viperdrummer
Enthusiast
Looking at a car there. any experiences?
Anyone ever dealt with Texas Direct?
- Thread starter viperdrummer
- Start date
hou99gts
Enthusiast
I have heard some negatives about them, but have not dealt with them directly.
wes
Viper Owner
Here's my opinion. I've read a lot of bad things about them and have looked at a few of their cars. They get most of the cars from auctions and what not but they do have good ones as well. We have sold our BMW 7 series and our 2004 viper to them. It just depends if you get a decent trade in or get screwed and get a crap car...which has happened a lot. While I would sell a car I don't know if I'd buy one. My advice would be if you do buy from them make sure you get it THOROUGHLY checked out or bring someone with you that knows a lot about vipers. And btw unless you are actually going to come down here and look at it in person don't bother trusting the website pictures. They photo shop them like crazy and they don't look near as good as in person, atleast some of them don't. This is one car I would want to make sure I got in good condition. Anddd that's my opinion.
OP
OP
viperdrummer
Enthusiast
Just did a Google---wow, pretty damn ugly stuff. Too bad, they had what appeared to be a nice car I was looking at.
Vital Velocity
Viper Owner
They are like the walmart of car dealerships....go through a lot of inventory, low prices, no support or knowledge
Slithr
Enthusiast
Tomball Dodge is just 30 miles North of Texas Direct, and their are probably a few VCA members in Houston that could take an initial look/vet, if you're still looking at it.
redtanrt10
Enthusiast
X2
A friend bought a real nice M3, good price and easy to deal with. But, their sales dept takes your money and puts the car in a bag for you. All they know is the year, price and what carfax-autocheck knows about the history. It is self service but good prices.
V10SpeedLuvr
Enthusiast
OP
OP
viperdrummer
Enthusiast
No Chad not sure I can get the wife to go for 4 GTs. It is a 2010 Anaconda green snake that reminded me of my 95. Great price (it's on ebay) and I was suspicious . Came out of Maine with 220 miles . Anyone know the car?
Tiago
Viper Owner
they have SOME nice cars, you just have to do a very thorough inspection, I woudln't buy sight unseen.
mattdillon
Enthusiast
I had looked at a few of their cars (online) before I got mine & they had a few very good looking cars that seemed to good to be true for their price. And when I called them it seemed like the salesmen (2) I talked too didn't know a whole lot about the cars & couldn't answer some of my questions. You know sometimes when you get that feeling that somethings not right, well thats the way I felt about them. I never did any kind of back ground checks or asked around about them because I just had that feeling that they were not on the up & up. Now after seeing some of the other posts it seems like I was right. You know the old saying if it looks to good to be true it usually is. JMO
mattdillon
Enthusiast
I just looked back & saw this & redtan hit the nail on the head, this is exactly what I was trying to say about them. I just never had a good feeling about them!
Bird325
Enthusiast
I had my first and by God, my LAST experience with them when I started looking for my first Viper a year and a half ago. Car looked great in the pictures and sounded perfect. Had it inspected by the local Dodge dealer (NOT Tomball) who assured me that they had a certified Viper tech to do the inspection. The inspection was crap. The sales person seemed to know about Vipers and assured me that the car had never been 'tracked'. Even as a noob to Vipers, it was OBVIOUS to me that the car HAD been tracked a LOT. The side sills and facia were covered in rock chips ... not just a few, but COVERED. The auction pics showed the areas, but didn't show the chips. The interior was ragged out, but the pictures didn't show it. I flew down there with cash in hand, but after seeing it, didn't want to have anything to do with it. Their price was about $10K too high and the car was in bad need of work.
When I got home that night, the auction had been pulled from the net, so I couldn't review the information again. If you're in Houston anyway, it might be worth stopping in as they had some beautiful cars on the showroom floor, but it isn't worth flying down there unless you get an awesome deal and are ready to accept that what you see on the net doesn't necessarily represent reality.
When I got home that night, the auction had been pulled from the net, so I couldn't review the information again. If you're in Houston anyway, it might be worth stopping in as they had some beautiful cars on the showroom floor, but it isn't worth flying down there unless you get an awesome deal and are ready to accept that what you see on the net doesn't necessarily represent reality.
Nine Ball
Enthusiast
Looked a few cars, some for myself and others with co-workers and friends. The photos always look better than the actual cars did. Salesguys had zero clue, and didn't seem genuine. The place was frantic and disorganized.
If you are interested in one of their cars, check it out in person first. Period.
If you are interested in one of their cars, check it out in person first. Period.
OP
OP
viperdrummer
Enthusiast
Looks like they may have Gary's 98 GTS-R for sale also.
345s-bspinnin
Enthusiast
I actually bought my '03 Viper at Texas Direct Auto a few years ago when their business was still out in their old location in Missouri City. I saw the ad and decided to go for a visit. It turned out to be quite possibly the best vehicle purchasing experience ever. It was a no haggle pricing and the sales person affirmed me that he wasn't Viper knowledgeable. I rather they be honest, and not make up crap like just about every other car salesperson. I took the Viper out for spin (with the salesperson sitting shot-gun). I test drove the car firmly and it felt/sounded good. I wasn't allowed to have a tech check it out, but they allowed me to personally inspect the car all day long. The car was bone stock, and didn't have evident oil leaks, panel respraying, or indication of parts removals (i.e. marked bolts on headers, intake, etc.). The car was low mileage and significantly cheaper than others at the time. I went ahead and purchased, and "luckily" the only issue I have had was the OEM battery dying (after 7 years). Other than that, I have put 13,000 uneventful miles and its running like a champ (including road racing, drag racing, standing miles, etc.). I had such a pleasant experience that I went back with my brother earlier this year to pick up a Ram SRT-10.
My experience so a for is a positive 2/2 and wouldn't hesitate going back.
My experience so a for is a positive 2/2 and wouldn't hesitate going back.
345s-bspinnin
Enthusiast
Getting them to let me test drive the car (without a deposit) was a real arm twist. They gave me the usual "we don't allow joy rides b.s", probably since I was still in my 20s at the time. Anyway, with $$ in hand, I did persuade their manager to let me take it out, but not to a tech. In return for not allowing me to tech it, they provided a 3-month/3,000 mile warranty. It wasn't a bumper to bumper warranty, but did cover the very important powertrain and some other components. That was good enough for me, so I drove home happily.
John N
Enthusiast
Went by there today to look at a Ram SRT10 they had listed. The place is different. Upon entering they funnel all traffic to visitor/customer parking area. Next step is to go to showroom and select vehicle you are interested in on computer via inventory search (self-service). Inventory search was clumsy looking for SRT10 Ram, as it showed none found. Finally did find one with SRT deleted and V10 added in search, but it had over 50,000 miles (not the one I went to check out). At that point I walked out, not being every impressed with the setup and them not really having anything of interest to me. On the way out I saw the pickup on the outside row so I checked it out. Fair condition at best. Front bumper cover freshly repainted and not done very well, door dings and chips a little excessive I thought, mismatched tires with 3 different brands among the four corners, a lot of curb rash on wheels. Definitely not worth the $24,000 price tag and they advertise to be no-haggle. I didn't bother to find out if they are indeed no-haggle, but why pay retail pricing for wholesale services? Overall I wouldn't write them off totally, but would not buy without personal inspection (no internet buying recommended) and would not hold high hopes for a great deal. Didn't appear to be any cheaper than any other dealer to me and they are rated F by the Houston BBB.
They did have a pleasant young woman greeting people coming in and she wasn't bad looking to boot, but then again it is Texas.
They did have a pleasant young woman greeting people coming in and she wasn't bad looking to boot, but then again it is Texas.
I purchased an SL550 from them. the car was perfect, and completely as described. They sell in high volume. And Im sure deal with their fair share of nutcases. Almost any high volume company has screwballs that decide he/she is going to blast them on the internet. Just checked. As I type this, they have 1,784 active cars for sale on ebaymotors!!!!! A Dealer like this does not have time to play the smoke and mirrors game to sell one car.
