Hello All, Newbie to the forum here.

I'm currently thinking about trading in my 03 Cobra for an 06 GT. My Cobra is in mint condition with only 855 miles on the clock. So I go to my dealer and find out that one, you can't order any 05's and two, orders on the 06's can't be submitted until June. :bang: Just my luck!!! We price out an 06 GT Coupe, Tungsten Silver Premium equip with the IUP, anti theft, and spoiler delete. Car comes to $27,700.00. Without seeing my Cobra they give me $26,000.00. Dam depreciation!!! After a little more discussion I get them to take $400.00 off the MSRP. Total amount I'd have to finance would be $13,699.00 after they pay off my loan. Based on what people on the forum have paid for their cars, do you think this is a good deal???

One other fact, the same dealer has three 03 Cobra's on the lot with more milage than mine. All are listed at $31,000 plus. I'm bringing my Cobra in this Friday to get an "official" appraisal so I can have their offer in writing. Based on what they are selling the other three Cobra's for I'm holding out for more money on my Cobra.

Thought's, comments???

Jim

 

Dealers make more money on used cars then they do on new cars, just remember that. If they take yours for $26k they will most likely have it on their lot for 32 or 33k

 

Exactly, which means they would be making a profit of about $6,000 - $7000 on my car. Now the dealer says they won't make that much because they would have to certify the car due to the low milage. To do this they have to pay a fee to Ford. :scratch: My reply was so??? Is the fee that much that it's going to take all of the profit out of my car, I think not!!! :nono:

 

You have time why dont you sell it yourself? Put it on E-Bay, you dont have to trade it in.

 

Thought about that and I may go that route. Problem is it's a pain. You get all these pretenders wanting to come and test drive your car but have no intent on buying it what so ever. They just want to drive a Cobra. Had the same issue when selling my 94 Snake.

 

Best of luck to you, but I don't think I would get rid of my Cobra and pay 13k on top of it. JMO. 1 thing also, even though you car has no miles on it, it's still 2 yrs old. I went threw the same thing when I was going to trade in my car, co I just kept it.

 

I know but the 03/04 Cobra's have a known cylinder head defect. Basically not enough coolant gets to the number 7 and 8 cylinders on the drivers side head. This can cause damage to the valves in those cylinders and the engine in some cases. I have friends that have had their cylinder heads replaced 2 and 3 times only to have the problem come back. It's worse on modded cars but has happened to stock cars as well. I'm probably being paranoid as it may never happen to my car but I just don't feel like dealing with it. Just my personal feeling. So I'd rather get rid of it now then wait another year or more and have the value drop even more.

 

Did I read correctly? 855 miles? Hold out for more money or go through the hassle of selling it yourself. I know how you feel about people driving your car, etc. Think about it this way...it's not going to be your car. And, there is nothing that says a prospective buyer gets to come beat on the car. You don't have to beat on it to verify the car is in good condition. My '05 is my 8th mustang, and I've had quite a few other cars, too. The problem is that your just giving the dealership 2-3k to sell your car for you. Is it worth that? Do you think you would have any problem selling your car for 26k?

One thing to think about is the tax credit. I don't know how it works where you are, but here in Washington state, you only pay tax on the difference between what you get for your trade and the sale price of the new car. That would be a couple grand essentially added to your trade in. So, you would have to sell your car for 28k to break even with what the dealer is offering you.

The problem you will run into is finding a buyer...someone who wants that car and not a new mustang for the same money. Then that buyer has to have the down payment or credit required to finance the car, assuming they don't have 5k lying around. The bank will only lend what it will lend, which is usually 80% to 110% of the NADA. Each bank will have it's own guidelines.

The '03-'04 Cobras are rocketships. I bet there's someone who wants what amounts to a new one. Heck, I already have over 1k on my '05, and I got it 4/15. Good luck.

 

If you only have 855 miles on your car, can you even justify getting another one? Apparently it is not like you drive the thing.

 

The 06 GT I'd use as my daily driver. The milage was so low on the Cobra because I have a 90 GT vert which I used to drive every day. Has 110K on the clock now so I want to give it a rest, maybe restore it some day. My game plan is to get the car officially appraised this weekend, I'm going to try to get $27000 for my car and another $500.00 off list. If they won't do that then I walk. I've bought many a car from this dealer and all of them were serviced by them as well. If they want to lose me as a customer then so be it.


Wish me luck!!!!