Well I have a lead on a 04 cobra with 2800 miles on it. I was wanting to see what are some of the things I should check for when going to test drive it? I know that the car sits for long periods of time but the owner says they usually turn over the car once a moth. What are some of the sigs that I should look for to ensure that the car is in good shape? Thanks
What To Check When Buying a Low Mileage Car????
- Thread starter baby2000
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If it was only started and run for a couple of minutes then it never got hot enough for the oil to be able to burn off the water and condensates.
It's worse to start it and not run it long enough to be fully up to temp than it is to just let it sit.
Pull the dipstick and check for the "vanilla milkshake" color in the oil. That is water. Not good.
It's worse to start it and not run it long enough to be fully up to temp than it is to just let it sit.
Pull the dipstick and check for the "vanilla milkshake" color in the oil. That is water. Not good.
It was stored indoors so the nest and stuff would not be an issue. Ill give a good look through and see what I can find. The guys says its still like brand new.
i bought a 3k mile cobra two years ago. I took it to a local Ford dealer for a full inspection and compression test for piece of mind. I also changed out all fluids; oil, cooling, brakes, ps, trans etc. Look over the suspension for any dry rubber boots or joints. The only i issue i had was flat spots in the tires that went away after a few drives.
I bought mine about two years ago with 1800 miles. I looked under it and everywhere I could. I saw no rust at all and no corrosion anywhere. Changed oil and antifreeze and let her ride.
I bought my Cobra 3 years ago, had 7300 miles on it. Now just under 10k. Check for any smoke on cold start. Mine had bad valve seals, I replace all 32 of them myself. Its not very fun, but it cleared up my smoke.
All great advice in these posts. Also do all of the familiar/common-sense checks. Always amazes me that ultra low mileage Terminators still pop up. Only 2,800 miles. Wow! Can I ask how much the seller is asking?
did you drop the motor to do that, or did you do it over the fender? mine smokes on startup too. it had 10,800 when I bought it in 2012, and now it has 37k.
my 04 vert doesn't burn any oil with 116k on it but I bought it new and it never sat for any length of time
Sorry not to jack this thread, but I paid 29K for mine bone stock with 1800 miles two years ago!
All great advise above. I would also ask the owner a lot of questions. Get them talking about the car. I bought my MC last year with only 16 miles on her. I asked a ton of questions, example the owner told me he used non ethonal gas to protect from separation. Things like this will tell you how well the owner did to protect a car that is rarely driven. Trust your eyes and gut.
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I wouldn't mind getting a super low mileage totally stock Mystichrome. But the sellers are still positive that underneath that bitchin color the car is made of solid gold.
What did he use as non ethanol gas?
Probably because it sat and ethanol is more corrosive and gums/gels up.
I did it in the car. Im sure it would be easier to do it with the motor out, but it's not needed. It took me a weekend to do it, but i was very meticulous with it. I'll try to find my pictures and get some posted up
cool thanks. seems like it could a pain with that hydroboost there and all, so im not sure if its worth it for me yet. I put some seal conditioner in there and 10w-30 and seems to have slowed it down a bit.
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