Is $27.5 K for a 97' GTS a good deal?

[Blue Marlin]

If it has frame damage, then it is a matter of finding out what type/location of the damage and whether it has/can be fixed. If you are looking for a Viper to just enjoy and not be worried about resale, then you should look into it. That is very cheap for a GTS and as long as its not a total wreck, you should at least check it out before crossing it off the list.

However, if you are looking for a "deal" on a really nice GTS, this is probably not the car.

What worries me about this viper (or any other) is the fact that the car fax is clean. I understand that not everyone reports damage and just has it fixed, but how do you know what you are getting? Do you think a qualified viper tech. could spot any serious repairs? I guess finding a one owner GTS and trusting what the seller tells you is the way to go. Being that this will be a weekend and occasional track car (HPDE, autocross, drag) maybe I should not be so concerned with minor repairs. I just want something that is safe on the days that I do go to the track & not a car that will have a catastrophic failure because of a cracked something or other.

 

[Joseph Dell]

So the dealer wants 27.5k... that means they paid under 24k for the car. You pulled the carfax, the smart thing to do would be to contact the previous owner. Look them up. Their name is on the carfax. Call them. Tell them you were looking at their car. Find out why they traded it in and what they got. Ask them the history. nothing wrong with doing that...

 

[georgethedog]

I am so sick of this "one owner" thing. What if that one owner car was beat to crap? Just because it has had 4 owners means very little to me as long as they took care of it. I shopped for my last car and bought a 4 owner RT/10 with 11K miles that is in near mint condition in every way. Each owner had it a while, put a few miles on it and apparently took care of it. At the same time, I saw a couple "one owner" cars at a great Viper dealer that were tracked and the paint was all scuffed on the hood, behind the wheels, side sills, etc. The dealer wanted more $$$ because it was a "one owner" car. I say "who the hell cares"? I want a car that is in good shape and not beat on by one owner. Remember, one person can ruin a car as easily as multiple owners. Have a tech check it out. That is the important thing! Good luck. If you decide to not buy the car please PM me and tell me where it is so I can look at it. Thanks.

 

[SkyBob]

I agree with all those who have stated you get what you pay for. Offer the dealer 45k for the car and you will get a much nicer GTS.

Yes, if that's the opinion then I will put an asking price of any car I'm selling about $10,000 more than it should be. Because, you know, "you get what you pay for".

 

[DLTARNU]

So in this thread, we have debunked the following common myths when buying used cars:

- You get what you pay for.
- One owner cars are better than multiple owner cars.
- A crashed car can never be the same as an un-crashed car.
- Aftermarket paint is worse than factory paint.

(I think I'm merging the topic from another thread on that last one, but w/e)

 

[Vipuronr]

I agree that just because a car is "one-owner" doesn't mean it is a better can than a multiple owner car....generally.

However, thinking about the reasons why a car has more than one owner one has to look at how often and how soon the car was re-sold.

I had a shot at a 2001 sapphire RT/10, tan interior. Beautiful car, but then I got the carfax report and the car had been transferred/sold a number of times from one wholesaler to the other....maybe a bad example.

But, I looked at a few cars (late '90's) that had four or five owners....being sold sometimes after less than a year. That, to me, was a red flag indicating that the car was not so good.

So, I think you need to take into consideration lots of factors, one being how many owners over what time period.