This reminds me of the time when I was driving I-70 during a snowstorm and 2 pickup trucks went roaring past me... and within 2 or three miles I saw both of them spinning separately off the highway in (thankfully) single vehicle accidents. I laughed and laughed.

Yup. “How do I avoid getting screwed by buying this specific item in a high-demand, low-inventory market?” is really sort of a leading question.  The answer is, “you don’t.”  Make your current car last for another couple years, or suck it up and bend over.  There really aren’t too many other choices.

““$1,995 downpayment” That’s ridiculous!”

I don't think I have ever seen a completed Cobra replica for $25k.

I’m on board with “no dice” but your assessment is all wrong. Perhaps you underestimate how incredibly good these cars are. A properly done Cobra, replica or not, would dust a Miata on any track in any direction.

~400 hp and a ton of low end torque in a 2200 pound car with zero driver aids that’s notoriously hard to keep on the road? Hard pass. 302 is the right move if you actually want to drive one of these.

Not a kit car guy, not really a Cobra guy but, research shows this is actually a good price for this. Definitely check out the motor for damage. And, dude. Steam clean the engine bay before you put it up for sale. Cautious NP pending getting the history and a mechanic’s checkout. I mean, if you WANT to spend north of…

Former CA smog check guy here. Unless these parts have gained approval from the California Air Resources Board then yeah - the cold air intake, down pipe and possibly more would make it fail emission inspection.

Thought it’s clearly a compliance car? Unfortunately, smaller automakers bear a higher relative burden...

Yup. They know the regulatory value (cost) of the credits, and can tweak the residual value to offer crazy low price leases to move them.

Reverse;

It’s hard to pretend spray-painting is done in self-defense.

Your going to have to have a screen since the NHTSB made rear cameras a standard thing to have in vehicles by law I do believe.

Yet they can’t seem to get out of their own way, whether it’s cancelling all of their cars to replace with CUVs

“If you can’t go fast with 90 horsepower, 900 horsepower won’t help you.”

When I started doing track days in 1990, Corvettes made 245hp. There were more powerful cars, but they weren’t common, so if you wanted more, you had to spend a good amount of money to go get it aftermarket. Typically, this was only after you’d had a few years under your belt, to discover you liked this hobby.

Long ago I took to heart the words of the great Jackie Stewart who said, “good driving, for me, is smooth driving.” The key to making a car go fast, or last a long time, or get good economy, is doing nothing in an upsetting fashion.

if you think any modern car is underpowered you probably need to up your driving skills

This list is completely invalidated because Miata.

Seriously?

I am sorry, but I cannot agree with anything on that list. What would you need more power for in a Miata? I have the NA with the 1.6 90hp engine (facelift EU) and it is plenty fun and gets up to 170km/h on the Autobahn if needed. But you do not drive a car like that at those speeds anyway, the car is precisely fun…