Anyone live near Springfield, MO who can check out a car?

[Achilles99]

My cousin just tentatively bought this car pending inspection:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2482339698

Does anyone know anything about it? Buyer says it was just serviced by Woodhouse. He has all receipts and invoices detailing modifications. Car appears to be clean, but of course I'd rather have a VCA member's seal of approval.

I'm leaving town for a few days, but I'll tell my cousin to monitor this thread. If you can help him out, please do! I've been trying to get him to join the Viper nation for a while, so let's try our best to welcome him to the snakepit.

Thanks!

 

[ViperRay]

Over 650 HP???

 

[Casey]

Can't help you on this one!!

 

[RX VIPER]

Looks like a good deal if it checks out. Is that a sale from an individual?There are 2 exotic dealers in the Springfield area that do a lot of business in the duPont Registry. If it is from one of them I wouldn't worry. Chris Marshall, Pres of the KC VCA, probably has a few members down in the SW part of the state that may not be on this board. You may want to see if he knows anyone in the club that can check it out for you.

 

[Achilles99]

Yeah, the horsepower figure is a little suspect with the mods he's listed. We took that with a grain of salt...

 

[Achilles99]

Can't help you on this one!!

Hehe... you were a tremendous help on the Murc purchase. Your generosity can only reach so many miles

 

[RX VIPER]

PM Chris Marshall on this board at Y2K3SRT

 

[Achilles99]

PM Chris Marshall on this board at Y2K3SRT

Thanks for the tip, I'll do that right now...

 

[Shelby3]

Anyone who does a CARFAX will think very hard before buying this car.

 

[FrankTHutchens]

Yeah, the horsepower figure is a little suspect with the mods he's listed. We took that with a grain of salt...

...It's got the K&N airbox



Are those 19" VR-1s it's wearing?

 

[Blade Runner]

It's sold

 

[LittleFish]

I was just talking with a guy who works at my local Dodge dealer (he was showing me his Harley) and he was telling me that they were doing an inspection on a Viper that a guy just bought pending inspection by a certified viper tech. PM if they is anything that I can do (and would be happy to look for you) since I do not check this forum much.
Dave

 

[Finally got it !]

I don't know about just serviced!! That brake fluid does not look new!!!!

 

[Wild Bill]

Anyone who does a CARFAX will think very hard before buying this car.

What does it say?

Bill

 

[Shelby3]

Anyone who does a CARFAX will think very hard before buying this car.

What does it say?

Bill

VIN 1B3ER69E4VV301170 1997 Dodge Viper GTS
Event Date Event Location Odometer Reading Data Source Event Detail
01/20/98 NEWNAN, GA MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Title #: 34042516)
01/28/98 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 74 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Lien Reported) (Title #: 0000034042516)
02/11/99 GA 3,501 INDEPENDENT EMISSION SOURCE PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
04/06/99 FAYETTEVILLE, GA MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/04/99 FAYETTEVILLE, GA MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
06/15/99 SOUTHEASTERN REGION 5,173 AUTO AUCTION REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
07/09/99 SPRINGFIELD, MO 5,543 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Title #: QT149287)
08/17/99 AR 5,647
MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Lien Reported) (Title #: 25019900073)
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
04/14/00 CENTRAL REGION 5,862 AUTO AUCTION REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
12/09/02 BATESVILLE, AR 6,343 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Title #: 99950203632)
12/11/02 MAUMELLE, AR 6,474 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Title #: 999402L4721)
02/14/03 OH INDEPENDENT EMISSION SOURCE PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
03/07/03 HAMILTON, OH 6,897 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Lien Reported) (Title #: 3103904604)
03/07/03 HAMILTON, OH MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
08/28/03 HAMILTON, OH MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
09/22/03 SPRINGFIELD, MO 7,300 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Title #: QB125481)
11/24/03 KS 7,496 MOTOR VEHICLE DEPT. TITLE (Lien Reported) (Title #: ETITLE)

 

[Wild Bill]

Hmmm... been at auction not once but twice??

When I was looking there was a person in that area that bought wrecked Vipers that had clean tiles and rebuilt them. The one he tried to sell me had frame damage but they had replaced the damaged rails and Chrysler gave the car a 'clean bill of health'.

Be SURE to have a Viper tech pick the car apart-something stinks

B

 

[cayenne]

Hmmm... been at auction not once but twice??

When I was looking there was a person in that area that bought wrecked Vipers that had clean tiles and rebuilt them. The one he tried to sell me had frame damage but they had replaced the damaged rails and Chrysler gave the car a 'clean bill of health'.

Be SURE to have a Viper tech pick the car apart-something stinks

B

So, auctions of Vipers are a warning flag? How does a wrecked car still have a clean bill of health?

C

 

[LittleFish]

I am posting this for the guy who looked at the car. Doesn't sound like the car showed well.

the car is owned by the finance manager at reliable imports in springfield.
he told me he gets cars and plays with them for a while and then sells them.
he said this was like his sixth viper. i flew in to springfield from
philadelphia to buy the car. i had the owner drop the car off at heritage
dodge in ozark mo. so the viper tech could check it out. as we pulled up to
the dodge dealer the car was parked outside and had just finished its
inspection. the viper tech said evereything checks out ok but the rear had a
slow oil drip which he said was normal. and he said the doors are sagging
alittle bit. bear in mind ive been looking for a blue and white viper for a
long time and ive looked at a few of them so far and i was not impressed
with this car. it was advertised as flawless and in perfect condition. its
far from flawless!! i looked at the car for 1 hour outside the dealership to
check everything out myself. first i noticed blistering paint on both side
sills. i know its normal but not for a 9000 mile car and it was advertised
as flawless. there were also 2 spots on the back of the car by the window
where there is some cracks in the fiberglass. once again not flawless. the
kicker is that the front fascia had literally about 200 litlle stonechips
all over it. it looks like it was sandblasted with little rocks. very
disappointing so far. i brought all of this to his attention and all he kept
saying was its a used car what do you expect. believe me, im a very
realistic person. i know that when you drive a car it will get its share of
dings and marks. but there is know way that a car that was garaged and only
driven for 9000 miles would have all these paint flaws. the pictures look
alot better than the car does in person. the engine compartment was filthy
and the wheel wells looked like they were never cleaned. also the front
rotors were worn out a substantial amount for only having 9000 miles. i did
drive the car and it rode ok i guess but the clutch was very tight and the
brakes felt like crap. i told the seller that i was going to think about it
for a few minutes and give him an answer. well i went back in to his
dealership and told him to forget about it. he was visually upset and began
to get really short with me. i told him that the car was falsely advertised
and that something doesnt feel right about that car. he kept saying that its
only a few rock chips that could be touched up if i wanted to. i said there
is no way that a car with 9000 miles that was taken care of would look like
that car does. ive seen cars with 25000 miles that looked brand new. i told
him that he wasted my time and money for a car that is not anything like he
described and all he had to say was i wasted his time. what a ****!! it cost
me 1000.00 dollars to get out there just to go home empty handed and im glad
i only lost 1000.00 rather than overpaying for a bad viper. p.s. my personal
opinion is that he rode it hard and got the odometer rolled back. i feel
sorry for the next owner. sorry for the long post but i want to try to avoid
someone else from going through the same thing i did.

scott

 

[Shelby3]

As I said in the post above, the CARFAX told me all I needed to know. Pristine low mileage cars don't end up in auctions (twice) and have their titles changed like some change their underwear. Glad to hear you checked it out before you got burned.

 

[Achilles99]

Thanks again for all of the input. After reviewing the info, my cousin decided to buy it.

He's OK with it not being a garage queen, because he fully intends to drive the crap out of it.

Yes, it has been through several auctions. No problem, because there is no damage to the car. How do we know? Easy... I made a call to the dealership that did the $20k worth of mods. Woodhouse Dodge!

I spoke with Bill Pemberton, and he said the car was not in perfect "cosmetic" condition. It was above average, though. He also said the car rocked mechanically. I spoke to Woodhouse's Viper tech who worked on the car. He said that after the headwork, etc. (the seller faxed all invoices and receipts... over $20k of mods if you include the wheels/tires) the car dyno'd at over 600hp/620tq (crank). He in fact said that the car pulled a lot harder than a Roe supercharger he had just installed (it better, since the previous owner spent triple the money of a Roe ).

Car was not wrecked, and recalls, etc. were done correctly. With that being said, I think my cousin got a smoking deal for the car. I plan to possibly buy it after he's done with it.

This car was perfect for what my cousin was looking for. But, Shelby3 and the others are correct. This car wasn't "flawless" on inspection. Then again, how could you expect flawless for a blue/white GTS with $20k of all-motor upgrades, all for only $49k? According to Woodhouse's tech, the motor was essentially rebuilt

 

[Achilles99]

Just so that both sides of the story are covered, here is what the seller had to say...


THAT EMAIL IS APPALING. I KN OW WHAT YOURE TALKING ABOUT NOW. HE LOOKED
AT MY CAR. MY CAR HAS 3 KNAT SIZED ROCK CHIPS ON THE FRONT. THE 200
CHIPS ON THE FRONT IS THE CRAZIEST THING IVE EVER HEARD. I CAN BUY ANY
VEHICLE ON THE MARKET AND CHOSE TO OWN THIS ONE. IT HAS NOT BEEN ROLLED
BACK.THAT GUY IS AN IDIOT. HE HAS NEVER OWNED A VIPER AND SAID THE
BRAKES WERE BAD. IT HAS THE BEST BRAKES YOU CAN BUY W/ 1500 MILES ON
THEM. ONE THING THAT REALLY ****** ME OFF IS THE DIRT UNDER THE WHEEL
WELLS. I TOLD HIM 5 TIMES THAT I COULDN'T MEET HIM IF IT WAS RAINING
BECAUSE I DIDN'T DRIVE THE CAR IN THE RAIN. HE SAID IT HAD JUST STOPPED
AND INSISTED SO OF COURSE IT GOT DIRTY UNDERNEATH. THE CAR IS THE NICEST
1997 YOU CAN BUY. THE GUY EMAILING TOLD ME THE REASON HE DIDN'T BUY IT
WAS BECAUSE OF THE PAYMENT. I KEPT ENOUGH OF HIS DEPOSIT TO RELIST MY
CAR AND THAT MADE HIM ANGRY I GUESS.