Help Me Pick Which Car

[Bonkers]

I always loved cognac. Ironically I never cared for it in the red/yellow cars as it made them look too european (I guess thats the opposite of what was said above.)

That being said, having a forum decide which car to chose is a distaster waiting to happen. If we all agree car X is better looking, you buy it, and then hate it, then who'll be blamed?

Between the two I vote the cognac. The white on black looks too police-ish for me, too bland.

 

[JUCD VPR]

Lets see what a cognac Viper goes for in 10, 20, 30 years at BJ......some folks might be saying WHY in the world did I do that!
LOL!!!

Back to the advice for the original poster.......

Do ALL of your research.....then....buy what YOU like.

End of story.

I could care less what the cognac will be worth in 20 years. That crap is ugly IMO. But like he said different strokes for different folks!

 

[ViperJoe]

To the original poster, is that car at Ringold?
It looks like the one that BJ Motors has, except theirs HAS the BBS wheels.
I have seen the BJM car and it is a nice vehicle.

The black / cognac GTS is a color combo that you either love or hate. It is different, so if that's your thing......but as I always say......get what you want and like!
Best of luck!

 

[JUCD VPR]

My pick is, neither.

You said - "So if you guys are gonna shoot my ideas down at least help me find what I'm looking for"

Guys have been posting for you for weeks now, trying to help you, etc. Why would you say something like "help me find what I'm looking for" ? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your words. Everyone, well-almost everyone, on here is helpful. We all shopped for what we wanted in a Viper, but I'm not used to seeing one guy ask for all this advice about buying a certain car. YOU have to decide. And I personally think you are rushing into a decision and not taking your time finding the right car. You just started looking as far as I know. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a new adventure for you and it seems you are going way too fast.

There are lots of Vipers for sale now, and they'll be lots more in the near future. Slow down man, let the car come to you, you're spending big $$$ for this car, make sure it's the right one, but we can't pick it for you.

Just my .02

venms96
1996 GTS
SDMF !

You gotta give the guy a little break, he's excited about getting into a viper!!
But i do agree with you, take your time and get what you want. Do some reasearch and find what year best fits what you want. I spent 2 months finding my Viper and I AM IMPATIENT, trust me i wanted one REALLY bad but i knew i needed to find the right one. Now you can sacrifice a little of what you want if you come across a great deal. Remember you can add or change things you don't like.
When i bought my Viper it was Black w'cognac and completely stock!
NOW its Black w/silver stripes and black interior, 3 piece top, rear spoiler, and a bunch of mods!
Yah in some peoples eyes it lost value but its all about what i wanted and i dont plan on selling my baby anyway. In my eyes it gained value! Its all about what YOU want!

 

[BJ MOTORS]

The Cognac and Black car is mine we have it at BJ Motors www.bjmotors.biz and the car was for sale for a few months before I purchased it from the original owner who was extremely proud of his car. The Cognac stripes like Joe said you either love them or hate them. It was a hard decision whether to purchase this car as I typically do not buy anything that is not low mileage or to factory specs. I have had a lot of interest in this car and the car does have the BBS Wheels on it, I made two different individuals offers on the car without the bbs wheels. The stripes were put on by Autoform, I have decided to paint the stripes the car was originally a all black and cognac 1 of 79. I have had this car for over 90 days now and am ready to move it for a very good price if anyone is interested, if not I will have the stripes painted either Red or Silver. Would love input?

Thanks

Bernie
www.bjmotors.biz

 

[JUCD VPR]

I think silver stripes would look AWESOME! Just my opinion.

 

[Leslie]

I think Cognac interior is AWESOME. I have a 99 black/silver and the first compliment I hear after the car itself is how gorgeous the interior is. I specifically went for this interior. Plus the leather grade is far superior. Different strokes...

same here, I get a LOT of compliments on the interior

I like both cognac AND black

how can you go wrong with ANY Viper!

JMHO

 

[PatentLaw]

JUCD VPR - you spent 2 months deciding? Funny. I am on the other end of the spectrum. Took me (gulp) three years. To me, the brown interior is not appealing to my eyes.

My suggestion would be to keep looking. The black front clip is wayyyyy off. Yes, there is some variation, but that one seems to be somewhat excessive. It is not that hard to fix, however, if it is of concern.

 

[bluestreak]

Dont get me wrong fellas I am far from letting you make the final decision but as a long time member of many forums I have found that good advise comes from places like these. I was all for either car and then after seeing a few posts didnt want either one. I have talked with Joseph Dell about the Black/Silver at palmer and he had great things to say about it. Really helped me out a lot. One thing all of you should know is that it takes a whole lot of thought when purchasing a used car and I cant think of a vehicle that might be tougher than the viper with all its special editions and colors and stripes forged,abs etc etc. I have ruled out the 2000 because of the lack of both forged pistons and abs because I'm the type of guy who likes to drive. all of the mods on the 99' are small things that can go a long way and I surely would have put on some of those myself. I have never liked interiors of this nature myself and dont really care for the carbo fiber but I'm not going to let something small like that deter me from a good car. I think the car may be somewhat over modded for a great resale but I dont think Im gonna lose a bunch of money on it because I baby my rides. Over the past few weeks I have viewed what seemed to be every viper on the net and sure I could wait for a few months to see if something better comes along but you can always wait longer for something better to come along. Im not in an incredible hurry but not waiting for months and months for a car. The VCA's opinion is important to me because I know the people here love vipers but I still have to make decisions for myself and am very aware of that.

Thanks


and yes I may consider trading out the cognac

 

[bluestreak]

Well I have gone back to the drawing board. I was looking at this months modified luxury magazine and saw the bumblebee viper and at that point I had to have yellow with black stripes. They are so freaking hard to find. Would it be a bad thing if I bought a yellow and had the stripes factory painted on the car.

Which has better resale value.

Yellow/ Black Stripes
Red/ White Stripes

 

[BradH]

You could always have black vinyl stripes professionally installed. Not too expensive and doesn't impact resale value since they're easy to remove.

 

[snampro]

I went to Palmer Dodge today to look at the black/silver car and it looks like crap, mainly the engine area. The salesman is convinced it has 750HP. I don't think I've ever seen an engine that was that dirty. My wifes Honda Accord V-6 looks nicer with the hood up. Lots of custom stuff, not much care. I'd stay the hell away from that car.

They did have two nice '06 coupes, one was the blue/white FE and the other was red/silver.

they also had a black '94 that had some paint bubbling issues on the trunk area. There was a nice '97 RT there...

 

[PatentLaw]

In my opinion, the yellow with black stripes will have a higher resale value.

 

[bluestreak]

In my opinion, the yellow with black stripes will have a higher resale value.

I agree. but it has a higher sale value too which makes that a wash.

There is one that I have put an offer on which is borderline lowball. If I can get it I'd take it otherwise I'm going after a black silver one modded from cali and then a red white one from somewhere i forgot.

 

[JUCD VPR]

You can always add Black vinyle stripes to a yellow Viper.

 

[PatentLaw]

JUCD VPR makes a point previously made, but it is very important to note. The stripes can be added. Moreover, the added stripes can be easily repaired if damaged.

 

[Joseph Dell]

I checked out the black w/ stripes car @ palmer. I spent 45 min w/ the car. I didn't see all the horrible things (except the engine bay) with this car. 750hp? no way. engine compartment than needs to be cleaned up? sure. But I'd buy the car for 45k if I had a spare 45k around.

But that's just me. If you aren't comfortable with looking at things yourself and _any_ flags come up on _any_ car, i always suggest you pass on the vehicle. cars are just cars and they ain't worth the headache. so if you don't know what you are getting in to, then skip it.

But that's just me. But i also usually know what I'm getting in to.

Also don't forget that the internet is like a bunch of frikkin' corporate lawyers: they have to comment on something to prove that they looked at it.

JD

 

[bluestreak]

I checked out the black w/ stripes car @ palmer. I spent 45 min w/ the car. I didn't see all the horrible things (except the engine bay) with this car. 750hp? no way. engine compartment than needs to be cleaned up? sure. But I'd buy the car for 45k if I had a spare 45k around.

But that's just me. If you aren't comfortable with looking at things yourself and _any_ flags come up on _any_ car, i always suggest you pass on the vehicle. cars are just cars and they ain't worth the headache. so if you don't know what you are getting in to, then skip it.

But that's just me. But i also usually know what I'm getting in to.

Also don't forget that the internet is like a bunch of frikkin' corporate lawyers: they have to comment on something to prove that they looked at it.

JD

JD I was actually still considering the car until I found one that is 4k more ten times cleaner on the inside and engine bay, actually talked to the people that tuned it and has all of the mods I would do except heads and cam. In the end I'm not buying a car for 45k that has a shift light and stick on carbon plastic. That car has been released from my consideration. Second on my list is a bumblebee 01 combo with 4k miles on it. It's a bit more money but it will still have that value when Im ready to sell. Then its a red/white combo pretty much stock but for a low price.

Again thanks for your help Joe and I may have some other cars for you to llok at in the near future.

 

[HARDVIPER]

99 Black GTS with White Stripes

Con "Yak" stripes look ***........

 

[bluestreak]

Here's where I stand right now. Please keep in mind that mods are inevitable on a car that I own. Also that I have had the cars inspected and will have further inspections done by VCA members.

98' GTS Black/Silver/Black 15,700 miles $49,900
mods are:

TUNABLE PENSKI SUSPENSION
VENZANO SEATS WITH SNAKE HEADS
BORLA EXHUAST TO REAR
HALF CATS
ROLLER ROCKERS
ALUMINUM FLY WHEEL
BAFFLED OIL PAN
K&N FILTERS
BRAKE DUCT COOLING KIT
HIGH FLOW ELDEBROCK HEADERS
3.54 RING AND PINION
RATIO BOX ON SPEEDO
B&M COMPETITION SHORT THROW SHIFTER
FULL TINTED WINDOWS
SMOOTH TUBES
OVER SIZE THROTTLE BODIES

The car has been completely painted in black and silver was once solid red. I have spoken with my inspector and he has told me that the paint has a very deep laquer and is far better than stock. I have spoken with Ted, the owner of valaya racing to verify the mods and he listed them just by me giving him the name of the customer and it's been a quite a while since the mods were added. I have a fellow VCA member who lives 30 miles from said car going to check it out as well, if all goes well with that one I'm more than likely going to buy this car.


99' GTS Red with white Stripes. 42,500

The stripes were painted on which I still need to look into. The car is completely stock with 26k miles. From what I have gathered it would take me about 6k in parts alone to get the mods to get it even with the other car. so from a desired performance standpoint the cars end up being about the same price when you add in the extra shipping costs for the black/silver.


01' GTS Bumblebee. 16k miles 49,900

I like this car but I'm looking more for the fine line between looks and performance. Yeah it has ABS but no forged internals. Also it's bone stock so no I have to mod 10k above that to get it up to the speed I want. It's the most beautiful color IMO but not worth the extra money on the track.

 

[JUCD VPR]

I say go with the 98 GTS then. Especially since your going to mod it anyway. I wish my Viper would have had mods on it when i bought it, but it didn't and i've spent alot in changing it to the way i want it! I'd say try to talk him down a little bit though.
Good Luck!

 

[ryan94rt10]

i wouldn't touch a viper that has been totally repainted...no matter how great it looks...wait until it's time to sell it no one will want it then either...keep looking...any viper that has been changed from the original color is worth less...way less!!!! ask tator...i remember chuck chiming in on something like this a few months back...on a 94 that had been painted yellow from a red or black