What the hell?

[209]

Somebody or everybody tell me why someone buys a long awaited cobra and never drives it?? Am I missing something? If you have 1k or less and it's five years old, why don't you drive it? You don't even have the bugs out of it yet. The motor isn't even broken in. I can't see it. I bought mine Feb of 09 and I'm on my 2nd motor and if I don't drive it, my motor warranty will expire. It's been at the installers for 7 of those months and I've racked up 8k just yesterday. Granted I live in a place where I can drive 11 months of the year but still. I don't do shows 'cause I'd rather drive it. Please tell me. The ONLY reason I can see is "I'll be driving my new GT40 that I may purchase soon)". 209

[Mooch]

To make you feel better, I got mine 7 months ago and have ~3400 miles on it.

Some short course auto-X:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FklqkBoFFv4

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by Mooch

To make you feel better, I got mine 7 months ago and have ~3400 miles on it.

Some short course auto-X:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FklqkBoFFv4

Mooch ... looks like a nice way to exercise 1st gear in your ERA ... sounds great

[JST4FUN]

I bought mine in May with 1100 miles in a little over a year with a similar story to WardL's. Everyone has their reasons I guess!

[WardL]

The story I got when buying my SPF with 1,700 miles in 3 years was "The first time my wife got out of the Cobra she burned her leg and would never get in it again" He wanted to go for a ride with his wife. Oh, another story was the wife got allergies when they got out. It must be a spouse thing? I agree with you....

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by WardL

The story I got when buying my SPF with 1,700 miles in 3 years was "The first time my wife got out of the Cobra she burned her leg and would never get in it again" He wanted to go for a ride with his wife. Oh, another story was the wife got allergies when they got out. It must be a spouse thing? I agree with you....

My wife doesn't like mine either, but I managed to put almost 6000 miles on it trying to convince here before I threw in the towel.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by WardL

The story I got when buying my SPF with 1,700 miles in 3 years was "The first time my wife got out of the Cobra she burned her leg and would never get in it again" He wanted to go for a ride with his wife. Oh, another story was the wife got allergies when they got out. It must be a spouse thing? I agree with you....

I do believe it was perhaps after she burned her leg the guy took someone else for a ride and his wife got allegies from the seat, ya think?

[mdross1]

When we first got ours on the road it was part of our primary transportation,the other a pickup truck.Now it sits a lot because of so many other summer hobbies,that's Okay too nothing to prove to anyone!!!

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by 209

Somebody or everybody tell me why someone buys a long awaited cobra and never drives it?? Am I missing something? If you have 1k or less and it's five years old, why don't you drive it? You don't even have the bugs out of it yet. The motor isn't even broken in. I can't see it. I bought mine Feb of 09 and I'm on my 2nd motor and if I don't drive it, my motor warranty will expire. It's been at the installers for 7 of those months and I've racked up 8k just yesterday. Granted I live in a place where I can drive 11 months of the year but still. I don't do shows 'cause I'd rather drive it. Please tell me. The ONLY reason I can see is "I'll be driving my new GT40 that I may purchase soon)". 209

Same thing with the Ford GTs. People in 2005 and 2006 were buying these for close to 200K and most of them seem to have less than 5000 miles and frequently under 1000, with a fair number in the less than 500. Especially true of the Heritage (Gulf Oil color) cars.

Many of them have not even had the TSBs performed and the primary one (axle bolts) are no longer available from Ford.

[FredBMOC]

Have you guys ever looked at Ferraris? Owners of certain brands/models seem to think it's a crime to drive their pride and joy cars. I have 2 partners who have Lambos and Ferraris and both keep them in the garage all of the time afraid to put miles on the cars and lose value; such a waste..... I'm driving my Cobra to the office this morning again ;-)

[Silverback51]

My car was 8 years old when I bought it and it had a little over 4000 miles on it. The original owner drove it to car shows and that was it.

In the 3 years that I have owned it I have put 20,000 miles on it and have loved every mile. Last summer we put close to 3,000 miles on it during our vacation and will be doing the same this year.

Personally I buy cars to drive them.

[mic n gill]

wife got snake bite, used powerade as we had no water, healed up within a couple of days, great stuff---Mic

[azfordman]

I always wondered the same thing the last few years when I was shopping for one. Seemed like so many cars had only a couple of hundred miles on them. My car is close to 20 years old and had just over 900 original miles on the odometer when I got it.... I've owned it just over 3 month now and have put almost 4,000 miles on it already!!!! I spent the first 42 years of my life cobra-less, so I have a lot of time and miles to make up for! These cars were meant to be driven and enjoyed. I am sooooo glad I live in a state where I can drive it 365 days a year.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by azfordman

I always wondered the same thing the last few years when I was shopping for one. Seemed like so many cars had only a couple of hundred miles on them. My car is close to 20 years old and had just over 900 original miles on the odometer when I got it.... I've owned it just over 3 month now and have put almost 4,000 miles on it already!!!! I spent the first 42 years of my life cobra-less, so I have a lot of time and miles to make up for! These cars were meant to be driven and enjoyed. I am sooooo glad I live in a state where I can drive it 365 days a year.

I am really looking forward to meeting with you when I eventually get my Cobra, John, AKA, tin-man

[joyridin']

I didn't drive mine at all this year. Didn't even put plates on it. It is kind of a hassle. Moving cars around to get out of the garage, keeping it clean, worrying about rain plus a few other things.

The motorcycle is so much easier. Hop on it and go. There is still the rain thing, but I don't really worry about it on the bike.

[Tommy]

A close friend of mine has four cars in his five car garage, all of them bought new and none of them a current or future classic. One is his daily driver and the others just sit there. His five year old Mazda Miata has only been to the gas station once. Try as I have, I cannot understand his thinking. It seems that some people like to buy things without regard to using them. It doesn't make sense to me, but it's his money, his garage and his cars that are depreciating without use. He often talks of buying a Cobra too. To each his own.

[ACademic]

Originally Posted by Tommy

His five year old Mazda Miata has only been to the gas station once. Try as I have, I cannot understand his thinking.

All you have to do is watch one episode of American Pickers and you'll understand. Mankind is made up of pack rats and hoarders. People buy and save stuff because they all think it will go up in value some day.

I have a general rule for my stuff...If I don't use it in two years or it's not on display or really, really sentimental, then I get rid of it. The only exceptions are some specialty tools (i.e. crank snout socket with integral degree wheel) and original take-off parts (that still work) for new cars that I still own. If I sell the car, the factory parts are either sold separately or go with the car.

[patrickt]

I think the time that you spend under your car fixing it, because it is broken, should count for double time over that of simply driving it.

[ACBill]

I often wonder if some owners are actually afraid to drive their cars. They can be a handful if your used to driving a Lexus on a daily basis. Comfort would I think be another issue. The initial romance of driving a unique vehicle such as ours, may soon wear thin after a short time.

Weather has been my single determining factor on how much I can my car out. I refuse to drive it in the rain. Cold isn't a problem, as I can dress warm enough, and with the heater at full blast, still enjoy a sunny winters day cruise.

[D-CEL]

I think for a lot of guys a owning a Cobra is like having a supermodel girl friend. Beautiful to look at, absolutely incredible when driven hard. But Expensive, high maintenance, noisy…and wives hate them!! LOL
They were in love with the dream, but the reality isn’t what they expected.
We all know how different a Cobra really is. Until you spend some time in the saddle, you just can’t understand it. They require a very high level of operator involvement from all aspects, cost, maintenance, driving.
I heard a guy with a brand new SPF owner say once: “Uhhh, its nothing like my M3…”
Holy Crap! That was an understatement! I don’t think I ever saw him again.
I always tell people “It’s just like a flat bottom boat. Bumpy, windy, noisy, you kinda sit on it, not in it. Only seats two. Ya gotta be careful around the pipes.
And lastly, they really aren’t for novices.
However, it’s the most fun you can have burning gasoline..

Jason