97 Cobra - thinking of selling

[whitesnake]

looking to see what you guys think i can get out of it, and maybe someone give me an offer as well.

thinking of selling my 97 Cobra. 122,601 miles. i have put 20,000 miles on it is 6 years and that includes 3k from a cross country trip. i think it has 3k total since 2009. i am having a tough time parting with it, but i know that i am not going to have time to do all of the upgrades i would like, and she is just sitting there and deserves more attention than i give her.

mechanically the car is great, only thing i can think of is the alternator pulley will squeak a little from time to time depending on the weather. no belt wear and a little WD40 suppresses it. i bought the car with 102k miles in Washington state (they do not use salt there) and there is absolutely zero rust. overall the body is in great shape, but there are some spider cracks in both bumper covers. also the front bumper had a license plate on there and i hated it so i ripped it off. put 4 screws in there to fill the holes. front right bumper also has some paint missing from before i bought it. paint is also starting to chip at the edges of the roof panel. not really noticeable until you get real close, but it will need fixed eventually. rear left quarterpanel had some bad chipping just below the back DS window. i "paint matched" it and cleaned it up really well, but it is still noticeable.

engine has: (did all of this myself)
new short runner intake (i did this myself, it was pretty easy) i still have the stock manifold as well
C&L CAI
Steeda underdrive pulleys
magnaflow off-road xpipe (does not pass emissions, but inspection is due in March i think and it will be exempt due to the low mileage)
magnaflow magnapack exhaust
SCT tuner with tunes from American Muscle

driveline: (professionally done)
clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster (forget which brand) still using stock clutch cable, but have aftermarket one. i hear they are cheap
steeda tri-ax shifter
a few parts replaced in the tranny and rearend when this was all done by Big Bad Mike at wolfpack
FRPP aluminum driveshaft
FRPP 4.10s

suspension:
steeda subframe connectors (welded) greatest mod of all time
strut tower brace (it is not on now because the CAI does not sit 100% correct when it is on)
H&R SS lowering springs w/ new isolators
Tokiko Dspec shocks and struts (fully adjustable)

i still have all of the stock suspension parts, stock gears, shifter, a bunch of other random things lying around.

interior is in pretty good condition. the seats are worn, but still very comfortable. CD player does not work. aftermarket floor mats, the old ones were pretty torn up. i think the new ones are kinda cheap, but they look decent.

wheels are off of a 2003/04 Mach 1. tires are goodyear and still have 75% tread left. i also have the stock wheels, but those tires 2 of the tires are shot and the other 2 are 75% gone. stock rims have a lot of curbing from before i bought the car. got the windows re-tinted by total image probably about 2 years ago.
also have H&R wheel spacers on the front(1 inch) and the back(1.5 i think). they really fill out the wheel wells nicely.

not much more that i can think of. if you are interested or want to see pictures of something not posted let me know.

[John4cam]

I'll tell you my opinion via pm if you want...? If this is your FS ad it might clutter it up a little.

[whitesnake]

not a for sale ad(yet), and will gladly take your opinion.

[95V6]

Keep it.

[whitesnake]

but i will never spend the time nor $ on this car that it deserves.

[jaa55]

Nice car, I say keep it. I'll tell you a secret to make those seats look like new. Kiwi brand Black shoe dye. No joke


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[whitesnake]

thanks. never heard of it, but i might have to try that out. cant really hurt

[95V6]

I think you're just going through the winter tune blues man. Seems like every winter I get the thought in my head to sell mine. But I know even though I rarely drive it and it just sits there, I would regret selling it every day.

[03 OW SVT]

I sold my Cali back in Oct because I gave up my business and couldn't afford it (the car)anymore. I do regret it. I am in the process of looking for another, probably another 03,04 Cobra. However it will be a year or two before I can afford it. My point is, don't sell it if your not completely sure you want to.

[Mark Aubele]

He already has a '12 5.0. Hard to care about a '97 Cobra when you have a new 5.0 sitting in the garage beside it. Sell it.

[John4cam]

He already has a '12 5.0. Hard to care about a '97 Cobra when you have a new 5.0 sitting in the garage beside it. Sell it.

I agree. If it were something rare I'd say keep it.

[stanggt94]

So what are you going to try and get outta her if you end up selling ?

[whitesnake]

i agree. if it was a 93 cobra i would never consider, but this is not like the 60s where this car's value will skyrocket. my first car i ever bought, so i have some sort of emotional attachment, but like they said, with the 5.0 it is hard to justify spending a decent amount of money each year to keep the car alive/insured whenever i barely use it.

and i would HOPE to get somewhere close to 9000....i am pretty realistic and know what i would probably end up getting though

[White5.0]

my first car i ever bought, so i have some sort of emotional attachment, but like they said, with the 5.0 it is hard to justify spending a decent amount of money each year to keep the car alive/insured whenever i barely use it.

I'm pretty much in the exact same situation as you. I constantly think about selling my '87. But, like you, its the first car I ever bought. I purchased it as a roller and built the engine and everything. Put tons of time and money into it. It would be hard for me to sell it but I dont give it enough attention. I pulled the motor out to do a new H/C/I this past summer and I still haven't finished. The project is just dragging along. Its hard to be motivated when I have a '13 5.0 too. I keep looking at parts for my '13 and have to tell myself "No! You NEED to finish your 87 dammit! Don't even think about parts for your 13!"

[whitesnake]

yeah man, it is rough. i am pretty set on selling now, but just thinking of the amount of $ i have put into it and what i am going to get out of it is tough...makes me want to find a different hobby...

[PaxtonShelby]

I hear ya fellas - it is fun and rewarding building your own car, but wow is it ever cheaper to buy one already finished! I can definitely understand the sentimental attachment - I bought my '66 before I was married - before I had a house or garage - before i had tools - before I knew anything about working on cars. But I knew I wanted to have an old Mustang and I sure as hell couldn't afford to buy one that was already done. It took a lot of sacrifices, a lot of $, and a LONG time, but I finally got the car on the road. That's why I won't ever sell it unless circumstances force me to do so.

No doubt this is a tough choice. Neither is wrong. So go with your gut and don't look back.

[whitesnake]

i have done a pretty decent amount of work, but nothing like that! i would never get rid of her if that was the case

[went9s]

and i would HOPE to get somewhere close to 9000....i am pretty realistic and know what i would probably end up getting though

I don't think you'll get close to that. These cars bring around 6k. I paid far less then 9k for my mint 98 cobra black on black.

[whitesnake]

yeah, i know that i wont get that much. just a dream that i would run in to someone that would be willing to pay that much. plus my paint just got a lot worse in the past week. i dont know if it is the weather or if turkeys attacked my car (i have seen them do it before to my 5.0), but i have some pretty bad chipping on the d/s door.

[whitesnake]

sold the car today....tough to see her go, but i am confident that she is in a good home. i think it was a pretty good deal and he seemed to think so as well. gonna miss her, but i am happy for them and her...