Discussion
Morning all, little bit of advice needed 
In the new year, I'm contemplating adding to/changing my garage. I've always loved the Cobra replicas and as a bit of a left field choice of car they really appeal to me. They also seem to come in at prices which mean I could keep my current 355 as well which I like - whether that would be a sensible stable is quite another
Anyway, so I have several questions which I'm hoping people can help me with. I've tried the search facility but Dax and 427 don't seem to appear much, so here goes:
1) Resale value - This is very important. While I am happy to plough a good amount of money into it if prices are stable/only sliding slowly, it cannot be a depreciation black hole (e.g. I'd happily spend £90k on a 360CS which is my current frontrunner, but wouldn't consider an F430 at £70k) I'd probably have one custom built, I've seen an example on the interweb here http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C190788 . On the assumption that I'd do say 10k miles in 3 years, what might I get for it come resale? Are we talking say £25k back from an initial £33k, or do kit cars drop like a stone?
2) Servicing - presumably if you're going for Chevy small block V8 etc, it's all pretty barn door-esque engineering so servicing costs are not really too much. What might you expect? If anyone can supply example figures that would be great.
3) Reliability - assuming I have it professionally built by someone reputable (like the example above), what is reliability like? Are there perpetually little problems that raise their head as it's hand built? Or is it the opposite, say very reliable as the engineering is so simple there's basically nothing to go wrong?
4) Handling - I appreciate that all the cars are going to be slightly different and being correctly set up makes a world of difference, but do they fundamentally handle quite well if done properly? Or are they more looks and noise and you just accept they're a little bit of a barge? For reference, I've spent quite a lot of time driving Corvette C6s in American handling spec (so far inferior to the ones imported to the UK) and it wasn't the end of the world
5) Insurance - difficult/expensive to get? For example I pay £720 FC for my 355 and can get quotes from regular insurers within £100 of that figure all day long which I think is very reasonable.
Any info people could give on my questions above, or just their general thoughts/experiences would be much appreciated. Happy Saturday
In the new year, I'm contemplating adding to/changing my garage. I've always loved the Cobra replicas and as a bit of a left field choice of car they really appeal to me. They also seem to come in at prices which mean I could keep my current 355 as well which I like - whether that would be a sensible stable is quite another
Anyway, so I have several questions which I'm hoping people can help me with. I've tried the search facility but Dax and 427 don't seem to appear much, so here goes:
1) Resale value - This is very important. While I am happy to plough a good amount of money into it if prices are stable/only sliding slowly, it cannot be a depreciation black hole (e.g. I'd happily spend £90k on a 360CS which is my current frontrunner, but wouldn't consider an F430 at £70k) I'd probably have one custom built, I've seen an example on the interweb here http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C190788 . On the assumption that I'd do say 10k miles in 3 years, what might I get for it come resale? Are we talking say £25k back from an initial £33k, or do kit cars drop like a stone?
2) Servicing - presumably if you're going for Chevy small block V8 etc, it's all pretty barn door-esque engineering so servicing costs are not really too much. What might you expect? If anyone can supply example figures that would be great.
3) Reliability - assuming I have it professionally built by someone reputable (like the example above), what is reliability like? Are there perpetually little problems that raise their head as it's hand built? Or is it the opposite, say very reliable as the engineering is so simple there's basically nothing to go wrong?
4) Handling - I appreciate that all the cars are going to be slightly different and being correctly set up makes a world of difference, but do they fundamentally handle quite well if done properly? Or are they more looks and noise and you just accept they're a little bit of a barge? For reference, I've spent quite a lot of time driving Corvette C6s in American handling spec (so far inferior to the ones imported to the UK) and it wasn't the end of the world
5) Insurance - difficult/expensive to get? For example I pay £720 FC for my 355 and can get quotes from regular insurers within £100 of that figure all day long which I think is very reasonable.
Any info people could give on my questions above, or just their general thoughts/experiences would be much appreciated. Happy Saturday
Hi Marco,
Firstly, you need to come and register and join in on here - http://www.cobraclub.com/forum/forum.php and do a search as your questions have been covered in great detail on many occasions.
As 'Thelastpost' says, there are many good used examples available (although the link you referred to is to Dave Brookes who builds Dax cars). There's also Absolute Horsepower who build AK cars - both have a great reputation. Take the starting prices as a rough guide, though as you're bound to want to add bits to them which puts the prices up.
Insurance, again as mentioned, is amazing value - I pay about £350 for my 58 reg, 6.3 litre Chevy engined AK Cobra.
Handling is 'interesting' if it's damp - the engine is a big heavy lump and they need respect!
Depreciation can be almost non existant if you do your homework and buy the right one - again the Cobraclub forum is the place to ask about specific cars as almost all the ones for sale at any given time will be know to (or owned by) someone on the Cobraclub forum.
Servicing and tinkereing is mainly done by the owners - it's 1/2 the fun of ownership. Although there are plenty of US engine servicing places that will set up and service cars (where about in London are you?).
On the forum, you can see where the various regulary monthly meetings are and come along and introduce yourself and ask questions and pick the brains of owners that are far more knowledgeable than me (I didn't build mine - it was Absolute Horsepower's show car and was therefore professionally built).
HTH.
Cheers,
Jon
Firstly, you need to come and register and join in on here - http://www.cobraclub.com/forum/forum.php and do a search as your questions have been covered in great detail on many occasions.
As 'Thelastpost' says, there are many good used examples available (although the link you referred to is to Dave Brookes who builds Dax cars). There's also Absolute Horsepower who build AK cars - both have a great reputation. Take the starting prices as a rough guide, though as you're bound to want to add bits to them which puts the prices up.
Insurance, again as mentioned, is amazing value - I pay about £350 for my 58 reg, 6.3 litre Chevy engined AK Cobra.
Handling is 'interesting' if it's damp - the engine is a big heavy lump and they need respect!
Depreciation can be almost non existant if you do your homework and buy the right one - again the Cobraclub forum is the place to ask about specific cars as almost all the ones for sale at any given time will be know to (or owned by) someone on the Cobraclub forum.
Servicing and tinkereing is mainly done by the owners - it's 1/2 the fun of ownership. Although there are plenty of US engine servicing places that will set up and service cars (where about in London are you?).
On the forum, you can see where the various regulary monthly meetings are and come along and introduce yourself and ask questions and pick the brains of owners that are far more knowledgeable than me (I didn't build mine - it was Absolute Horsepower's show car and was therefore professionally built).
HTH.
Cheers,
Jon
Thanks for all the info so far guys, much appreciated I've joined the cobra forum so will continue research.
Yesterday I popped down to sovereign cars to take a look at a few cobras up close for the first time. First thoughts are:
1) they're even more beautiful in the flesh than in pics
2) you can definitely tell they're hand built/made - even the few examples I saw there in similar price brackets (c.£40k) had big variations in finish quality, one of the brand new factory built ones had carpet coming away in places already
3) people with broad shoulders were not in the mind of the designers who came up with the car Not a deal breaker but I'd def not want to put on any weight!
If i'd been on a buying mission yesterday, the one I would have gone for would have been this one:
http://www.sovereigncarsales.co.uk/Cobra_gridpos12... ....although I would ditch that awful gear knob!
As a hypothetical exercise, is that a good/sensible price for that car? And how much would it have cost to build in the first place as an estimate? The man at sovereign seemed to imply that it would have been about £45k, so likely the previous owner chopped it in for about £35k I would have thought. If so £10k depreciation doesn't seem to horrific.
Thoughts?
I've joined the cobra forum so will continue research.Yesterday I popped down to sovereign cars to take a look at a few cobras up close for the first time. First thoughts are:
1) they're even more beautiful in the flesh than in pics
2) you can definitely tell they're hand built/made - even the few examples I saw there in similar price brackets (c.£40k) had big variations in finish quality, one of the brand new factory built ones had carpet coming away in places already
3) people with broad shoulders were not in the mind of the designers who came up with the car
Not a deal breaker but I'd def not want to put on any weight!If i'd been on a buying mission yesterday, the one I would have gone for would have been this one:
http://www.sovereigncarsales.co.uk/Cobra_gridpos12... ....although I would ditch that awful gear knob!
As a hypothetical exercise, is that a good/sensible price for that car? And how much would it have cost to build in the first place as an estimate? The man at sovereign seemed to imply that it would have been about £45k, so likely the previous owner chopped it in for about £35k I would have thought. If so £10k depreciation doesn't seem to horrific.
Thoughts?
If you're concerned about depreciation, I wouldn't be buying from a dealer. Having said that, if you want a warranty and finance, then a dealer maybe the only option. That Dax is over-priced by about £10k, IMO. I have an AK (see my garage on my profile for details) of the same year, but with much better credentials than that Dax and virtually everything of note on my car is brand new (including paint, interior, engine, and virtually all brightwork) and I'd value it at less than Sovereign are asking for that Dax (I could possibly be tempted to part with it for the right offer by the way, although it's not officially for sale).
Regarding reliability... I've owned 2 Cobras over the last few years (a Dax of the type being offered by Sovereign and now an AK) and feel fairly qualified to comment on the ownership experience. I've also owned a 355 and a Corvette C6 (and now a modified Z06 in addition to the Cob), so can draw comparisons there, too. Don't expect to buy a Cobra (or any kit car) and expect it to be reliable in the same way as a mass-produced car... in my experience, there will always be something that needs fixing, tweaking or improving. The engine is something which is very important to get right and I'd highly recommend only considering a car where the engine has been built by a known and respected builder (there are a handful in the UK which are well-known in the Yank-engined kit car world).
Drop me a PM and I'll give you my phone # if you'd like a chat.
Regarding reliability... I've owned 2 Cobras over the last few years (a Dax of the type being offered by Sovereign and now an AK) and feel fairly qualified to comment on the ownership experience. I've also owned a 355 and a Corvette C6 (and now a modified Z06 in addition to the Cob), so can draw comparisons there, too. Don't expect to buy a Cobra (or any kit car) and expect it to be reliable in the same way as a mass-produced car... in my experience, there will always be something that needs fixing, tweaking or improving. The engine is something which is very important to get right and I'd highly recommend only considering a car where the engine has been built by a known and respected builder (there are a handful in the UK which are well-known in the Yank-engined kit car world).
Drop me a PM and I'll give you my phone # if you'd like a chat.
ian_uk1975 said:
If you're concerned about depreciation, I wouldn't be buying from a dealer. Having said that, if you want a warranty and finance, then a dealer maybe the only option. That Dax is over-priced by about £10k, IMO. I have an AK (see my garage on my profile for details) of the same year, but with much better credentials than that Dax and virtually everything of note on my car is brand new (including paint, interior, engine, and virtually all brightwork) and I'd value it at less than Sovereign are asking for that Dax (I could possibly be tempted to part with it for the right offer by the way, although it's not officially for sale).
Regarding reliability... I've owned 2 Cobras over the last few years (a Dax of the type being offered by Sovereign and now an AK) and feel fairly qualified to comment on the ownership experience. I've also owned a 355 and a Corvette C6 (and now a modified Z06 in addition to the Cob), so can draw comparisons there, too. Don't expect to buy a Cobra (or any kit car) and expect it to be reliable in the same way as a mass-produced car... in my experience, there will always be something that needs fixing, tweaking or improving. The engine is something which is very important to get right and I'd highly recommend only considering a car where the engine has been built by a known and respected builder (there are a handful in the UK which are well-known in the Yank-engined kit car world).
Drop me a PM and I'll give you my phone # if you'd like a chat.
Thanks Ian, will try and drop you a PM in the next day or soRegarding reliability... I've owned 2 Cobras over the last few years (a Dax of the type being offered by Sovereign and now an AK) and feel fairly qualified to comment on the ownership experience. I've also owned a 355 and a Corvette C6 (and now a modified Z06 in addition to the Cob), so can draw comparisons there, too. Don't expect to buy a Cobra (or any kit car) and expect it to be reliable in the same way as a mass-produced car... in my experience, there will always be something that needs fixing, tweaking or improving. The engine is something which is very important to get right and I'd highly recommend only considering a car where the engine has been built by a known and respected builder (there are a handful in the UK which are well-known in the Yank-engined kit car world).
Drop me a PM and I'll give you my phone # if you'd like a chat.
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