I was out of town in a much larger city today and I was going through dealerships looking at different sports cars. The 3 I found were an 05 WRX STI for $27.5k, an 03 Cobra for $26.5k, and an 04 GTO.

The GTO was blue on blue, A4 with all options. It currently has 16k on the clock and everything is in working condition. Warranty is still intact(not sure how much time is on it though). I didn't drive it, because I was with my mom, just scoping at rides. My dad is the one who will be putting down the cash to purchase the car, and he usually likes to drive the car, and since it was out of town, there was no chance of him making it down before they closed.

I was a little disappointed at the fact that it was an LS1, since I was more of an LS2 guy. Don't get me wrong, I was still very interested, just I would have been a little more hyped if it was the LS2. I think F-Bodies just put a bad taste in my mouth. They are just SO UGLY! After talking to a friend, I decided that I might be interested in this car more than when I was looking at it.

Okay, the car is an 04 GTO, Blue with Blue leather interior, and all options MINUS the NASTY chrome rims. It has 16k miles on it, and is an A4. The dealership is trying to sell it for $22k currently, but said they would be willing to go to $20.5k. KBB books it for $24.5k as is. I was wondering what you guys would do?

Also, if I got this, or whatever of those 3, I would be doing some good mods. Probaly 125 shot, cam, exhaust, stall, etc.

BTW, is there anything I should look out for?

 

You sound awful lucky. Don't take whatever you get for granted and, if you don't have experience with a powerfull RWD car BE CAREFULL. Things happen fast.

Dont' shy away from an LS1. They can make plenty of power easily enough.

Don't forget to run the requesite Carfax. Carfax wont' show everything, but it's better than nothing.

 

I've driven an 06 Mustang GT, 97 Mustang Cobra, and a friends 280whp Eclipse GST. Both are fairly quick cars. I think a carfax is standard at many dealers now days, and I would get one forsure. $15 isn't much for a dealer when they get $20k on a car.

 

i like how you said both cars...clearly referring to the mustangs and not the blah eclipse...lol

 

The GST is just a bitch. It has a good amount of wheelhop, and you need to rev to around 4700 and slip the clutch. It's just a bitch to drive, and not really good. PLUS, when I said both cars, I was referring to RWD cars which the poster was talking about, and the GST is FWD.

 

man i love my car and all LS1's to death....but if my parents offered to buy me a 03 Cobra, i would be all over it. and honestly i think the STi's look like a$$, but they are nasty cars. with some mods done to it, 350whp in a AWD drive car w/sticky tires is awesome, if you can launch it.

 

Im a camaro guy all the way, if I were you and my parents were forking out the cash I would love to get the 03 cobra, with such little as an intake x-pipe magnaflow exh and a 4 lb pulley + tune they can easily be pulling 480 rwhp port the blower over 500hp sick sick sick.

But ive also seen some pretty sick gto's also. your call if the gto was an m6 id be for that one more.

 

I like the cobras, but interior wise, GTO>mustang>fbody. STIs are nice, the problem with the car was, its silver with silver rims. I'm sorry, but if I'm getting an STI it's going to be blue with gold rims. Terminators are nice, don't get me wrong, but I'm just worried about blowing something up, and those drivetrains are about 7-10k. I was leaning toward the GTO because its blue on blue, cool colors, and the interior is UBERS. Not sure though. I'm a huge mustang fan(foxs and 95-98 are favorites), but the 03s just dont look that great, and interior is iffy.

 

If you are into the Ls2 i would not try to convince yourself into buying a 04 gto. that being said i would Jump all over the -3 cobra.. if it is in good condition.. Or wait and look for a 05/06 Gto

 

What I would do is wait for an 05/06 GTO. Should only be a matter of time before you find a good one, and definitely for the price that Cobra is goign for. 03 Cobra would be really cool, but I'm not sure what kind of daily they'd be.

 

i would never buy an '04 GTO FWIW. if you buy it, you'll always kick yourself for not getting the LS2, not to mention the better exhaust and hood setup.

i must say the cobra is damn tempting...but i'm a GM guy

 

Meh.. how tough is it to get 50 horsepower out of an LS1? I have an '04 and I don't kick myself... The money I saved over an '05 makes up for the horsepower difference.

 

it's easy to get 50hp out of an LS1. i'm not trying to knock your car or anything, it's just the LS2 is a far superior motor. it has more displacement and a torque curve bordering perfection. it can do things an LS1 will never be able to. it's not just the motor either. you get the nicer hood and exhaust.

i'd like to add that if someone threw an '04 GTO at me, i'd be one happy camper. they're great cars. just if it were me, i'd save up for an '05-'06. you just get a lot more. it's easily worth another 2-3 thousand dollars. if you don't have they money yet, it's worth saving for. don't jump on something because of the extra added cost or you'll be kicking yourself later.

 

It's not tough at all!! The goat's biggest problem is it's weight (and untubbed max tire /wheel size). Does anyone make any lightweight body/suspension parts for them yet?? I guess I'm one of the very few who actually like/love the way they look, even without the scooped hood!! (Maybe even more so without it.)

 

get the goat i have an 04 and i could have got the 05 at the time. i dont regret it. only thing i want is the hood, they can keep the exhaust. mine is in the process of getting a 408 so the ls2 can kiss my ars lol.

 

You are an ls2 guy? What kind of ls2 cars have you owned. And 03 and 04 cobras are ugly? And you were dissapointed it was a ls1 in a 04? I believe with all my heart all 04 gtos were ls1s. How about have your parents pay for you to go to rehab to get off all the crack youve been smoking, and buy you a newspaper with job listings. Buy youself a caviler

 

Okay, this is total opinion I think. Therefore, in my opinion, i say No STi, even though i always wanted one til my LS1. Also, i say No to the lS1, jsut because of the Rarity of the 03Cobra compared to the other two. It's also a hoss to teh wheels!!! I mean, come on, it's still a mustang, but I won't lie, i would definitely take one. Please, pleswe, please, i wouldn't trade my F-Body LS1 for an 03 Cobra no matter what, but if those were my three choices, then Cobra all the way, with a smaller pulley, exhaust, and be proud of close to 400 to the wheels.

 

Out of those choices I would get the cobra. Its by far the best performing car out of the 3 stock and can put down some impressive numbers with minor mods. If I was looking for a car around those prices, I would look at corvettes.

 

Oh yeah, take back what i said, for that money, VETTe, no doubt

 

I personally wouldn't spend all that money on a Cobra that looks 95% similar inside and outside to a V6. Not to mention, just drive by any highschool parking lot and you will see no less than 10 mustangs. Lame!