[patrickt]

Most things that will go wrong with your Cobra (but not all) will give you a little advance notice. It might be a new sound, a new smell, or something will "feel different." Pay attention. At first, just concentrate on driving the car -- you won't be able to notice something out of whack unless it's literally hanging off the car, or there's a puddle under the car, or the car runs like crap. In time though you will learn how every little thing feels, and smells, on your car. You'll be able to tell how your car feels differently when it is cold or hot (meaning the car, not just the engine... like the clutch, for instance). You'll spot even slightly different noises, rpm changes at idle, a whiff of coolant, a slight lag when you turn the key, a sputter under acceleration, you'll even be able to tell how your car behaves differently when it has a full tank of gas versus only a few gallons. Just give it time and pay attention to everything. Your car will never act randomly. Everything it does will mean something, and in time, it'll just jump right out at you. You might not know what it means, but you'll know that it's new and that you need to figure out why it's doing that.