SP280 Sold - Cobra market..

[frankym]

This looked like a good deal at $35k, it sold above the 35k reserve for $37,311.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2415481671

There is definitely some serious pressure on prices of used cobras. This one was actually pretty surprising seeing what other, newer SPFs were being advertised for and not selling. This is pretty comforting actually. Hell, for anyone thinking about SPF, when you consider that you'll pay 40-45k for a newer one, own it for 4 years, and sell it for hi 30s, not too bad, considering how much you get out of it. I bought my SPF in December of 2002, already I've put over 1,000 miles on it and the summer hasn't even started. Compare that to the guy that pays 25k, spends another 10k over the next 2 years to drive it 500 miles, only to sell it for 25k after he's had enough, the SPF route is pretty economical.

If I were a Superformance dealer, I would keep one ready to drive car with a SVO SBF and one with SBF stroker, and advertise each for the 36.9k + their cost of @9k - 12k for the cost of the motor and tranny installed and have a car that could be purchased new for between 45.9k and $48.9k, add in the extras as needed and sell for another $1,000 to $2,000 and voilla, they'd sell all day long. You might argue that they are already doing that, but I haven't seen it.

The other thing would be to provide financing on favorable terms, but that probably gets into all kinds of other DOT and legal matters that won't work for the replicar business. After seeing the way these cars performed at VIR, my brother and I were really impressed with how balanced this car really is, especially in the rain, that really amazed us.

fm

[Gatorac]

. Compare that to the guy that pays 25k, spends another 10k over the next 2 years to drive it 500 miles, only to sell it for 25k after he's had enough, the SPF route is pretty economical.

What kinds of things are you talking about for the $10k to drive it for 2 years?

I spent $26k and sold it for $30k within 24 hours of posting it for sale. That's what I call pretty economical.

It seems like the most economical method would be to buy late model used. The guy that bought the SPF for $37k shouldn't lose much at all.

[frankym]

Jim,

I was referring to the guy who wants a 25k cobra and finds that driving it frequently on the weekends will prove difficult once they realize that the car overheats on hot days, the starter is not shielded from the headers, and so requires a cool down for hot starting, improperly configured hydraulics for brakes and clutch, inadequate cooling components, poorly set up suspension, low frills instrumentation, etc. I am leaving out oodles, but you may, stress may, spend lots of dough when you buy somebody's home built car. This of course assumes you get the right fix on the first try. Those of us who have looked for bargains and thought we got them, only learn later about being penny wise and pound foolish. But that was just my experience and it sounds like you did ok with your transactions. My point was just that the market seems to be stabilzing for the high end replicas like ERA and SPF and are mighty enticing at these levels for someone that might have been in the market for a lesser 25-30k car, that's all. Since you flipped yours, I am not surprised when you ask where you could spend the $10k, it adds up very very quickly. Time usually proves that there's always someone more foolish than you and me, when it comes to buying and selling used cars.

On my first transaction in the cobra market, I was the fool, but eventually worked out the bugs and sold it with no apologies because I was able to put 3k miles on it the last summer I owned it.

[Gatorac]

Ahhh. I agree. It's definatly buyer beware. With SPF being factory built, your chances of problems due to poor assembly are much lower.

I bought a race prepped Mustang from a reputible shop that built it. I find myself constantly tweeking it. If I had bought a $55k Panoz race car I should just have to add gas and head to the track. Hmmm, I almost have myself talked into it....

[purple panther]

e- bay is a good place for scam artists and fake bidding. its hilarious to watch it. just dont get sucked in.

[Nantucket427]

How can anyone spend that kind of money on something they have never seen from someone that doesn't even have a track record with e-bay. (number of like items sold with positive feed backs) Photos help but the description are not always complete.