hey guys, i have been looking into 96-98 cobras for the past few months and have found one that i am pretty interested in... i just want to get some opinions on what is a truly fair price for this car- it's a 1997 Rio Red Cobra, 44,000 miles, one owner (basically), tan leather interior which is flawless, the car is completely stock. it will need new tires as soon as i purchase it if i choose to do so (it's still on the factory rubber). it drives very smooth, shifts perfect, the clutch is nice and tight, it seems to have been treated very well. here's the situation on the seller- The car was shipped out here to California from Michigan where the first owner had it all of it's life. The guy selling it out here is the 2nd owner, but has only had the car for a few weeks. What I think he is doing is this- he probably bought it from the old man in Michigan at a pretty good price and is trying to flip it around and sell it for 2 or 3 grand more just to make a profit. (he hasn't even registered the car yet or paid the taxes, duh!) His asking price is $12,900. I ran a carfax report on it and everything looks good, it has a clear title, etc... it did show 2 minor accident records- one with another vehicle on the right rear which the police report quotes "very minor damage reported" and another accident with an animal on the front of the car which the police report for that one quotes "minor damage reported." I think the front bumper was repainted, but that's all that seems to have been, and it is very hard for me to even tell. He just put it in the Autotrader yesterday, and I am the first person to even look at it, so he is not really negociable at all right now obviously. I want you guys to tell me what you think is a fair price for the car, considering all of these things I've told you about it, and tell me what you think I should do as far as waiting/negociating with him and how is the best way to go about doing it...? Thanks in advance for any input on this, it's a big purchase for me to make.
Buying 97 Cobra- Help on car's worth please!
- Thread starter tahoeboy3
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A little high
That sounds like it is a little high. I just bought a completely clean 98 Cobra coupe with 40k on it and redone gears and exhaust for 13k, and people on the forums were telling me that was too much. In the end it just comes down to if it is worth it to you, but for totally stock on bald tires I would try to get him down to 11 or so. Good luck.
That sounds like it is a little high. I just bought a completely clean 98 Cobra coupe with 40k on it and redone gears and exhaust for 13k, and people on the forums were telling me that was too much. In the end it just comes down to if it is worth it to you, but for totally stock on bald tires I would try to get him down to 11 or so. Good luck.
cold96snake
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
I paid 13 for mine a year ago w/ @23-24,000 on it, good tires, 4.10's. I thought it was a good deal, so 12,900 for a 97 w/ a few more miles doesn't sound too far off. It really depends on what it's worth to you though. Personally, i think cobras are a good deal compared to other performance cars in general.
I bought my 96 last may for $12k. It was bone stock and had 65k miles on it. I thought I got a pretty good deal considering its a mystic and they usually fetch around $2k more than other cobras.
I think the price they are asking is decent, I know you can find them for cheaper but it comes down to really what you want. Color, year, mileage, condition, and modifications all come into play.
I think the price they are asking is decent, I know you can find them for cheaper but it comes down to really what you want. Color, year, mileage, condition, and modifications all come into play.
I just bought a 1997 rio red cobra and paid $15,000 for it. But it has 19,500 miles on it and somewhere around $6500 worth of extra's. Vortech, bbk throttle body, pro-m mass air, bassani x-pipe with cats. 4.10 gears. suspension upgrades. cobra r wheels. owned by a 66 year old guy and his wife. This car has never been driven in rain. Car was set-up and dynoed by anderson ford-motorsports. 97 cobra with 20,000 miles books btween 14,500 and 15,000. I guess the book is sort of tool to kinda go buy.
BlackOnBlackCobra96
Founding Member
Something that you might not be aware -- Michigan uses road salt in winter which rusts the he|| out of cars. This can be a good or bad thing. Many Cobra drivers, including myself, store the cars during winter which keeps mileage down. But if it's driven in winter, you should check underneath to see if the car is starting to rust out. You can get police reports on the accidents for like $5 and filling out a simple form...might be worth while. Otherwise, the price is reasonable.
1997 Rio Red Mustang Cobra
I am the original owner of the said 1997 Rio Red Mustang Cobra that the guy is selling you. I was the original owner and the ONLY OWNER of that car untill I sold it for 10K. The minor damage that he is talking about in the rear of the car was when another car threw a cigarette butt into my car and burned the rear seat. The front end damage was from a deer tried to jump over the car while I was driving into work in the wee hours of the morning. The tires are original because I never raced the car. It was my 'baby' so to speak. I sold it because I bought the new '03' Cobra. If it hadn't been for getting the new car, I would have kept that one. It was only serviced once for the fuel pump and the fuel line. The Kelly Blue book value for that car is 11,600. But you can check it out at their web site. I also sent an after market bra and seat covers and mats with the car. The only thing I did to this car was put a K & N oil filter on it and used Mobil One Sythetic Oil in it.
If you have any other quetions about the car, please feel free to e-mail me at.... [email protected]
Sincerly,
[email protected]
I am the original owner of the said 1997 Rio Red Mustang Cobra that the guy is selling you. I was the original owner and the ONLY OWNER of that car untill I sold it for 10K. The minor damage that he is talking about in the rear of the car was when another car threw a cigarette butt into my car and burned the rear seat. The front end damage was from a deer tried to jump over the car while I was driving into work in the wee hours of the morning. The tires are original because I never raced the car. It was my 'baby' so to speak. I sold it because I bought the new '03' Cobra. If it hadn't been for getting the new car, I would have kept that one. It was only serviced once for the fuel pump and the fuel line. The Kelly Blue book value for that car is 11,600. But you can check it out at their web site. I also sent an after market bra and seat covers and mats with the car. The only thing I did to this car was put a K & N oil filter on it and used Mobil One Sythetic Oil in it.
If you have any other quetions about the car, please feel free to e-mail me at.... [email protected]
Sincerly,
[email protected]
A complete rotation
Well I see that we have made a complete rotation here. I'm the current owner and it looks like the car will be going to storage. I was selling it because I just got accepted into the secret service and will be going to washington. Thanks for you interest Tohoeboy but you let a good one slip you by, I'm having new tread put on it first think next week. 265 by 45 ZR17.
James
Well I see that we have made a complete rotation here. I'm the current owner and it looks like the car will be going to storage. I was selling it because I just got accepted into the secret service and will be going to washington. Thanks for you interest Tohoeboy but you let a good one slip you by, I'm having new tread put on it first think next week. 265 by 45 ZR17.
James
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