I LOST my COBRA!!!

Jim Barnett · #1 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 07:07 AM

Well, after having a wisdom tooth and the tooth next to it pulled Thursday afternoon, I THOUGHT I couldn't be in any more pain than that. WRONG!!! Thursday night, while I could hardly TALK, the guys that sold me my Classic Roadster Cobra replica called me and told me that I had to RETURN the car to them because it had been registered in the glorious sad state of California ILLEGALLY when it was first registered years ago as a 1965 Ford and that I would MOST LIKELY get a RECALL NOTICE for the supposedly LEGAL CA title in the next few months (something the finance company would NOT take kindly to very much - I partially financed $17.5K of the car's purchase price). They were very apologetic about the whole matter (they LOST 6 cars from their store inventory, several of which were on consignment, including a REAL NICE "built" $40K cobra replica that is headed back to Nevada today - MY cobra is being shipped to Arizona today for sale out of CA!!) and they returned all my purchase price money, BUT now I have a LOT of new stuff that I bought specific to a Classic Roadster from Don and Pete (thank goodness that I had only put the Moto-Lita steering wheel on). IF anyone would be interested in buying my new Stainless Steel Rollbar (unpolished as I received it) AND the Bezel Kit, please let me know. I also have a Custom Dash and the cover kit and the LeCarrera 4 spoke Steering wheel (black padded rim - NICE) with Chevy column adapter/horn adapter to sell and a new assembly manual for a CR. I am SO PISSED right now that I can hardly stand it. I loved that little car. It was without question the MOST FUN CAR that I have EVER OWNED (even though I only had it for a couple of months!!). I AM going to GET ME ANOTHER Cobra replica as soon as I can find one in my price range, BUT I DOUBT that I'll find one for the great price that I paid for the CR (it SURE was a good deal as far as I'm concerned). Guess I may have to sell the Hemi after all

( TOTAL BUMMER!!!

Yetiman · #2 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 07:15 AM

At least it sounds like your not going to get stiffed on the purchase price but wow...

I would still be contacting my lawyer before i proceeded one inch from this point.

maxrpm · #3 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 08:52 AM

Holy Smokes! I'd rather have ALL my teeth pulled than be without my Cobra!

tpiini · #4 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 09:23 AM

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing this, but I am SO GLAD that I moved out of CA last year! I wouldn't own a Cobra right now if I had stayed there. It's just not worth the hassle with the state.

Sorry Jim. I hope you can pick up something street legal without going broke.

Turk · #5 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 09:23 AM

Move to California. They MAY pull all your teeth (just incase there is a gold one in the bunch). You'll then loose your Cobra and maybe even your a$$ for the privilige of living here. All this while the politicians are trying to find a way to give the illegals the right to drive..

It is getting stupid and ugly in California.

Excaliber · #6 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 09:47 AM

Your very fortunate Jim!!!

Sounds like you got the bulk, if not all, of your money back. There are others who will loose their registration and have to sell the car on their own, most likely at a substantial loss.

Move to Hawaii, piece of cake registering here.

Jim Downard · #7 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 09:50 AM

Is it against CA law to own a car without a registration. For example, what if, while waiting on an SB100 number, you simply tell them that the vehicle will now be used for closed course competition. Then what?

Ron61 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 09:59 AM

Jim,

At this time it is not against the law to own an unregistered car in this state if you just use it on a track. They did try that many years ago and all of the guys that have race cars said ok, fine, if we have to register them then we drive them on the street. A couple of lawsuites got rid of that insane idea. So if you use it just for off road use on a track or if you have enough land to make your own track, they can't do anything about it. YET !!!

Ron

Turk · #9 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 10:11 AM

If they were only enforcing proper registration for proper use, I suppose that would not be an issue. When they race at the NHRA, and other events, I don't see CHP checking for registration.

Current enforcement is not as much about proper registration as it is about illegal registrations that took place in this state prior to SB-100 and the circumventing of the rules and taxes etc.

There is a hostile environment here in California towards these cars that go beyond what is obvious.

SB-100 registration that allows for only 500 lucky people to be able to register their cars (not just Cobras) in a state the size of California with 30,000,000 or so motorists is a slap in the face of everyone.

I have argued for a few years against those who claimed it was better than nothing. It really isn't.

Issuing 500 numbers a year in California would be akin to States of Montana, or Wyoming passing legislation that says only two people can hunt or buy a boat this year. It is almost there to annoy and punish the others.

If you look at the overall number of cars and people living in some of the not-so-populated states, how would residents of Idaho feel if their regulators allowed 3 Cobras to be registered in that state each year?

It is getting stupid and ugly.

The car hating, basturds in Sacramento now have the tools to go after all the improper, creative registrations while referencing the "legal way of doing it". They threw us a crumb and now they are able to say, there are legal and proper ways of doing this and you chose to break the law.

I knew there was a catch to all this..

No we are NOT better of with SB-100. They are!! In the past we had an excuse, now we don't.

Sucks!!

Jim Barnett · #10 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 10:15 AM

My only problem with just trying to keep the cobra I had and trying to get an SB100 number the 1st of next year was the Finance Company AND the Insurance Company. BOTH want the car registered for usage on the street. The guys where I bought the car told me that they'd help me find one that IS LEGAL as soon as I'm ready to buy another one. Chances of it being a CR aren't all that good, though

(

Ron61 · #11 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 11:30 AM

Jim,

I know of two Superformance Cobras that are SB-100 registered and they are for sale. They are very nice cars, but they have added about $15K to the price for that SB-100 number. There is a car in this area that has the SB-100 number and it is an improved version of the Classic Roadsters, but he was asking $89K the last I heard and it isn't worth that. I watched him build the car and he has well over $100K in it, but a lot of that is the $8K sound system, pop out of the dash video screen for watching DVD movies, and other gadgets that to me ruin what the car was supposed to be. Everything was top line stuff, but mostly billet as chrome wasn't good enough. I agree with Turk, SB-100 hurt us a lot more than it helped. And when I talked to the CARB and DMV people in Sac. and they said the 500 numbers should be auctioned off, that was really the beginning of the end so far as I am concerned. They said they could get as much as $100K for a number if they auctioned them off. You can look in the last Mustang/Fort trader magazine at one of the Superformance Cobras that is for sale.

Ron

dscott · #12 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 11:43 AM

Jim, maybe we can help with finding another Classic Roadsters car for you. Give me a call and we can discuss it. Don't let your dream die over this. Just put it on hold for awhile.
Don 1-888-722-6272

ps, don't give these guys anything you've paid for. Take it off and let them deal with it. They're the ones that lied to you about the registration.

mr bruce · #13 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 12:33 PM

What about private individuals who have sold cars improperly registered, are they liable, have to give your money back? How about the kit mfgs ,do they or should they warn you of the registration problems. One companys painter has 13 shells backed up, do those guys know what they are in for. The full roller dealers are selling cars. Do they tell their customers they have to wait untill 2006 for a CHANCE at getting a number. Are you all aware of new air quality standards for southern Cal. for 2007.Primedia, auto magazine publisher moved their opperation to FLA, do they know sumthing you guys can't see yet?

jdean · #14 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 01:27 PM

I would venture a guess that at least 25% of ALL hot-rods, Cobras, Kit Cars, home-built or exotics that exist in the country are in California.

So the 500 SB100s they give out would amount to around 10 going to Cobras!!

Even though it is the state of my birth, I would not want to live there.

Where is Arnie when you need him?

dscott · #15 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 02:06 PM

I don't know about the other guys but I tell all my potential CA customers what to expect and how difficult it can be to register. SB100 isn't the only way to register a car in CA. I have many that have gone through the emissions program and received a go. I always tell these guys to go as old as you can on the engine block so you only have to meet emissions for that year. I know there is a 25 year rule on the engine so anything older just has to meet the requirements for that year. They usually must have a PCV system and the correct air cleaner if the engines are pre 1974. I think the whole problem is as Jim found out. Illegal registration. Also the people using Ford or GM crate engines. They must meet emissions for the year the engine was produced which is impossible. That's why all the crate motors are sold as off-road only.
Don

Ron61 · #16 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 02:40 PM

Ok, now a question about service blocks. Since I have never had one, do they have the date code stamp on them? I know they can't have the rest to identify which car it came in as they would have no way of knowing what car might have an engine fall apart under warranty. The normal coding will tell if the engine came in a Galaxie & etc.

Ron

Cobrabill · #17 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 02:42 PM

All you Kalifornians:

Line up in a row
Cock your head slightly to the left
Extent your right arm straight and have it at about 45 degrees from horizontal.
Lock your knees straight
Start goose-stepping
Now yell SIEG HEIL like you mean it!!!

jdog · #18 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 03:06 PM

"They can have my Cobra when they pry it from my cold dead fingers!"

No wait, they have may beat'n me & I don't even have a Cobra yet!

jdog

tpiini · #19 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cobrabill

All you Kalifornians:

Line up in a row
Cock your head slightly to the left
Extent your right arm straight and have it at about 45 degrees from horizontal.
Lock your knees straight
Start goose-stepping
Now yell SIEG HEIL like you mean it!!!

That's funny! I went into a KS bank today and the clerk, knowing that we had just moved from there, told me that the new CA state quarter just came out. I asked her if it had a swastika on the back. She wasn't amused.

StormBringer · #20 (**permalink**) 03-01-2005, 04:27 PM

James. We spoke through email before about getting a san diego group together. Give me a ring through email I can more then likely find you one, heck you can take the one I got off my hands if you want. I can always build or buy another one.

As for the comment about "SIEG HEIL", your right and I'm Jewish, Its that bad.