2003-2004 Cobra help.

[STiBoost25]

Alright well I have been shopping in my mind of all the cars I would consider buying. I live in Maine and I will be back from AF training some time next spring and when I do get home I will have about $4,000 dollars to play with as a down payment on a new to me car. I have considered a used STi, you can get one with 20k or so for $24-25,000 dollars... there a great all around car and considering I live in Maine I would be in good hands with it, handles awsome, all season, good gas mileage, 4 doors, 4 seats and a big trunk. On the other hand I considered going with a less practical more badass approach. I thought of trying to find a used 2003 or 2004 Cobra with under 40,000 miles. I think the car is down right MEAN, though not very practical I would just get goose bumps getting into it every day and I would accept that I couldn't drive it in the winter and I'd buy a $1000 beater. I love the sound, the power and the pure muscle aspect of it and it is a very strong car, a used STi is often a crap shoot on used or plain old abused.

I was wondering what I could expect to pay for a used 03 or 04 Cobra for with those kind of miles some time next spring, should I go with the STi? Is the gas mileage really that bad? I got insurance quotes for the STi as of my driving record now, and it was $271 per mo... the SVT is going to be over $350 but I am hoping it will drop a bit next year, I am going to be 20. I pay $267 per month right now with a 1999 Explorer XLT 4wd so either is not too much of a jump. I know you are all saying to yourselfs OH GREAT! another jack off young gunner with a fast car... yayyy this should be good. Well I have driven a LOT of cars, fast, slow you name it. I have never driven a 390hp car but I have driven C5's, Cobras, STi's etc etc before and I am a good driver with a clean record, I have always paid for everything I own and no I am not one of those spoiled brats. I would just like some info on the situation and some feedback. Thanks

 

[STiBoost25]

Awsome I appreciate the help.

 

[96stanggt]

To give you an idea I picked mine up w/ the mods in the sig for 23K with 30K miles......I don't see why next spring they won't be a little less especially with the shelby's coming out. Just to give you an idea for insurance...I'm 19 with a clean record and since I bought the car the insurance is in my name for the first time, I'm paying $300 monthly for insurance. When I renew in Nov. I was told it will drop to roughly $200 since I'll have 6 months of coverage on my own under my belt...

 

[96stanggt]

BTW gas mileage for me was 24 mpg on the roadtrip home after I picked it up....all highway. Over the last few weeks driving mixed highway and city I've averaged 17 mpg. A buddy of mine w/ a modded STI honestly gets about the same....

 

[STiBoost25]

Was it hard for you to find one for that price? I would like to spend $23,000 or less on one, my monthly payments won't be so nasty with $3,000-$4,000 down but I was just looking for a perspective on the car as well, what does your buddy with the STi think of your car and vice versa. If I were not to buy a Cobra I would be buying an STi. I bought my used 1999 Ford Explorer XLT with 81,500 miles on it and there are times where it pisses my off so much that I swear I will never own a domestic but there is not a car that you can buy like this for the money. I have driven one Cobra in my life, it was a 2001 with 21,000 miles on it that a Ford dealer was asking $23,995.00 for... WAY to much for what it is, oh yeah it was a convertible. I drove it and was really surprised how it handled, I could take a not so sharp but flowing corner and it stuck nicely, better than I would have expected.

The only complaint I have about that car is the Fords best interior, it was the same shitty control cluster as on EVERYTHING they make, the seats were decent with the suade but still felt el cheapo. My biggest complaint was how the car shifted, I could hear every gear and it was far from smooth... nothing wrong with it, the car was in great shape but it was a rough shifter and the clutch was TIGHT, to the point where I will have to incorperate the same crap into my leg workout. How is the 03/04 SVT different from the 01, that is all that I have to compare it to, and to be honest I don't know why but that car sounded faster than it felt, I got a lot more OOOMph from an Auto LS1 Convertible that I test drove, the Cobra felt and sounded like it WANTED to go fast but maybe I didn't push it hard enough.

Is the build quality on the newer S/C Cobra better than the one I drove? I wish I could take one out but even though I do have the cash to buy one it will be hard to convince 40 year old guy that I do even if I did have the means it'd take a lot of convincing for a test drive... I would hear "This is a LOT of power, blah blah blah" and they would obviously think because I was 19 I can't drive, plus no one I know in Maine has one.

Most of all I'd like to know how it feels being a 19 year old with one of these cars, I am one of the few my age with the maturity level and the respect for these cars, I deserve to own one and of course there would be playing around, spirited driving but you can't drive it if your license is gone, I bet this car is sweet to own, I also bet you get messes with alot. What do you do for work if you don't mind me asking.

 

[flyn high again]

Awsome I appreciate the help.

If that is meant sarcastically, you only allowed 34 minutes for responses. On a weekend when most members are out driving instead of sitting at our computers it takes a while to get a response especially when it's a question that you could use the search button to find the info instead of starting a new thread. :read:

If your comment wasn't meant as sarcasm, disregard my post.

Edit- I just read your post above mine.

s the build quality on the newer S/C Cobra better than the one I drove? I wish I could take one out but even though I do have the cash to buy one it will be hard to convince 40 year old guy that I do even if I did have the means it'd take a lot of convincing for a test drive... I would hear "This is a LOT of power, blah blah blah" and they would obviously think because I was 19 I can't drive, plus no one I know in Maine has one.

Most of all I'd like to know how it feels being a 19 year old with one of these cars, I am one of the few my age with the maturity level and the respect for these cars, I deserve to own one and of course there would be playing around, spirited driving but you can't drive it if your license is gone, I bet this car is sweet to own, I also bet you get messes with alot. What do you do for work if you don't mind me asking.

You should buy the STi.

 

[STiBoost25]

No, it was meant to be put into the initial post but I forgot to edit. Why the STi?

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Quote "Awsome I appreciate the help."

After only 34 minutes and then coming on here with that comment....
I think you are perfect for the STI :burn:

Plus how in the HELL is anyone going to know the answer to THAT question----> "I was wondering what I could expect to pay for a used 03 or 04 Cobra for with those kind of miles some time next spring, "

:lol: :lol:

"How is the 03/04 SVT different from the 01, that is all that I have to compare it to, and to be honest I don't know why but that car sounded faster than it felt, I got a lot more OOOMph from an Auto LS1 Convertible that I test drove, the Cobra felt and sounded like it WANTED to go fast but maybe I didn't push it hard enough."

Sounds to me that you have done little to NO research on this car at all!!!

I did searches all over the INTERNET(mostly here) for over a year before I bought my car(which I had never driven before).

I read posts here for over 6 months before I even registered and posted here.

Seriously... If you don't want to come across as lazy... do a little searching and you'll find answers easily to the questions you have ..... that are answerable... that is :dw:

Sorry... but you just struck a nerve here..people on here are very helpful..as a rule...

But geez... take a look at those questions in your post... :nonono: :shrug:

Jimmy :bored:

 

[JB]

...Sounds to me that you have done little to NO research on this car at all!!!....

as usual, I agree with Jimmy 1000% :beer:

we have an influx of new owners/wannabe owners.... many are not only new to Mustangs but to V8 musclecars in general

us old-timers find it difficult to give proper respect to those who don't have a good sense of self-responsibility but we welcome you all the same and can only hope you will be smart and READ, READ, READ! :read:

 

[STiBoost25]

To break it down the question in regards to what I would pay for the SVT, I was looking for an educated guess, someone to tell me what they go for now with that kind of mileage. Just because you read posts for 6 months before you posted doesn't make you the poster child for the perfect SVT performance forum member, and what kind of ignorant comment is "I think your perfect for the STi"... so because I posted that 34 minutes into the thread I should buy an STi? Because now that makes the STi a better car for me? Because people that don't give at least certain amount of time for a reply shouldn't be owning a Cobra???

That has ignorance written all over it, you didn't need to be a dick like that. I'm not lazy asking question I just acquire information in a different way from you does that make me inferior? Does that make me unworthy of SVT Cobra ownership??? To get answers you can do two things, ask dumb questions and get answers with some flak added to it, but still get some form of an answer, or you can search, read and hope the other thread creator is in the same position I myself am, and then assume things because it was not specifically derived from your own post... OR YOU CAN MAKE THINGS SIMPLE, post a question, and hope for answers... that is what forums are for. Instead of providing useful information you just flammed me and made yourself look dumb, most of all you assumed I was being a smart ass by posting "awsome thanks for the help"... in fact it was supposed to be a part of the initial post, but looks like someone here (YOU) contradicted themselves and didn't "read enough" before posting, otherwise you would have seen that I commented about the #2 reply of this post.

 

[JB]

you just wasted some more bandwidth....

 

[STiBoost25]

And I was not looking for spec differences in the two, the 01 and the 03... just how different they feel, shift etc etc. Specs are easy to find, a thread on specifically 2001 Cobra vs. 2003 Cobra is not easy to find. It is once again simple, who has driven an 01 and who has driven an 03 or 04... how do you think they feel, a comparison of the two. Instead of jumping down my throat assuming I am "just some kid" why don't you try and help me out, I am a friendly guy... a new guy here and I happen to be someone who puts my life on the line every day for you.

E-4 United States Army, 309th Combat Support Hospital, Auburn, ME.
Ft. Jackson South Carolina, E-Co 2nd Batt. 13th Infantry Regiment.

 

[flyn high again]

OK, I respect you being in the army. That gets you an answer.

My friend owned a '99 Cobra, not too different from the '01. Decent car but nowhere near the power of the '03-'04s. Most of the rest of the car is comparable. The '03-'04s have some beefed up parts to handle the extra power but the cars are similar to each other in other areas. The main draw of the '03-'04s [Terminators] is the tremendous power they have.

I posted my you should buy an STi comment for a couple reasons.

1. If you are looking for build quality, don't buy a Mustang. We usually end up fixing/improving ourselves what Ford didn't engineer or build the way we want it. Mustang owners mod their cars continually. We are hands on people. The main draw of the Terminator Cobras is the excellent engine. You are buying the engine. The rest of the car happens to come with it. If you want all around build quality look elsewhere.

2. You said you deserved a Cobra [among other things]. That's very presumptuous for a newbie poster, especially a kid. Some of the guys/girls have been on here for months or years without getting to own a Terminator. If you keep that attitude, I see you getting in several arguments if you keep posting here. We don't look down on other members because they don't have a comparable car and we don't rub it in their faces.

I suggest you read the FAQ that Brian wrote. It is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to understand our cars.

http://www.alfageek.com/03faq.htm

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

While I truly do appreciate your service to our country... and the attendant risks...
I have found the lack of willingness to do a few simple searches to be increasingly irritating.. and as our numbers grow.. it is getting to be quite messy in here.

Since I don't know you... and you don't like to search----> therefore you likewise don't know me. We only have the comments here to go on...

You will find many of the answers you desire... and a little bit about the posters, with every one you read...
You may even find several previous 99/01 owners who now have Terminators... You could then PM them some of the questions that you have and get some very well qualified answers...

But... Those are just some suggestions from one of the more "ignorant" Terminator owners...

Jimmy :bored:

 

[fr03cobra]

Next spring the 07's will almost be out, the 03/04 cobra will be a dime a dozen.lol

 

[STiBoost25]

Thanks, that was more helpful... I appologize.

 

[oldnfast]

The last thing I read regarding production of the Shelby's was 7500 per year. That means there will be bidding wars at the dealerships. You can throw that projected $40k list price out the window.

When people find out that they have to pay 45-50 for the new one, the 03-04's will go back up from the initial deflation.

Your best buy will be when the dealers first start taking reservations for the new ones.

... as he puts his cracked crystal ball back into it's bag.

 

[Pred_mech]

Uhm, don't you mean was in the army? Coming back from AF training? like Cross-training to the AF, $3-4k sounds like a signing bonus. Did you by any chance go into EOD? Any ways... You can save money on insurance if you buy a beater as a daily driver and insure the Cobra as a recreational vehicle.. under 5 to 7k miles a year. I am 26 and a SSgt in the AF. You are going to have a challenging time paying, insuring, modding the car and eating at the same time... I know a couple young Airmen with cars over 20K and they are BROKE! Just a thought...... Also if you buy one with over 36k miles and something goes wrong with the engine, you are going to have a pretty expensive yard ornament!

-Daniel

 

[STiBoost25]

I will be prior service Army soon, I will be enlisting in the AF Reserve or ANG because AF Active Duty does not take prior service beyond AF. I will not be able to keep all my rank with the switch however I intend on applying my training to a civilian job, I will pick a job that I can apply my training to when I come back and use my cash from a signing bonus, whatever I get it is all Afab test score pending and the cash I have when I come back from training to put $3-4,000 down on a new car, I have a 1999 Explorer now. I will be getting $200 or so per month from the ANG or AF Reserve from drill and that is enough to cut my car payment in half on top of my civilian job. Right now I pay $256 per mo and $267 per mo to insure the Explorer with a clean record and I make crap for cash, I go through two tanks per week getting to work and seeing my GF and I make do so I am sure that I can handle a larger car payment $400 or so and a bit more for insurance, the gas mileage probobly wont change I get about 16mpg.

I also wondered if a used Mach 1 would be a better route to take, do you guys think? I hear they are a bit quicker than 99-01 Cobras, and have some better goodies than the N/A Cobras, I know I love how they look and I don't see very many around at all. I see low low mileage Machs for sale for cheap... for example, a 2003 Black Mach 1 with 18k and change 5spd in awsome shape, the guy wanted $21,000 for it but I am sure there was a little bit of room... I know the Mach 1 will still be about $300 a mo to insure. Would a Mach be a better route to take than the SVT? If you are someone in my shoes. How do they hold up against LS1's

 

[Pred_mech]

Get the cobra.. if money is not the issue. Better engine. Get a beater and insure the cobra as a recreational vehicle... I pay $86 a month.