OK... So I need to know how bad are viper really.

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TonyCool

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Picked up an '06 Viper roadster six months ago and it is my DD replacement for the '01 Z06. The Viper makes the Z06 feel like a luxury car. The Viper is more of a raw sports car than the Z06. These are not a complaints, just observations. However, that is what makes a Viper a Viper and I enjoy driving it every day. You will not regret it, and furthermore, Vipers are more exclusive than Corvettes. I see a bunch of C5 and C6's but have only seen 4 Vipers where I live...and it's fun to watch people pull up and point, take pictures, etc. That never happened to me when I owned the Z06.

It's funny you mention how rare they are. I had never seen one in the road since I moved here until today it was a gen4 in graphite metallic. Not my color choice but it looked sooo gooood. I have seen a couple in the show room of some dealerships but seeing it on the move it's a completely different experience.
 
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TonyCool

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I think you should be thinking vette.

I know. It's not like I've not consider them but there is something about the base c6 looks that I don't like may be it's because it's shorter or because it doesn't have nice lines and curves it's just too squared. I kind of like the Z06 looks but it's going to cost me about the same that it would cost me to get a gently used Gen3 viper. And for me the viper is much more special. I'm not going to lie if I liked the corvette looks better I'd probably get one in fact I have been also considering getting myself a C5 corvette convertible and save a little over 20 grand but I don't know, I think that if my upcoming bonus at work is juicy enough for me to complete the full amount for the viper I'll go viper. I always pay my cars cash. And in this economy it might well be the only way to go. I just don't like the way interests work.
 

HyperViper

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Tony,get the Viper

Three of us went to a local car show last night. Parked next to about 12 vettes. People came and looked at mine and a friends verts and at another friends ACR and then almost without exception, walked off without even looking at any of the vettes.
 

Twister

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I feel sorry for people who even consider vette ownership when thinking about a viper.

After owning both their simply is no comparison.

a 1992 rt10 Viper with 400 HP will garnish just as much attention/status ect as a 638 HP 2011 ZR1.

if that dosent tell you somthing then I dont know what will.

-Rarity-

I couldnt tell you why but with us pople in general the more rare somthing is the more valuable/special it is. :dunno:

What I do know is their are 30k vipers in the world produced from 1992-2010.

C6Z06 Vettes. Just 2006-2011 Z06's= 30K produced

GTR...40K produced from 2008-2012

You break it down to just a gen3/4 and your talking only 13k SRT10's in the world from 03-2010:headbang:

Do what you gotta do but I PROMISE you when your rideing in your vette and a Viper pulls up next to you your manhood will shribble up . On the otherhand when your in your viper and a vette pulls up you will likely not even notice it and only aknowledge for the thumbs up the z06 owner will give you.

Boss of mine has a Z06 and he goes crazy when ever the viper pulls up. says how he wishes he would have got one ect. I tell him his car is nice but secretly Im feeling like his boss in those instances...LOL
 

Roysviper

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It is a win/lose situation....Get a VIPER and you win.....Get a Vette and you lose!!!!

There are wishmores and there are havemores. Which do you plan to be? :dunno: :D :D :eater:
 

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I had an 01 Vette before this 05 Viper; it spent too much time in the shop. This Viper spent very little and that time was for mods/maintenance. It was a DD for a while and it was fine but you do worry about its security rather than comfort which isn't really bad if you are built right. Just get one and try it for awhile. Do be careful with the throttle when it's cold; runflats are slippery when they're cold. You may end up getting another vehicle as a DD or if you decide you're not the Viper type, then sell or trade in.
 

HyperViper

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One of the Guys at the show with a Z06 Ron Fellows edition tried to hand me his keys and said "You can take mine for a spin and then when you get back, I'll take your Viper for a spin" I looked him right in the eyes and said, "I've driven a Z06before" :rolaugh:
 
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TonyCool

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Tony,get the Viper

Three of us went to a local car show last night. Parked next to about 12 vettes. People came and looked at mine and a friends verts and at another friends ACR and then almost without exception, walked off without even looking at any of the vettes.

Will do. I'm on it just waiting for some money to be available. I want to pay cash for it. I'll be on a gen3 by September.

On a side note. Where I come from vipers and corvettes are almost equally rare, because of this reason I was not moved by the exclusivity factor but a few weeks ago I saw an astonishing gen3 and I just can't get over it. It's way more impressive than the vette and the performance is just overwhelmingly exciting. Although I'm concerned about the viper's ability to bite back to unexperienced drivers, I also like thinking that the car will force me to improve as a driver. And I think that as long as I have great respect for the car I'll be just fine while I get there. Here I see corvettes pretty much every day so I do understand why people are not impressed by the vettes.
 
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TonyCool

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It is a win/lose situation....Get a VIPER and you win.....Get a Vette and you lose!!!!

There are wishmores and there are havemores. Which do you plan to be? :dunno: :D :D :eater:

I guess I'll be a winner. This weekend an opportunity presented to get a modified wide body c6 convertible corvette and although I was very tempted because I already have the money to go for it. I just couldn't do it. I'm going viper in a few months...
 
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TonyCool

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I had an 01 Vette before this 05 Viper; it spent too much time in the shop. This Viper spent very little and that time was for mods/maintenance. It was a DD for a while and it was fine but you do worry about its security rather than comfort which isn't really bad if you are built right. Just get one and try it for awhile. Do be careful with the throttle when it's cold; runflats are slippery when they're cold. You may end up getting another vehicle as a DD or if you decide you're not the Viper type, then sell or trade in.

This is something that I have been reading a lot about lately. People in the corvette forum seem to think corvettes are much more reliable than vipers in here it's the other way around. I understand with less electronics there are a lot less things that can go wrong with the viper when compared against the latest corvettes but I've heard of really high mileage vettes (over 200,000 miles) still running smoothly. But I'm happy to hear vipers are built like tanks because I'm going viper.
 
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TonyCool

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One of the Guys at the show with a Z06 Ron Fellows edition tried to hand me his keys and said "You can take mine for a spin and then when you get back, I'll take your Viper for a spin" I looked him right in the eyes and said, "I've driven a Z06before" :rolaugh:

That was mean. Very funny but mean.:rolaugh:
 

Roysviper

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I guess I'll be a winner. This weekend an opportunity presented to get a modified wide body c6 convertible corvette and although I was very tempted because I already have the money to go for it. I just couldn't do it. I'm going viper in a few months...

Anybody could have bought that Vette but it takes a special kinda person to buy the VIPER. Once you get a VIPER, park next to ANY VETTE and see which car gets everyones attention, (unless you are at a Vette show) and all of a sudden all of the Vette owners don't even see the VIPER, it's like it disappeared, they are soooooo jealous. I say this after having personally owned 24 Vettes in my life. I am now on my 8th VIPER. I am CAR CRAZY!!! YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE!!!!! :2tu: :headbang: :D :D :2tu: :2tu:
 

Kevan

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This is something that I have been reading a lot about lately. People in the corvette forum seem to think corvettes are much more reliable than vipers in here it's the other way around. I understand with less electronics there are a lot less things that can go wrong with the viper when compared against the latest corvettes but I've heard of really high mileage vettes (over 200,000 miles) still running smoothly. But I'm happy to hear vipers are built like tanks because I'm going viper.
There are several 100K+ mile Vipers, but due to the MUCH lower production numbers, they're harder to find.

The key to a Viper running well: MAINTENANCE.
You'll run it harder than a Corvette (because you can...heh heh), so it takes a little more work to keep it in tip-top/race-ready condition.
Give it the good oil, the good fluids, the good shocks, the good brake pads, the good tires, at the right times, and the Viper will give you a GREAT time, every time.
You take care of it, and it will thrill you each time you hit that red button. :)
 

Golfer15

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Thanks to everyone for their comments. I think I've make up my mind now. I'll start looking for the car. I'm thinking I'll go yellow or orange since venom red wasn't available on Gen3s. May be black it looks mean on the viper. Will see. Thank you again to everyone for their insight.


Oh great !!! Now you're possibly thinking of a slow V-8 !! I think some have forgotten to mention that yellow VIPERS only come with a V-8, and are not recommended for speeds over 40mph !! Please choose a faster colour !! Actually anything other than yellow is faster !!:D:D:D
 

Alabaster Mamba

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You won't regret getting the Viper. I came to the Viper from a Corvette. As my wife puts it, "You outgrew the Corvette.". I loved the Corvette while driving it but every time I saw a Viper I would just feel like a part of my soul had driven by. I bought one and now the only thing on my mind is buying my next one. They are more than a car, they are a passion.
 
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TonyCool

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Oh great !!! Now you're possibly thinking of a slow V-8 !! I think some have forgotten to mention that yellow VIPERS only come with a V-8, and are not recommended for speeds over 40mph !! Please choose a faster colour !! Actually anything other than yellow is faster !!:D:D:D

I would go venom red but it wasn't available on gen3s and gen4 is out of my price range right now. You really don't like yellow ha. V8 on a viper :lmao:
 

Chrissss

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You CAN drive a tractor everyday, but of course you wouldn't. The Viper is a great toy and I love mine, but it is not a practical daily driver.
 
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TonyCool

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You CAN drive a tractor everyday, but of course you wouldn't. The Viper is a great toy and I love mine, but it is not a practical daily driver.

Comparing a viper to a tractor is the kind of statement that pushed me to create this thread in the first place. But the decision is made, I'm going to test drive one and unless I really hate it, I'll get me one.
 

johniew398

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Hi everyone,

Here is the deal. I have been working hard and saving money to buy a real nice sports car. Yes I'm on my mid life crisis ... So the question is: Is it really that hard to drive the car everyday? I mean there is people driving trailers everyday, is it really that harsh of a ride? are the clutch and the steering really that heavy? is the visibility really that bad that it's very hard to park the car? is the interior really rattling all the time, is it really that loud inside while cruising? Does the cockpit and the door sills really get as hot to be impossible to enjoy the car? is the ac system as bad as people say it's?...

Thanks,
Tony

A lot of things you have heard I woujldn't pay much attention to. My ACR has great A/C, I couch the door sills without burning myself. Loud? Yes, and I guess I hear rattles (minor) more than my ZR1. I look at it this way. I have 8,000 miles on the ACR after two years and so many months. I normally drive it to work on Fridays when the weather is good. My wife and I take it out a lot on the weekends.

I would love to drive it everyday; however, I'm not that keen on washing it that often so I don't drive it when it rains.

Dangerous? No kidding - I've been bitte a couple of times but didn't go off the road so I learned quickly to have a lot or respect for all that power with no traction control.
 

jckrieger

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I'm in your same age group and recently bought a 98 GTS. It's a "backup" daily driver, but I end up driving it almost as much as my normal daily driver. Insurance for me is about $60/month, which is about 2x the wife's G35.

Don't let people scare you, the car is not *THAT* hard to drive. I've put about 1500 miles on mine this year and about 1/2 of those miles were in cold weather conditions. The car is hard to drive at the limits, but easy to drive responsibly on public roadways. This is my first RWD car, and it is NOT intimidating. You just need to stay off the throttle when road conditions aren't good.

With that said, the car showed me a thing or two at my first auto-x event. From run to run, I was either one of the fastest cars or one of the slowest. I never spun the car, but I definitely had it sideways in the slaloms. I didn't notice the car do anything unusual and I was driving like an idiot that day.

Gas mileage isn't terrible, as I do highway driving 90% of the time. The car is smooth and quiet compared to all the other cars I've owned (old 80's Dodges). The only rattle in the car is the gas pedal, but I think that's an issue specific to my car. My car is also "high" mileage (32K).

If you can't afford the oil changes and tires for the car, or if those costs actually bother you, don't buy the car. Race tires for the car cost about the same as they do for my 86 Dodge Omni. I don't see how people can complain.
 

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