Buying Shelby

[wycoller]

I,m in the USA and looking at buying a 2008 Mustang Shelby Cobra, Convertible/ or Coupe which is the best.
what should i be wary of
what is the best spec. should i for long term use and value kep to a standard
Theres a couple of upgraded low mileage one with 700BHP etc . one owner around 42000 Dollars
As you can see i,m a Tivver but always fancied a Shelby. I,d be looking at bringing the car home with me. How difficult is that regards importing a car i will have owned for at least 1 year. and also if i did bring home loking down the ways i would sell the car.How wel is the car supported with UK club and servicing.
cheers
jim

[The Legend]

Jim,

Go to the MOCGB forum http://www.mocgb.net/forums/forum.php

You'll find all the information you need there.

These cars are quite well supported in the UK with a number of good specialists. Parts tend to be cheap, servicing is inexpensive, and the UK lighting conversion is now well tried & tested.

Good luck with the purchase!

[Stig]

Very well supported in the UK - but 42k USD sounds steep to me for an '08. You need to factor in import duty, shipping, VAT, IVA conversion etc. on top of that.

To give you an idea, Bill Shepherd have a 2010 GT 500 in Kona Blue/stripes, with 17k miles for £37,350 and that's ready to drive in the UK.

[wycoller]

Stig said:

Very well supported in the UK - but 42k USD sounds steep to me for an '08. You need to factor in import duty, shipping, VAT, IVA conversion etc. on top of that.

To give you an idea, Bill Shepherd have a 2010 GT 500 in Kona Blue/stripes, with 17k miles for £37,350 and that's ready to drive in the UK.

Stig
this was the top end modified 700bhp with 5k miles.
i have seen standard 2008 shelby with 3k miles for 37K dollars ( 1.6$=1 pound)
I will repatriate thus no tax or VAT to pay also will get the light conversion done stateside.
So a 2008 low milage shelby wil cost me 23k sterling shipping will be around 1000 bucks so in 3 years time i will have a cobra in Uk ready to sell with 25k miles from new at close to what i paid for it.in USA or i will keep it to go with my SC Griff.
I,ve checked with some dealers in uk and my costings look correct and good
I,ll also bring backspares and upgrade kits.

[The Legend]

If you have the lighting conversion done in the US, make sure that it is to the current UK spec's at the time, and make sure they know exactly what they are doing as it's very easy to damage the SJB with badly executed wiring modifications.

VOSA are forever altering the requirements for the test, and I'd hate to see you having to pay twice to get your car through the IVA test.

Edited by The Legend on Saturday 3rd March 07:50

[wycoller]

The Legend said:

If you have the lighting conversion done in the US, make sure that it is to the current UK spec's at the time, and make sure they know exactly what they are doing as it's very easy to damage the SJB with badly executed wiring modifications.

VOSA are forever altering the requirements for the test, and I'd hate to see you having to pay twice to get your car through the IVA test.

Edited by The Legend on Saturday 3rd March 07:50

cheers

[Roo]

The Legend said:

If you have the lighting conversion done in the US, make sure that it is to the current UK spec's at the time, and make sure they know exactly what they are doing as it's very easy to damage the SJB with badly executed wiring modifications.

VOSA are forever altering the requirements for the test, and I'd hate to see you having to pay twice to get your car through the IVA test.

Edited by The Legend on Saturday 3rd March 07:50

They also hate anything non-standard.

If it's been modified it'll be a nightmare. Even the standard front indicators on an 05-09 Mustang will no longer go through an IVA test at my local place due to visibility of the lens.

[LuS1fer]

The lighter GT handles better as the earlier GT500s had the iron engine. Depending what you want, a Roush, Saleen or later 5.0 GT might be a better bet but if it's the Shelby you want then probably nothing else will do.

[wycoller]

LuS1fer said:

The lighter GT handles better as the earlier GT500s had the iron engine. Depending what you want, a Roush, Saleen or later 5.0 GT might be a better bet but if it's the Shelby you want then probably nothing else will do.

so what year shelby had the lighter eng

[LuS1fer]

wycoller said:

so what year shelby had the lighter eng

No alloy engine until 2011- the 540hp model. The 05-09 never had it.

GT weight - 3483 (1582 kg)
Shelby weight - 3920 (1780 kg) - though it has bigger brakes, 6 speed gearbox etc

[JDRoest]

LuS1fer said:

The lighter GT handles better as the earlier GT500s had the iron engine. Depending what you want, a Roush, Saleen or later 5.0 GT might be a better bet but if it's the Shelby you want then probably nothing else will do.

F150 5.4 iirc. However, the new 5.0 is possibly running at its limit as I'm sure I read Ford have stopped covering all modified 5.0s from warranty work.

Which strangely makes the 4.6 the best of the bunch

[Harrysdad]

I have run my 2007 GT500 for 4 years now in England (still has only 10000 on the clock) and absolutely love it. They have so much character its a shame to mod them, though the Euro lights are great.

[wycoller]

bought a 2012 shelby 5.4 ltr all alloy engine, 500 miles on clock , ( now 1300) just had it a week.All white no stripes
Lovely car fantastic Recaro seats 550bhp, also met a lady friend with same car.but with shelby racing stripes
Full SVT handling spec and electronic upgrade.
petrol less than 1/2 price uk expected to get back down to less than 1/3rd of Uk.
However bit pissed of with MOCGB have paid my dues and e mailed thhem still havent recieved membership or ability to log on as member
how do i post photo
jim

Harrysdad said:

I have run my 2007 GT500 for 4 years now in England (still has only 10000 on the clock) and absolutely love it. They have so much character its a shame to mod them, though the Euro lights are great.

[Roo]

You don't need to be a paid member of MOCGB in order to post on the forum. That bit is free and easy to join.

Memberships packs and renewals are done every couple of weeks by a volunteer.

[KevinA3DSG32]

wycoller said:

It took 3 months for the MOCGB to cash my cheque, although I did get the pack quicker than that.