GraveMind

Okay im new to the forums and joined for the sole reason of seeking information about this possible purchase. Im sorry if this isnt in the right section but my question is I came across a 1997 Cobra SVT on Craigslist priced at 6300. The car is all original and has 70,000 Miles on the engine. What are the things i need to watch out for and look extensively into? and assuming everything checks out would you buy this car? Why and why not?

Buchez09GT

I would pull a car fax to see how many owners there have been. 70k over 17 years is a pretty good average so I would think whoever owned it didn't drive much. I would ask questions about any modifications, has the car been tracked at all, and what were the daily driving conditions. I would take the car to a mechanic and have them do a checkout. Ask the owner for any maintenance records.
As for the price, look around on Autotrader, Ebay, Cars.com and see what those cars are going for.
I always say, if you like the car and the price is good, buy it.

GraveMind

Thank you! pulling a carfax and test driving to a mechanic is required by me lol. Apparently the man that owns it must have collected cars. He claims that he needs to get rid of some and this is one of them. It wasnt a Daily driver or anything from what i understand. Drove it on weekends and when he wanted something sporty i guess.

Buchez09GT

Sounds like a good deal to me. I'm not familiar with that year, unfortunately, but if its what you like, and you think its a fair price, and all the mechanical checks out... Do it up!

azdevil1

take pics of the car / inside /out / engine and any suspension or underneath, post 'em up - I'd like to think we can collectively give you a thumbs up or thumbs down - but overall what condition is the car in?

GraveMind

Going to look at it saturday because the guy lives about an hour from me. Well its been claimed that it was garage kept. I did find out its a 1 owner car but i will still take detailed pics of everything asap.

Shampue

How are you paying for the car if you buy it?
If cash, show him $5500 in $100 bills. You might be able to get him to bite

looks closely at the inside of the wheels and the brake calipers. those two things will tell you a lot about the weather conditions the car was driven in. At least here in Wisconsin its pretty easy to tell if a car was driven in the winter. I'm sure in NC you don't have to worry about that too much.

If you have the license plate, I can run you a car fax. I think my carfax subscription is running out at the end of the month

GraveMind

I think my bank writes a check to take to him or something not too sure how it works. Still gonna try to talk him down. I figure if I through out 5500 he may come up to 5800 which i would be fine with. Im gonna call and get the VIN and License plate number cause if you would run a carfax for me that would be awesome. And thanks to all offering help!

GraveMind

Well thanks everyone but i believe this may be a scam Im walking into. I cant get the owner to give me the VIN number prior to me driving an hour there to test drive it.... Seems very sketchy now and considering looking elsewhere

dawson1112

He is probly just being cautious man. I don't give any info out over the phone to someone who I don't know either. I have seen the sn95 cobras in my area on craigslist go from 6k-10k, it really depends on how bad someone wants to be able to say they own a cobra. My self personally think the cobras are over rated, and a nice gt can be had for half of the cost and built to have just as much power as the cobra very easily.

I don't think that 6,300 bucks is out of the normal asking for these cars, as long as its not dinged up with torn seats or faded paint.

If a cobra is what you are wanting and you don't mind speding the money for one, its worth at least taking a look at. Link the craigs list add here for us to see. I have been dealing with CL for years and can generally spot a scam listing in about 2 seconds .