jtiz

OK... so i just bout a 01 cobra and love the thing to death.I've had it for a month and then last week i was driving in the rain when i began to hydro plane which spun meten times slaming me into the center gard rail on the hywy. i belive this happend due to the traction contorol because i was skiding back and forth for about8 seconds and i wasnt even touching the breaks. anyway,i just got off the phone with the insurance estemate today and they said my ride may be totaled in which case the insurance company will by it from me. it took me a hell of a long time to find this car for just the right price. the car needs all new paint, one rim, rear lights, front lights + fog lights, front bumper, rear bumper, new exhaust, rear trunk lid + mounting brakets, front fenderbondo and paint, new antena, grille deleate kit, and all new cobra emblems... the NADA value of the car is 15,500. and in NC to total a car it must be equal or over 75% of the value of thecar. when this insuranceestemator told methat it might be totaled i was very confused because i looked on line at these parts and theirs no way that they would total up to 11,625 ( 75% of nada ) the ajuster is going by asystem that is called ADT tofigure the totals. they seemed way over priced. for example a oem trunk lid alone was $800. that just seemed insane to me. does the insurence company make money if i total my car or what? b/c their is no way that mycars repairs would go over 11,625 if i used after maket stuff. i mean just a rear brake light he is sayin is $300. what the heck do i do? i really dont want to have to buy my pony back from the insurance agent. NE way does anyone have any advice for me on my situation or some good places to get cheap cobra partsif so please mail me at the below address. thanks lots!!
dagger987@aol.com

ponysnake99

lol funny story, i too am in NC and my car hydroplaned not too long ago...been workin on her steadily until spring, but if you want to consider it to your insurance company www.fordparts.com sells oem stuff at below the msrp, so if he's calculating it off the jacked up prices you'll geta bigcheck. I think is what he's concerned about is any frame damage, which may not be self evident now. If you front bumper was damaged towards the center, you'll probably need a new radiator support too, they crimple like paper. I only had a bout 3000 in damage (plus labor) but have spent a total around 5000 in goodies...i don't think it will be totalled, just keep an eye on your agent

italia18

first things first...

If your frame is bent, your car is garbage no matter how pretty you make it look.
Bending a frame back is a royal bitch, and is NOT cheap, and even if you do theres no guarentee it'll stay that way.

Personally, I'd say get rid of it. I know you dont want to, but thats way too much work. By the time your done making it like new again, youll have bought yourself at least an sn-95 cobra right there, figuratively speaking.
Even more if your having people do everything for you.

Also from what your saying it needs a new front end? What about your radiator, condensor, headlight header pannel, steel bumper, radiator mounting bracket, and fluid reservouir? Did any of that sustain any damage?

Pattie

If you have frame issues thats whole different ballgame. My experience is they are never right again. And it is a lot of work . But make sure you know what your getting into. Because your going to need to make it safe again to drive ( new airbags and all) if you plan to rebuild it. Good luck

jtiz

there's no frameor IRS probsso i think i'm good to go with that. i dont even think the radiator mount is messed up and the fluid resivour is fine. after looking at it even more it looks like they are going to pull out dents in the rear quarters and bondo it. i really just need a trunk lid and latching sestem, one rim, all new lights, front bumper + mounts, rear bumper, and paint all round.... the insurance estemate was way over what i calculated for parts. there total came to $9,900... so i figure i should have acouple thousandleft over to buy some extra things that i wanted to get... IE steeda ultra light 18" rims, projector headlights,cervini stalker front bumper and a seeda tri-ax shifter... i am also lookin into geting my anti trac turned off and my chip programed but i dont know much bout that mess. gatta do more resurch. any how thanks for the advice. let me know if you guys have any experiance with the parts ive listedthat i want to buy with my extra insurance $ or have any advice on upgrades for around 2G's... or if you know anyone selling the stuff that's cool too.thanks again for the input!

italia18

Ive got plenty experience with the upgrades and parts your talking about. If you have any questions during the install, feel free to ask me and I'll answer to the best of my ability.

I'm sure everyone else here will too

ponysnake99

funny thing is im replacing all that stuff on my car right nowand once it's all done im posting a how to in 4.6 so ill link it here if you need it in the future

Pattie

MPS has a salvage yard in Winder Ga. not to bad on pricing and they ship. Have used them to repair one,they even had alot of smaller items that were harder to find, handles, trim etc.

italia18

Also alot of those stupid little cosmetic items are universal from the base V6 to the cobra, so when you looking for parts, dont get ripped off by people who want to charge you outrageously just because it says "cobra".

by little things i mean headlights, clips, mounts, etc. Not the real noticeable things that are cosmeticially different in each model.

Crazyfast50stang

Yeah sorry to say but the car doesnt spin around only when the break is engaged. If you are pressing the gas pedal it will have the same effect. Traction control in our cars CUTS the fuel. Not ADD the fuel. It cuts it so that the tires will STOP spinning, but NOT lock them up, so that you will regain your traction. Maybe you didnt notice but you had the foot on the pedala lot can happen when your paying more attention to where the hell your car is going rather then if your foot is on the brake or gas.