Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i'm ..

[Yellow Fever]

Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

kinda Skeptical.. I have always loved the lines and the brute torque of the Viper . Now with the prices of the RT's coming down i think its a great time to take the plunge.

But after talking to a former owner of a 2000 GTS I am somewhat hesitant...Keep in mind that this gentleman owns several automobiles, IE: Z06 , Cobra,Diablo Etc.

So i trust his opinion and feedback.

Apparently his Viper spent more time at the Dealer than in his own Garage. He's had problems with his AC failing , blown crank seals ,water leaks , alternator problems ,failed battery and several paint defects. It got to the point were he was scared to take it on a sunday drive out of fear that he would be stranded .

Keep in mind that his Viper had less than 1200 Miles on it .

I'm hoping that his car was just a factory lemon .. Have any other owners experienced similar joys of owning a VIPER ?

Thanks for your input !

Jeff

 

[dwhitt]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

Have owned three Vipers from a wide span of model years. No significant problems to report. Wish I had kept the other two but financial means (and kids) only allow for one in my case at any one time.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

I gotta raise the BS flag on this one.

IF all those things happened wouldn't it have qualified for Lemon law, 3 major repairs. Would it?

How well do you know this guy. I just met a guy last week who used to own a Viper with a V12 in it. I just went along with it and said WOW that is impressive.

 

[Snake Bitten]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

I have 15,600 miles on my RT...not a lick of problems, no way, no how...absolutely problem free...I attribute it to the awesome design from DC and to my viper tech, who meticulously maintains it...ME!

 

[C O D Y]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

I've had the opportunity to put several thousand miles on a few different vipers and I can assure you that I have not had any problems what so ever! I would drive my '02 FE (or any other viper I've owned) from coast to coast and not even think twice about dependability.

If the reason you don't buy a vipers is because of what he said, you will truly be missing a great experience.

 

[Birvini]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

I own two Vipers, a GTS and an RT/10. Only problem I've had was with the RT/10. The problem was covered under warranty and cost me a whopping 50 bucks to get fixed. I'm VERY happy with both cars.

 

[GTS Bruce]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

01 gts.no problems at all. bruce

 

[Brad04Mamba]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

2000 GTS with 20,000 trouble free miles. I have driven home from both Nashville and St Louis with no concerns.

Brad

 

[Vic]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

2001 GTS, Had water pump replaced, which was a supplier problem in 2001, not affecting everyone.

My tranny wouldn't spring back to nuetral, so they replaced that too.

Compared to the Cadillac I just unloaded, uhm, I mean sold, the Viper is comparitively trouble free.

Going on 17,000 miles now.

 

[BACKNBLACK]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

BS FLAG OUT...

 

[Yellow Fever]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

Great feedback guys ! Exactly what I wanted to hear

By the way he did Lemon law the car..The dealer refunded his money 100 %.

Cheers

Jeff

 

[james97gts]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

Bluethunder,
I own two GTS's and they have both had some problems. 1st My red 97 ac did keep on failing and I brought it into the dealer a few times to have it fixed
2nd blowheadgasket on 97
3rd new engine because still had problems.
1999 Gts just had ac replaced.
My two vipers both had their share of problems. I could say that my 97 spent about 4-5m months out of a year at the dealership. I also live in Arizona and the heat on them during the summer is horrible. I could honestly watch the temp guage raise to redline. I don't daily drive mine and don't abuse them either. You live in San Diego so you don't have the horrible heat. Take Care

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

98 RT/10 63,000 miles no problems.
97 GTS 30,000 miles no problems.

I track both cars.

 

[MHQC]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

BLUTHUNDER...come to the darkside...

 

[Bernard]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

50K on a 2000 RT/10. No problems that were not warranty items. All minor.

 

[snowmann]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

I have found that Viper have a lot less problems then you would think.

 

[Kurt 97 GTS]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'m ..

I'm on my second Viper and have had very few issues!!

 

[inVision]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

I'm glad I found this board, because I must say, you seem to hear more negative than positive about Vipers anywhere else. I came across an older Sports Car Intl article yesterday, it had the ACR vs. GT2 out at Thunderhill, and the driver really had a lot of bad things to say about the Viper. They mentioned that the car was overheating, and did not feel complete, like a "kit car." I've heard many times the Viper referred to as a "kit car." Obviously as Viper owners, often with multiple Vipers, you guys can give better feedback.

 

[MHQC]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

Invision,

You won't hear many complaints or negative points about the Viper on this board...just the facts. It is because of the group composition (including myself). The profile of a Viper owner (actually it would be neat to see Dodge's makeup on this) is not someone in my opinion who is worried about getting his hands dirty (doing repairs yourself). And is not going to be terribly upset about small things going wrong on the car. I think it depends on who you are talking to. If someone has been driving a bullet proof Toyota Camry for the last 6 years, and then owns a Viper, it would be likely that the Camry would be the benchmark for the Viper and so on.

I Viper is a "good ole boy's" car. The guys I have spoken with are down to earth and very ordinary and just cool. No preppie's or pansy's on this board (for the mostpart).

I take complaints and comments on the Viper with a grain of salt. It is a fun car to research...rich history behind that V-10.

2 good books are "VIPER, by Daniel Carney" and "DODGE VIPER PORTFOLIO 1992-2002". They are on this site.

Michael

 

[Jim Hodel]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

I can't say my 99 GTS has been perfect. The differential was replaced under warranty in the first 2000 miles and I've all ready had to replace the clutch at 13,000 miles (no drag racing but a few track days). The driver's and passengers windows were a little creaky, and needed some warranty work.

However, I would drive it anywhere (except in the snow or offroad, of course).

As far as the Sports Car International article goes, if I could have walked into a Porsche dealer and bought a brand new Porsche GT2 for $65,000, I'd have done it. Unfortunaltely, the GT2 is about 3 times that price and the only new Porsche you can get for 65K is the standard 996 which is bit bland for my tastes.

The Viper is a hard edged car to be sure, but it is the most pure fun of any car I've owned. I currently also have a Z06 and would sell the Corvette in an instant if I had to in order to keep the Viper.

Jim

 

[Snakester]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

I have a 2000 R/T10 which I drive every day.
It has had zero warranty-type problems and the car is just about to turn 16K miles (8K by me).

Also, some of the most biased comments that I've read about Vipers are from auto journalists, and my guess is that they simply do not understand the car at all. And their perspective is comparing the Viper to their usual group of Civics, SUVs, and minivans (rather than to European exotic cars). And their conclusions are made after only a couple minutes in the car.

Vipers are far from perfect, and more importantly the are definitely not a car for just anyone. But they are amazing supercars.

 

[Ron Hickey]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

If you put a lot of stock into what automotive journalists write about the Viper, you are not going to even consider one. The Viper has not received fair treatment from the automotive press throughout its 10-year history. The Intl Sports Car article is a case in point, where they compared an $85,000 Viper against a $180,000 Porsche, with the author/driver having raced Porsches. What a surprise, he didn't like the Viper.

You have to drive these cars for yourself and talk to owners.

 

[Snakester]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

Yeah, that article got to me too.
Imagine, a professional Porsche race car driver was able to drive the $180K GT2 faster around a racetrack than a GTS that he was unfamiliar with. And surprise, he preferred driving the Porsche to the Viper. LOL!
Well, if that's not unbiased journalism, I don't know what is!

Seriously, even though Viper owners are enthusiastic about their cars, at least we actually know what the faults and strengths of the Viper are. And not from just driving in the car once.

-Dean.

 

[CarDude]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

Thing to consider before purchasing a Viper...

Vipers **** at:
1. Trying to make other exotics (Porsche, Ferrari, etc...) look good.
2. Making u-turns.
3. Keeping a low profile.
4. Hauling 8 kids to soccer practice.
5. Gas-mileage.
6. Pulling out slow.
7. Driving slow.
8. Going slow.
9. Stopping slow.
10. Doing anything slow.

 

[inVision]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

Invision,

You won't hear many complaints or negative points about the Viper on this board...just the facts. It is because of the group composition (including myself). The profile of a Viper owner (actually it would be neat to see Dodge's makeup on this) is not someone in my opinion who is worried about getting his hands dirty (doing repairs yourself). And is not going to be terribly upset about small things going wrong on the car. I think it depends on who you are talking to. If someone has been driving a bullet proof Toyota Camry for the last 6 years, and then owns a Viper, it would be likely that the Camry would be the benchmark for the Viper and so on.

I Viper is a "good ole boy's" car. The guys I have spoken with are down to earth and very ordinary and just cool. No preppie's or pansy's on this board (for the mostpart).

I take complaints and comments on the Viper with a grain of salt. It is a fun car to research...rich history behind that V-10.

2 good books are "VIPER, by Daniel Carney" and "DODGE VIPER PORTFOLIO 1992-2002". They are on this site.

Michael

I will have to grab those books! Thanks!

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

2. Making u-turns.

Can't agree with that one.

 

[CarDude]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

2. Making u-turns.

Can't agree with that one.

without lighting em up....

 

[99 R/T 10]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

Ah, a clarification, and I was going to just make the same point!

 

[SapphireGTS]

Re: Considering buying a 2000 RT but after talking to a former GTS owner i\'

15,000 hard miles.

Drive the car like its my truck.

No problems. I think he was talking about his diablo.

My C5 was in the shop 4 times in the year I had it. THe breaks would stick at 80 MPH. Honestly there is nothing to break on the viper. Sometimes you may get a bad one if the guys at CAAP drank too much the night before. But thats why you dont get one that was built on friday.