Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Interest?

[dech]

Sorry for joining to post my car for sale, I have a Red '94 RT10 with 690 original miles that I want to sell. The car is perfect--literally the same condition as the day it was brought home from the showroom. The car was purchaed as an investment (bad idea ;() and the 690 miles are what were accumulated driving around the block monthly to keep it in perfect running condition.

I'm not sure what this car is worth and am considering serious offers at this time. A local exotic dealer has made an offer on the car and I'm considering trading it in if I don't receive a better offer. The soft top has never been put on the car and I have all original items that came with the car, including the window sticker. Please e-mail me at [email protected] for more information on this car. Anyone that would be willing to e-mail me to advise me on what price this car should be sold for would be appreciated!

 

[SapphireGTS]

Damn. 690 miles on a 94.

It probably needs some work. These cars dont like to sit.
I would imagine mid to high 30s. Ill keep my eye out for a buyer.

 

[Gerald]

I would see someone paying more like mid 40's to upper 40's but you'll have to advertsize it and get some exposure.. If someone is willing to part with 35k or more for a Gen 1 viper with much higher mileage wouldn't it be safe to assume someone with that $ will pay more for a "new" one?

 

[SapphireGTS]

Yeah. I shot low because the few gen1s Ive seen with such low miles look really good but start to develop problems as you start to put miles on them.

If you found a 1st time viper buyer or rich collector, he/she would probably throw 45+ at it because its "like new" Viper owners are notorioualy cheap .

Im sure its a beautiful car. You can't beat the look of the Origional.

 

[dech]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it. The car needs absolutely nothing. It was started and warmed up every two weeks and driven two miles once per month. Also changed the oil two times. It is totally showroom condition and ready to go.

If anyone could recommend the best place(s) to advertise this car, it would be greatly appreciated.

Damn. 690 miles on a 94.

It probably needs some work. These cars dont like to sit.
I would imagine mid to high 30s. Ill keep my eye out for a buyer.

 

[SNKEBIT]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I would see someone paying more like mid 40's to upper 40's but you'll have to advertsize it and get some exposure.. If someone is willing to part with 35k or more for a Gen 1 viper with much higher mileage wouldn't it be safe to assume someone with that $ will pay more for a "new" one?

I agree,,, even I would pay in the high 40's with problems...... The seat doesn't
even have wrinkles yet!!!!!!!!!!!
oil shoulda been changed more than that tho,,,, I wouldn't sell for less than high 40's MHO

 

[slaughterj]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

And the tires are bound to be rock hard / way unsafe by now...

 

[Ron]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I'd consider placing an ad in Autoweek and Hemmings as that's where you'll find people looking for something unique like this.

 

[joe117]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

Mean old Joe says high 30s. I don't see any real advantage to 690 miles over 6900 miles if one is going to drive the car. Cars with 7k miles or so are not uncommon.

If one is not going to drive the car then we are back to buying it as an investment. I don't think it's a good investment.

The engine, sitting for years with years old oil, is probably in far worse shape than the 6900 mile car that had normal maintenance.

The tires, as pointed out above, are hard and will need replacement. That's not a big deal.

I don't think anyone who was up to date on Viper prices would pay more than high 30s.
If this 94 is worth high 40s, what would a perfect, very low miles 96 GTS be worth?

But of course that's just mean old Joe talking.

 

[ViperJoe]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I think the "work needed" meant tires, and possibly head gaskets once the car started being driven more on a regular basis.

"work needed" also could mean baselining all the fluids to fresh (tranny, diff, coolant, clutch, brake, etc)which with the age alone all should be changed.

 

[Sam 01 RT10]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

There's several over on Ebay right now, including one with only 156 miles. Pricing- I'd say 39-42k would be right.

165 miles: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2444454646&category=6209
6500 miles:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2444241281&category=6209
I'd personally take the one with a few thousand miles and new tires/fluids/etc.

 

[Janni]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

Pros:
Low mileage
new car smell
Pristine condition, i.e. paint, interior

Cons:
94 - not a "first year" or "last year"
Not all that rare
Will need service on all fluid
Not run enough to REALLY blow it out
Potential weaknesses not exposed with regular driving
Will need new tires

All that being said, NEW or almost new means quite a bit to folks.

High $30's.

 

[garolittle]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

$39,000

 

[ViperRay]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I agree with Joe117 in that it really is not an investment car and mileage this low over a 10 year period means money will have to be spent to make it reliable. Two oil changes in a decade??? Not a good selling point. I have several collector cars (I paid some for them but I waited till I knew they were considered collectible!) and change the oil on them each year. Needs to be done whether driven or not as we all know. A car like this would only have extra value to someone out there who still believes this car is a collectible and does not intend to put any real miles on it, IMO.

 

[BADVENOM]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

try dupont registry...

 

[Yellow Fever]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I want to know were you found the discipline not to drive your RT after all those years ?? Do you own another Viper ?

 

[dech]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

Well I'm overwhelmed by all the responses! This is a great forum!

I am surprised by all the comments expressing concern about the tires, fluids etc. as these have all been checked and maintained. Tires appear to be fine... I've seen many Vipers and other exotic cars with mileage in the 3K to 6K range that don't even slightly compare to this one, but obviously I understand the perspective.

Due to all this speculation I believe it would be a good idea to take the car into a dealer and have a very detailed inspection performed to eliminate any doubt to prospective buyers.

Thanks to everyone for all of the feedback/input!

 

[George Murray]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I'll trade you my silver '99 GTS for it. Only 50,000 FUN miles! And Connolly interior, too. Weird combo, but rare. Nothing a color change to yellow wouldn't fix...

 

[joe117]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

The tires are no big deal but after sitting for ten years, they are hard. They look ok but they are not ok.

The car has had years old oil in it for years. Oil gets contaminated, it gets acidic. If you let it sit for years it will etch the bearing journals.

Starting a car after a month of sitting is ******* the engine. Oil tends to flow down to the crankcase. Cylinder walls and rings have little lube.
Starting every month means tough conditions once a month for ten years.

I don't know what you mean by,
"detailed inspection performed to eliminate any doubt to prospective buyers."

The tech isn't going to find anything that you could put your finger on. It's simply a question of how it was maintained over the last ten years.

You didn't do what needed to be done. Coolant, oil, brake fluid, needed to be changed. They are all sitting there eating into the walls of their systems.

Tell me, does it still have the first tank of gas in it. After ten years?

You might be better off not telling anyone that there are only 690 miles on it.

By the way, what's the VIN?

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

The concerns are that if you start to drive it hard that things will go bad real fast. But a couple of miles every month until eternity is not a real test. The trick being to find a buyer that will use the car on a limited bases, not even close to its capabilities.

 

[Don Hiltz]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

This question has precipitated some very interesting comments and replies. I agree with all of them.

However, I have another perspective on the situation. My '94 had a window sticker price of $58,500, with air conditioning. If I were to have made it a garage queen and it was worth $40,000 today, I would have lost $18,500 in 9 years and never had the thrill(s) of having driven it.

Not a good investment!!!

While it may appreciate over the next 20 years, I strongly suspect that any appreciation (over $58,500) will be marginal compared with today's safe returns of 6%.

Like "mean old Joe", I drive the wheels off mine.

Don

 

[ViperJoe]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

Nearly EVERY manufacturer recommends xxxx miles OR ___ months. Although you may think because of the lack of miles that the fluids are "good", they are in reality WAAAAAAY past their time.
Good luck in your sale!

 

[Gerald Levin]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

Dech, no question about it, your car is worth a premium. Big time. To the pro's here on the board, sure its a negative to many here, but to a guy that's ready to enter the viper market and wants a new sidepipe car, you car should and will command a premium. I did not check on the 200 mi. 94 RT on ebay, but that is one comparable. I'm assuming if you take your time, you should be able to get $45k from someone if marketed properly (autotrader.com, cars.com, duport report, hemmings, etc). Are you free to say what the dealer has offered you? You should be able to sell this on the open market for at least $5k over the dealer's price. JMHO. Good luck.

 

[REDSLED]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I agree with Gerald Levin. This is the worse place to talk about prices as everyone is always low balling the price, yet everyone complains that the prices of our Vipers are continually dropping. I sold my 94 RT/10 w/15K miles for upper 30's about 5 months ago. You have a low mileage car which should bring a premium, however when selling one's car its true value is determined by what people are willing to pay for it. Mid 40's would be a good sale to the right buyer/collector.

 

[joe117]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I just don't see where the 690 miles should be a big deal to anyone. As Redsled said, he sold his 15k mile car for upper 30s and it had some mods.
Was it all beat up or was it in very good condition? I'll bet it was like new for all practical purposes.

If it wasn't like new, there are plenty of very low miles side pipe cars that are and they don't bring $45k anymore.

Like I said, a guy who knows Viper prices isn't going to pay $45k for this car. That doesn't mean that someone won't.

However,
The more I think about the "maintenance" schedule that this car has had, the more I'm concerned that it really might be considered abused.

The engine isn't even broken in and yet it has had 240 dry starts in a row. That could very well keep the rings from seating properly.

Unless something very unusual was done, the car is on it's second tank of gas in 10 years. Is the gas sitting in it now five years old?

Will the leather seats crack when one sits in them?

Is the battery 10 years old? How did it get charged?

 

[tim721]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

I agree w/ Gerald & Redsled. Most people on this forum almost know "too much" about these machines. To the average person, looking into getting a Viper, a price in the 40's would sound like a steal. Many people (not as experienced or knowledgable as us) would overlook oil changes and other engine issues and see it as a brand new car.

There is a buyer for it, no question. If you're in a rush, you may not find him/her. If you can hold out and advertise it properly, i bet you can get some good money for it. (mid 40's)

Stay away from Ebay too. I think Ebay is good for a quick sale, but there are alot of bottom feeders on there. Everyone there is looking for a steal...

Good Luck with it...

 

[joe117]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

You need to find a place to advertise where high end people will see it but not a place where other excellent Vipers with less than 10k miles are being advertised for $35k.

I think a non Viper guy will think a 690 mile Viper is a novelty but he will consider a ten year old car with 7k miles a very low miles car also.

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Re: Considering Trading in my 1994 RT10 with 690 Original Miles--Any Intere

My guess is that a dealer would list the car for $45,000. Sale price will come somewhere between $40-$45,000. Good luck!