1. Home
  2. Ford Mustang Forum
  3. Used 2003 Cobra with a 5sp shifter??

Used 2003 Cobra with a 5sp shifter??

On our way to Sweden Friday, we stopped in Santa Rosa CA to test drive a used 03 with 4500 miles on it. Car looked great, hubby and I jumped in and started her up.

Everything looked great (though we failed to notice the glowing abnormality at first LOL) except hubby could not get the car in reverse! First he thought he had not gotten it into gear, but then he tried again...and again...and again.

Now that alone was strange. He is not a novice when it comes to manual cars as that is all he has driven since he was 18 and he is 47! After MANY attempts and failures, he said, "WAH, it is a 5sp?" LoL!! Could not believe our eyes, the car had a 5sp shifter knob. Was not sure if it was the stock shifter but definitely was not a 6sp knob! We asked the dealer (who was just holding the car for us to drive) what was up and he did not know anything about the car!

Everytime he tried to back the car up, it would go forward. Reverse is far right and up, correct? And even so we he tried far right and down, still the car would not go into reverse.

We called the local dealer who found the car for us and told him what happened and he said the knob was changed. He suggested we go back and drive the car, since we were so disgusted we just left without driving it, but we were no longer interested after that.

Doesnt look like we are having much luck with finding an 03, does it? LoL!

Cindy

Reply to
Cindy
Loading thread data ...

On 22 Apr 2004 00:52:13 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Cindy) wrote something wonderfully witty:

Seems like you are actually having quite a bit of luck. Unfortunately it appears to be all bad. I have been told I am not allowed to use a broadsword to disprove ?The Pen is Mightier than the sword?.

Reply to
ZombyWoof

dumb blonde mode on again? is your belly button bruised? sweden? sorry, but you left the door wide open, LOL

Dick

Reply to
winze

You might want to revise that tactic if you're determined to buy an '03 or '04 Cobra given the impending shortage of the SN95 Mustangs on dealership lots.

Honestly, I can't say that I would have been THAT disgusted with such a trivial thing so as not to go back and give the vehicle another shot. Really, it's just a shift knob.

Reply to
Tungsten

Personally, I'd probably be just as wary... I'd be more worried about other things that might be wrong with it. It might have been "just a shift knob" the first time, but what ELSE could be wrong with it? was the car in a major accident and they did some heavy rebuilding before re-selling it? If the mechanics that put the 5-sp shift knob on it weren't aware that it was a Cobra and hence required a 6-sp shifter (that's a pretty common-knowledge thing isn't it?) what else might they have done wrong?

Reply to
LoTekGuru

LoTekGuru opined in news:yTQhc.14667$GR.2097905@attbi_s01:

WHO? Think about it. Mechanics dont install shift knobs.. Prep and wash/lube boys do that.

If a Mechanic even LOOKED at it, they probably assumed the customer would know.. or the prep guys would.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Now you're just grasping at stereotypes...erm, not that I'm surprised.

No, Retard is more like it.

Cindy

Reply to
Cindy

That's not a concern for me. We're having a local dealer search for us. It's not as if 03's are so rare we'll never find one. And no, I'd never buy a car with the incorrect shift knob, sorry.

No, it's not "just a shift knob." For all I know the whole car is a mess. Although with such low mileage, I'm sure it was okay. But after the experience we had with our last Cobra, I can't say I'm in a hurry to buy another one with such an obvious flaw. We wanted to drive it on the premise that the car was LIKE NEW with NOTHING fake or wrong with it. When we got in and saw that, we didn't even want to drive it.

Cindy

Reply to
Cindy

That is what I was thinking. Apparently some people aren't as picky.

was the car in a

Precisely! Shift knob isn't a big deal?????? How could ANYBODY ask such a stupid question? There aren't many discriminating people I know who'd buy a car like that. And why wouldn't the frickin' thing go into reverse?? It wasn't a six speed and if it WAS what was wrong with it? Oh yeah...why not give it another try? Heh. Sure.

Cindy

Reply to
Cindy

Wow... touch on the bitchy side are we? RAMFM, oh how I missed ye.

If it truly was not a 6-speed then more questions needed to be asked. If it was and you simply couldn't find reverse because of the knob being different... well, go you.

Reply to
Tungsten

yeah, why the heck would a shiftknob be replaced.. Did they mess with the transmission ? did it break ? ask them !

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

Reply to
Rein

"ASK THEM"

That was my point. Why walk away from a potentially sweet deal when it might have just been something as simple as the previous owner had installed some custom shift knob that he/she elected to retain when they traded the car in.

But you'd never know until you asked... and walking away without asking just sounds like a colossal waste of time to me.

Reply to
Tungsten

the clutch pedal is on the left if you're sitting in the drivers seat.

Reply to
winze

We walked because we didn't have time to go back. We were on our way to a 6,000 mile journey and had other obligations and didn't want to bother with something we deemed a waste of time. And the color wasn't what we wanted. We were told it was gray, and it was silver; not my favorite color.

OUR time was wasted IMO. We clearly stated we wanted a FACTORY car. This car was NOT.

Cindy

Reply to
Cindy

No, just amazed by your judgemental attitude.

Ha ha. No, something was obviously wrong with the car. The morons at the dealer who were holding the car knew NOTHING about the car, not even that is was SUPPOSED to be a 6sp. We had to go through a dealer where we were from, over two hundred miles away. Top that off with wrong color and failure to meet our criteria were enough to turn us off the deal!

Now that didn't hurt a bit, did it?

Cindy

Reply to
Cindy

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.