Is this a real 2003 Saleen Cobra? (56k no way)

[stevenscamaross]

A friend is looking to buy this. We did a carfax on it and it came back with 27,000 miles even though the car is supposed to have 2,700 miles. An older guy owns this car and said there was a mix up with carfax they put the decimal point in the wrong place.. :dw:

When my friend talked to him, the guy really didn't sound like he knows what he has.. Any help is appreciated.

BTW.. the snake on the inside of the hood is a decal :xpl:

 

[deec73]

Real or not, thats a bad ass car.

 

[BelvedereGTX]

Real or not, thats a bad ass car.

x2 looks great

 

[Screamin Cobra]

Real or not, thats a bad ass car.

x3, looks legit, regardless, it has the 03/04 setup and looks to have the c/c plates and what not so I would presume that it has the suspension work done to it.

 

[mpe331lx]

It should have the Saleen plate with its unit number in the interior (shift bezel, I think)

 

[04MystiCobra]

They did make them but cant tell if thats one of them. Should have a couple of data plates, 1 inside the car and 1 in the engine area.
You can always call Saleen to find out by his VIN.

 

[HandoZiZle]

very confused here, so its a saleen witha cobra engine or a cobra with a saleen body kit?? you should jsut check the interior.kinda weird but the car looks good though .looks like the guy had an aftermarket TB also

 

[red91stang13]

It has the Saleen plaque on the drivers side of the firewall

 

[04MystiCobra]

It starts life as an SVT Cobra to which Saleen adds everything else to it which really amounts to the body kit and wheels.

 

[juiced414]

Looks real to me. It has the plate in the engine compartment. I would call saleen. They will even tell u what exactly was done to the car but them.

 

[droptop351]

i thought they kept the factory hoods? Or did this guy put aftermarket hood on it?

 

[TurboV3nomVa]

Since I used to own one of the 11 Saleen Cobras made in 2003, I know a little. I can tell you that they came with a 3 piece spoiler and thats a 1 piece. They didnt come with that hood either. There should be a serial number on the plaques. One plaque is on the firewall and one by the shifter. They should have the production date and serial number. That number should also be painted on the front bumper. If all that matches then it should be real. I cant see how someone would forge those plaques altho Im sure its not hard to do. Call Mark at performanceautosport.com with the VIN number to be sure. I think there was either one or two white coupes made that year .

 

[CobraMac]

That is NOT a saleen cobra. You can easily tell just by looking at the placement of the cobra on the front fender. It is wayyy too far forward. That is the first way you can totally tell its not a real saleen cobra.

 

[mblgjr]

The only straight way to know is get the VIN and call Saleen.

 

[03ZYTERMINATOR]

The spoiler isn't correct. The windshield banner isn't correct.Saleen Cobras came with the stock Cobra hood. That's not even a Saleen hood.The Saleen Hoods were heat extracter hoods. Not Cowl. Check inside the glove box also, ther should be a Saleen data sticker. If there were 11 Saleen Cobras made then why does the front bumper have the number 13? Saleen serial #'s are read as folllows. First 2 numbers will be the year. Then a dash and the build #. For example my Saleen was 02-401. It was an 2002 SC281 and it's build # was 401. Also the Saleen Cobras did not come with the Saleen emblem under the Cobra. It came with just the Cobra. If the car has 2700 miles on it it shoud have all the Documents. True Saleens have a Saleen window sticker and not a Ford window sticker. Saleen is consider a manufacturer. In the end if your still not sure just call Saleen.

 

[Mike H]

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

Like all have said before call Saleen.

 

[wvmystichrome]

It has the Saleen plaque on the drivers side of the firewall

Good eyes, my friend. I had to go back and look.

 

[Tommy98016]

The only straight way to know is get the VIN and call Saleen.

+ 1

this is the only 100% way to know for sure

If there were 11 Saleen Cobras made then why does the front bumper have the number 13? Saleen serial #'s are read as folllows. First 2 numbers will be the year. Then a dash and the build #. For example my Saleen was 02-401. It was an 2002 SC281 and it's build # was 401.

they skip #'s all the time so # 13 is possible. Also the # on the front bumper does not have the year included. This is what it should look like, this is a pic of my XP8 98-016

 

[Tommy98016]

It has the plate in the engine compartment.

just so you know that means nothing, they sell those on ebay all the time. People are getting very good at passing off Faleens as real

 

[Mike H]

FYI, dug this out of the archives:

03-04 Saleen Cobra Production Totals

2003
6 coupes - 2 Redfire, 2 Black, 1 White, 1 Rainbow
5 convertibles - 1 Satin Silver, 1 Sonic Blue, 1 Black, 1 Zinc Yellow, 1 Lizstick Red (Saleen Custom Color)

2004
8 coupes - 3 Black, 2 Mystichrome, 1 White, 1 Redfire, 1 Competition Orange
10 convertibles - 4 Screaming Yellows, 2 Black, 1 White, 1 Torch Red, 1 Silver Metallic, 1 Mystichrome

If it's the real deal, it's one of one.