About to buy a '97 Cobra, few questions about what to look for...

[Sdlonyer55]

Hey all,

I owned a '95 GT the last couple years, but am planning on picking up this '97 Cobra with 80000 miles I've been looking at. Already laid a deposit on it, but since it's a dealer, I can scram if the test drive doesn't live up to expectations. I've seen the car, but couldn't drive it at the time due to the fact that it was awaiting a new raditor. The salesman's story was that they had taken the car to auction and some people looking at it to buy, but when it came back it had a puncture in the radiator and it was losing pretty quickly. He suspected that someone had punctured it purposefully to attempt to get the car cheaper.

I was able to run the car without moving it, I had a friend stand at the engine (to listen) as I gradually ran it through the RPMs looking for any rev spikes that could indicate a problem. The engine didn't make even the slightest tick and sounded great. All the accessories, including fog lights, work. Even though it had the fluid light on, it didn't heat up too much after a few minutes of running.

Anyway, I'm heading back to look at it in a few days and was just wondering if there were any specific things I should check for mechanically or during the drive. The guy who owned it before me ended up trading it in for a GT convertible, since he prioritized having the top down, which leads me to believe it may be more or less unmolested.

BTW, I got it for 7900 + tax, tag, title, 8750 total.

Thanks in advance,

-Jason

 

[97cobra281]

thats a real decent price..mine has 52k miles on it now, ford replaced the transmission for some recall about them getting stuck in reverse, it never happened to me till 2 yrs after they put the new tranny in. also had the brake booster leak brake fluid,they replcd the booster...thats all the waranty work that i've had done..i couldnt ask for a better motor..if its had work done to the cooling system make sure you get a good test drive and warm it up good make sure all is good and there are no leaks..good luck

 

[travis0712]

Just look under the car, around the engine, and rear end for leaks... look under the hood, on the hood liner, to check for any oil.... this would be signs to let you know if the engine is blowing oil or not... definately do the test drive... get on it a bit and left off the gas while keeping it in gear and check for smoke out the back... if there is smoke, it could mean bad rings and other plumbing problems. Nice price though! Good luck!