I Swear I've Never Had Such A Hard Time Buying A Car

Enter Rant....

After selling mine, and moving to the buyer's side of the house I'm beginning to realize just how few NICE cobras are out there....or even cars that are respectable starting points. Seemingly every car either has 90k+ miles, major paint/body concerns, over the top history, priced unreasonably high....etc etc. All I want to do is find a nice car to work on! lol With that said, help a brother out if you can. I'm looking at spending $20k cash +/-. Moral of the story is that these cars are gaining in value in reality simply based on how much of a premium the clean examples are commanding. Hang on to yours if it fits that description

....Exit Rant

I think the biggest issue is everyone listing them for stupid money, but probably not actually getting that money for them. Then, everyone else sees what the others listed for and assumes that they sold for that and tells everyone else that "I wont go any cheaper. Look what XX sold for!".
It's the Barret Jackson effect. Everyone thinks they have the best of the best and wont move on price.

In my experience....and I mean no disrespect...but people's idea of "clean" these days is startlingly ummmm...off.

musclecarresort said:

In my experience....and I mean no disrespect...but people's idea of "clean" these days is startlingly ummmm...off.

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To many, “clean” means last night the car sat outside in the rain and washed off the pollen.

musclecarresort said:

In my experience....and I mean no disrespect...but people's idea of "clean" these days is startlingly ummmm...off.

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I'll help you out by saying that clean isnt something that a lot of people understand the meaning of. Friend of mine runs a dyno tuning shop and I have seen some really nice stuff and some things that weren't so nice. Most of the people know what they have, but some I just smile and nod when they say how clean their car is.

Shadow Grey 03 said:

I'll help you out by saying that clean isnt something that a lot of people understand the meaning of. Friend of mine runs a dyno tuning shop and I have seen some really nice stuff and some things that weren't so nice. Most of the people know what they have, but some I just smile and nod when they say how clean their car is.

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amen brother...amen

Terminators have been rising in value. That’s a good thing. Those that are selling can and do ask whatever they want. The market will “speak to them.” If their price is too high, the car won’t sell. It’s that simple.

I also agree that my definition of “clean” or “flawless” is grossly different than other’s interpretation.

I feel your pain. Currently going through the same thing trying to add another Evo 9 to my garage.

I have been told numerous times how clean my car by mechanics/performance shops etc, paint and undercarriage is super clean, I agree with all the above mentioned, lots of guys want to command a higher asking price simply because they own one of these cars, we all know who are "the big players in this cobra game" some pretty terrific cars on this site.

Goose, we can't really count you in the "clean" crowd. You are simply on another level.

I think you might have to lower your expectations a little bit

It’s not just these cars, it’s every car that’s for sale. People are dumb. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at a “clean/perfect condition” car only to walk away 30 seconds after seeing it.

I flew to Kentucky from Virginia to look at a 2011 CTS-V in “immaculate” condition. All four rims were completely curb rashed and the front bumper had a huge crack in it. I will never buy a one-way ticket again because of that.


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BlckBox04 said:

I think you might have to lower your expectations a little bit

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I get where you’re going but, That will never happen. I take pride in my standard of cleanliness

Value on these cars is going up and up, going to be harder to find great examples for less than $25k imo

Hell I sold my 110k mile 04 car that was stock motor for 19k, and this was 4 years ago lolol

Mark Batorski if it's still available. As of a week ago it still was.

blownstang4.6 said:

Mark Batorski if it's still available. As of a week ago it still was.

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Don’t even get me started with that guy.....that car isn’t really for sale. Ask me how I know. Nice car and seems like a decent enough guy but as a seller he’s a train wreck

To the guys that get suprises when traveling for a car. When talking to the owner start at the front bumper and go to the back one. Get the seller to take pictures of everything that you can think of.
Set your expectations with examples. There are ways to help yourself.

20k mile original owner, it would cost you. It’s clean as hell, washed it yesterday. lol

03cobra#694 said:

20k mile original owner, it would cost you. It’s clean as hell, washed it yesterday. lol

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From photos I’ve seen I’d have to agree with that statement.


Pick your poison.

Maybe other people are like me. I own my car outright and have it for sale. I have a price in mind that I think is fair. I'm not in financial distress where I need to offload the car. If it takes a year or two to sell at my price so be it. In the mean time I'll be cruising around when I have the time enjoying it.