Exactly back in the late 90s a NJ VCA event often turned into a WHO WAS SCREWED WORSE BY HENNESSEY senerio.The general public because of his mag exposure often has no idea though.
Value of a Hennessey Viper 1000, 2006
- Thread starter QuickOne
- Start date
TrackAire
Enthusiast
Google is your friend....Hennessey, lawsuits
Speedy G
Viper Owner
Hell besides the horsepower numbers (which NEVER are whats claimed )as i previously mentioned MANY of his cars did not have the parts or machine services done to them that the customers paid top dollar for (he knew it was not feasable for out of state customers to check to make sure heads were ported or a certain rod -piston was used ect )that means it had around 400hp!!!
the_postman
Enthusiast
I owned a 2000 Venom 500 and never had any problems with the car aside from an intermitten CEL that Hennessey himself said he'd fix for free. Ran great (felt faster than my 08) the entire time I had it and was a solid car. I traded it in around 5500 miles and still miss it. Definitely do your research but make sure you get your information from previous owners themselves and not just hearsay, which is rampant on this site.
HHI VIPER
Viper Owner
From what most are saying here that have alot of experience with the Viper, I would not even make an offer till a "REPUTABLE" Viper tech or specialist checks the car out just to be safe. Then make an offer accordingly after a top to bottom check. It's your money! 
With the bad rap from the past, I think I'd be a little hesitant and might rather get a Viper with a few base mods and turn it into the beast (reliable beast) that you want. 
With the bad rap from the past, I think I'd be a little hesitant and might rather get a Viper with a few base mods and turn it into the beast (reliable beast) that you want. triplexotica
Viper Owner
I had a post up, but it was removed for administrational reason.
I wonder why. I wouldn't pay 5 cents for that crook's POS cars.
I have no idea why that crook has been in business after all these years with his reputation!
SkyBob
Enthusiast
Due to magazine exposure, probably. The car magazines love him.
gen2lover
Enthusiast
to the OP-Call Jon B. (PARTS RACK) OR Chuck Tator (Tator's Garage).
Try to get an accurate list of what was allegedly done to the car and post it here. Also send the list to UGR and Heffner together with photos of the engine compartment, etc. Offer to pay them for their time to evaluate what they see. But, even with this, you still need someone who knows what they are listening to and looking at to inspect the car. You also need to consider whether you have anyone near you that can service the car in the event a problem arises. Is there anyone within 100 miles of Mansfield that is capable of servicing and maintaining a twin turbo Viper who will continue to be around for awhile?
eliems
Viper Owner
gen2lover
Enthusiast
wow.That car has been in my city,? Windsor,Ontario. Butt ugly fascia for sure.I think it has had many owner's. STAY AWAY dude.
GTS Bruce
Enthusiast
The car might be worth something. Probably less than a bone stock pristine car. Then again it might be completely worthless with a hacked up frame to allow tubing to be routed. Needs to be taken for a drive,put on a lift, run on a dyno.......GTS Bruce
Thanks Eliems,
that's the car I was referring to. Owner loves the car and told me that he has no problem keeping the car ... it's his favourite. He usually has a couple Vipers at all times.
He brought his car out to some Charity Car Shows with the Viper Club (as seen in Viper Magazine). Referring to this particular car it is perfect and is meticulously maintained at his Dealership.
Ted
that's the car I was referring to. Owner loves the car and told me that he has no problem keeping the car ... it's his favourite. He usually has a couple Vipers at all times.
He brought his car out to some Charity Car Shows with the Viper Club (as seen in Viper Magazine). Referring to this particular car it is perfect and is meticulously maintained at his Dealership.
Ted
gen2lover
Enthusiast
"too many customized options to list"? no ENGINE PICS!? LOL. STAY AWAY.Anything HMS is bad bad news, esp. the older cars.
GOOGLE is your friend.Go UGR or HEFFNER or Paulo Castilliano at
CPE Turbos.com
GOOGLE is your friend.Go UGR or HEFFNER or Paulo Castilliano at
CPE Turbos.com
You really have to go further =MUST verify (remove the oil pan or a head )to verify upgraded internal engine parts are there because an engine build sheet from HMS means nothing.Many a person PAID FOR and were supposed to get up graded main bearing caps ,pistons ,rods ,valves,rockers cyl head work ect, ect and found out months or years later they were defrauded.
Hearsay?
Numerous verifiable lawsuits, HUNDREDS of documented claims agianst the guy and you call it hearsay. If you do any research you'll run away so fast your head will spin. Four posts, yeah you got credibilty.
What I really really don't get about people who deal with Hennessey or buy his products is that even if you don't believe all the negative press, all it would take for me is one verifiable case for me to not do business with him. Just one. In Hennessey's case, there are a truckload, but even if you dismiss 99% of them as unfair dogpiling, just one solid case against him, or any other tuner for that matter, would cause me to look elsewhere.
Taig Stewart is probably the most well documented case against him, though many others exist. Do yourself a favor and google it. Or, just read the article below from Autoweek:
Hennessey's Vipers are fast, but lawsuits say he serves them up too slowly. (Photo by Mark Vaughn)
Ninety-eight percent of his customers love him, John Hennessey says. But a few hate him and some have sued. Hennessey Motorsports in Houston specializes in tuning Vipers, adding more power to what is already one of the most powerful cars in the world. Hennessey’s Vipers have been featured in this and many other magazines and the cars he has sent to us and to other media were impressive performers. Hennessey presents himself well, projecting an image of the consummate Texas good ol’ boy whose reassuring conversational style and howyewdoin’ demeanor put customers at ease. People believe they will get what he says he’ll give them. But not all people do.
According to a lawsuit filed in Salt Lake City, Utah resident Taig Stewart sent his Viper GTS to Hennessey last May for an engine upgrade to 1100 hp along with several other modifications. For that he wire-transferred $142,500 to Hennessey. The lawsuit states the parties agreed the car would be done by mid-July 2001. As of press time the car was still sitting under a tarp in Hennessey’s shop in Houston. Or most of the car, anyway. Stewart’s suit claims Hennessey sold the car’s engine, transmission, wheels, tires and hood. The suit seeks return of the money, the Viper and “no less than $1 million” in punitive damages.
Hennessey claims he’s just slow in getting the work done.
“My side of the story is we’re planning on finishing his car and planning on giving him everything that he paid for,” said Hennessey. As for the parts being sold, “That’s totally false. We’ve got all his parts in the shop except the hood and he wanted to do a lightweight hood.”
Stewart is not the first unsatisfied customer. The longer we dug the more dissatisfaction we found. Here’s a sampling:
On Nov. 14 a New Jersey court entered a final judgement of $133,674 against Hennessey on behalf of Viper owner Gary Dan for a botched conversion.
William Walters said he is out over $22,000 after shipping his Corvette to Hennessey for a head and cam package that was never done; he did have five rods bent and a head gasket damaged on the dyno in Hennessey’s shop during an experiment Hennessey tried with nitrous oxide.
Jerry Johnson said he had to file suit in Placer County Court in California to straighten out registration and engine computer problems on a Viper he bought from Hennessey. n Jon Belinkie said he loves the changes made to his Viper but had to sue in his home state of Maryland, then register the judgement in Texas, to recover overcharges Hennessey made on his American Express card.
Rick Ryan said he had to hound Hennessey for eight months by long distance from Marietta, Georgia, to put the proper wing and stripes on his Viper.
Mark Lublin said he sent his Viper cylinder heads to Hennessey for new valves but when the heads came back he found the “new” valves were actually used; a cam that was delivered to Lublin in a Hennessey box turned out to be a stock Chrysler cam. Lublin was finally refunded $5,715 from American Express but only after nine months of disputing the charge; and he got no money from Hennessey.
Bruce Iannatuono said he ordered $8,500 worth of Hennessey parts for his mechanic in Baltimore to install but was only able to use two-thirds of what was shipped, and then only after haranguing Hennessey for six months on an order that was originally promised in five weeks.
Most of the complaints come from outside Texas. Hennessey, some said, tends to take better care of local customers.
“If you were out of state, man you were fair game,” said Kyle Kent, a former employee at Hennessey Motorsports. When an out-of-state car came in it was sometimes parted out, with the wheels, tires and whatever else looked good going to other cars waiting to be finished or sold outright, according to Kent and others inside Hennessey Motorsports. Then Hennessey would call the car’s owner and try to sell him an upgraded kit. If the customer balked, Hennessey would take parts from other cars in the shop, or just let the job sit.
Kent described one typical disassembly on an out-of-state Viper. “The motor and transmission went into a Durango John was putting together, the brakes went to someone else, the hood went to a guy in Ohio, the rear bumper to South Carolina, man you name it. We had multiple cars like that.”
Another common practice was putting stock parts on what was supposed to be an upgraded car.
“One customer spent $130,000 to $140,000 and that guy thought he had purchased a Venom 650R package which he thought came with the stroker motor,” Kent said. “John told him he was getting a stroker. He was just getting heads and cams.”
Hennessey denies any wrongdoing.
“I’ve got probably 3000 customers,” he said. “I’ve built over 300 cars and out of that I’ve had a handful of people that I’ve had some sort of a delivery problem with and I’ve had some of them who have sued me. So is that some sort of a trend or is that par for the course?”
Taig Stewart is probably the most well documented case against him, though many others exist. Do yourself a favor and google it. Or, just read the article below from Autoweek:
Hennessey's Vipers are fast, but lawsuits say he serves them up too slowly. (Photo by Mark Vaughn)
Ninety-eight percent of his customers love him, John Hennessey says. But a few hate him and some have sued. Hennessey Motorsports in Houston specializes in tuning Vipers, adding more power to what is already one of the most powerful cars in the world. Hennessey’s Vipers have been featured in this and many other magazines and the cars he has sent to us and to other media were impressive performers. Hennessey presents himself well, projecting an image of the consummate Texas good ol’ boy whose reassuring conversational style and howyewdoin’ demeanor put customers at ease. People believe they will get what he says he’ll give them. But not all people do.
According to a lawsuit filed in Salt Lake City, Utah resident Taig Stewart sent his Viper GTS to Hennessey last May for an engine upgrade to 1100 hp along with several other modifications. For that he wire-transferred $142,500 to Hennessey. The lawsuit states the parties agreed the car would be done by mid-July 2001. As of press time the car was still sitting under a tarp in Hennessey’s shop in Houston. Or most of the car, anyway. Stewart’s suit claims Hennessey sold the car’s engine, transmission, wheels, tires and hood. The suit seeks return of the money, the Viper and “no less than $1 million” in punitive damages.
Hennessey claims he’s just slow in getting the work done.
“My side of the story is we’re planning on finishing his car and planning on giving him everything that he paid for,” said Hennessey. As for the parts being sold, “That’s totally false. We’ve got all his parts in the shop except the hood and he wanted to do a lightweight hood.”
Stewart is not the first unsatisfied customer. The longer we dug the more dissatisfaction we found. Here’s a sampling:
On Nov. 14 a New Jersey court entered a final judgement of $133,674 against Hennessey on behalf of Viper owner Gary Dan for a botched conversion.
William Walters said he is out over $22,000 after shipping his Corvette to Hennessey for a head and cam package that was never done; he did have five rods bent and a head gasket damaged on the dyno in Hennessey’s shop during an experiment Hennessey tried with nitrous oxide.
Jerry Johnson said he had to file suit in Placer County Court in California to straighten out registration and engine computer problems on a Viper he bought from Hennessey. n Jon Belinkie said he loves the changes made to his Viper but had to sue in his home state of Maryland, then register the judgement in Texas, to recover overcharges Hennessey made on his American Express card.
Rick Ryan said he had to hound Hennessey for eight months by long distance from Marietta, Georgia, to put the proper wing and stripes on his Viper.
Mark Lublin said he sent his Viper cylinder heads to Hennessey for new valves but when the heads came back he found the “new” valves were actually used; a cam that was delivered to Lublin in a Hennessey box turned out to be a stock Chrysler cam. Lublin was finally refunded $5,715 from American Express but only after nine months of disputing the charge; and he got no money from Hennessey.
Bruce Iannatuono said he ordered $8,500 worth of Hennessey parts for his mechanic in Baltimore to install but was only able to use two-thirds of what was shipped, and then only after haranguing Hennessey for six months on an order that was originally promised in five weeks.
Most of the complaints come from outside Texas. Hennessey, some said, tends to take better care of local customers.
“If you were out of state, man you were fair game,” said Kyle Kent, a former employee at Hennessey Motorsports. When an out-of-state car came in it was sometimes parted out, with the wheels, tires and whatever else looked good going to other cars waiting to be finished or sold outright, according to Kent and others inside Hennessey Motorsports. Then Hennessey would call the car’s owner and try to sell him an upgraded kit. If the customer balked, Hennessey would take parts from other cars in the shop, or just let the job sit.
Kent described one typical disassembly on an out-of-state Viper. “The motor and transmission went into a Durango John was putting together, the brakes went to someone else, the hood went to a guy in Ohio, the rear bumper to South Carolina, man you name it. We had multiple cars like that.”
Another common practice was putting stock parts on what was supposed to be an upgraded car.
“One customer spent $130,000 to $140,000 and that guy thought he had purchased a Venom 650R package which he thought came with the stroker motor,” Kent said. “John told him he was getting a stroker. He was just getting heads and cams.”
Hennessey denies any wrongdoing.
“I’ve got probably 3000 customers,” he said. “I’ve built over 300 cars and out of that I’ve had a handful of people that I’ve had some sort of a delivery problem with and I’ve had some of them who have sued me. So is that some sort of a trend or is that par for the course?”
ViperGeorge
Enthusiast
After reading the Autoweek article I would suggest that those of you that say you have a HMS car with no problems should disassemble the engine and verify that you don't just have stock Viper parts. That could explain why you are happy with the car. Placebo effect at work. Hennessey tells you that you're car is now faster, so you believe it, you may even drive it faster.
WOT!
Enthusiast
I'm not a expert on H cars but I am available to look at the car for you. I am going to be in the area on Wednesday. PM me if tomorrow works. I own two cars and have done much of my own work non warranty on them. Again, not a viper tech, but a sold wrench guy. I can even bring a couple of jacks to get under it.
True. The words above and below were meant to suggest same:
But, even with this, you still need someone who knows what they are listening to and looking at to inspect the car.
A good mechanic can tell a great deal by the sound of an engine. Stock and modified, and healthy and broken, do not sound the same and I am not referring to exhaust sounds. The "looking at" phrase means head removal, cylinder inspection, etc.
H's reputation is burned on this board and in other places but for the right price, if the parts are there and everything is in working order, the car could be a good purchase assuming that there is someone nearby who can wrench and maintain the vehicle.
eliems
Viper Owner
Trouble is ... even if this car was well put together, who is going to want to buy it from you when you want to sell. You will also have to "give it away".
I didn't like the line in the article about being fair game if you were not a local Texas customer!
I didn't like the line in the article about being fair game if you were not a local Texas customer!
Two different issues-are ALL the pieces there to support and maintain 1000HP and what is the condition of the engine at this point in time.Looking back while the rest of the country mostly got screwed there were SOME Texas residents happy with his work.As far as Mag exposure i believe he (Hennessey )had a close relative on the staff of Motor Trend at one time which would explain alot.
the_postman
Enthusiast
Thanks for attacking my "credibility" for having posted four times and giving my personal experience with a Hennessey. I didn't know # of posts = Viper credibility. Please, oh wise one, enlighten me on all things Viper lol.
And yes, that's right, I said hearsay. You think everyone who has a bad opinion of Hennessey has owned one? Or been directly involved in the lawsuits? Please.
Go back to the hole you crawled out from as you have NOTHING to offer to the discussion.
Trouble is ... even if this car was well put together, who is going to want to buy it from you when you want to sell. You will also have to "give it away".
I didn't like the line in the article about being fair game if you were not a local Texas customer!
Not necessarily. If you can get the car for the right price; it has not been abused; and all the parts are there, the car could be parted out. This might allow you to recover part or all of your investment.
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