I have a really nice black 98 Cobra coupe, 64,000 miles. All stock, old man-driven, never wrecked, one owner...
I was looking at a new 2004. The sticker is about $36K. I'm not sure how much of a discount they will give me. The salesman assured me it will be a lot (hmmm).
What would be a fair price to pay for this car, and how much is my old one worth?
This willgive you the most accurate value, allowing you to include optional equipment. bill Car: '64.5 Mustang: 260 V8, 3 sp, factory a/c, SVO cam, Performer intake, Holley 390 cfm carb, Pertronix, Hi-Po exhaust manifolds, 1.5" front & 1" rear drop, Jacobs wires, Torq Thrust D's
Guns: Colt AR15, Sig P220, Moss. 590A1, Marlin 70P
For a while you could get a brand new 2003 Cobra after rebates and incentives for a little less than I paid for my '01 (I paid sticker). See what kind of deal you can get on the '04.
As far as the '98 - I know some "old" men that have Cobras that beat the piss out of them. If it is in good shape those are nice cars.
For a "fair price" check Edmunds and KBB.com - look at retail for how much cars in your area are selling for and trade-in or private sale for how much to expect to get from yours. You can get more if you are patient and wait for the "right" buyer - but it may be a long wait.
Today I took a long test drive in a 2004 Cobra (20 miles). I was nice, but to tell the truth it didn't seem any better than my 98.
It seemed that the shifter was further forward in the console than in my 98. Is this true? I had to almost stretch to reach it. On my car it's right where it ought to be. Maybe I had the seat leaned too far back. I'm 6-2 so I need a lot of legroom.
Anyway, the dealer wants to sell me the car for either $33,000 or $33,500 depending on whether I finance thru them. They will give me $9500 for my trade, or I can sell it myself if I want. Based on what I saw on Edmunds I ought to be able to get about $11K for it. Still, there is a big tax advantage to trading which makes the net result of trading vs selling it myself pretty close. The sticker on the new one is just over $36K.
It's a tough decision. They have a black one and two metallic red ones... I don't know which color I prefer. Might have to toss a coin.
Don't hate me for this - but I am also really liking a new S2000. It's about the same money, maybe less. It's a sweet car. Problem is I'm really too tall for it. But the shifter is right where it ought to be!
** Very clear directions and nice photos. Thanks for the URL.
I did both driver and passenger side; one of them required a trip to the hardware store for 2 bolts, but other than that, it was a breeze. It's nice to add an inch of legroom - it made a HUGE difference. Highly recommended.
Where we live, you can take a bill of sale for the 98 to the DMV for the up to a month after you purchase the 04 and they will give you a rebate for that portion of the sales tax paid on the 04. You might check it out and pocket the $1500.
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