Need advice on this 1999 GTS please

[anth]

Wow I just posted this long reply of reservations about the car as I have lived in Canada for a period of time and then saw your post on passing the car up! I also did a search for Canadian prices as I remembered a few years ago a nice GTS going for about 10K more than the equivalent in the US. I am surprised at how few GTSs are currently available and how much cheaper the Gen IV was then what I was anticipating. Interestingly, Vettes go for WAY more in Canada than the US compared to looking at the Canadian viper market and the US equivalent. If I remember correctly new base vettes are almost 65k? However, any seller that "doesn't need to sell" but has "just like new" in the ad and is the CHEAPEST GTS listed in all of Ontario just wreaks of problems to me and ill motive. I am glad you found out the full story and glad you passed. The hood is absolutely perfect and aligns with no hood gaps....I guess because it's a completely new hood! However that damage is a resell nightmare. Good luck with your search. Honestly, going through customs and The RIV is not as bad or intimidating once you actually commit to doing so.

Just so you know, the tires and whatnot are usually scrutinized by most mechanics doing the safety inspections. The emissions testing will not be any concern. Mine passed with no issues. You will need daytime running lights installed and that ran $100.00. PS2 tires in Canada are MUCH MUCH more than they are in the US. That alone could mitigate a fair amount of your import fee. The first 10K is not subject to duty/import fee. The remainder is. Some of this is hazy to me but I think most of it should still be accurate. I forget why I didn't have to pay import fees but I didn't. I think it's because I owned the car before applying for my PR there. Good luck searching. Smart decision.

Hey, yeah I agree with what you're saying - there weren't many Canadian GTS' produced for most years from what I've seen, so they do tend to command a bit of a premium up here. Which I don't mind paying for since I can usually recoup that premium when it comes time to sell down the road as well.

As for that car, I still don't think its junk or something that the seller was trying to unload - he seemed to be a genuine car guy (or a great liar) that was getting a bit too old for all the toys and was having a hard time getting rid of the Viper because of the issues that come along with selling a car that's been hit and basically rebuilt, clean title or not. I would be in the exact same boat if I bought the thing and had to sell it in the future, or even worse because of the stereotypes that come with a young guy trying to sell a fast car. But with that said, I'm still not totally against that car. Might give the old guy another call and see if he's interested in 33-35 or so in a few months. In the meantime I'm looking for other GTS's that aren't priced that far north of 40k and even some C6 Z06s... it's a great car too but almost TOO good... and doesn't seem to captivate your attention/heart the way a GTS does...as you guys know, I'm sure. Maybe my opinion will change after I jump on the throttle a few times in that thing!

But, like any time where you try to get into your dream car earlier than your budget allows, you usually end up looking at cars with stories, like this one. When I had my M3, I ran into tons of young dudes having the same problems with beat up M3's selling for much less than the average market price for that car.

And I know the importing process isn't a big deal - I just prefer to buy a Canadian car for some reason, although I've already decided that whatever car I end up with, I'll probably take a trip to a tire rack in Buffalo and get some fresh PS2's at US pricing... good excuse for a road trip

 

[terminator02]

Hey, yeah I agree with what you're saying - there weren't many Canadian GTS' produced for most years from what I've seen, so they do tend to command a bit of a premium up here. Which I don't mind paying for since I can usually recoup that premium when it comes time to sell down the road as well.

As for that car, I still don't think its junk or something that the seller was trying to unload - he seemed to be a genuine car guy (or a great liar) that was getting a bit too old for all the toys and was having a hard time getting rid of the Viper because of the issues that come along with selling a car that's been hit and basically rebuilt, clean title or not. I would be in the exact same boat if I bought the thing and had to sell it in the future, or even worse because of the stereotypes that come with a young guy trying to sell a fast car. But with that said, I'm still not totally against that car. Might give the old guy another call and see if he's interested in 33-35 or so in a few months. In the meantime I'm looking for other GTS's that aren't priced that far north of 40k and even some C6 Z06s... it's a great car too but almost TOO good... and doesn't seem to captivate your attention/heart the way a GTS does...as you guys know, I'm sure. Maybe my opinion will change after I jump on the throttle a few times in that thing!

But, like any time where you try to get into your dream car earlier than your budget allows, you usually end up looking at cars with stories, like this one. When I had my M3, I ran into tons of young dudes having the same problems with beat up M3's selling for much less than the average market price for that car.

And I know the importing process isn't a big deal - I just prefer to buy a Canadian car for some reason, although I've already decided that whatever car I end up with, I'll probably take a trip to a tire rack in Buffalo and get some fresh PS2's at US pricing... good excuse for a road trip

Right on. In my humble opinion, the Z06 is the better overall car from a performance standpoint and in stock form. However I think their potential is more limited. Do you plan on modding? The difference between the GTS and the 505hp Z06 isn't earth shattering and doesn't "Feel" faster. All that low end torque and the raw driver controlled power really makes the GTS "feel" faster. I am not a big racer so my ACR feels stupid fast as is. Exclusivity and aesthetics were big on my priority list and the Z06 just doesn't offer that "feel" either. The Viper is a special car and something that you never tire staring at. I can't count the times I would just sit outside and stare at it! It's an amazing vehicle. Good luck iwth the search; it's definitely part of the fun!