all the mods I've already done to my car. Also my wife owns 2 horses and I'm looking for an F-250 for her(not cheap!). So I need to cut corners wherever I can.

It's going to cost you a lot more than that for a Hellion kit to make that safely. Remember, the motor in your 99 Cobra WILL NOT live @ 475-500 rwhp. You will be putting in a new motor at that power level. The block is the only thing good in a 99 for that power level. All the supporting mods are not up to par.

With the 04 you can usually find one with a pulley, exhaust and tune thats making in that range and live a long life without even stressing the engine.

Plus, if you dump another $8000 into the 99, it will not be worth the money of the 04. If you ever have to get out of it for some reason, it will be a lot easier to get your money out of the 04 then a modded 99. Just my $.02

With that being said, I would shop around for a better interest rate and maybe put off the purchase until you clean up your credit a little.

Either way, Good Luck!

 

[flashstang04]

No car payment ftw....forever!

 

[Dragstr05]

Seems to me you already know that you probably shouldnt do it. Debt is frustrating, and buying that cobra is going to dig you into a major hole...dont do it.

Here's what you do. Take the $500/mo and throw it in a savings account, or put it toward a bill you want to get rid of and do this for 6mo. After 6mo, you'll have 3k to put as a downpayment, or you'll have 3k of debt paid off. Plus, you'll know if you can actually make it with a $500 payment. 6mo gives you time to get into abnormal situations where more money is required than normal, etc. On top of all that, you have 6mo for the price of a 03/04 to keep going down, so you'll spend less.