Are the gen2's too affordable now ?

Phun70

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Plum, I completely understand what you're saying. There's a difference between liking the car because of what the car is, and liking the car because of what the car does for your image.

There's also a difference between being able to buy a car and actually being able to afford the car.

I'll give you an example using my old subdivision. In 1997, when I built that house, it was brand new in a nice neighborhood. Not "upscale" but nice. And even though the prices weren't very high, everything was shiny and new. In 2003 when the interest rates started to drop, people who used to live in apartments were suddenly able to buy homes. There was a couple who bought an older house down at the end of the block from me. I think they both worked two jobs and just barely pulled together the $1000 or whatever their mortgage was each month. They had 4 cars, 3 of which didn't run. The aggregate value of all four vehicles was probably $1000. They all sat out on the driveway because the garage was packed full of crap. None of them had current tags. The lawn was never mowed. The kids' toys were all over the front yard. The house was in desperate need of paint. The screens in the windows were torn and falling out. Basically, the place looked like complete ****. It looked like the Clampets had moved in. Apparently, after barely making their mortgage payment, there wasn't enough money left for incidental things like watering a lawn, gas for a lawn mower, paint or screens.

So the guy next to them put his house up for sale. The people that bought it moved in like 9 family members (kids, parents, grand parents, great grand parents) so that they could swing the mortgage. That place went to hell in record time, as well. So the guy next to them sold. And so began the ruination of that neighborhood. Obviously, I sold before they destroyed the value of my home and built a new home elsewhere.

The point is, there are people that can afford to buy a house and people that afford to own a house. The same is true of cars. It's not just being able to scrape up the coin for your monthly payment, but actually being able to fix it, clean it, maintain it, keep it safe, buy tires for it, prevent it from leaking all over the parking lot, etc.

When the price on these cars started dropping, people saw them as a car they could make a payment on. But that didn't leave anything left over for maintenance. And the people that don't care about the car itself, but only care about making sure people see them in it, ruin the image of the car. And oftentimes, ruin the car itself.

I am far from a wealthy guy, but I am a car guy. I'd rather buy a $40k car I can afford to take care of than an $80k car I can't. Unfortunately, I think that's becoming a minority view point.

Well spoken, very well said!
 

AndyMac

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I continue to maintain mine with the utmost attention.

Talk about the understatement of the year! Most hospitals aren't as clean as your car lol..

Lifted from another thread.

i absolutely love the attention the viper brings, its why i bought the car. without the attention id be nothing....

Quoted from your first post:

i always get the feeling i should set fire to my car and let it burn to the ground when i see some stupid mods being done to a nice gen2 or guys who bought the car to be cool and get attention..

I'm new here, bought my first Viper last year. The only reason I bought the car was because it was what I wanted, and what other people think doesn't influence me. (why else would I buy a H2 and a Vette, people hate these 2 cars and I get **** on all the time for owning them)

People who go buy a car and pay someone else to make it go fast doesn't impress me. It's not what you buy, it's what you build. I understand that some don't have the desire/skills/time to do it themselves, but just because you can pay to have a fast/nice/exotic car does not make you any more deserving.

Also, not everyone sees the viper in the same light. Some want to drive them into the ground, some worship them(dave6666), while others won't take the car cover off long enough to show it to someone. We know how much of a nut Dave is, but you can rest assured there are a lot of people out there that cringe at the thought of him actually driving his car, even though he is anal beyond comprehension.

So who is deserving of the Viper, and who is not, is all a matter of opinion. I love my car because it's what I enjoy and nothing that anyone says, or nothing that anyone does to another Viper will diminish that. I'm in it for me, and the day I need someone elses approval/attention, will be the day I sell the car and take the bus.

Carry on.
 

Saxon

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no but she sure wished you were

his answer and thread for attetion shows me he is one of the reasons i wanna burn mine...

they all look the same with the hood down...thats the problem.

the civic beats a basically stock viper and then thinks he can beat yours or mine. but i guess that goes for the TT lambo guys too against vipers....oh well.


Who said I am not a Casanova? Perhaps I am.

As for burning your car. It is your castle and if this is what you need to do, then who am I to forbid you from doing that. Maybe that is just what the doctor ordered.

I have realized that in life it is healthier to be honest with yourself. Most people want to be noticed. This is why $10.000 watches exist, and people spend $400 for a pair of shoes. There are those who spend time in the gym, and those who eat in $800 a plate restaurants. I have no problem with people who rice up their civic to take on Vipers and I certainly do not object to those who trick their Vipers to beat Lambos. This is after all America. :usa:
What I do however find unsettling is people who cannot sleep and are thinking of burning their rides because somewhere someone is doing something to their car that they find displeasing or in bad taste.

BTW somebody is going to have a lot of sleepless nights in the years to come. Have fun living in that mental cage.


I think it would be so much fun to have a beat up looking Viper driven by an illegal worker still dirty and sweaty from doing construction job, with a hookerish semi drunk pregnant illegal girlfriend (with a tooth missing) driving around northern NJ hoping to see plum and his ride. I think that day we would hear not only about Viper being burnt to the ground. :rolaugh:
 
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plumcrazy

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Lol, there are two guys here who don't know sarcasm when it smacks them on the face.

Mr bravo said it very well. That's more like what I wanted to say and said nicer.
 

AbsolutHank

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In a word, YES!

As a GM guy, I witnessed the same transformation with the Camaro, C4 and C5 Vettes. When the prices get low, anyone can step in and buy them. But, that doesn't mean they're all crap now...when I see a nice, clean well cared for older Camaro for example, I can really appreciate the time, effort and money required to keep it pristine.

I think we can all agree on the fact that the Viper doesn't really fit into any previous automotive category/mold...I guess the exotic looks, and low production numbers are the reason. But, using the same example above, the Viper just won't fall into that same scenario...it's just too rare of a car for that. For every tacky-modded Viper, there are 10 times more stock or tastefully modded examples to offset it...I think you'll have nothing to worry about!
 

RTTTTed

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Long as there are lots of 10 sec street tired Gen 2s and a couple of 7 second GTSs, I think we're good Phil.

Ted
 
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plumcrazy

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The internet is the worst place to try and express sarcasm.

You could have just summed it up by saying you hate welfare Viper owners.. This could have saved valuable time.. lol

didnt want to. id rather say it that way for a few people here who know me well enough to know i was making fun....
 

All Blue ACR

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but ordinary Vipers are really boring .
/QUOTE]:omg:

UMMM, this coming from a person with real and obvious passion for the Viper kinda fuels the "affordable" debate IMO.

To me (and most people with thumbs up,cameras flashing and going faster than they ever have before)there is nothing boring about my ordinary ( non Roe/Paxton supercharged yadda yadda yadda) car. I love every second I spend in and around it.

Different people value different things. To me, though I truly get it costs much more to have a properly modified Viper, the "ordinary" one has more "value" to me.

Maybe the guys wife didn't want to spend the $5000.00 extra because she ( like me)liked "ordinary" ?:dunno:
 

BolsOut

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There's a difference between liking the car because of what the car is, and liking the car because of what the car does for your image.

There's also a difference between being able to buy a car and actually being able to afford the car.

It's not just being able to scrape up the coin for your monthly payment, but actually being able to fix it, clean it, maintain it, keep it safe, buy tires for it, prevent it from leaking all over the parking lot, etc.

When the price on these cars started dropping, people saw them as a car they could make a payment on. But that didn't leave anything left over for maintenance. And the people that don't care about the car itself, but only care about making sure people see them in it, ruin the image of the car. And oftentimes, ruin the car itself.

I am far from a wealthy guy, but I am a car guy. I'd rather buy a $40k car I can afford to take care of than an $80k car I can't. Unfortunately, I think that's becoming a minority view point.

This guy NAILED it! Thankyou.:)
:usa:
 

RTTTTed

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but ordinary Vipers are really boring .
/QUOTE]:omg:

UMMM, this coming from a person with real and obvious passion for the Viper kinda fuels the "affordable" debate IMO.

To me (and most people with thumbs up,cameras flashing and going faster than they ever have before)there is nothing boring about my ordinary ( non Roe/Paxton supercharged yadda yadda yadda) car. I love every second I spend in and around it.

Different people value different things. To me, though I truly get it costs much more to have a properly modified Viper, the "ordinary" one has more "value" to me.

Maybe the guys wife didn't want to spend the $5000.00 extra because she ( like me)liked "ordinary" ?:dunno:

My wife also likes the stock Viper better. You're selling/changing your aftermarket exhaust and keeping your Hiflow Cats right? ($3,000?).

I guess I should have said that SOME of us find the stock Viper too boring. The Viper looks are fast, but my 440 Duster has 750bhp and one of my Stealths has 500hp so a 450bhp Viper just doesn't "cut it" - you know?

Now that PS2s have traction in second gear that means I can hook up my Nitrous Oxide in my 830bhp Viper.

I realize that most people are like my wife and don't like massive amounts of power or handling, but the Viper is the best I've ever seen for ease of modifications and reliability. That's why I've moved up from modified Pro Street cars.

I see that FIA requires that the Ferrari, vette, viper, etc. race cars are detuned well below the street cars performance to 500+/- hp levels. :lmao:

I like to play on the track and I do prefer to win. I'm starting to wonder if I own the 2 fastest Vipers in Western Canada? I know that Louie is planning on installing Nitrous on his Paxton SRT10 so he might 'edge me out' next year.

I hope that you are 'on our side' when several of us take our modified Vipers and battle the modified Ferraris, Maseratis, Lambos, Stykers, FGTs, SLRs etc. at the "Race the Base Top Speed Challenge" as we are representing the Viper nation and trying to earn repsect by chasing after $2,000,000 Ferrari Enzos with our $55,000 Vipers? Even though you Viper is mostly stock, you do feel that a win for us is a win for you?

There was 3 stock Vipers and 2 modified Vipers there last year. Timing may have been off, but although all the Vipers were well received, the stock Vipers didn't make the 300kph 'challenge' speed in the 1.8 mile runway.

Ted
 

'Trust'

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Stereotyping FTL, not all younger Viper owners are ricers. That tasteless 'modding' is more a mental age than anything, I've talked to older 'car guys' who knew jack about their car, and vice versa. My thought on it, unless they didn't pay for it themselves, younger guys have the exact same respect for the car they worked for as you do. I've worked my butt off for what I have and I'm still doing it. I don't feel that my car is destroyed because of what I've done to it and I just turned 25 this month.

I also feel I'm more of a performance nut than anything, I was looking for a car in my budget that had the following: IRS, light weight, fair amount of displacement, 6 speed. The Viper won me over a C6 1 because of the looks, and 2 because of the forged motor. I knew it would be going FI so that was the deciding factor, the motor. If it's clean and tastefully modded, I'm typically a fan.
 

runin1320

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I guess I'll hold off on the yellow calipers and dragon stickers....lol

I do understand since I have seen some Vipers for sale and thought, "That poor poor Viper. Who would do that to a Viper?"
 

GTLaser

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Stereotyping FTL, not all younger Viper owners are ricers. That tasteless 'modding' is more a mental age than anything, I've talked to older 'car guys' who knew jack about their car, and vice versa. My thought on it, unless they didn't pay for it themselves, younger guys have the exact same respect for the car they worked for as you do. I've worked my butt off for what I have and I'm still doing it. I don't feel that my car is destroyed because of what I've done to it and I just turned 25 this month.

I also feel I'm more of a performance nut than anything, I was looking for a car in my budget that had the following: IRS, light weight, fair amount of displacement, 6 speed. The Viper won me over a C6 1 because of the looks, and 2 because of the forged motor. I knew it would be going FI so that was the deciding factor, the motor. If it's clean and tastefully modded, I'm typically a fan.

Agreed..... Around my area and on this forum the older viper owners seem to rice out their cars and not take care of them as I've seen younger owners (I'm 29).

'Trust'....any pics of your car?
 

97snk

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Agreed..... Around my area and on this forum the older viper owners seem to rice out their cars and not take care of them as I've seen younger owners (I'm 29).

'Trust'....any pics of your car?

I m 27, so far nothing rice on my car minus the dodge banner which is considered rice by a few :dunno:
 
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plumcrazy

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v10enomous, i like my new wheels, im juts not sure i wanna keep the wing.......

PS: this is NOT an age thing at all. its a bad taste/stupidity thing
 

Martin2000GTS

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Plum,

Im on the same page as you and it drives me nuts!

I have a good friend (and he's most likely reading this lol) that drives a 2006 coupe that he just bought a few months ago. But every night he comes home with it, he pulls it into his parents garage at the age of 27.....yes he still lives at home but drives a $50k car. We always give him crap for it! He dosent come on any of the VCA outings with us and thinks the $100 for memberhip is a waste of money, Hes also telling us everyday that his next car is an 04 Galardo (first year production). His exact words are "for 20 grand more Ill have a lambo" When I tell him about the matinence and replacement parts cost, he says his friends can fix it for him.......lets get serious here!

He is always telling me about this club in Boston he wants to go to (where you can park right up front) "for only $50" "and every one can see you pulling up in it, how cool is that"...........believe it or not, I have not gone to that club with him lol.

HI DAN if your reading this lol, this is the perfect thread for you!:lmao:
 

scottmcc

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Plum, The wing and wheels look awesome! Your sure to get a bunch of crap for it like I did but don't let it get to you. Keep it on.
 

v10enomous

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Plum, The wing and wheels look awesome! Your sure to get a bunch of crap for it like I did but don't let it get to you. Keep it on.


I guess the sarcasm doesn't always fly because either you didn't catch mine or I'm not catching yours:D

I'll take responsibility... obviously that's not Plum's car with the spoiler and 22"s in the vedoe of the Fast and Furious reunion...:lmao: I was as they say... j/k.

Open the vid in Youtube and read the comments... too funny

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPr3TmXnNgM[/media]
 

musclenutz

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On a day when nothing is planned,the sun is shining and traffic is low on a winding country road. I go out to the garage and get in my Viper. Turn the key and the powerful rumble of the v-10 takes my full attention! Warm 'er up a little and then slowly back her out of the garage,get on the highway and i am in heaven! Listening to the engine as i shift through the gears and that too takes all my attention...Notice some kids point toward me driving by as i settle in to the comfortable seat. I keep my eyes and thoughts on the road and automaticly remember bad spots in the pavement,careful to respect the beast. I pay attention to all my driving experience. Dude in a Vette passes going the other way,and as many times before,he gives me a thumbs up.I return the gesture. All my thoughts are on what i am doing. This place i am in feels right next to heaven at this moment. My full attention is on the machine beneath me,and the road. It is all the attention i need. I eventually return home,and park the old beast ,(94 rt/10) in it's designated spot in the garage...go in and ask my sweet woman if she would like to go for a ride..She asks' can we take the GTS?'...(She is still a bit overwhelmed by the noise of the old beast)..i say Hell Yes,we can take the GTS...Now,with her beside me and driving down the country road..i am even a bit closer to heaven...she does that for me...not the GTS..MY WIFE! ;)
 

scottmcc

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On a day when nothing is planned,the sun is shining and traffic is low on a winding country road. I go out to the garage and get in my Viper. Turn the key and the powerful rumble of the v-10 takes my full attention! Warm 'er up a little and then slowly back her out of the garage,get on the highway and i am in heaven! Listening to the engine as i shift through the gears and that too takes all my attention...Notice some kids point toward me driving by as i settle in to the comfortable seat. I keep my eyes and thoughts on the road and automaticly remember bad spots in the pavement,careful to respect the beast. I pay attention to all my driving experience. Dude in a Vette passes going the other way,and as many times before,he gives me a thumbs up.I return the gesture. All my thoughts are on what i am doing. This place i am in feels right next to heaven at this moment. My full attention is on the machine beneath me,and the road. It is all the attention i need. I eventually return home,and park the old beast ,(94 rt/10) in it's designated spot in the garage...go in and ask my sweet woman if she would like to go for a ride..She asks' can we take the GTS?'...(She is still a bit overwhelmed by the noise of the old beast)..i say Hell Yes,we can take the GTS...Now,with her beside me and driving down the country road..i am even a bit closer to heaven...she does that for me...not the GTS..MY WIFE! ;)

Yes, Well said. As they say, Been there Done that!
 

musclenutz

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I agree....it's your thang,do whatcha wanna do...just put things on the car that someone else can take off later if you sell it! That is unless they like it that way too :)
 

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