Should I Get a COBRA?

[TheSalad]

All right. I used to have a 96 GT, and I have long since sold it, and missed it. Curently I own a 2000 Escort and I have been looking for a Mustang again.
Today I went to look at a 96 Cobra. It is in pretty good shape, it is Lazer Red with a tan/black interior. It has 62,000 miles. The only real issues it has, is a small chip in the fiberglass hood, by the mustang emblem, as the passenger door is faded pretty bad. To look 100% it would need to be repainted. They want my business and have offered $3000 for my trade, and selling the Cobra at 9500, polishing the door, and getting me out the door with only $6500 to pay.

What do you all think?

 

[chrispy98cobra]

before you do anything get a carfax on it, to see if it was in an accident or not

 

[timeless2]

Nope. Gas prices are too high.

 

[EPIK]

I would definately do a Carfax, but also a Carfax isnt everything. I bought a 97 Cobra with a clean carfax with 88k for $8,500 a couple of years ago. It was in good shape, but on the day I bought it, it was cloudy outside. Anyway, when I looked at it a few days later under sunny skies, I could tell that the right rear quarter & hood had been repainted because they were a tad darker. And the rear end sat a little crooked. i figured all this meant it had been in an accident in the past that wasnt reported & probably got fixed @ a hole in the wall shop that didnt report to insurance companies. To make a long story short, a carfax isnt everything, because unless the accident is reported & fixed @ a reputible shop, it doesnt even show up on carfax. U should try to talk them down too since it has paint & hood issues. I have noticed that laser red doesnt hold up very well once it starts fading. Good luck

 

[Sun Devil Cobra]

Absolutely! You only live once, bro. If you've never owned a Cobra in the past, then you'll be very pleased with your decision. By the way, you didn't mention if it had ANY modifications on it. Is it 100% stock?

 

[chrispy98cobra]

I would never buy anything without a carfax after the dilema i went through. I was looking at a 2001 F350, the odometer said 68k, and the price was right. So the night before i went to buy it I decided to do a carfax on it. Turns out the last recorded odometer reading was 135,000........not the 68,000 that it said.....so who knows how many miles it had, but that carfax was the best thing i ever invested in......

 

[the98stang]

Like others are saying, carfax it. Have the block compression tested to make sure the engine is fine. Check out the body lines and paint. If all that checks out, go for it!

 

[BennyBlown2v]

$9500 is a bit much for those miles and that year IMO... If you keep looking you will find better deals, most likely.

 

[TheSalad]

So, I ran the Carfax. Everything checks out.

One thing I noticed with the car, is that the paint on the passenger side door was really faded. But, on those same body lines on the front fender and rear quarter panel, the paint is just fine. Any ideas? Could the paint be worse quality from the factory at those points?
It is stock. Nothing done to it that I could tell.
What kind of price would be reasonable? I could always go and take pictures of it tomorrow..they (the dealership) seem pretty willing to make sure it is decent, like a new belt, polishing the door..the interior is in good shape, a little dirty, but so was my last mustang, and that cleaned up.

What do you all suggest?

 

[abdussamad]

$9500 is a bit much for those miles and that year IMO... If you keep looking you will find better deals, most likely.

Agreed. I think that's too much for that car. Maybe $7k without trade, but $6k with? I would rather wait.

 

[EPIK]

Agreed. I think that's too much for that car. Maybe $7k without trade, but $6k with? I would rather wait.

I went to the Kelley Blue Book site, & the retail value of the car listed @ $11,500 for one with that mileage, but in excellent condition. Being that the 1 your looking @ is in good, not excellent condition, I would say that price pretty fair. I would still try to talk them down another thousand by showing them all the little issues you found. Once you drive that thing, if you havent yet, you will love the power. Once you go 32V, you will never go back.

 

[TheSalad]

Yeah, I test drove it. It was pretty nice. He also offered to let me take it for the night.. I declined though..

 

[abdussamad]

I went to the Kelley Blue Book site, & the retail value of the car listed @ $11,500 for one with that mileage, but in excellent condition. Being that the 1 your looking @ is in good, not excellent condition, I would say that price pretty fair. I would still try to talk them down another thousand by showing them all the little issues you found. Once you drive that thing, if you havent yet, you will love the power. Once you go 32V, you will never go back.

Really? Wow. I see 99 Cobras for around $10k-14k with around 50-70k miles. I wonder if excellent means new car smell and rarely sees 3000 rpms, which I must admit mine does

But hey, premium isn't cheap