thinking about selling my 95 for a 99-04. help me justify

fiveoho

15 Year Member
Apr 28, 2005
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i posted in the 94/95 talk section but wanted some feedback from both sides. i'll copy/paste what i posted there. any and all info is appreciated

thanks:)

strongly considering getting a 99-04 car or a 96-98 cobra. the cobras seem to be harder to find, especially low priced and low miled. 260hp vs 305hp. i know which one i want but all this is just a possibility.

give me some input, especially those who have either. my main concern of getting either of these is the cost of maintenance and parts. in my mind, these cars are harder and more expensive to fix but that be a myth?

99-04s seem to be getting more reasonable. i have seen several priced fairly. the latest i spotted today 2.5hrs away from where i live : 03 red GT 5 speed, 41,000 miles for $11k
 
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I actually did just that myself. I owned a '95GT vert with only 17k miles:
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and then when I moved to PR I sold and bought my '01 GT vert with only 30k miles:
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I like the new edge style better now that I have owned one of each. I bet you will too ;)
 
beautiful cars. whats your take in the power of each ?

i think what i want is a 99-04 low miles 5 speed car. i want to put a set of wheels on it, lower it, chin spoiler, programmer, full exhaust, 4.10s, and drive and enjoy.
 
i posted in the 94/95 talk section but wanted some feedback from both sides. i'll copy/paste what i posted there. any and all info is appreciated

thanks:)

strongly considering getting a 99-04 car or a 96-98 cobra. the cobras seem to be harder to find, especially low priced and low miled. 260hp vs 305hp. i know which one i want but all this is just a possibility.

give me some input, especially those who have either. my main concern of getting either of these is the cost of maintenance and parts. in my mind, these cars are harder and more expensive to fix but that be a myth?

99-04s seem to be getting more reasonable. i have seen several priced fairly. the latest i spotted today 2.5hrs away from where i live : 03 red GT 5 speed, 41,000 miles for $11k
Well you want to go from pushrod to modular? Ive had plenty of both and while the Terminators parts are more expensive most of the stuff on my 96 Cobra has ben fairly equal to Fox parts price wise. Having an Aero already you will be familiar with all the chasis stuff and most of the drive line stuff. For the most pat working on my Aero Cobra it is a little more time consuming over the 5.0s but not a hard engine to work on at all. Ive never had a 5.0 aero but ive had plenty of Foxes and the engine is the same (for the most part).
My buddy has a 03 GT that I work on for him and parts seem to cost the same between his and mine with the exception being intakes costing more. But with everything hes done to his GT even with the 100 shot from the NX kit my virtually stock Cobra will RUN away from him.
I see alot of nice 96-98 Cobras for under 9000 out there. Mines not perfect and people get scared of the 120K but I have seen alot at this mileage and they run perfect.
 
Keep in mind that mileage is nothing on these motors if you take care of it. 120k miles is nothing if the maintenance has been kept up. That's why when i bought my 02 with 119k on it back in february i didnt really flinch at the miles. It had a very well maintained carfax that came with it so i was very impressed. Car still runs and pulls liked a champ. Plus the motor is only gonna be in there another 3 years :D then it'll become my toy
 
Well, for the most part I like each of them for different reasons, but I really like the '01 style and features more overall. If I had to say anything that I miss about the '95 over the '01 I would say I miss the 5.0 engine. I don't mind the modular 4.6 mind you, but that 5.0 was so sweet and certainly had more options and mods available, for the moment anyway, since the 5.0's had been around a lot longer.
I also prefer the lines and overall style of the 99-04 design over the 94-98 design. The 94-98 design looks kind of boxy to me now compared to the new edge design.
But truth be told, I would certainly be happy with either of them really, but since I had my choice when I moved I went for the 99-04 model style this time around and I do not regret it one bit.
I will soon add a turbocharger or supercharger on it and a set of Flowmasters at some point down the road and then missing the 5.0 will be a thing of the past ;)
 
most of the stuff on my 96 Cobra has ben fairly equal to Fox parts price wise.

I would love to know where you are buying your Cobra stuff from then as I find many Cobra parts to be much more expensive, that is if I can even find them available and/or in stock. Anything from a side mirror to an engine harness is at least double if not triple what any of the others are. I think you may find that if you want to own the prestige of a Cobra your usually going to pay extra for it ;)
 
I would love to know where you are buying your Cobra stuff from then as I find many Cobra parts to be much more expensive, that is if I can even find them available and/or in stock. Anything from a side mirror to an engine harness is at least double if not triple what any of the others are. I think you may find that if you want to own the prestige of a Cobra your usually going to pay extra for it ;)
LMR and Texas Mustangs, sometimes Prestige if its something I can find in good shape used like seats or splash shield. The only things so far that appear to be more expensive are CAIs and thermostat was $18 but thats it. Pads are cheeper, plugs the same, H-pipe was $20 cheeper than friends GT one :shrug: Exhaust was cheeper than the same model for my Fox.
Tie rods were cheaper on the Cobra as was the oil filter compared to the Fox. ;) :rolleyes:
 
The only things so far that appear to be more expensive are CAIs and thermostat was $18 but thats it.

...side mirrors, many engine parts, many body parts like hoods and bumpers and brakes just to name a few more...

Yes, many items are going to be around the same cost as not every part was made Cobra specific, but still you will find that many parts will cost more as they are Cobra specific and not the more common off the shelf Mustang parts.
 
...side mirrors, many engine parts, many body parts like hoods and bumpers and brakes just to name a few more...

Yes, many items are going to be around the same cost as not every part was made Cobra specific, but still you will find that many parts will cost more as they are Cobra specific and not the more common off the shelf Mustang parts.
Well I had to buy a new drivers side mirror when I bought it and that was $30 new in the box for the whole housing and all.
Fenders are $98 new, I priced them because I thought that would be cheaper than fixing mine but the body shop says itd be the same cost wise :shrug:
Hood is $428 for a replica and $150 for one used. My Fox hood cost $514 and a stock one is $300.
So yet again, most parts are on par cost wise, some are cheaper and some are more expensive. All in all its a wash sparkey :nice:
 
Yes, "if" he stays in the '96-'98 model years for Cobra's.
If however he moves up to the '99-'04 Cobra wise then things will change quite a bit.
I was mentioning '99-'04 as that is what he said he wanted in his second post, but he may have meant non Cobra in those years as I think he stated in his first post :)
 
Yes, "if" he stays in the '96-'98 model years for Cobra's.
If however he moves up to the '99-'04 Cobra wise then things will change quite a bit.
I was mentioning '99-'04 as that is what he said he wanted in his second post, but he may have meant non Cobra in those years as I think he stated in his first post :)
Mmmmm indeed
 
If i could go back and do it all over again....


4V Cobra or Mach 1. The 2V GT is nice, but all my friends have Cobra's and Mach1's and it's tough to keep up. Granted I did run a 14.1, but there are tons of cars out there that can match that with minimal mods...even some 4-door sedans these days.

GT's....they are kinda eh. I mean don't get me wrong, i am a die-hard Mustang enthusiast to the bone, but these days, 260HP GT's just don't cut it with 400HP sedans roaming the streets....and there are quite a few.

If i was to ever buy another Mustang...it would have a little worm on the side :)
 
Yes, "if" he stays in the '96-'98 model years for Cobra's.
If however he moves up to the '99-'04 Cobra wise then things will change quite a bit.
I was mentioning '99-'04 as that is what he said he wanted in his second post, but he may have meant non Cobra in those years as I think he stated in his first post :)

not ruling out 99/01 cobras, they just usually are a bit out of my price range.
 
Honestly if you can't afford a 99+ 4V or good mileage 96-98 4V, then you're not going to notice a whole lot of difference with a new edge gt. Either save for something that'll be a big difference (i.e. Cobra), mod your 5.0 NA, or buy a 99+ GT and put a supercharger on. All of those will lead to a great big smile every time you turn the engine over.
 
that sure gets expensive quick.

power is a concern, but not my main one. smoothness, nice paint, clean interior, mechanics, etc. these are also some considerations if i go 99-04

i see your point about the 4v's. if attainable, that would be the way to go.

its waaaaay cheaper to mod your pushrod 5.0 than a 4.6, first of all parts are cheaper, there are more of them and easier to find used...4.6's there are less parts to choose from and generally finding used parts for our cars is more difficult...not to mention that to do something as simple as a cam swap costs twice as much...

i went from a 91 gt to my 99gt and i can say stock vs stock there is no comparison my 99 stock would blow any fox body or 94-95 away...
 
i went from a 91 gt to my 99gt and i can say stock vs stock there is no comparison my 99 stock would blow any fox body or 94-95 away...

yup.

i never really said anything about modding the 4.6, as i know thats very expensive. but modding a 5.0, thats not cheap either. cheapER yes, cheap no. when you figure in the cost of parts, install labor and a tune it becomes VERY pricey very quickly.

even if timeslips were a big concern of mine, ive seen 99-04s with minimal mods ( bolt ons) run very respectable times at the track. which should reflect a peppy car on the street.

but i do agree with u, stock 4 stock im sure the new edge would be quicker than my car.
 
something else that plays a part in this decision is insurance. i have ALOT tied up in my 95. even if i put full coverage on the car, if something happened the insurance company would only give me what the car is valued at. which is somewhere around $4240 (kbb value). i have well more than double that in the car. a 00 GT with 75k books $3000 higher. the cost of the cars vs the pay out of the coverage shows a difference. the tri monthly premium between a 95 and 00 really isnt much different either. ive looked into agreed value coverage for my 95 and it just isnt even affordable.

just another reason to question myself