nanaki

damn.. a local car max has an 03 cobra for $23,000. NM! i just went to check the exact price and it's gone. it was listed there yesterday and now it's already sold. figures. they have an 01 for $22,000. good luck with that one at that price i say!

badsp0rk

The clutch on my '02 GT seemed a LOT stiffer when I first got the car; either it broke in a little bit or I simply got used to it.
Dealers make absolutely disgusting profit; you can usually assume they'll be willing to bargain down 20% of the listed price, because even if they do that they're sitll making about 30-40% profit.
If you think there's something wrong with the car, simply get a carfax report... get the VIN and enter it in Carfax. Should be about 6 reports to begin with; one for it being producted, one for arriving on the original lot, one for being sold to original owner, one for being bought by the auction, one to the dealer.. something like that (i know that's only 5) but if it's below 6 it should be ok. If you wanna buy the actual report to see what the records are for, that'd help too.. but when I bought my '02 GT I bought it from a private owner, it had like 3 reports, so there was no use paying for a report it was all legit; one owner shouldn't be a lot of reports.

karak567

I ran a Carfax and it listed no problems however it said that the car has had 5 owners (meaning the title has changed hands 5 times?) sold twice at auction and the smallest gap between two owners was 2 months and the largest gap was 2 years. Is that anything to be concerned about? It also showed that it had engine and electrical work done a couple times.

Dan04COBRA

Sold at auctions = been wrecked.

Don't buy it. Be smart and pass on it.

nathansmith50

sold at auction doesn't necessarily mean it's been wrecked. it could also mean it's been repossesed.

Derf00

If it's had 5 owners and even one was in a different state than the others, then the title has been 'cleaned' that means if it was a salvage or wrecked car at one time and someone from another state bought it, fixed it, then reregistered it, you won't find all the info on the car. Some of that stuff from state to state won't transfer. IMO, don't buy it, five owners in 6 years..too many.

badsp0rk

Agreed. 5 owners in 6 years = too much. That's probably like 8+ reports, which is WAY too many for a 6 year old car... it's way too many for any car you're looking to buy really, unless you're buying it as a beater car or something.

karak567

Here's the CARFAX report... let me know what you think. My original thought was that it changed hands from dealer to dealer. The Maheim Auto Auction is also 15 minutes from my house and I do see a new buyer from the auto auction. Lots of cars on the lots around where I live are from the Manheim Auto Auction.

Date:
Mileage Reading:
Source:
General Comments:
06/04/1999 NICB
Vehicle manufactured and shipped to original
dealer
09/15/1999 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Mount Pleasant, PA
Registered as
personal vehicle
10/05/1999 35 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Mount Pleasant, PA
Title or registration issued
First owner reported
Loan or lien reported
11/19/1999 Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle
11/29/1999 6,667 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
Electrical system serviced
12/03/1999 New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Blackwood, NJ
Title issued or updated
New owner reported
03/10/2000 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
Transmission serviced
Miscellaneous service performed
03/21/2000 6,712 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Philadelphia, PA
Title or registration issued
04/24/2001 13,290 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
Miscellaneous service performed
05/07/2001 13,366 Dealer Inventory
Mount Laurel, NJ
Vehicle offered for sale
05/14/2001 13,438 Inspection Co.
New Jersey
Vehicle Inspected
Anti-theft device present
at the time of inspection
05/14/2001 Dealer Inventory
New Jersey
Vehicle sold
05/18/2001 Dealer Inventory
Mount Laurel, NJ
Vehicle offered for sale
05/23/2001 New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Mount Laurel, NJ
Title #DA20011430398
Title issued or updated
New owner reported
06/01/2001 New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Swedesboro, NJ
Title #BR20011520153
Title issued or updated
06/05/2001 14,363 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
10/20/2001 17,239 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
Engine serviced
04/13/2002 21,853 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
Engine serviced
07/27/2002 27,796 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
Engine serviced
11/14/2002 31,510 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
West Chester, PA
Title issued or updated
New owner reported
12/12/2002 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Manheim, PA
Title issued or updated
12/13/2002 31,657 Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle
02/12/2003 31,683 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Avondale, PA
Title issued or updated
New owner reported
03/10/2005 Dealer Inventory
Parkesburg, PA
Vehicle offered for sale
03/12/2005 Dealer Inventory
Parkesburg, PA
Vehicle offered for sale

karak567

Here's an easier to read summary of past owners, note the dates and how quick the turn around was, especially in the beginning:

Ownership History:

CARFAX estimates that this 1999 FORD MUSTANG COBRA SVT (1FAFP47V3XF200608) had 5 owner(s). CARFAX analyzed this vehicle's title history and other supporting events to identify potential ownership transfers. In compliance with the U.S. privacy laws, CARFAX does not collect or report owner names or addresses.

Estimated Owners: Date: Location:
1st owner 10/05/1999 Pennsylvania
2nd owner 12/03/1999 New Jersey
3rd owner 05/23/2001 New Jersey
4th owner 11/14/2002 Pennsylvania
5th owner 02/12/2003 Pennsylvania

nathansmith50

the first owner sold it at auction two months after buying it? = wrecked

that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. drive it around. talk to the dealer and ask them if you can take it overnight. they'll probably require a deposit. as long as that deposit is refundable then go for it. take it to a mechanic. if the slightly higher cost isn't too much of an issue take it to a ford dealership. the mechanics there know exactly what to look for.