Price to sell a cobra replica?

[Pagemaster]

First time poster....been lurking and learning for a while as I plan my project. I am considering building a cobra that I may sell after a short period of time....part of the joy is in the building for me....and then start a second one to keep.

From what I have been able to tell, the values of the various kits can vary widely, but I am trying to determine if I can make this work financially. I'm not looking to make money necessarily, but would like to break even with the project if possible.

Could I ask for your opinions on what range you think the car spec'd below should sell for? I am seeing in the 54-59k range in my research, but I need more validation. Also, what would you consider to be a killer price (something that would sell very quickly) on this car? Here goes:

Superformance MKIII Cobra
Red with Titanium stripes
Ceramic coated side pipes, glovebox, oil cooler, plus all their standard options
Ford 460 Super Cobra Jet 550hp crate motor, demon carb
Tremek TKO500 5-spd tranny

What other features should I consider to make this a more compelling car (if that's possible) from a marketing standpoint?

I know this may be a bit of a funky first post, but I'm a numbers guy, and need to make this work financially before I can get too far down the path.

I appreciate any advice! Thanks in advance!

-jp

[Three Peaks]

You might want to check the classified ads on this site and Cobracountry.com to get some comparison prices to at least get into the ballpark.

There is a discussion down the list a bit where a guy is considering selling an ERA kit for a very good price. I would think that would be a great car to buy/build/sell for a small profit as they are very high quality cars and he has a very complete kit available. Check "FIA ERA- What is is worth?" or something like that.

[jwd]

In your research, remember that asking price and selling price are two very different things and usually many thousands of dollars apart.

[Dwight]

The Cobra that sell the fastest is a toploader, FE (390 because of the price) Red or Blue, under $30,000.

Dwight

[Cashburn]

The TKO-500 might not like sitting behind a SCJ 460 You need to consider what an SPF dealer would charge for a similar packaged car new... and then subtract quite a bit since you will be selling it "used" and of course you are not a dealer so you will not be able to offer the same after sale support etc. And warranty may not be transferable.

[Gatorac]

I built my first Cobra for $26k and sold it for $30k. Cheapest car I ever owned.

It was an FFR. Staight axle. 302FI, T-5 tranny, Cobra R wheels. I spent a lot of time in the details. Polished this, painted that, chromed this. Picked a good color combo. It sold within 24 hours of posting it on the internet.

The build was the goal for me as well. When I finished it, I wanted to move on to the next project. Spend your time, not your money on the first one. An SPF may not be the best choice as the build is already done.

Good luck with your project and have fun.

[Tony Radford]

JP, you're talking about building a car for fun, but you can't really build an SPF. Are you sure you wouldn't rather go for a kit? You ought to check out a Unique pallet kit. A couple of hundred hours and yhou can have a very nice car.

[CobraDan]

McMichael Motorsports of Atlanta
The Superformance MKIII Cobra replica rolling chassis starts at $40,600 (normally $41,900) with McMichael current Summer Special, so you can work a price out from there. They can source a 460 from Southern Automotive Engines, total for a turnkey engine/Tremec 5 speed TKO-600, MSD, miscellaneous parts and pieces and installation would be approximately $16,600. Total $57,200

[ERA2188]

If "the joy is building" then buying a turnkey minus (Superformance) does not sound like what you are looking for. You can order an ERA, with all of the components that you will need, to build yourself. Very high quality car. You can order it in any stage of completion that you want. Same goes for Unique. Seems the only way to guarantee a potential "profit" is to put in considerable sweat equity, if you have the necessary skills to do so. Rickd

[Pagemaster]

Thanks very much for all the replies! True to form for this site, I got more info than I expected. The comments from folks about the Superformance not really being a kit build are right, and I realize that. I guess I was looking at this as an interim step toward a full kit build - I would have no trouble doing an engine and tranny install - and it would get completed in a reasonable amount of time. It also seemed to me - and I am an admitted novice in terms of my Cobra knowledge base at this point - that the SPF cars had pretty good value when sold as long as they had low miles and were nicely equipped.

My thinking was that if I could "build" an SPF car, doing the engine and tranny, etc. assembly and install myself, drive it for a 500 miles or so, then sell it for a couple thousand more that I paid for it, then I would be in good shape, and would have a blast doing it. I then could move on the the next one, if desired, with the next level of difficulty.

CobraDan, based on engine, tranny, clutch, driveshaft, etc etc parts that I would still need to add I am thinking I could do that for around $10-11k....I'm still shopping and admit I haven't allowed much in there for "surprises". But, if I can get the car for around $40k, add the engine for $11k, I'd be in for $53,500-ish with taxes. If I could have fun doing that, then sell it for anywhere from 54-57k, I'd be thrilled. My post was really trying to validate whether that was possible. As another example, Dynamic motorsports seems to have a turn key superfomance car that they sell including engine and trans that starts at 51,900, but that is for a base 302 engine (not a BB460), and that price doesn't include the cost of engine installation....have to read the fine print.

I am also looking at the ERA cars as well...very nice, although I have not yet seen what their resale values look like. Their build costs seem to be about 5k less than the superformance (my initial assessment).

Thanks again for all the help!! Any more info or replies are still appreciated!

-JP

[CobraDan]

When I moved to Florida 10 years ago there was a Cobra builder ( no longer building) who was selling completed cobras for $39,900 at the Cobra Shop. He only built them with BB Ford engines your choice of auto or stick and you got to pick the color of the interior and the cars color. He did everything as he originally was a local boat builder but the painting; his partner was the painter as the Cobra Shop with painter still exists in North Fort Myers. The builder had $17,000 in his creations and they were very nicely built as I saw a few of his builds.

[Excaliber]

When I figured in my time/labor and what the car might sell for when completed I am working on the car for .37 cents an hour.

...good thing it's a labor of love!

[Ron61]

Darn Ernie,

Must you insist on keeping up the over paying yourself? I bet if I figured all the time I have spent on these things over the years it would be more like .10¢ an hour.

Ron

[Nantucket427]

I like mine and would own another one if I could.
As far as building one, I know several people that have built a cobar from scratch but they put in alot of hours to build a nice one. My Superformance(I am the third ower) took 2 years to re-build. The car was good but the engine was literally falling apart. I had the engine in and out 3 times. I like building it and getting to know the car but driving it is way more fun.
The 460 would be the first turn-off for me, as far as I am concerned it said 427 on the side, it is called a 427 body style, it should have a 427 in it. Blue is the most popular color. Make it as close to the original as possible.
Keep the price reasonable, 4 years ago $55,000 was at the high end but the stock market was at 10,000

[richsd]

Originally Posted by Nantucket427

The 460 would be the first turn-off for me, as far as I am concerned it said 427 on the side, it is called a 427 body style, it should have a 427 in it. Blue is the most popular color. Make it as close to the original as possible.

My thoughts exactly.