No 2004 Cobra Coupes

[Mystic Cobra]

Ford would sell a lot more cars if their sales people knew more about them. First off let me say in advance that I am sure that there are lots of great Ford sales people out there and this is not directed at you. But here's what happened during the quest for my Cobra:

I've been a GM guy and knew almost nothing about the blue oval so I knew I need to learn a few things about the Cobra. I find the Ford SVT site and print all the info that I can find. I search and find this site and start lurking in the back ground and reading threads. I search all of the consumer kinds of sites and down load and print stuff. Basically I try to become a more informed car guy..

I search on line and find some Cobras in various dealers on line inventory. So my wife and I get into the car and head the the nearest dealership (non SVT dealer, one whose inventory showed seven Cobras). A sales man greets us and I tell him I want to look at the 04 Cobras. The guy tells me the 04 Cobras are not out yet, and that they won't come out until March or April of this year.

So I'm bummed. But not to be detered I jump into the car and head toward dealer number two (an SVT dealer). While in the car I have my wife call the dealership - yes they confirm they have an 04 Cobra - yes the ARE sure it's an 04 and yes there ARE sure it's a Cobra (my bad).

To hedge my bet I have my wife call dealer number 3 (also an SVT dealer). She's talking to the sales guy at dealer number 3 and he tells her yes they have some 04 Cobras. So my wife asks how many coupes do they have and the guy tells her that there are no 04 Cobra coupes - all of them are convertibles. So she hands me the phone and I talk to the guy and he confirms this with me - No 2004 Cobra coupes. So now I think I'm losing what little mental capacity that I have left. I was sure I had read about them, I was sure I had printed photos of them. I was sure that I had drooled on the spec sheet of the DOHC Supercharged Motor. Had this all be a break from reality? Was a straight jacket in my near future?

Just about the time that I arrive at dealer number 2, the sales guy from dealer 3 calls back and says he made a mistake, there are 04 Cobra Coupes but they don't have any. He said I should wait for the 05 Cobra since it will have the new body style. I told him that I thought that I read some where that there would not be an 05 Cobra but I think in 06 one was gonna be made but I'm just not that patient!

So I get the the dealer number 2 and see the car. Its on the main pad right in front of the front doors of the dealership. So I look at the car and start asking questions. The sales guy tells me up front that he doesn't know much about the Cobras . . so I begin to point out the features that I know about.

Anyway - drove the car - loved the car - bought the car.

But for the past two days I've been thinking that the sales guys should have known more about their products. I realize that they don't sell tons of Cobras but I think should at least know that there ARE 04 Cobras being sold and that they DO come in Coupes and that there are no 2005 Cobras on the way at this point. (Unless I'm wrong about that).

Oh well, sorry for the rant. I think I'll go to the garage to admire my 04 Cobra Coupe that isn't supposed to be in my garage and should be a convertible.

jeff

[Firme]

Jeff,

I feel your pain man. Unfortunetly you experienced a very true reality of the car salesmen. The fact is that most people who buy Cobra's either thouroghly research and are aware of the car's specs, or just see one on the lot and fall in love and buy it. This and the fact that its a limited quantity car, spoils the salesmen to not brush up on the Cobra stuff. Its a good thing that the Cobra community stick together and offer a wealth of knowledge.

I had a similar experience looking for my 01. I was in love with Mineral Grey, and at the time I decided to buy one, I had a small window to work with and the 01's were flying off the lots. I had to call 24 different Houston area dealers to find a Mineral Grey Coupe (the one I had 'reserved' came in as a vert and I didn't want it). One salesguys sticks out among the pack. I call a dealer that was listed as an SVT dealer (by mistake, as it was NOT a SVT dealer). Well, I get a guy on the phone and he puts me on hold for 10 minutes while he tries to find a Cobra in the inventory. Then after he comes back. He states, "what color where you looking for?". I say "Mineral Grey". He says "why do you want a cobra". I say "excuse me, what kind of question is that?". He says "well, I got a great deal for you, we have a v6 Mineral Grey Coupe that I can cut you a deal on". I said "you got to be kidding me right?". He says "no, I'll cut you a great deal, plus there is barely any difference between this one and the Cobra".

I hung up on him.

Its really a shame that dealers are privately owned and not directly run my Ford. To top it off, the turnover for salesman is pretty high, so some of them don't stay with one make to learn enough about it. I would say only 5% of the salespeople actually know what they are talking about with Cobra's.

Oh, and when I was signing the papers for my Cobra, the Accessories Manager (aftermarket parts pusher, tint, alarm, etc..) came in and was like "oh you got that cobra, my daughter wants one, but she wants an Auto". I said " there is no Auto Cobras". He say "yeah sure there are"

[98banana]

Congrats on your new Cobra! That is a very nice car...

What you experienced, unfortunately, is running rampant throughout the workforce. People just don't care about the product they sell and they are just after the almighty paycheck. People need to take pride in what they do. I have often thought about becoming a car salesperson, but I don't think I can deal with the stereotype. Plus, the hours suck!

I've bought many, many cars from salespeople and I have to think I've seen it all. I even had a guy argue with me whether a Camaro I was looking at had a V6 or a V8. Hello!!! The best thing you can do is exactly what you did... be informed before you go in and be very careful while listening to the salesperson. If he says anything about the competition, ignore him. If he says how great the car he's selling is, ignore him. The only information you should require from the salesperson is where the keys are and which way to the finance department.

Off Topic... kind of...

Now, all that being said, my wife and I went to Dodgeland in Columbia, SC last night. Those of you that know this particular dealership know how shady it is. Underhanded advertising, sneaky salespeople and so on. All of the cars have at least a $3999 mark up so they can work the figures for upside down customers. Plus, they can advertise $5000 off with a $4000 markup. Anyway, we wanted to look at the Durango and we had the pleasure of talking with the best salesperson I think I've ever dealt with. He knew way more about the truck than I did, he pointed out all the safety features and actually knew what he was talking about. He was clean cut and absolutely no pressure. Sad part is that 1) he won't last at Dodgeland, and 2) Dodge cannot sell any V6 or 4.7L V8 Durangos because of recalls. LOL!

[Firme]

Originally posted by 98banana
2) Dodge cannot sell any V6 or 4.7L V8 Durangos because of recalls. LOL!

did they finally figure out its not a real hemi?
(in all reality, most cars today have hemi technology, the DOHC cobra motor is a semi-hemi)

[98banana]

Originally posted by Firme
did they finally figure out its not a real hemi?
(in all reality, most cars today have hemi technology, the DOHC cobra motor is a semi-hemi)

Yeah, it's all marketing. LOL!

But, the "Hemi" is the only Durango they can sell. It doesn't have any recalls right now, I guess. The 4.7L is the smaller, non-hemi V8.

[Mystic Cobra]

Firme:
I dig your mineral grey also. I was looking for a redfire or silver but when I saw the MysticChrome I fell in love. I did learn a lot by reading as much as I could from this site prior to the purchase. Ya gotta love the internet! Based upon your experience (not much difference from a V-6 and you can get an auto) it seems that there are not enough informed sales people. It seems like they should get paid more and then be tested to ensure that they can really inform a potential buyer about a car.

Well at least I got the car that I wanted.

98:
Thanks for the kind words, I'm in love with the car. So did you drive a "hemi" Durango? What did you think?


Jeff

[98banana]

Originally posted by Mystic Cobra
98:
Thanks for the kind words, I'm in love with the car. So did you drive a "hemi" Durango? What did you think?

No, I'm not ready to buy anything yet, and probably won't be any time soon, so I didn't drive one. I've heard pretty good things about them though.

[Big Daddy]

Originally posted by 98banana
No, I'm not ready to buy anything yet, and probably won't be any time soon, so I didn't drive one. I've heard pretty good things about them though.

Well Tom I have a 2000 Durango that is RWD and a 2003 that is a 4X4. Both have the 5.9L (non Hemi) but I ran the Dingo at the fall drag day and ran a 15.91 in it!! Not bad for pushing over 6300 lbs down the strip!

[Aaron94]

I too have had some "great" salespeople. I pulled up in my '94 Coupe and no sooner than i could close the door of my car did i have a salesperson in my face. First of all they wanted to take my current car for 10k on trade, and insisted i trade it in now. Look pal, i'll sell my car privatly if i get rid of it. they just wanted me to walk out with the new car today. Anyhow, i saw a very nice 04 silver coupe in the showroom, and my salesperson sat in the passenger side while i got in the drivers seat. i wanted to feel the clutch and how the shifter felt. She asked me as i was putting it thru a couple gears, "is yours a stick too?". "yea, it is".