Parking Viper on Street: Advice???

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Will be parking my Viper on the street until a garage opens up nearby. I have a car cover that came with it, but am wondering any advice someone experienced may have to offer.

Thanks

Rollo

 

[SteveBCloud9]

Rollo, Yikes. Take it to a storage facility. They'll charge you about $ 125 per month. A small investment that will pay off in the end. Do you want to be $125-250 poorer or have a nice new door ding? Do the smart thing, even if you have to drive it 50 miles to the nearest place.

 

[Robert1994]

Door ding ?
This months Car & Drivers says the '03 Viper has all
new sheet metal.

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Steve...I bought mine to drive!! I will probably put 25,000 mi on it in the next year. This is definitely NOT an investment for me; I do that for a living so I can play with toys like my Viper!

Thanks-

Rollo

 

[Performin Norman]

Investment or not, depending on where you live, a Viper sitting in the street would be a perfect target for theft, vandalism or both. I own an insurance office and would quiver at the thought of one of my clients leaving a Viper on the street. Then again, it all depends on where you live.

Just my .02 since you asked.

 

[Kid97GTS]

If you are really parking it on the street, esp. in the City, you'll be parallel parking, in which case you don't really have to worry about door dings, unless someone double parks and a passenger gets out. I have a bit of a thing about parking - I had to adjust my parking spot at work when I moved offices so I could still see my car in the lot. I also cover the Viper whenever I take it to work (since the lot is uncovered).
My tips would be:
1) get a good cover - I got a good one at BigSky Car Covers (ad in the back of Road and Track or on the web). You'll likely want a really heavy duty one if you'll being using it in lieu of a garage - I got a lighter one mainly for UV so I could fold it neatly and put it in the car.
2) get a lock for your cover - run a cable lock under the car to secure the cover - if not your asking for someone to take the cover, even if you write your license number all over it.
3) get a better than stock alarm - I really liked the Clifford I put on my old Vette - the motion sensor was easily programmed, and it had the right sensitivity.
4) think about adding a different starting mechanism - I put a push starter under the dash on one of my cars that is pretty inconspicuous. This won't thwart the professional thief, but will likely deter the ******* looking to punch your ignition and split.
5) get a real garage, ASAP.

Good luck, and I like your attitude - the cars are meant to be driven - I put 5000 miles on mine in a year, but once the odometer clicks past 20,000, I think I'll be much more likely to drive it - alot.

 

[Will]

You've got to be kidding. I wouldn't park my Viper on the streets of SF for a few hours let a one a few days. If you work south of the city contact me. I live in San Mateo and my area has an underground parking lot for residents of the area to use. People store their old cars and boats there (I saw a couple of Ford Model Ts parked inside).

I can get your car stored if it's convenient for you. I would offer you the spot in my garage next to my '00 Steel Gray GTS, but my wife might get a little miffed about having her car outside.

If I were you, I would invest in a storage facility as an interum solution.

Good luck,

-Will

 

[jwwiii]

Dear Rollospec;

Just a few words about parking that may freak you out (no sarcasm intended).

I have melanoma skin cancer. I am on my second Viper (an 01'). This is a very special machine to me; I call it my "time machine". This is a car, and life is more important than a door ding. Enjoy your Viper. If it gets a ding, this is not the end of your world. As a matter of fact, if it does, you might really start to enjoy driving it the way it is designed.

I don't mean "abuse" the Viper. I care for mine like it was my child. I love this machine. I have learned that if someone wants to hurt you they can at any time. At least you can get the Viper repaired (and hopefully it is insured). Other more important things may not be repaired, if you know what I mean.

Put things in a different perspective and enjoy this "time machine" as I do. Go out, drive it, and don't worry so much. It is a material thing. There are much bigger concerns you could have. Trust me, it is true! The "time machine" is good for the soul when you drive and just think about life and how precious it is.

Sincerely, with much sunblock and hope.

Jim

 

[snakoil]

I rent warehouse space to store my Snake (and Formula cars) during the weekdays. Even in the warehouse I keep it covered. I live in downtown Richmond, VA where the houses are 110 years old. They didn't even know what garages were back then.

I usually park my Snake on the street, directly in front of my house on the weekend (only in good weather as well). I keep it covered with a Noah 4ply cover and have a Python alarm system. No one has ever screwed with it. Probably out of respect. The neighbors always stay 5-10' away from the bumpers.

Before I put on the cover, I hit it with the California Duster and then put the cover on it to keep the cover clean and keep the paint from getting scratched.

The cover is not 100% waterproof all the time, but you can use some camping wash (Nikwax) in water proofer when you wash the cover.

Put it on the street and enjoy it! Without casting aspersions, some of the guys ostracizing parking it on the street are the same ones who don't hesitate to take their Snake to the track and get 100 MPH rock pits on the front and risk off track excursions.