Newbie question pre-purchase.

[Dr.Ron]

I came across a 2014 SRT that was reacquired by the manufacturer. It's selling for pretty cheap.

From the provided car fax:
VEHICLE REACQUIRED
Vehicle reacquired by the manufacturer pursuant to applicable state consumer warranty laws or to promote customer satisfaction.

Reason provided by Manufacturer:
Check engine light is on
Engine knocking noise

Dodge did a "relearn of the crank position sensor"
2 dealers were unable to reproduce the "knock" the customer claimed. There were 2 prior owners. The 1st for 3874 miles & the 2nd one for only 231 miles.

The selling dealer sent me a document from Dodge showing they released the car for resale & added a 1 yr warranty to the existing warranty. The car has 4,900 miles on it. I'd be trading my 2011 Carbon Edition C6Z06 for this.
My question is, is this something to stear clear of or is it not a worry due to Dodge saying the car can be resold and they even added warranty onto the car?

Thanks in advance!

Ron

 

[Mopar Steve]

The car can't be sold unless the issue is corrected and it sounds like it has been. With the extra length of the warranty, and if the price reflects the issue on the title, it may be a good deal.

 

[Steve-Indy]

While I would pass on said vehicle...I remember two of our members buying Vipers from Dodge dealers under this same type of circumstance...and, they were quite happy with their ownership .

 

[ViperJohn]

It's a bit of a gamble, however, you at least know the history and if the price warrants the risk, go for it.

 

[Dr.Ron]

Thanks for the replies. Interested in others opinions as well.

The selling dealer said they had to send the oil to Chrysler to be analyzed. They got the green light to sell after about a month.
The Sticker on this car was $121,000 too. It has a lot of carbon fiber parts that it was ordered with. He sent me the option build sheets.

 

[Steve-Indy]

I would add that much of your Viper "ownership happiness" may very well depend on the relationship that you establish with a (local...or at least easily reached) "Viper friendly", competent dealership.

 

[Mark1107]

Run Forrest run. The only way this makes sense is if the sell it for 60k or less. Branded titles are worth 50% of car value. Ev n then you need to keep it 5 years. Ive got 3 different buddies who own car dealerships and lots. They talked me out of two branded cars. I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole or with your hands. Basically you will never be able to sell the car for normal depreciation. If they want FMV for it your gonna eat a 20-30k loss on the car if you decide to sell or trade it ever. Why not put a little elbow grease in, sell your vette yourself, don't be lazy and trade it, unless you like making dealers rich, then go buy a comparable priced viper with no history or title problems.

I'm sorry if I offended you. You can give me the 10k your going to lose on trading your vette and the 20k bath on a branded title viper and I'll make you feel good and kiss your butt like the dealer is!

Mark

I bought 2 C7s 2 vipers and 2 brand new Range Rovers in the past year.

 

[Brass Monkey ACR E]

MY OPINION a "BRANDED TITLE" is a Wrecked/Rebuilt/Salvage title which definitely lowers sale value of any vehicle and NO WARRANTY of any kind applies, banks don't want to do loans on these
IF the car is coming with a warranty from CHRYSLER/DODGE and they are extending it a additional year, sounds good to me.
IF the car would acquire another unfixable problem unrelated to the original problem will CHRYSLER/DODGE buy it back again
IF the car in the future would become a TOTAL LOSS you would be ahead insurance value wise
Not EVERYONE wants to be bothered with trying to sell a car on their own, the dealers seem to find buyers much faster than private sellers

 

[Snakize]

I'd second what BADD ASSS KAR said. Once a title has been stamped with a derogatory mark, you'll be hard-pressed to finance the car (at a reasonable rate), sell it in the future and obviously trade-in value will be in the crapper. If none of that bothers you, and you do have a good viper mechanic in your area, go for it.

 

[Dr.Ron]

Thanks for all of the replies!
They went to $67,600 without any sort of haggling yet on my part. he sent me a document from Chrysler stating they added 1 year warranty from the date the next buyer buys the car, along with any remaining factory warranty. They did the R28 & R29 recalls. The car passed the R28 & Chrysler OK'd the car for resale.


If they won't give me a decent # on my car then it won't happen anyway. I'm awaiting that # first. Not sure if I'd still do this deal anyway. I was just looking for opinions, thus my post.
I'd trade to save on the sales tax by the way...

Is there a website that searches dealer inventories nationwide?
Ron

 

[ViperJeff]

I use everycarlisted.com

 

[Dr.Ron]

Well, the point is now moot. The salesman said "they're selling it to another client." He was reluctant from the beginning when he found out I had a trade, so I think he's F. O. S.
Oh well. Not losing sleep over it.
Thanks!!

 

[ViperJeff]

There's a lot of choices out there

 

[Dr.Ron]

I agree...but not at the right price. : )

 

[ViperJeff]

If you mean low price, yes and the ones that do come with pre existing conditions

 

[hiimdrummer03]

I was doing some research on reliability and this thread popped up. I want to mention to the OP that i have seen this car in person and done more research on it as i have a friend wanting to buy the car an inspected it with him. There is more to the car than they are telling anyone as i found some more info not so obvious on this car. Your looking at the 2014 White with Black stripes in Knoxville ,TN correct?

 

[JKamar]

I almost bought the car several days ago. Drummer and myself have thoroughly combed through everything about this car. The price is low for a BIG REASON. I think you should look at the car fax and call the last repair shop that the car sat at for 2 years. You will learn the other missing information. Yes it comes with a warranty however you will likely lose money in the long run due to resale. That carfax error will NEVER go away. Beautiful car though.

 

[AZTVR]

There is more to the car than they are telling anyone as i found some more info not so obvious on this car. Your looking at the 2014 White with Black stripes in Knoxville ,TN correct?

I almost bought the car several days ago. Drummer and myself have thoroughly combed through everything about this car. The price is low for a BIG REASON. I think you should look at the car fax and call the last repair shop that the car sat at for 2 years. You will learn the other missing information. Yes it comes with a warranty however you will likely lose money in the long run due to resale. That carfax error will NEVER go away. Beautiful car though.

Why not just state the issue instead of hinting at it? What "error" is on the carfax report; or is it just that there is something missing?

 

[Dr.Ron]

Yes, that's the car.
I'm out on it, but do tell what you've learned... The salesman Darrell told me "they're selling it to another client." I don't think he wanted to be bothered with me having a trade.
I did however fall in love with it when I saw it in the pictures... Same as I did when I saw pics of my supersonic blue carbon edition Z06!
I called the Georgia dealership and the guy I spoke to reluctantly said he didn't remember the car.

JKamar-what did you have the price down to if I may ask? I'm curious....

 

[hiimdrummer03]

Yes, that's the car.
I'm out on it, but do tell what you've learned... The salesman Darrell told me "they're selling it to another client." I don't think he wanted to be bothered with me having a trade.
I did however fall in love with it when I saw it in the pictures... Same as I did when I saw pics of my supersonic blue carbon edition Z06!
I called the Georgia dealership and the guy I spoke to reluctantly said he didn't remember the car.

JKamar-what did you have the price down to if I may ask? I'm curious....

Motor was replaced at the dealership when it said first owner got "tune Up Performed" on 11/7/14. Then 2nd owner bought the car while at dealership. 2nd owner had "tune up performed" which they replaced the oil cooler. Then there was a problem or finding with old oil cooler and Chrysler bought the car back 11 days later.Kamar didnt get into price they just said in passing they could do 68200. Im assuming your the one there talking about from up north with a Z06 trade?

 

[Dr.Ron]

Funny. I wondered about the 2 "tune ups!" He volunteered lower than that price in his first email to me.

Yes, I was the Z06 guy. He told me yesterday he was selling the car to another client, so I abandoned the idea.
I Wonder why he mentioned that at all??

If they replaced the oil cooler & motor, what could have been up with the "old" oil cooler that factored in?

He told me the car was down for a month while they sent the oil & filter to Chrysler to be checked. Chrysler finally signed off to resell the car.

 

[hiimdrummer03]

Funny. I wondered about the 2 "tune ups!" He volunteered lower than that price in his first email to me.

Yes, I was the Z06 guy. He told me yesterday he was selling the car to another client, so I abandoned the idea.
I Wonder why he mentioned that at all??

If they replaced the oil cooler & motor, what could have been up with the "old" oil cooler that factored in?

He told me the car was down for a month while they sent the oil & filter to Chrysler to be checked. Chrysler finally signed off to resell the car.

Id say the reason is hes got people calling from different states to purchase. (sales pitch) All this stuff was before they ever got the car.

 

[AZTVR]

Motor was replaced at the dealership when it said first owner got "tune Up Performed" on 11/7/14. Then 2nd owner bought the car while at dealership. 2nd owner had "tune up performed" which they replaced the oil cooler. Then there was a problem or finding with old oil cooler and Chrysler bought the car back 11 days later.

It sounds like you did some good work tracing down the history of this car.
Did the current selling dealer tell you this info, or possibly the dealership where the engine replacement was done? I'm interested because I know that this is not the only car with a replaced engine, and am wondering what the best way is to determine that. I don't really have a problem with a replaced engine since it is a known issue.

 

[hiimdrummer03]

The dealer selling said the motor was original.I looked on the carfax at the dealer that did the service work on the care.The phone number is on the carfax so i called them up asking for info on that vin...

 

[AZTVR]

Thanks. from the posts above, I have assumed that we are discussing the car currently listed for sale on line, VIN 1C3ADEAZXEV100186 .

 

[Dr.Ron]

The dealer selling said the motor was original.I looked on the carfax at the dealer that did the service work on the care.The phone number is on the carfax so i called them up asking for info on that vin...

A new motor doesn't bother me all that much either... After all, It's new!! But all the other bad history on this short lived car is a bit worrysome. Plus why would the front brake pads need replacing after 3xxx miles and the rears needing to be adjusted? Then the electrical system was checked twice, etc, etc... It Leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Thanks. from the posts above, I have assumed that we are discussing the car currently listed for sale on line, VIN 1C3ADEAZXEV100186 .

Correct.

 

[steve e]

Ron, why buy a nightmare when you can save up a little more money and live the dream, when you are ready call Woodhouse and they will drop off a Awesome Viper at your door.

 

[Dr.Ron]

That seems to be the new plan going forward. ; )

 

[Dr.Ron]

I spoke to Bill at Woodhouse a few times. He's a very nice guy...However, they will not budge on their prices!

 

[steve e]

Bill is a great person, and you have to remember you get what you payed for. They stand by all there cars that they sell. I bought 3 cars from them all were a great experience. Viper , Lighting , Explorer.