I m on the fence! help 04 cobra or 11 gt

dru440

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Messages
819
Location
N. Augusta South Carolina
well guys, I cant decide what to do, but I am starting to lean towards the 2011 gt I ve had 2 comp orange 04 cobras, one I bought brand new, the car is 7 years old now! and still pulling $20 grand if not more for a really nice one, theres hardly any one owner no accident, all original parts remaininig. any one else in this same predicament? not to mention loans are harder to obtain and much worse interest rates, but theres definetely something special about the terminator. but 5.0 !
 

Mach1USMC

SVT Powered
Established Member
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
7,506
Location
Pensacola Florida
well guys, I cant decide what to do, but I am starting to lean towards the 2011 gt I ve had 2 comp orange 04 cobras, one I bought brand new, the car is 7 years old now! and still pulling $20 grand if not more for a really nice one, theres hardly any one owner no accident, all original parts remaininig. any one else in this same predicament? not to mention loans are harder to obtain and much worse interest rates, but theres definetely something special about the terminator. but 5.0 !

The 2011 GT is already @ Terminator performance levels from the factory. The real question I'd ask is am I going to mod it? It's usually quite a bit more expensive to get big HP out of an N/A motor vs one that already has FI. But I'd hazard a guess with simple boltons and tune you could probably approach 470'ish RWHP with the new 5.0.
 

Ray Lucca

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
1,605
Location
S. O.C. So. Cal
The Shelby Reps at Fab Fords said this about the new 5.0, available in their new GT350, 2 ways....New Intake, Tune, and Exhaust 435-440 Crank HP. Ford Racing Blower [Whipple], 520-530 Crank HP, 5-6 lbs of Boost. Thats about it for a standard 5.0 with the high compression ratio. The Ford Racing Reps said the same thing and the Kits will be 50 state legal and available by September. Warranty, not determined yet. The Roush guys we're talking about re-doing the motor, with forged internals and having a higher Boost motor available in their new Roush Muskrat. Sounds legit....
 
Last edited:

kingnut

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
3,199
Location
NC
thought about a 03-04 cobra for along time now. i love that car and its great to mod for horsepower. but its getting outdated and people dont want to come off of the prices. not saying some arn't worth it.

but all the improvements which needed to be done years ago to the stang are finally coming together. ive never owned a ford but plan on making a mustang move in the next couple of years. i love the new body style and the interior is out of this world compared to the 03-04 cobras.

but if the new stock 5.0 wont hold 500 WHP with a blower. i dont think i will pick one up. we will see after everyone gets there 2011 GT's and start modding them. id say by the end of the year there will be enough R&D to tell if the new 5.0 will live up to the hype.
 

Wylde Horses

4.56 gear advocate
Established Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2004
Messages
620
Location
Port Coquitlam, BC
id say by the end of the year there will be enough R&D to tell if the new 5.0 will live up to the hype.

I think it'll take longer. There will be a few guys out there that throw a s/c on their car right away, but not many. If you want to see real world reliability and get a feel for what abuse the new engine can tollerate without forged internals, you'll have to wait until a couple summers have passed. Then we'll start to see more of the carnage - how much hp they were pushing and at what point the bottom end gave out. You can't tell much from a small sample of s/c'ed cars.
 

rexisme

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
1,247
Location
IN
What you have to look at is what you plan on doing with the car. If you're going to rip it apart and mod the hell out of it. Might as well start with the stronger and cheaper platform. By that, I mean motor being stronger. Thats about it, really. As much as I hate to say it, the 2011 is a much better put together car. But, the terminator will have that solid motor and more than likely a price of at least $8k less.

If you plan on daily driving the car, care about a warranty, and want an all around great performer. Get the new car, plus, this can be argued. However, I know where I am from, the local ford dealer is cool as shit and doesn't care about mild bolt on's and warranty work. So for me, it'd be a 2011 with some mild bolt on's and a tune. Call it a day.
 

SNCBOOM

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
14,590
I'd say GT. BUT: the car is ugly, as noted above has weak internals, is a first run car, and probably isn't as cheap to mod.

Then again, most 03/04 Cobra owner's think that their cars are made of gold. I would never pay more than $18k for a low mileage Terminator personally.
 

kingnut

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
3,199
Location
NC
agree with the 18k comment. that about what they are worth to me to.
 

dru440

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Messages
819
Location
N. Augusta South Carolina
recently its gotten real bad too , I felt lucky to get 18400 for my 2004 comp orange with 45k and one accident clean title, maybe its because I work a dealer and know if I traded it in I would have got 15000-15500.. all these sellers need to take their cobras to a dealer and see what their worth, THEN try to sell them.
 

04SCRMINYLWVERT

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2005
Messages
410
Location
CA, Bay Area
recently its gotten real bad too , I felt lucky to get 18400 for my 2004 comp orange with 45k and one accident clean title, maybe its because I work a dealer and know if I traded it in I would have got 15000-15500.. all these sellers need to take their cobras to a dealer and see what their worth, THEN try to sell them.

I got 20k from a dealer for mines last thursday 36k miles, only mods air intake, short throw and exhaust, clean title. So there still worth some cash. no doubt they will sell it for around 24k.
 

dru440

Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Messages
819
Location
N. Augusta South Carolina
people who arent familiar or who havent worked in the business have no understanding of what they actually got for their vehicle, ACV (actual cash value)is the actual number.
manheim on the cars with good mileage is 17000 thats what they average with good miles at actual auctions, however most dealers are going to try to give you average black book which is 15000-15500, now if you buy a 35000 dollar car, and you think you paid msrp and got 20,000 for your car they had 4000 dollars to work with from holdback to msrp, and could have hid it in your car. also what they will do is show you tax savings as part of your trade.. in cuyahoga county tax savings is 7.75% so roughly 1600 dollars on 20,000 dollars
 

kingnut

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
3,199
Location
NC
the simple fact is that the 03/04 are great cars for the money. but im not willing to pay what most of these sellers want for their cobras because the ACV isnt there for me. if more people had patience and an understanding of the used car market the 03/04's would be selling for 3 to 5 grand less per car.

im just very economic with my money. i love the looks and specs of the 2011 GT. even though it is worth 31k compared to all the other cars its outperforming that cost more. i would never pay that for it. i couldnt sleep at night knowing i paid full price for a car that looses 15 to 20% as soon as drive it off the lot.

i know im rambling but i will look to pick up a 2011 GT used next year. and maybe pick up a 03/04 if i find one come available for a steal. none the less i love both of these cars in different ways.
 
Last edited:

SpectorV

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
5,697
Location
Birmingham AL
You have already owned an 03/04 and you can find another in near perfect condition if not perfect with super low miles for mid 20s if you look.

The issue is going to be do you want to spend 30-35k or more for a 2011, its a great car the only real con I have for it is... its a mass produced mustang (nothing special or low numbered if you care about that), and it starts off at the same basic performance level of the stock 03 cobra and have little room to grow without a good bit of investment.

I am sure it handles better and looks are subjective~ just weigh out the good/bad for what you want in a car and go with what fits you better.
 

Jack32v

Slow Lane..
Established Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
1,495
Location
Socal
Love some of the comments in here :dw: . I just picked up my 03 vert for 18.5k 47,xxx on the clock.I am the third owner, Has some mods but nothing that I wouldn't have done later on down the road. As for the 11 GT's I will take my 03 any day of the week the rear end on the 11's looks like ass. Its a run of the mill GT (yes making great power but its still just a GT) and mod for mod the Cobra is going to respond much better.
 

Ry_Trapp0

Condom Model
Established Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
12,287
Location
Hebron, Ohio
the '11 GT is a better car in every way except for the engine. if you want lots of HP then go with the cobra, otherwise go with the GT for anything else(road course stuff, daily driving, cruising, etc).
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top