Anyone Have Viper as ONLY Car?

[Tom and Vipers]

In my opinion, FL would be a good place for an RT .... or CA or the desert.

You might tend to keep the top on for the AC during the hot weather.

The biggest thing is how you feel about not being able to lock the car up. I have seen vastly improved side windows that have locks on them. If I had an early RT, I would definitely get these.

A GEN II RT or GTS would be a lot more convenient, however, your plan is not too bad.

Be sure you drive an early RT with the top and curtains on just to get a feel for it. The stock curtains are a real turnoff!

I would definitely get one that is not a mothballed show car. I would get something that looked mechanically sound that has been used. You can save money. And frankly, whether your Viper is new or worn out, you will get the same amount of attention.

And if the car is a "******" you will have no fears taking it everywhere which is a key to the daily driver. If you tend to worry about where you leave cars, definitely get a properly "seasoned" Viper.

I have a new and a seasoned one and I love the seasoned one. ...but I love the new one too...

 

[GTS Bruce]

I don't think I could stand my Viper as a daily driver.Stop and go traffic.65 mph in 6th,basically idling,while twiddling your thumbs on the interstates.The car begs for an open road.It just feels stupid to me driving one in traffic or at idle. Bruce

 

[Tom and Vipers]

I almost prefer stop and go, cruising etc., because what really frustrates me is driving the Viper on the open road. The Viper begs to be driven at least 125. That is a very sweet spot!

So there really isn't any point going 90 or 80... might as well stick to 5 over the limit.

I drove mine to Daytona Bike Week and drove for hours in stop and go traffic, cruising. It was great! As far as going to work in stop and go traffic, well that ***** in any car....

I drove mine every day out of Stuart FL (1 hour north of W Palm Beach) and it was great! The only thing I didn't like was going to the beach - what to do with the stupid keyfob. I was spoiled rotten by the keypad entry of my Tbird Turbo - the ultimate beach car.

 

[GTS Bruce]

My first viper accessory purchased was a valentine 1.Enough said. Bruce

 

[Ron Hickey]

There aren't any mechanical reasons not to use the Viper as a daily driver. The deterrants I can think of are non-mechanical:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Security. Vipers attract a lot of attention, not all of it positive. Will you always have a secure place to park it? The GTS fares better than the RT/10 in this category.
<LI>Ground clearance. The front fascia hangs over the front wheels pretty far, and it's really low, too. Extreme care must be used to keep from scratching the underside on the entrance to every driveway. Not to mention speedbumps.
<LI>Weather. Rain isn't a real problem, although you will need to adjust your driving. But if you live in a climate that gets snowfalls, you'll be better off taking public transportation. And driving the Viper on cleared winter roads that are littered with sand and gravel is just sandblasting the underside of the car and wheel wells.
<LI>Insurance. Believe it or not, your insurance will be less expensive with the Viper and a ****** than with just the Viper alone. Why? Because your daily driver will be the POS ******, and the Viper will be insured as "recreational driving".
[/list]

If these issues aren't of concern to you, then there's no reason not to go for it. But I'd recommend seriously considering a ****** along with that Viper.

 

[Newport Viper]

Used mine every day in Orlando, year round, for 3 years no problem.

 

[Tom and Vipers]

yeah, the AC shuts off.

I know what you mean, when it's hot you don't want that!

I end up trying Not to punch it!

 

[Tom and Vipers]

Believe it or not, I met a fellow in Bethesda who went out and bot a 94 for his only car. (This car was sold on eBay about a year ago for $29k with 94k on it.)

It was really neat talking to him about it because he made numerous comments on how it went in the snow (didn't) and in the wet.

He really complained about not being able to get heat out the top vents because he never put the back window in.... Why? Because he was a skier and drove to Seven Springs Resort (near Pittsburgh) regularly!

Sooooooo, I would think there are a few other Viper only people out there. However, I would tend to think these people are not involved in the club. This guy wasn't. I think the reason is that these people, simply bot the car because they liked it.

I mean, if you have the money, and the situation for only one car, you probably just buy one and drive it - no big deal.

I must admit, however, these people have got to be few and far between.

I'm all ears.......

 

[RobHook]

I've had my Viper for about 6 months now (whoa...has it been that long already?!?!?) and I've put a little under 11,000 miles on it. It's a '94 RT/10 and yes, it's really my only car right now.

A lot of the concerns brought up so far are valid but, if you care enough to drive the car, you can work around the short-comings. Just get used to paying extra to park in a garage instead of on the street and, usually, the security problem is not a big deal.

One thing I haven't seen addressed is the water problem. My RT/10's tops (both) leak like crazy and, although adjusting the top side-rails has helped some, I don't see how this top could ever be 100% water proof without a lot of work. The newer ones might be better or mine might need lots of adjusting but keep this in mind. I drove it to Florida where it rains every day (at least whenver I'm there.

) and it was getting pretty annoying to say the least.

Other than that, the positives FAR outweigh the negatives.

--Rob
P.S. I noticed you said the other daily driver owner you met was in Bethesda. That's 15 minutes from me. Maybe it's something in the water here?

 

[AndyR]

I have had my 93 in a heavy rain at a car show when I had to put on the side curtains with the soft top. I had very little water come in, nothing like many people describe. The problem was when I was driving home with the curtains out and got caught in a downpour!!

 

[vvvviper]

The Viper is the only car I have. Key reasons why:


-Geographic location: South Florida.
-Marital Status: Happily Divorced
-Covered Parking: One available spot.
-Other factors: Costs involved of having of Second car.
I don't want to drive anything else.

So what's my read on the garage queen brigade? Here one man's view on what I consider non-issues:

1. EXCESS MILEAGE. I can't imagine REFRAINING from driving the Viper for this reason. I've never understood the mentality: " I don't want to drive it because I want it to be worth more when I sell it." Well gee, pick up an extra 10K in ten years when you sell it, pass go, pocket the dough and live happily ever after. I don't get it. I'd rather DRIVE IT. You only "go around once" and as much as I hope the man upstairs has another RT/10 waiting for me someday....I'm drivin' mine today.

2. WEAR AND TEAR. This is where it starts getting anal. Hey, I like to keep the car clean and Zainod as much as the next guy but I'm not taking off the lug nuts and the wheels so I can clean the INSIDE of my rims. (AFTER EVERY OUTING NO LESS!) How 'bout the guy who had it towed (by a covered carrier) to the dealership because it was raining and didn't want it to get wet
(driving in for routine maint!)

3. MONEY. This is obviously a very motivating factor. But I feel laying out all that dough for the car is EVEN MORE THE REASON TO DRIVE IT. We all want to protect our investment but should this be at the cost driving the car less?

I don't speak for others and I don't know what motivates people to do what they do. If they told me they have a second car because the Viper isn't pratical to take to Home Depot to pick up lumber....THEN THAT'S AN EXCUSE. Or they're going on a 1500 mile drive and they find their loaded Lexus a little more comfortable... then hey maybe THAT'S AN EXCUSE TOO.

.....but what I find strange is having a second car because you don't want to drive the first.

 

[2tall]

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvviper:

All I can say is A-men brother.

-B

 

[gozer]

The only times I dont drive my viper:

1. When I'm going mountain biking (the bike wont fit in the car).

2. When the landscape maintenance crew is cleaning around my office (those guys with the gas powered blowers ****!?).

3. If its been or is going to rain (keeping the sapphire blue looking good is hard enough when the weather is nice).

4. If I'm going somewhere that security is questionable.

Even with all of the above, I still drive the car 4 or 5 days a week.

I think the bottom line is that each person will have their own threshold on driving the car. If someone wants to keep it in pristine shape by never driving it, then that is there choice. My choice is to drive it as much as possible.

Before I bought my Viper, I told myself, it's only a car and that I would treat it as such. However, the more I drive it, the more I realize it is not "just a car". It is a way of life. No other car I have ever owned has made me feel this good (Viper Smile!).

As I said, the Viper is a way of life, you choose how to live yours. Enjoy the Viper however you see fit!

Sorry for the ramble!

Gozer

 

[BWoodbury]

Marc,

I agree 110%. To me my Viper is too fine a car, and frankly it cost too much money, for me to leave it the garage. I really strugle to understand those who won't drive it much because it costs so much. To me that is the biggest reason for driving it as much as possible. I have only two reasons for not driving it.

1) It snows here in IL and I won't drive a Viper in the snow.

2) I own a Harley.

As far as rain goes, I'll happily drive a dirty Viper over a clean anything else!!!

 

[gtsviper]

I used my first RT/10 as a daily driver from 94-96 (23,000 miles). Picked up the 96 GTS an drove that every day for 40,000 miles. On to my 2000 RT/10 but don't use this one daily as I commute to work in my AMG E 55.
Nice cars are just meant to be driven. Quickly and often.