As far as the Ford "quality" issue goes, my 2003 police cruiser that has all of 18,700 miles on it is indefinitely laid up due to:

1) Front shock problem (recall item)
2) Rear differential leak (recall item)
3) Wheels (recall due to cracks)

And yes, police cars do get used harder than most cars, but this car has not been abused by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Cobras are far from rock solid. My car had these problems at 5000 miles.The clunk,driveline noise while shifting. The pop,rear end pop when turning on a incline. The stall, car may die at anytime. The tick,valve train noise that can be fixed with a head swap, but you have to pull the motor, a few have started again after this. The throw out bearing started squealing, brake booster leaked, Fuel pressure sensor busted, and the CD player played when it wanted too. I think there were a couple other things, but I can't remember. All of these are very common and there are a few others like the pull, the vibe, and some overheating.
Thanks Mike

 

yeah, well im 18, im going to trade my z in on a viper. then i realized i need 6,000 to go to driving school, twice.

on a diffrent note* i understand over 50% of vipers sit in the garage cause they are a investment. about 40% are daily drivers and 30% of the daily drivers get wrapped around a tree...true??

 

Have to agree. We bought our 2003 10th anniversary Cobra in August. We had the rear-end popping problem, but that was fixed when they had to drop it to fix a differential leak! While the car is OHMIGOD fast, it just doesn't feel solid, and the interior is definitely low rent, although the black and red leather combo is hot.

 

You're lucky to have a ford, I gotta ride around in a POS front wheel drive impala. No more complaining for you.

 

wow are you guys cops? if so is it true that you can drive with a permit when your sixteen to work and school because my friend says he can.

and im no longer getting the cobra and still saving for the bike

o and thanks for all the replies

 

if i am not mistaken most of the problems with the cobra have been fixed for 04 (and late produced 03's). and if you can wait until the 05 stang comes out, you could probably get an 04 cobra for a relatively good price. but i would not expect a z to take on a cobra (performance wise) without much money invested. there is a common misconception that the cobra is a horrible handler. all i have to say is that it lapped the nurburing in under 8 minutes (yes thats pretty fast). personally, i still like the lines of the z better. it still does handle better, and the interior is much better ergonomically and quality wise. and i would go so far as to say that the z is just an all around better produced car. just think, how many times have you seen a mustang on anyone's 10 best list? i say test drive the cobra and see what YOU LIKE. if you dont become addicted to the torque keep the z...

 

Cobra's look like Mustang Crap...i cant tell the diff between a Cobra and a V6 Base Model.

 

hmm ok , its really easy to tell them apart..
i like how the cobras exterior looks, someone said it doesnt look agressive are you serious ? do you also think it doesnt sound mean ? .. i would love to own one , as far as reliability - i had no luck with nissan and if i had a chance to pick between Cobra and a Z ? would take that american piece of crap without any hesitation

 

God Bless America!!!! *Salutes*

 

Nothing like riding a bike that is not forgiving, builds confidence, then lets you know you pushed it past its limits!

R6/R1s tend to do that as with Gixers.

If you get an older GSX-R around mid 90ish you should be fine, if you buy a late 90+ GSX-R for a first bike chances are you will drop it if not worse....

Then again chances are you are going to drop your first bike no matter what it is. It happens! Better to do it on a cheap bike then a nice pricy one.

P.S check prices on insruance before buying a bike.

P,S,S Suzuki Bandit 600S is a great starter bike and is VERY cheap to insure.