Kirkham vs. ERA

[vector1]

check out the kmp and era and then next time you fly in to mci or ojc or ixd which are closer i will show you a jbl

[Flygirl]

Yeh, I wish I was joking.

[Marc #561]

You don't have to buy your forever cobra now. Pick up what you can afford, shop well for an undervalued car you can make some money on or break even on later, and enjoy it for awhile before selling it when you're ready to move up to that perfect Kirkham. I went from a Spf to Kms 561. No regrets at all.

[Flygirl]

Thank you, I think that's good advice. I'm considering a used ERA that's set up very nicely indeed. I loved the Kirkham I took a look at, but it's just too expensive for me right now.

Have to be honest, though, I am a bit of a perfectionist and have regretted only going 90% of the way a number of times before. So I have to be careful about that, too.

[Marc #561]

A couple thoughts: you're in VERY like minded company here fly F/grl. Few among us are NOT perfectionistic. We are picayune about the smallest of minutae, require a very high standard in many areas of our lives, enjoy and prefer our stuff precision crafted, and probably have strained a relationship or two with our very high expections. And, Like Thomas Wolfe, we all have the simplist of tastes, as we are always satisfied with the best. So, welcome to the club.

Thought two. Unless you are going to add webers (or something similar), billboard tires, larger wheels, a polished stainless exhaust or do an engine swap, these are NOT expensive cars to maintain. Indeed, a Cobra is a very cheap car to maintain. So, unless you are out flogging it regularly you won't be needing much money to maintain it.

Simply buy the car that comes closest to being set up the way you want it. And if it's not your forever cobra, try to spend as little as possible on big ticket changes. Leave those for the one who buys it from you.

And finally, know that most of the higher end cars are already set up beautifully and are gorgeous in all ways right out of the box, ready to enjoy without spending one dime on other than for fuel (and you'll need a few bucks for that, as these cars often don't get more than 8 miles a gallon).

[mreid]

I started to comment point by point on the post above, but realized I was typing too much.

Bottom line, I completely disagree with just about every point.

[patrickt]

The real benefit of doing business with either ERA or Kirkham is that you don't need to do a background check on the folks you will be dealing with and you can feel comfortable leaving a large check with either of them on nothing more than their word and a handshake to back it all up.

[snakebitekit]

I have been following this thread since the begining. just a couple of things. When doing my resaearch and decided on ERA I called and chatted with "the boys" about the deposit check. I inquired about a contract. " we don't do contracts, if you want to make one up we'll look at it and if we like it we'll sign it. " I sent the money to them with no contract and never looked back nor was I ever dissappointed. Just great guys to deal with. I went with the FIA becasue they handle better than the BB's, less understeer, I like the smaller flares, and there aren't nearly as many on the road making mine more unique.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by snakebitekit

I sent the money to them with no contract and never looked back nor was I ever dissappointed.

I'll beat that -- Peter didn't even figure out what I owed him until a couple of weeks after my car was delivered to me.

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by snakebitekit

I went with the FIA becasue they handle better than the BB's, less understeer, I like the smaller flares, and there aren't nearly as many on the road making mine more unique.

Nothing that a tickle of the gas pedal can't resolve in a BB.

Snakebitekit - congrats of the ERA FIA, I've never seen one in person, but like all things ERA I'm sure its "Quality".

[era427tp]

The most impotant thing to me is that the ERA is made 20 miles from where I live,and most importantly........in the USA