getting a 95 rt/10

[EqwanoX]

hey everyone, i was here a few months ago talking about the same viper, gave Jonb a call and he helped out alot. but then the guy couldnt sell at the time because of a court order involving his divorce. but now he contacted me again and said he can sell, just that his wifes lawyer has to verify everything which isnt a problem to me.

SO, i saw it again, the guy drove it (would not allow me to drive it), floored it a bunch of times, it runs nice, seems solid. im so angry at myself for not taking pictures to post here, i was so dumb-struck at the time

details:

PROS
milage is about 30500,
interior shows normal wear,
tires are good,
its only an hour away from where i live, the next closest gen1 viper is in new york about 4 hours away
guy wants $20k, the only other vipers on criageslist, are gen2s at $40k

CONS
the only exterior flaw(other than normal highway specs) is on the exhaust sill, you have to open the hood to see it, the fiberglass around the bolts of the sill are all chipped out. im assuming that might have happened when the aftermarket exaust was installed.
...OK.... the big problem that Jonb told me to look for..... without lifting the car, just with a flashlight i DID see some green coolant around one of the heads. and overall, the whole engine bay is a little rough, aftermarket intake, some paint is peeling on the valve cover, everything is a little greasy, a little dirty

actual picture of the car from craigslist

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SO, assuming the car was beat on alot, it still only has 30k miles of rough wear, the price probly reflects the issues.

my questions are:
should i try to shave a couple extra thousand off the asking price? or is that fair
is there a way to gauge how much time till the head gasket blows? like, i assume you would have to fill the coolant once in a while because of the leak in the head gasket, or is it to minimal
is replacing the head gasket something i can do myself? i helped a friend do a head gasket on his 88 mustang once, im no mechanic, but i can loosen bolts and put **** back together if thats all it takes. (EDIT: found these answers in other topic)

also heres a copy of the title he gave me, any other info about the car that would influence my decision would be helpful

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[Sybil TF]

$20,000 is the price? How does it run overall? Head gasket is something you can do yourself if you have some basic skills. That's a good price assuming that is all that is wrong other than your normal wear and tear. How does the paint look?

 

[EqwanoX]

like i said, paint is good, just normal highway specs and the gouging around the bolts on one of the exaust sills, but thats not visible when hood is closed.

ran good as far as i can tell, ive never been driven in a viper before. the only noticeable thing is the gearing is very wide, the guy explained to me that your in 1st most of the time unless over 40mph, and that your supposed to shift at high rpm, like 5-6k

also he still has the stock exhaust, and both hard and soft tops.

 

[denniskgb]

i believe the price is very fair and realistic considering the work you have to put into it to fix different misc stuff. if you can negotiate more $$$ off go for it. Just remember to check tires age and condition, you will be doing head gasket for sure, probably repainting valve cover gaskets, DO change all the fluids such as trans, diff, coolant, oil, brakes, and what not.. it will add up so keep it in mind.Best of luck. also run a car fax on it

 

[Sybil TF]

Offer him $16,000 and negotiate the price down so you have some wiggle room for fluid changes and gasket repair. When I was buying my 96 GTS the owner wanted $40,000. I offered him $33,000 and he got offended. A mont later he contacted me and said he would take $37,000. I countered with $35,000 and got it it for that. Glad I did because it had the original tires...

 

[Zee]

Since this is the first viper you have driven, I would test drive a few other vipers if I were you to really compare. Definitely check the age of tires - just because tread looks good does not mean you are in the clear. Good fresh rubber is so critical for these cars.

 

[GRANGER73]

Sounds like a pretty realistic price. Hardtop included. Do a carfax. Hopefully you will insist on driving the car before buying. Does it have A/C? What's the VIN? Is it one of the last 300 side pixie cars? Where are you located? It shouldn't be to hard to find a Viper guy to take a look. If all is good, 20K is a great price.

 

[EqwanoX]

it has a/c, vin is in pic of the title i posted previously, im in MA, how do i find a viper tech? just ask at a dealer?

tires are fresh. the next closest gen1 is 5 hours away, so test driving other models would be difficult. but the guy floored it a bunch of times, and it went. my god it screamed SO LOUD, it was awesome

carfax is clean, first owner was in florida registered as a corporate vehicle for 10 years, second owner was private in MA for 8 years, third was the guy im buying from, hes had it for year and a half. the only work ever done on it was a clutch replaced at 9k miles in 98

i found the head gaskets on partsrack but i also need the exhaust and intake manifold gaskets too, anything else?

 

[DaJerseyViper]

If you can get it for 18 that would be a good deal, he is getting divorced and needs money..Even at 20k and you had to put 3-4 k in it doing the head gasket with a mechanic, it would still be worth it in the long run.I believe 95 was the highest produced 1st gen vipers just a fun fact. Check the frame for any dings,dents or suspicious welds.

 

[GRANGER73]

Actually 3083 94's, and 1577 95's. 94 production was highest yet for any Viper.

 

[Titan1969]

I just purchased my first Viper 2 months ago. It was a '95 R/T10 so here is my story, hoping it will save you some questions and answers.

Car had 46K, SUPER clean body being a CA car. Front fascia needs repainting, chipped and scraped up badly.
I drove the car seemed very solid, no major issues...well no major depending on your point of view.
I paid $24,900 for the car, the owner had it for 10 years.

Once I had the car, as expected it was not taken care of mechanically very well...some of this I expected as the owner didnt seem mechanically inclined and had a garage full of junk around the car.

Over the last month here is what I found and took care of myself using basic tools, the service manual and this site and another popular Viper site. I have wrenched on cars for 30 years so not much intimidates me, even though Im not a certified mechanic.

NO service records were available, so I started assuming nothing was done according to the maintenance schedule...and I was right .
Changed diff fluid
Changed oil
Changed trans fluid ( came out like water yikes)
Replaced battery ( after it stranded me once )
Replaced trans mount...ripped in half, installed poly style upgrade
Removed and eliminated clutch orientation switch...which tried repeatedly strand me
Installed skip shift eliminator
Removed front fascia and replaced leaking lower coolant reservoir, punctured by the infamous body bolt
Removed and replaced valve cover bolts ( with easier to remove cap head allen) none of the bolts were tight enough and leaking oil out like a pig...this I felt was just plain laziness by the prior owner
Reprogrammed 2nd FOB....yep owner didnt know how but warned me not to loose the original...lol
Replaced 10 year tires ( holy s&^t expensive ), luckily I bought another set of used rims and tires for less than a new set of tires.
Fixed glove box that fell open on rough roads...again laziness
Fixed air box, not reassembled correctly.
Cleaned entire bottom of car..loaded with oil and crap...nice as the day it was born now
Installed ROE racing fan relay to assist with coolant temperatures
Installed HID kit for better night vision
Wired power steering cap, so it cant blow off and burn the Viper to the ground.
Replaced brake and clutch fluid ( just used a turkey baster and suctioned the fluid out after several trips )

Now not to scare you...none of these items would really have hurt the car short term, heck the prior owner likely didn't do a thing to it for 10 years. But I enjoy working on the car so to me, I had no problem with my purchase as I love the car and it gave me time to learn all about it.

next headers and Corsa system

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[EqwanoX]

yea the guy im buying from is the same way, never changed oil even, luckily hes only had it for a year and a half and only put 700 miles on it. people like this should not be allowed around these cars, part of me wants to buy the car JUST to get it away from him. he claims the guy who had it before him flushed all the fluids, but who knows

im wasnt familiar with this "infamous body bolt" that punctures the coolant reservoir, ill have to check on that

luckily tires are good, i could never change out the stock lawnmower blade wheels, thats viper DNA