satisfaction rating for 03' cobra

[soniccobra 03]

Originally posted by 9A Pilot
My observations of 03 & up Cobras..You can tell where Ford put the R&D..& where they just get by..From the inside..It looks the same as that V6 I rented..Typical cheap pony car interior..Same as my camaro..Typical ford paint..Orange peel city in spots..Its ironic that I was checking out an orange cobra at the dealer..The "orange peel" was pretty bad..I thought maybe Ford wanted a textured effect to go with the color..
Panel alignment ranges from 'OK' to 'WTF?'Depending on the car.I was looking at other 'new edge' stangs(v-6's,GT's) don't seem to be as bad,alignment wise..
& why is there STILL a clutch cable?Hydraulic clutches are alot nicer to leg in traffic.
But overall..The engine is in the wrong car.It's the 'uber Fairmont'

So you like it then........ok,cool.:rockon:

 

[9A Pilot]

Originally posted by soniccobra 03
So you like it then........ok,cool.:rockon:

Yes,Yes I gave it a 9..I got side tracked..the car is completly badAss

 

[jasil]

Too freaking heavy and wish the halfshafts were much stronger. Great other than that.

 

[DrUnKeNmAsTer]

:xpl:

 

[VintagePorscheG]

too bad I can't change my vote

 

[03SvtSonicCobra]

I give It a 9 just beacuse the paint quality sucks ass. other than that the car is kick ass all the way around.

 

[CobraKindaGuy]

I gave it a 10. The car has always exceeded my expectations even despite having the "tick". I had the "tick" with my 97 Cobra so I guess I have just grown accustomed to hearing it so it doesn't bother me.

 

[jean]

9000 miles and 6 months ago the intake chain broke.Bring to the dealer and fix the problem:the mechanic told me the chain have a defect.
They offer me a car but i refuse.
Got a leaking tire ,bring to the dealer,fix for free.Huge nail.
The paint in the back bumper is wired .

 

[cornholio]

It gets an "8," because there is no such thing as a "10," or a perfect car, and a "9" is to close to perfect. Many of the reasons listed for not giving a 10 are valid.

Bottom line is, most of us smile from ear to ear everytime we turn the car on, and our tongue's then hang out everytime that motor whistles. That is the gauge for me.

 

[faded03cobra]

I loved mine until I blew the engine. When I took it to get fixed at the dealership there was a bad flood at the dealership and my 03 was a flood victim and I never saw it again.

 

[KOTH]

I loved mine until I blew the engine. When I took it to get fixed at the dealership there was a bad flood at the dealership and my 03 was a flood victim and I never saw it again.

Yikes that is a sad way to go.

 

[tjdempster]

I started thinking about the subjective rating of these cars -- I gave mine a "7" even though I haven't had major problems (vibe, tick, pull, etc.) However, I considered that the '03 Cobra is the result of 40 years of evolution. There's no new technology on these cars. It took SVT two years to basically put together yet another 4.6 modular engine using off-the-shelf components. The assembly plant has been making cars for decades. So the poor quality that I referenced in my post above is inexcusable. This is not some one-off car using brand new technology. Maybe you think that $38,000 is a small price to pay, but for that money I expected a higher level of quality than I got. My wife's '02 GT has much better paint, for example.

I gave it a 6. It is an awesome car, BUT when you spend this much money for a car I believe you should get a car without engine problems(known by manufacturer) and a transmission that does not 'grind' when shifting gears. Mine 'grinds' a little when normal shifting from 1st to 2d. I have NOT raced this car on the street or elsewhere. I happens more when cold than when warm and Ford's excuse when I took it in was to come back when it was warmer to see if it could be duplicated. Really great car otherwise. Poor quality can be excused on a 10K - 15K vehicle, not for a 30K + car IMO. Tom

 

[mjzilinski]

I gave it a 9. My only problem is an interior rattle that comes and goes.

 

[04cobratorchred]

i gave it a 7 due to the paint, rattles inside, center consol needs to be different not the same as the other mustangs, the cobra needs something to be different. Most of all the shifter placement. I can't stand it being up so high. the power now thats a ten

 

[Bluedot_26]

wow .. old thread .... (but need to vent a bit)

/rant

But speaking as someone who's owned:

66 Fairlane (289)
67 427 Cyclone
67 Cougar
78 Fairmont
79 Bronco
88 LX 5.0
92 SHO
04 Cobra

Among other cars including C4 vettes and various euro junk ... and the proud owner of a big Ford oval tattoo. I'm great with the Cobra, I can deal with creaks and rattles and bad ergonomics, it's a freaking hot-rod and even with the price of admission, I can see it for what it is and not sweat the small stuff (which is why I spent the money on it) ... that said ....

My 88 LX was finally sold with over 300K miles on it. Every day I drove the car like I hated it. I have many pictures of it at the now defunct Baylands dragstrip where it spent every wed/sun night. I went through 3 T-5's, twisted a stock driveshaft and even made a page in Car Craft. That car was worth every cent I paid (14K). I used to have to pop the headlight switch out of the dash and hang it out of the window to cool it off so the headlights would work (long before Ford owned up to the problem).

That's where this Cobra has really disappointed me. It's not like the 5.0 where the parts were cheap and if I broke something I could just deal with it. Within 1700 miles, I've reported the head tick, excessive drivetrain slop, an interior that I have to have the radio up at half to drown out the creaking from the dash and package tray and the crappy steering bushings. Of course the dealer is trying, but they don't have solutions. I'm really disappointed with Ford/SVT for not dealing with the common problems which are bound to be inherent to any low production specialty car. Not to mention the "tempo" quality paint job that's good from far - but far from good.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a whiner or a p_ssy who would be better off with something more "civil". I love this car and I don't regret it. My problem is I want to start modding it but I don't want to have to immediately shell out $8k for a short block rebuild (pistons), deal with a head tick .. which sounds really bad at a stoplight (nice car dude, get it fixed). My expectation was a solid base to build upon (within limits of course) and a REASONABLE amount of stuff to fix on my own.

Maybe I'm getting old ... anyway .. thanks for the vent

/rant off

 

[BruntzySVT]

7- due to the fact your always worrying about something..if you hear a rattle you freak out...if its parked outside you always think someone is messing with it...or if the mod your doing will blow up your respected thousands of dollar engine!

 

[03DOHC]

closed.