Anyone Use Their Viper Daily?

[Turbolag]

Why do you think there are so many low mileage Gen 1 and Gen 2 cars? They just do not make great daily drivers. Gen 3 and 4 are much more dd friendly so there are more miles put on them. Think of your routine every time you park the car. A Gen1 will really cramp your style when late to a meeting and you have to put your windows in, top on, etc. Look at a Gen 3 vert with some miles on it if looking for a dd.

The same dealer has a nice 03 but its a little out of the price range right now.

I did notice the car has a couple mods to it:

Seat covers

Spoiler

K&N Filter

Chrome door trim on the panels.

After market shift knob

That's it I think.

Do those mods drive the value of the car down any ?

If I were to get it and put and exhaust on it would that drive it down also ?

 

[Voodoo Rob]

The same dealer has a nice 03 but its a little out of the price range right now.

I did notice the car has a couple mods to it:

Seat covers

Spoiler

K&N Filter

Chrome door trim on the panels.

After market shift knob

That's it I think.

Do those mods drive the value of the car down any ?

If I were to get it and put and exhaust on it would that drive it down also ?

The only mod that would raise questions is a bolt on spoiler that is not factory. Everything else you mentioned is personal choice and can be changed easily. If you are looking for a collector car that has the original plastic on the seats, obviously this isn't the right car. If you want a Viper to drive it, this is a good candidate. Viper values are affected by airbrushing, crazy interior and exterior mods, and nasty ground effects (sorry but this includes some hideous wings) along with the history, condition, miles, etc. Seems like the cars with aftermarket wings stay on the market for a longer time compared to stock bodied cars. Your money, get the car that you like! Don't worry too much about resale at the price point your looking at.

 

[Turbolag]

Thanks man.

Found a nice 94 red RT/10 today with 18,000 miles.

Bone stock. Beautiful condition. $36,000

I'm thinking this is the car I wanna get. I like stock. That price is drive out. Do you think that's too much?

I'd like to be able to trade or sell the car in a couple years on another exotic type car.

If you guys think this price is good I think I might got head and get it.

I asked about the head gaskets and I don't think they have been changed.

Do gen 1 vipers have any plastic pulleys under the hood? Anything I need to watch out for? I plan to use this car quite a bit.

Ac works ice cold in this one.

 

[speedracervr4]

IMHO looking at the current market I think the price is too high for a gen 1.

 

[Turbolag]

That's what I was thinking.

I was thinking $33,000 drive out is fair. But $36,000 seems high.

I can pick up a second gen for about 40 I think.

 

[speedracervr4]

For $36K you can get a GTS. There is a silver 99 GTS on auto trader with 34k miles on it for $35k. Don't worry about the mileage if you plan on driving it.

 

[Turbolag]

Wow that's a good deal.

I saw a red gts for about 35 or 37 I think. But it's too far.

I think I wanna keep shopping. I know it's my first viper, but I wanna buy with a strategy for resale and recomp in the future.

 

[Voodoo Rob]

Gen 2 will have 50 more HP and a few more creature comforts over Gen 1. Good luck and by taking advice and looking at many possibilities you will find a car that fits what your looking for!

 

[Turbolag]

Thanks guys.

I love the red one I drove yesterday. It had an aftermarket exhaust too I think.

Really like it but I just can't make myself pay $36,000 for it. It seems like $30,000 is fair but it's hard to find a good deal. I'm not sure where else to look. I've checked craigslist, eBay. I need to check auto trader too.

What do you guys think a fair price is on a 94 in good shape?

 

[mtmclaughlin]

Maybe I can impart some new-found wisdom on you. I'll tell you what everyone here told me: (1) wait for the right car to find you, and (2) pick a (fair) budget and stick to it. Be patient and don't let emotions like excitement get the best of you. In fact, go find my thread where I was asking lots of questions. I almost made a mistake because I started to move on a car that wasn't quite the right one and had some scary history. It may not have bad in retrospect, but it wasn't the right one for me. The right car might be a plane flight away and a 7.5 hour drive home.

Were you looking at a GTS for $36,000 yesterday?

EDIT: Here's the link to my thread: http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/668501-New-Purchase-Questions I hope you find it useful.

SUPER EDIT: OK, so I missed one of your other posts that answers some of my questions. It's been a long day.

 

[CEJ]

I agree with a previous post here (Moparboy maybe?) that said a Gen II would be the starting point for a DD. You want a car you can lock and that has real windows that go up and down. Simple as that.
Budget for replacing tires too. Maybe you get lucky and buy one with tires that are only a couple years old, but that's unlikely.
Also, buy Maurice Liang's book The Viper Buyer's Guide. This will give you a LOT of info and will help you make a good decision. There are plenty of Vipers out there...take your time and don't skip the due dilligence. Happy shopping!

 

[Turbolag]

Maybe I can impart some new-found wisdom on you. I'll tell you what everyone here told me: (1) wait for the right car to find you, and (2) pick a (fair) budget and stick to it. Be patient and don't let emotions like excitement get the best of you. In fact, go find my thread where I was asking lots of questions. I almost made a mistake because I started to move on a car that wasn't quite the right one and had some scary history. It may not have bad in retrospect, but it wasn't the right one for me. The right car might be a plane flight away and a 7.5 hour drive home.

Were you looking at a GTS for $36,000 yesterday?

EDIT: Here's the link to my thread: http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/668501-New-Purchase-Questions I hope you find it useful.

SUPER EDIT: OK, so I missed one of your other posts that answers some of my questions. It's been a long day.

I agree with a previous post here (Moparboy maybe?) that said a Gen II would be the starting point for a DD. You want a car you can lock and that has real windows that go up and down. Simple as that.
Budget for replacing tires too. Maybe you get lucky and buy one with tires that are only a couple years old, but that's unlikely.
Also, buy Maurice Liang's book The Viper Buyer's Guide. This will give you a LOT of info and will help you make a good decision. There are plenty of Vipers out there...take your time and don't skip the due dilligence. Happy shopping!

Thanks guys. I'm gonna try and be patient and wait for the best one I can find to show up for sale.

I'm also thinking about a Lotus Elise. I forgot about them and they are in my price range.

So right now I want an RT/10 or a Lotus Elise. Or if I can't find either one I'd like the WRX STI.

I want both cars in yellow. I actually found a yellow viper RT/10 yesterday. But it's in California and I'm in Tx.
I don't know if ill be able to go see it. I would feel comfortable buying it if I could pay an inspector to go check it out and send me more photos though.

They are asking around 31,000. It's a 95 with 30,000 miles.

 

[CEJ]

Lotus is neat...Toyota engine, and once in the car, the cockpit is great. Getting in and out is a royal pain, and I'm not getting more flexible as I get older, so I bought an RT/10 (Gen II) instead. No regrets!

 

[aqwut]

I drove my viper 8000 Km since I bought it about 4 months ago. I bought it to drive.

 

[jwolf]

I drive a Porsche 987 as a daily driver, the Viper is just too hard to get in and out of, hard to park and not much trunk space.

 

[Zee]

you will enjoy your viper in controlled doses. Get a ****** and save the beast from daily tear and wear. Just imagine your gas billif you drive it daily

completely agree

 

[Turbolag]

I drive a Porsche 987 as a daily driver, the Viper is just too hard to get in and out of, hard to park and not much trunk space.

Was looking at a Porsche 911 Carrera S also.

But I'm not 100% sure yet.

I've been checking craigslist everyday. We'll see what happens.

Thats guys for your input !

For the record, I wish I had 120k, I would buy a new one. I love them, but I doubt I'll ever own one of those. Or I might buy a 360 Modena, not sure about that.

 

[JMcGuinness]

sounds like an itchy trigger finger to me

 

[Bugman Jeff]

Just imagine your gas billif you drive it daily

I commute 40 miles a day in my '97 GTS, gas comes to around $9/day(less than a lot of people spend on lunch). I also calculated how much more it costs to drive, it only uses about 9/week more gas than any of my other cars. I drive it daily except on rainy days, and that's only because it's a pain to clean once it's dry again. My car isn't a pristine collectible, so racking up miles doesn't bother me.

 

[04 SRT10]

Did you find one yet? I agree with everyone on here on taking your time. You should be able get low mileage first gens for around 25k. 2nd gen rt10s with 25-30,000 miles go for around 30K. I would at least get a 2nd gen to daily drive, but I wouldn't recommend it. I daily drove mine for a week. I enjoyed driving it, but it's a pain to get in and out, plus the extra gas. I was happy to go back to my jetta after that week. I loved the car, but just not driving it everyday to work just to sit in a parking lot.

 

[Viper Grenade]

If you want to daily drive get a gen3 vert or coupe. Best bang for the buck and easy to drive. Put in nitto invino's and never worry about being in the rain again. They ride nice too with the soft sidewall.

 

[AJ02]

I bought my 02 GTS on Dec. 2nd, 2011. Since then, I have put almost 30,000 miles on it. I've had very little go wrong with it. It doesn't like stop and go traffic in 100 degree weather so much, but no real problems. Definitely go with the Viper. You won't regret it.

 

[Free2go]

Subaru WRX sti, mustang, Porsche....you DO have an itchy trigger finger don't you? I see that stuff all day long man. You either want a Viper with all your heart or you don't. Why don't you just get the STi for your daily and think about it a while longer. DennisKgb hit the nail on the head. "Viper...controlled doses".

 

[Big Miata]

I don't know if I'm wrong but after owning a viper now for a year, dailying it would be a good and bad thing. Since this car is infinitely rebuildable unlike most cars if it were already higher mileage like 75k plus then you could use it as a daily. But saying that you should not buy a viper unless you can own 2 cars. And furthermore the viper would lose that special place in your heart if you just see it as transportation. If you want rwd and not caring about it just buy a z or an m3 like every other idiot has. I mean honestly if you can afford a viper you can afford a 5000 dollar Honda accord daily. If you don't have a garage or the ability to have two cars you should not have a viper in my opinion. I don't want to be flamed and I waited a year of owning a viper before I joined VCA and posting