When it comes to Cobra kits, a quality end product is going to cost you much the same no matter which route you take. The more complete the kit and the better the initial engineering, the more you'll pay for that first delivery. If you buy a lesser quality or less-complete kit, you'll spend the money down the road acquiring parts, having donor parts reconditioned, and reworking the kit engineering to adapt it to alternative parts.
One of the problems with buying a minimal kit, or, say, just the frame, is that a few years down the road the maker may no longer be able to provide you with the rest of the key components. We had a few discussions recently with people who were trying to complete 10-year-old kits and for which the original fitting body or other major components were no longer available.
If your own skills aren't good, you probably want a better, more complete kit - there's certainly plenty of work and learning to do even when all the parts are there and fit together first try. If you get into something that needs heavy fabrication, adaptation, scrounging for a mix of donor parts, etc. you're likely to find it a slow, hard slog.
Good luck, though, whichever way you go. You'll find this forum an absolutely invaluable source of information and advice... some of it even useful.
