I'm thinking this is a good find, thoughts? 2003 Cobra

[Jviggs]

Let me know if this should be posted somewhere else.

Looking for some feedback.


Found a 2003 Cobra with 60,000 on the clock. Guy is asking for 17.5k. Saw the car today. Interior is probably a 9/10, exterior probably at 8/10. Paint is great except for 3 scrape marks on the driver side of the front bumper. Car has been garaged and covered its entire life and looks like it. Test drove awesome (has a little wheel shake - balance should fix this) Completely stock except for an intake (I'm not sure what kind it is) and SLP loudmouth catback exhaust. I'm honestly surprised how loud those are by the way. The rest of the exhaust system is stock. Never been pulled and guy claims he's never raced it or driven it hard. Carfax clean, OASIS shows some warranty rear end work (20k miles) and a blow radiator (3k miles)


Theres really only one problem so far. I got the car on a rack and theres a SMALL leak that looks like its coming from the timing belt cover. I'm not sure though. It's just a LITTLE damp there. There was one drop of oil on a bolt close by. Should this stop me? Obviously it will need to be fixed at some point. Looking for any thoughts, feedback or general comments. It all helps. I previously owned a 1993 5.0 GT. This would be my first Cobra.




Here's a link. I'm struggling trying to add the pics on here :fm:


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[JuStAkId]

Link does not work

 

[cj428mach]

I'd stay away from it, its impossible to remove the timing belt cover on these cars.

 

[Jviggs]

Tried a different method. Let me know if they work for you

 

[Jviggs]

Yeah, I used to work for Ford and I haven't done it myself but I've seen it done. Definitely a tough job in a tight space. Hard to pass up though. Sucks to not know exactly where it's coming from. I looked for a good 20 mins. Needs to be brake cleaned and maybe even put dye to truly figure it out. What do you think of the price cj428mach

 

[cj428mach]

Yeah, I used to work for Ford and I haven't done it myself but I've seen it done. Definitely a tough job in a tight space. Hard to pass up though. Sucks to not know exactly where it's coming from. I looked for a good 20 mins. Needs to be brake cleaned and maybe even put dye to truly figure it out. What do you think of the price cj428mach

These cars don't have timing belts.....I was joking.

The price isn't bad but the car is filthy. Also are you sure that's an SLP exhaust because the tips don't look like SLP's.

The car may have the stock pulley on it but since the original pulley cover is gone it makes me think its been pullied and returned to stock. Not a bad thing but I wouldn't believe that its never been modified.

 

[crfrider16]

Instead of worrying about the oil spot, I'd concentrate on doing a compression and leak down test first.

I never met a Mustang that didn't leak a little lol. Make sure the big things are good to go. You can always fix the little things later.

Otherwise, 17k sounds like a decent deal.

 

[Woody6799]

I would also be interested in it if I were you. Seems like a fair price and like cj said don't believe it was ever not modified. So many of these cars have been changed in so many ways it just is what it is. Mods are not a bad thing but it will turn off some buyers... so naturally people lie lol. Things leak and things break, especially as the miles climb but that little hint of a leak wouldn't stop me from giving it a fair shot.

 

[Jviggs]

Instead of worrying about the oil spot, I'd concentrate on doing a compression and leak down test first.

I never met a Mustang that didn't leak a little lol. Make sure the big things are good to go. You can always fix the little things later.

Otherwise, 17k sounds like a decent deal.

lol i know. I guess my dream is to have the perfect cobra with no leaks. thanks for the input, it definitely helps!

 

[Jviggs]

I would also be interested in it if I were you. Seems like a fair price and like cj said don't believe it was ever not modified. So many of these cars have been changed in so many ways it just is what it is. Mods are not a bad thing but it will turn off some buyers... so naturally people lie lol. Things leak and things break, especially as the miles climb but that little hint of a leak wouldn't stop me from giving it a fair shot.

yeah. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been pulled and thats my main concern. i think its all of our dream to get the completely stock cobra haha wish i could afford one of the 30k ones that get listed on this site with like 5k miles lmao outta my league.

 

[Jviggs]

These cars don't have timing belts.....I was joking.

The price isn't bad but the car is filthy. Also are you sure that's an SLP exhaust because the tips don't look like SLP's.

The car may have the stock pulley on it but since the original pulley cover is gone it makes me think its been pullied and returned to stock. Not a bad thing but I wouldn't believe that its never been modified.

Good observations. the car was pretty dirty lol its definitely slp but the tips are weird looking. I don't really like them.

i was reading the FAQs and it said you can usually see a mark in the center of the pulley if it had been removed. i didn't see anything there. i asked him about the cover being removed and he said he just removed it recently for the hell of it lol oh well. i guess there is always going to be some risk involved in buying an old car. :shrug:

 

[speedoflife]

I'd stay away unfortunately.
So much rust on the IRS assembly... And so much belt dust on the coolant crossover. It just hasn't been maintained and you can find a cobra with similar mileage for a similar price that has been maintained a little better/kept out of the rain more. It's hard to pass up a good deal but buying the wrong car for you is much more of a mistake.
Also it may be my imagination but are the brake reservoir and power steering reservoirs both low? Just small things that hint towards lack of maintainence.

 

[8gtoklr]

Bid him 15-16k as is...then have fun