Engine Damage

[Craig 201 MPH]

Ask why there are that many miles. In my opinion that's too many alot of thrashing can take place in that time. There are many vipers that are new that still remain with factory miles on them (about 6 or so)

 

[snakebitdave]

When I picked up my 98 GT2 at the factory it had 38 factory miles on it. It also had evidence that it was driven on the road perhaps through a puddle of water. Perhaps it was one they selected to do additional tests on or maybe they took it out for lunch. Who knows. The dealer may not have put the miles on it but you are right to be skeptical about it. Worthy of checking it out.

 

[RedSnakeGTS]

i picked mine up with 2300 miles on it. oh, it was used, but i couldnt tell you what went on for the first 2300. my car is running great, no leaks, no problems, no nothing

 

[ewave]

Life is full of risks. Owning a Viper is just one of them.

 

[FRANK]

I know of a Dodge Dealer in Columbus Ohio who had a yellow ACR that took it out and wound up throwing a rod through the block hot-dogging it on Morse Road...and the car was taken right off the showroom floor...

 

[Craig 201 MPH]

if teh car came from CAAP with 30 miles it will be documented that it came that way with a signed sheet. If not I don't think they can ask "new" car money, especially with 90 miles. There are alot of d*ckhead dealerships where the owner or sales manager will throw a dealer plate on it and drive it around for a couple days and impress people with it. I'd rather save the $$ and buy a used car.

 

[Janni]

It is my opinion that break in miles on a Viper are some of the most important miles that an owner can put on a car. Cars that we have known that have had absolutely anal break in miles have proven to be stronger than those with suspect "formative miles". Case in point - 1996 GTS's - 47 serial numbers apart - same exact minor mods - anal break in car is a 454 HP car, suspect break in car is438 HP. Normal and average for second car, but very good for anally broken in car. 2001 with anal break in had 429 HP with tubes and filters only.... We're breaking in our 2003 with similarly strict break in procedure - even more so than what is recommended.

 

[Vipermed 97.01]

Be very inquisitive and cautious about both cars.Most of those miles may have been driven by a person or worse a salesperson who thinks "viper...........Speeeeed"As was said before,breakin miles lay the ground work for the life of the car.My fear would be dealer miles not D.C miles.Case in point,we recieved a 01 directly from the dealer for the customer for a stroker upgrade,the car had 47 miles on it,those were VERY abusive 47 miles,the clutch assy. had extreme hot spots on them,wheels had curb scrape on all four.I called the customer to inspect the parts,needless to say he came unglued.He went to the dealer with clutch assy. and pictures of wheels, and of course they denied, stating those were the miles they recieved from D.C(i guess they did not think we would check) paper work showed dealership took delivery with 13 miles.My best advise would be if you are going to buy a new viper from a dealership that does have miles,buy from a dealer that specializes or sells a significant amount of vipers as they will more than likly take the proper car and document all miles.This is a very understated issue!!!!!!!!!!DO YOUR HOMEWORK

 

[AJT]

My 02 had 26 miles on it & I was not happy about it.
Bill P. told me they were DC miles & they all had about that amount when they came in. How can I check ? What paper should I ask for?

Andy

 

[malcoll]

It is a new car as long as it has never been titled. It is under warranty...... and big deal if it has 90 miles on it. Hopefully that 90 miles will be a distant memory with all the miles you will add by driving it regularly.
Remember... it's under warranty... if it throws a rod, or leaks oil... or burns oil.... it's under warranty.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a new car if I could avoid it..... wait till later this year.. some SRT-10s will be on the used car market.... save the depreciation.

If you want a new car...... buy it... it's a new car for crying out loud... and IT'S UNDER WARRANTY!!!

Lance

 

[Craig 201 MPH]

It is a new car as long as it has never been titled. It is under warranty...... and big deal if it has 90 miles on it. Hopefully that 90 miles will be a distant memory with all the miles you will add by driving it regularly.
Remember... it's under warranty... if it throws a rod, or leaks oil... or burns oil.... it's under warranty.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a new car if I could avoid it..... wait till later this year.. some SRT-10s will be on the used car market.... save the depreciation.

If you want a new car...... buy it... it's a new car for crying out loud... and IT'S UNDER WARRANTY!!!

Lance

Sure it's under warranty, but you buy a car like this to drive. How much fun would it be to have to have your engine torn out during the prime driving months to have an oil consumption issue looked after by arrow?

Not worth it. I'd rather buy a used Viper.

 

[Vipermed 97.01]

Lance no flame but i think you are missing the point those first 90 miles could be like 20,000. Remember this........warranty Arrow engine rebuild..6-8 months,if you call this no cost.I dont know about you but 6-8 months away from my Viper is GREAT cost to me!!!!

 

[malcoll]

Well... I am not a Viper tech... and I do not own a Viper tuning business. And yes.. my 1996 is my first Viper.

But I have built a number of engines...... and owned a lot of cars. I find it hard to believe that 90 miles can be like 20,000 on a new Viper engine.

Yes I agree with a break-in procedure..... and on the few new cars I HAVE purchased I did follow the break-in procedure. But, I just think 90 miles isn't that big of a deal.

Agreed, no flame.... but my opinion is buy it, mod it, drive it, enjoy! Forget about the 90 miles.

Lance

 

[jimandela]

run the other way if you suspect it was dealer driven!!!

I was a Daytona Dodge a few years ago looking a brand new GTS graphite with stripes
and the manager threw a plate on it and took me for a 15 min ride and beat the daylights out of
it and one point he almost rearend another car!!
so much for breaking it in gently at one point we were at 85 mph as he banged thru the gears.
what a ****!

That sealed my decision to buy my car from Woodhouse.

 

[Jerry Dobson]

Yep, Who cares about warranty when your car is down! I hang out with a lot of guys from the dealerships. They will flat out run the crap out of your car. Total abuse.

Let me take your car to 6k RPMs and side step the clutch.... in every gear. If your car is under warranty, should be no big deal right? Now that the mechanics have driven it, its time for all the sales guys to take a spin.

The Viper can handle lots of abuse... but break it in first.

CzecMate, when you purchase your Viper, you should get a cardboard delivery card that is signed off by the factory with your VIN and the Mileage. Most of the Cards show less than 15 miles on them.

 

[malcoll]

run the other way if you suspect it was dealer driven!!!

I was a Daytona Dodge a few years ago looking a brand new GTS graphite with stripes
and the manager threw a plate on it and took me for a 15 min ride and beat the daylights out of
it and one point he almost rearend another car!!
so much for breaking it in gently at one point we were at 85 mph as he banged thru the gears.
what a ****!

That sealed my decision to buy my car from Woodhouse.

I guess that's another argument for only buying used..... because if that's the treatment by most dealership personnel..... I might as well let somebody else pay $60K for beat up new car.......

I guess 9 or 90 miles if that's how they are treated...... let someone else buy new and take the depreciation hit.

I'm glad I buy used!

Lance

 

[jimandela]

malcoll,
buy new or used but buy from Woodhouse no headache.

I bought new , brand new .. Bill P would not allow that crap to happen if it did I think
he would personal kick someones bass!!!

so my new car was not abused and arrive with under 20 miles on it.
and included test miles put on buy the viper tech after installing my subexhaust.
it was tested before be shipped to make sure it was just right. and it was.
love Woodhouse.
I could have saved on shipping and used another dealership but why have headaches?
it was worth it.
call Bill !!

 

[GTS Dean]

I have climbed into Vipers that were brand new off the Reliable truck and had 40 to 60+ miles on them. At some point, CAAP started sending an official card along which notified potential buyers that more than normal miles were run in on the car at the factory. That mileage is hand-written on the card.

My '93 RT/10 had 63 miles on it at delivery, but no card at that time. When I asked about it at VOI #1, the folks at Mack Ave. said they did take the occasional random car out for a QC spin at the factory. That car was strong, properly broken in, and never used or leaked a drop of oil.

 

[Mopar Steve]

I understand the uncertainty of the first 30-90 miles but how on earth does buying a used Viper make more sense? Yes the price is adjusted for the use and age of the used car but, IT'S ANOTHER USED CAR. You have no idea of the history of those miles, or previous owners, or even the owners before those, driving habits, maintenance, etc. A new car is a new car, even those broken in correctly will have warranty issues.

Good luck with whatever Viper you chose, Drive it and enjoy it.

 

[fred]

Yeh its on Warranty but who wants to spend endless hours at a Dealership getting a new car repaired and having to endure all the aggravation that usually comes along. This is the kind of answer a salesman will give especially if he knows of some damage. Don't worry you have a Warranty! Enjoy your summer here at our lovely Service Department! Waste your time and watch the mechanics tear into your car while holding your breath that they know what they are doing.
A Warranty is like an Insurance policy. Its always better not to have to use it and have the car be in good shape. My GTS has only been in for oil/filter but then again it only has 2000 miles.
Minimize the risk and find a new car with LOW delivery miles only. Maybe 10! If it has 50-90 it may have been demoed and the guy probably hammered it. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have taken a new, very low mileage (5-20) car out for a test drive and the salemans says "go ahead hit it". When I mentioned its a new car they almost always say, don't worry about it! Yeh, the poor sucker who buys it may be the one who gets to do the worrying later when the engine starts burning oil because the oil rings got damaged. Go for LOW delivery miles on a new car. Period!

 

[Jerry Dobson]

Fred, I 100% Agree.

 

[Craig 201 MPH]

I understand the uncertainty of the first 30-90 miles but how on earth does buying a used Viper make more sense? Yes the price is adjusted for the use and age of the used car but, IT'S ANOTHER USED CAR. You have no idea of the history of those miles, or previous owners, or even the owners before those, driving habits, maintenance, etc. A new car is a new car, even those broken in correctly will have warranty issues.

Good luck with whatever Viper you chose, Drive it and enjoy it.

An owner is less likely to treat the car with disrespect as it was his/her hard earned money that paid for it. What does a dealership care about a car they are going to sell? Warranty work is just more $$ for them, do they really care, few actually do. I have a good friend whose dad is a general manager at a chrysler dealership who used to brag about hammering the hell out of a prowler. A PROWLER!!!! A SLOW CAR!!!! Can you imagine what he would do with a Viper? I get told all the time "you gotta drive this, see how fast it is etc...

Most not all dealers don't have an ounce of respect for cars, it is merely a commodity in which they make $$ off of, a viper is just inventory, they don't respect it.

 

[ssssssnake]

I bought my 2001 GTS new never been titled. It did have 350 miles on it when I bought it. The car was never sold in 2001 so I bought it in August 2002 with the above miles. I am assuming it was driven for test-drives etc, and I'm sure it was not broken in the way it should have been. It now has 2000 miles and runs like a champ. Since the car had 350 miles on it and was never titled I got one hell of a deal. I got the car for $63,000. I could not pass that up for a brand new Viper although it had a few dealer driven miles.

All I can say is that my car runs awesome, and if something does arise I have the extended warranty to cover it.

I would not worry about a few miles on the car, as long as you have the warranty. Yes I agree that being in the shop is no fun, but I say go for it!

Mark