This would upset you!!

[FireRed04Vert]

I just had a friend of mine tell me about a mutual friend who just purchased a used 03 Cobra with appx 18,000 miles on it. Evidently, it has a driveline clunk, but the dealer assured him it was under warranty and it would be taken care of. So our friend took it into the Ford service department to have it looked at...and guess what!!! The warranty is void in the car!! SVT had voided it previously due to mods!! I guess he's dealing with the dealer now to decide whether or not to take the car at a reduced price or just return it all together. Thank God the dealer had one of those stickers on the window that said the car was still under factory warranty or he could have been SOL. I wonder if there is a way to get Ford to reinstate the warranty?

I guess this is a good lesson to those looking at purchasing a used Cobra...or any car for that matter.

 

[dgussin1]

I wouldn't want that car, with or without a warranty.

 

[04cobratorchred]

whats he going to do keep us posted on what happends

 

[FireRed04Vert]

I'll make a call and see what's going on. I would also be interested in getting the serial # so I can post it.

 

[badboy]

Does this mean it will be hard to sell our cars after we mod them?

 

[BenD]

You better twice about that one. Best to just walk away!

If you can get out of the deal....DO IT and DON'T LOOK BACK. Find one with much lower miles. Maybe there are some new '04's still out there. Remember these cars are not just driven to the Super Market and to church on Sunday. Many literally have the piss pounded out of them on the drag strip and other events.

Most important investigation is to have the dealer or a speed shop run a leak down and compression test. Base some of your decision on that, but not that alone. Clutch, Halfshafts, Driveline, Transmission to name a few. All out of pocket repair, modifications, whatever are VERY EXPENSIVE!

If there are any problems you can have $10,000 added to the cost in a heart beat and probably much more.

Sorry to be so negative, but those are some facts and other possibilities to be concerned with.

 

[BigBeez03]

Drive tran clunk is overated, if you know how to shift you can live with it. every mustang i've ever been in has drive train slop, just nature of the beast.

 

[Hissssnsvt]

When I test drove my cobra I drove it to the nearest Ford dealer and had them run the vin # to see if the warranty had been voided or any major repairs done.

 

[RedfireBeast]

Does this mean it will be hard to sell our cars after we mod them?

Just don't bring your car to the dealer for a small problem..pull the cash out of your pocket!!

 

[badboy]

I'm talking even if the dealer has not voided the warranty. If we try to sell the car with mods, the warranty is voided as soon as the new owner takes it in. I guess we have to disclose this to any potential buyer. I would think that only people like those on this site would be properly qualified buyers who would know what they were buying.

 

[SVT 03 Cobra]

I'm talking even if the dealer has not voided the warranty. If we try to sell the car with mods, the warranty is voided as soon as the new owner takes it in. I guess we have to disclose this to any potential buyer. I would think that only people like those on this site would be properly qualified buyers who would know what they were buying.

CRY or MOD..... those are your choices.

Jayson

 

[Top_Fuel]

...drove it to the nearest Ford dealer and had them run the vin # to see if the warranty had been voided or any major repairs done.

That's great advice and should be common knowledge to any informed Cobra buyer at this point. Not running the VIN through OASIS is almost as bad as not running a CarFax report on the car. Heck...it's even worse because an OASIS inquiry is free!!! :bash:

If he bought the car used from a dealer (especially a Ford dealer) I would think that they were required to disclose the fact that it had a voided warrranty. I wouldn't be too concerned about the clunk (I agree that it's over-rated), but a car with a voided warranty is definitely worth less than the same car with a warranty. I would either take the car back or have a substantial amount knocked off the purchase price.

Let us know what happens.

-Greg

 

[Rootus]

When I test drove my cobra I drove it to the nearest Ford dealer and had them run the vin # to see if the warranty had been voided or any major repairs done.

Same here -- even with only 3100 miles on the odo, I wanted to make absolutely sure. The Ford dealer couldn't quite understand why I was so concerned, but I convinced them to humor me and pull up all the information they could.

Dave

 

[03yllwguy]

Well, the dealer is not trying to screw you, so they probably didn't actually know it was voided. Let's face it, a salesman is the last person to know if a car is under warranty still, he probably looked at the odometer and thought it was under expiration.
And you're going to get drive train clunk most likely with any model, it's all how you drive. I personally would take it for a lower price if he plans to mod it and possibly lose the warranty anyways.

 

[FireRed04Vert]

The clunk (or any other problem) was not the issue...the fact that he bought a car that should have been under warranty (but wasn't) is the issue here...and it was a surprise to the dealer too. (It wasn't a Ford Dealer) It looks like everything is going to work out fine for him. They have put a hold on the transaction until a resolution can be reached. He returned the car to the dealer for now and they are going to see if they have any recourse with the person who traded it in. I'm not sure how the laws work in that state, so I have no idea what they can do there or if fraud was involved. I asked for the serial #, but he is declining to give any information due to possible litigation somewhere down the line. I guess I can understand that. My advice would be that if you are looking at buying any used Cobra, have the VIN checked by OASIS first.

 

[soonerjoe]

What is Oasis?

 

[Top_Fuel]

What is Oasis?

On-Line Automotive Service Information System

It's the database dealers use to log warranty history on your car. If you have a car with a voided warranty, OASIS will show it. OASIS can also tell you the "in-service" date of the car...so you know exactly when the car was purchased. The 3 year/36K mile warranty starts on the "in-service" date, so it's a good thing to know.

It takes a dealer about 30 seconds to run a query and get you this information. It is somewhat limited...as they don't keep a complete history of all work done to your car. I think after 18 months, some/all of the repair history is purged out of the database. Unfortunately, a voided warranty stays in the database forever! :-D

-Greg

 

[SnakeBit]

It's a great idea to run an OASIS on any used Ford BEFORE buying it. All you need is a VIN and a Ford Service Dept (having the car with you at the time is optional). I did that on a 2 year old low milage Continental to help prove that the low milage was correct (it was). It's a great tool and, as pointed out, it's free.

 

[swlacobra]

i would think the dealer will have to suck it up on this one, they took the trade as is. at least they seem to be trying to do what is right with you, must be a good dealer. good luck

 

[96stanggt]

CRY or MOD..... those are your choices.

:lol: