Viper mileage whining

[dodgefever]

Almost every thread now about a Viper being for sale has a comment from someone talking about how high the mileage is. At what point in the history of our cars do we let go of whining about a car someone is looking at being "high mileage" because it has... OH MY GOD!!!!... 20K miles on it.
I get it that to some a almost virginal, untouched, undriven car is the ultimate goal. But to many, if not most, the goal is to simply own a Viper. I think many of us lose sight of that and are quick to slam a car because of mileage. Let me throw out there that mine has 80K+ miles and i am NOT thinking of selling it.
I am reminded of the late 1980's when I had a Challenger that I put in a lot of car shows, The "die hard" Dodge people would look at my 440 6 pak engine and then look at the VIN number and see it was originally a 318 car and actually turn up there nose and walk away. Never mind it was a bad a$$ Dodge, never mind it had a 500 HP 6 pak engine, never mind it was a show winning car.... it was, after all, a 318 car. In todays market, it would almost be a second thought that it was a 318 car.
Low mileage cars of any make will always be in demand. I don't dispute that. I just think we are doing a disservice to our own cars when we make the mileage the PRIMARY selling or buying feature of a car that was created to be driven. I am in the large group of folks here who cannot even begin to understand how someone could own a Viper just to open the garage door every now and then, look at it, then shut the door. I open the door, climb in it, fire it up and GO SOMEWHERE!
If you are one of those that just comments on the mileage, I'm not refering to you...If you are in the group of folks that turns your nose up at a Viper because it has high mileage.. well I honestly feel sorry for you because you have lost sight of the fact its still a Viper and you have become like those Dodge people from the late 80's. If you wouldn't buy it because of the miles, I understand and don't blame you, but remember the heritage, remember the exclusiveness of our cars, remember many folks will never get into our circle of ownership.. and don't lose focus on the fact it's a VIPER.

 

[gutterworks129]

Your Viper is wore out with all those miles, better trade it in! lol Just playing!

 

[All Blue ACR]

wish I could put more miles on mine today... but there's snow on the driveway.

 

[FrgMstr]

Grailkeeper said drive it like you stole it, and I am pretty sure that does not include rubbing it with a diaper in the driveway all day long. Put 10K miles on my last one in less than 12 months, going to see if I can do the same with this one. Carry on....like men.

 

[v10enomous]

With all due respect the OP seems to be doing a bit of whining himself It is what it is and everyone is entitled to their opinion...

 

[Ghoust]

I love driving my car as much as I can. I can't seem to justify just putting a car that I worked so hard to pay off, to sit in the garage. It's a freakin' car. Enjoy it. On your deathbed, you aren't going to remember it sitting in the garage, you are going to remember the pleasures of driving it.

 

[ZYellow01RT]

OP....great post. My first Viper had 83k miles and wish I never sold it. Had so much fun with it and would have put another 80k on it if I kept it.

 

[Paul Hawker]

While mileage is less of an issue with Vipers than other ultra high performance cars, it is still an issue.

For Ferrari, Lambo and even higher end Porsche, the extreme performance has resulted in cars that were never intended to produce high mileage. They simply get used up fast. The maintenance per mile is far higher than with our Vipers.

Many extend this philosophy to Vipers, however experience has shown that Vipers tend to be fairly low maintenance, long lived vehicles.

The engines, transmissions, steering, brakes are all of pretty conventional design. They are robust. long lived, and reasonable priced to repair. (compared to other exotics)

Of course many people will be willing to pay more for a low mileage example, however there are also some well informed buyers that understand they can save a bunch by getting into a higher mileage Viper.

I have over 30,000 miles on my 09. It has been all over the place with me. VOI, yep. Joint event with Arizona club in Sedona, yep. Grocery store, yep. Home Depot. yep and yep. We attend most of the local SoCal ViperClub events, and also take the Viper for road trip adventures. It is a fantastic GT car, and gobbles up the mileage with great eagerness. Never hesitate to jump in the Viper and GO! It has all the dependability of a Challenger, but great street cred.

I understand the allure of a well polished garage queen, but for me Vipers have been all about the experience.

I have a plaque on my office wall underneath a fantastic oil painting of the racing sail boat "America". The plaque reads..."A ship in the harbor is safe, however that is not why ships were built"

While the money saved by keeping your Viper low mileage can be replace, the experiences can not.

For those who put some miles on their Vipers, I salute you. I also appreciate those that keep the miles low, and save them up to sell to others that will take them out on the road.

Kind of like how I appreciate all the Prius drivers not using up all the precious gasoline, so that there is more for the ViperNation : > )

As my Harley buddies say...Enjoy the Ride!

 

[slysnake]

Agreed, I can't understand why so many people buy a drivers car and then never drive it. You can find lots of examples of 10, 12, 15, etc. year old vipers for sale with under 20k miles! Maybe that's why their for sale. I drive mine and have no plans to sell it.

 

[AZTVR]

OP: Amen brutha !

At 50k, mine isn't what I would call high miles, and it has lots of chips and scratches in the usual places; but, I just took it to a car show, and I had at least 10 people tell me afterward what a great looking car it is. They ask how fast have I had it, how much fun is it. No one asks what the mileage is. I worried about what a buyer would think when I first started putting miles on it and using it for fun. Now, I don't care.

 

[cfiiman]

I definitely see both sides. On one hand I bought my viper with less the 9K miles (gen 1) but drive it all the time with no plans of not driving it. But I also see wanting to eventually get what you have out of something and the only way to do that is to "preserve" it for resale and if that makes you happy more power to you. I think for me it would come down to how "long" I actually wanted to have the car, if it is forever then screw the miles/mods/original anything, but if I know I want to get out of it in a few years then preserving is the name of the game. For me I think the Viper will be the first car I keep from now on. When I was 15 I saw my first Gen 1 Viper in Red for the first time, I nearly passed out and it was my "white whale" dream car until I bought the exact car last year. I just don't think I would forgive myself if I ever let it go, even though it is the least practical fun car I've ever owned. I still have my eye on a newer 911 (have owned a couple of older ones) and will get one hopefully sooner then later but it will sit beside (or under with a nice 4 poster ) it, not replace it, to each their own.

 

[Camfab]

When cars are plentiful, it seems all we can do to differentiate a car is by stating mileage. "My car has lower miles than yours" the assumption being that it's "less used". When a car is extremely rare and desireable it really doesn't matter. Take some of those rare Hemi Cuda's and L-88 Vettes that have gone across the auction blocks. They show pics of a complete basket case that was lovingly and accurately restored down to the crayon marks. We're talking about junk cars that were possibly wrecked at one time bringing in monster cash. No body cares that it had 425 thousand miles on it at some point, or that 75% of the car had rusted away. What matters is the DNA of the car and documentation.

Viper's in general really don't have many option packages to differentiate themselves other than color. I've always said that my future pick for the most desireable Gen II will be an ACR without the comfort package. It represents the highest potential performance package available in a Gen II and was certainly the rarest combo out there. It's the rarest for the same reason the ******** Gen IV ACR's are rare, most Viper owners can't handle the heat of a real race car. Time will tell, but we live in the greatest era of performance man has ever seen. Point being, non of our cars will be worth any huge money in our lifetime........get out there and enjoy your car. Stop worrying about what your car will bring in at the 2069 Barrett Jackson auction.......................

In the meantime, I'm looking for a Non comfort package ACR, but it can't have over 1000 miles on it. Thanks for looking.

 

[troublemaker]

I must be in a rare club that is looking for a Viper with some mileage on it. I know I plan to put some miles on it, so why waste a low mileage car on myself, there are plenty of people looking for those and all I would do is remove one from the world. To me they have always been a drivers car that happens to look nice, not a nice looking car that isn't meant to be driven.

 

[johniew398]

I have an 08 Viper ACR and a Corvette ZR1. Both have 11,000 miles on them. I could care less if it lowers the prices of both as I want to enjoy driving them, not looking at them.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

My car is making memories for me ... lifes too short and I don't want to wake up old regretting I have no memories in the car!

 

[v10enomous]

At the risk of sounding like I'm whining I just want to clarify that I agree that driving these cars is the best way to enjoy them IMO too. I also understand why some folks like to keep them like new. There is also a widely held perception by many that this type of car is typically driven a 1/4 mile at a time. I guess my only point is that this is one of those issues where the people on each side of the debate are not affected by the others beliefs and behaviors so why even make it a debate.

 

[dodgefever]

At the risk of sounding like I'm whining I just want to clarify that I agree that driving these cars is the best way to enjoy them IMO too. I also understand why some folks like to keep them like new. There is also a widely held perception by many that this type of car is typically driven a 1/4 mile at a time. I guess my only point is that this is one of those issues where the people on each side of the debate are not affected by the others beliefs and behaviors so why even make it a debate.

Not taken as whining at all! As I said in my original post, I understand both sides also. My point was now it seems a lot of our own Viper bretheren have begun splintering off into a vocal group of folks that ONLY look at miles. Again, my point was don't lose sight of it being an incredible car whether it has 5K miles or 150K miles.

 

[ZYellow01RT]

My car is making memories for me ... lifes too short and I don't want to wake up old regretting I have no memories in the car!

Best post of the day!

 

[evomind]

i cant speak for others, but when looking at a car to buy the miles isnt so much the issue but the ASKING PRICE for the given car is.
generally if youre looking at a pristine clean car with 7k miles and you look at a clean car with 25k miles, i think many folks would opt to buy the one with less miles comparably priced.
when shopping for a car or anything else everything has a price point.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Guess the OP was commenting on the number of people considering buying a 20 year old Viper with 20,000 miles on it and complaining that they want something with less miles.

They will pass on a Viper that is a great deal and perfect for them, with the right color, options, wheels etc, and buy the one with the lesser miles and settle for the color they will never love.

 

[Leojmcca]

I don't see mileage as a really big issue. My issue is when a seller only deducts $2,000 off the price of their 60K mile car compared to the price of the two 12K miles cars on the market.

 

[jdeft1]

Buy low sell high.... (It's not just for stocks)

Cheers

 

[Mopar488]

I know a guy that lives in an old motel that has been turned into apartments, not a place I would want to live. Outside his 1970 Plymouth Superbird sits in the rain, snow and heat year round. I talked to him one day and asked him if he would consider selling it. He said he would never sell it and that he bought it used in 1970. He drives it everywhere all the time and it had over 500,000 miles on it them, 5 years ago. He took the original 440 out of it and is storing it. A police interceptor 440 is in it now. He told me he knew where I could get one for aout $90k at that time, but his was not going anywhere. I think of that guy when I try to keep my miles down. I saw the Superbird a couple of weeks ago and it had tarp over the windshield, but I am sure he is still driving it if possible. I guess he has his priorities in line.

 

[Ratical2]

Just buy two, one to look at and one to drive!!!

I wish I could have done that the time. I had to settle for only one, I bought 15K miles car and have put 50K miles on it since March of 2007.

 

[killerviper]

lol i just bought mine this weekend and i just put 1400 miles on it... in 2 days. granted i drove it from michigan to texas

 

[Fatboy 18]

I don't see mileage as a really big issue. My issue is when a seller only deducts $2,000 off the price of their 60K mile car compared to the price of the two 12K miles cars on the market.

Provdence has a lot to do with it, where the car has been, what the car has done, I would not drop the price of my 60k Viper because I know Ive looked after it Changing the fluids more times than the manual recommends, etc. Yes you may get a few more chips and marks on a higher mileage car but that's all part of the history. My car had done some track time at Button Willow and Later the Original owner posted to me some pictures of the car racing (For me) that made the car even more special, knowing it had had some track time ........Because That is what these Beasts were meant for

 

[agentf1]

I never could figure out why people consider cars with over 10k were high mileage when they are just barely broken in yet but for some reason they seem to have that stigma which is totally unfounded IMHO. Prices always seemed to reflect that these 10k and under cars are much more desirable for some reason. For those buying the ones with over 10k they should look at it as a great opportunity to buy an awesome car and not have to pay a premium for it. I would like to think it will eventually go away as the years go by since more and more people are driving these cars. Sometimes I think Viper owners are their own worst enemies when it come to all these price and mileage threads.

 

[dave6666]

I'll take a 50K mile driver over a 5K mile bookmark any day. The one with 50K miles has obviously clarified that it works.

The exeptions are cars that have seen extended track use or were owned by someone that can't state in detail the history of the car. Know the buyer and walk away if it doesn't sound right.

Of course like many others have said, none of that matters to me because I already have one and it's not for sale. At least not for a reasonable price.

 

[terminator02]

What bothers me more is the same predictable line of "a car is only worth what a buyer will pay" when discussing car valuation. The ViperNation does IMPACT what the buyer THINKS s/he is willing to pay. I am grateful not to be selling because I can't stand some of the whining and some people's almost vehement belief that the cars are not worth much. They keep jumping in every thread on price to discuss negative aspects of the 'value' (whether it's miles, or colour, or year etc).

That DOES impact how people view this car. When people hear I bought my car with 14,800 miles and can't believe how low that is for a 2000 I am reminded of how the general world views the car. They think the car is new despite what many people on here would think would be deal breakers since there are some swirl marks. The color is red...but it is an ACR. And solid red makes the car 1 of 35. So I really don't care what people think the car is worth and if I EVER had to sell it; it would not be on the VIPER website because of this crap. I would sell on Hemmings or AT and use my own negotiating and viper history facts to correct the flawed logic that people will be calling about ad nausea due to viper enthusiasts trying to either satisfy the fact that they just sold their car and are bitter, cognitive dissonance over their own purchase (reinforcing one's own choice by disliking another choice that may inherently be better), or are just plain negative people.

At events or meets these "threads" aren't a topic? A clean solid red that just got done getting headers and a professional restoration detail will be the talk of the group. So this is really just an internet problem that HAS TO BE FIXED.

Now the viper is in the 40s on KBB and there are still people crying how the car should be worth "no more than 30k" (despite it being a GTS). UNfreaking believable.

 

[7TH_SIGN]

I think everyone will grade a car as being “high mileage” for different reasons. I’ve purchased with anywhere between 39K to 90k on the clock. I did get burned on one purchase which had 70K on the clock with a “refreshed motor” in it. I trusted the seller and it was my own fault I didn’t have the car inspected before purchasing it. For this reason I chose to go with a low mileage car so that I could bring the car up to my level of care. The Viper I went with had extremely low miles at the time of the sale and I have driven it a good amount since purchasing it this year. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t see me driving it in snow or rain. To each his own.