Just Curious

[redmt]

Originally Posted by marcocsx3121

I hear you, but the cars being offered in the 40s are often also SPF; same, high end name.

Check these out. Asking and getting are two different things. These guys are a consignment dealer so I guess it doesn't matter how soon or if they sell them. This is one of those head scratching situations I was talking about.

http://www.specialtysales.com/invent...&Submit=Search

[Tommy]

Marco,
At the risk of inadvertently hurting someone's feelings, I'll take a shot at answering your question. I'll begin by noting something I've seen more frequently on this forum as Superformance owners have become more numerous here. It feels like there are more Cobra owners now who don't know much about how cars operate as machinery. I'm not saying there weren't people like that in the past; it's just that it feels like there are more of them now. ... In the past, novices who wanted to buy a high quality, professionally built Cobra replica had to rely on advice from people in the know about either what used car to buy or which brand and builder to choose. I suspect that made buying a Cobra replica an uncomfortable experiece for many novices. The emergence of the Superformance brand as a consistently high quality car needing only a drive train and wheels made it attractive to many novices. A would-be Cobra owner didn't have to know much of anything about cars, nor have a friend who did in order to feel comfortable about buying a Superformance. I think that may be why Superformance can sell cars when many used cars of comparable quality are languishing on the market. ... It's sort of the same reason why people will pay $500 for a new computer when a similar used one can be bought for $200. If the buyer doesn't trust his judgement in accessing the used item, he will often pay a higher price for the comfort of buying a new one.

[marcocsx3121]

Obviously, I'm not communicating very well. My comparison roller vs. completed cars is SPF to SPF. There are two in the current for sale section of this forum for about the same price as a new roller.

BTW, I do recognize that SPF is a quality piece. When McMichael Motorsports, an SPF franchise, was located across the road from Road Atlanta, (all of 12 miles from my old lake house), it was a fairly regular hangout. Rob Ginn would periodically force me to take one or another of his creations out for a run.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by redmt

Check these out. Asking and getting are two different things. These guys are a consignment dealer so I guess it doesn't matter how soon or if they sell them. This is one of those head scratching situations I was talking about.

http://www.specialtysales.com/invent...&Submit=Search

FWIW: As it relates to the original question and poster > Not all Cobra builds are created equal; even when comparing different SPFs. I clicked on your link, and noticed a car for sale there a good friend use to own. When you look at the ad, it reads $59K, and knowing what's in the car, including a FE aluminum $25,000 Shelby motor, completely revised suspension, replaced high end shocks/springs, all SPF gauges replaced with high-end gauges, different fuel system, fuel cell tank, special order paint, and seeing all the receipts from the former owner and the time it took to assemble the drivetrain and sort out the car, blah-blah-blah, the car ended up costing the original owner more than $85K to build. So, to the right buyer who wants a Shelby motor in their SPF and a lot of nice extras, that used car might be worth say 55-59k to someone. Whereas, maybe the more factory standard SPF car right next to it for sale in a common color theme might have an off-the-shelf 392 Ford Motorsport Crate motor in it and no extras or upgrades with an asking price of $50K, I'd say there would be a big gap between these two scenarios but sometimes they get priced closer to each other more than would seem reasonable to people who build them every day and know what all the "extras and upgrades" truly cost to do.

Unless you've actually built one from start to finish, or worst case had someone else build it for you, and had to pay for all the upgraded parts, labor time, money & energy spent to finish a car and sort it out - each car has to be looked at carefully to know what it might be worth from one person to the next.

And for others, no matter what, they don't want to buy someone else's car, build, or colors, and just want to be able to experience a new "turnkey minus" car for themselves, just how they want it to look or be equipped in the drivetrain area. If I've learned one thing about Cobras, just about everyone likes something a bit different than the next person, and that's what makes the variety so fun in all the different makes out there too. There are a few nice cars down at Specialty sales though. If you know what to look for used, there are some great deals out there right now for sure.

[Don]

New vs pre-owned, getting exactly what is wanted as a total package considering the expense as far as engine, color, stripe, etc., etc. The close reasonable match to desires might also be too far away to easily/personally inspect and transport, another expense.

SPF as well as others continue to refine their products.

Probably some of the same reasons new Mustangs, Challengers, etc are bought new, rather than pre-owned. I bought my Z06 new, but got exactly what I wanted.