Viper Mileage

[cbarber]

Hi,
I presently own a 2001 Corvette Convertble. I've always wanted a Viper and I'm considering purchasing one. My concern is mileage. I put about 4-5000 miles a year on my Vette and that in no way hurts it's resale value. If I put that many miles a year on a Viper will that hurt it's resale value ? Seems as most I've seen are very low mileage. If I purchase one I want to drive and enjoy it not park and just look at it. How many miles do y'all put a year on your Vipers ?
CB

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Are you kidding?

99,500 on my 98 RT/10.

 

[MAVERICK]

Once you own a Viper the last thing you'll think about is selling it.

 

[Andrew2KRT10]

'00, with 17K. NOt much, but not holding back either.

AC

 

[Ron Hickey]

No one has answered your question. Of all factors, mileage is a big minus as far as resale value goes. The cars getting top dollar are those with low mileage. The average Viper is driven less than 3000 miles per year, and a Viper with more than 15-20K miles is considered "High mileage." I have experienced this depreciation twice firsthand -- my excellent condition 97 GTS with 40,000 miles in 3 years was worth $10K less than market value, and I recently sold my excellent condition 01 GTS (30,000 miles in 4-1/2 years) for $5-8K less than market value. I'm not complaining -- I didn't buy my Viper to park it in the garage and worship it. But the reality is, nearly everyone wants a low mileage Viper with few or no modifications.

My recommendation is to forget about resale value -- cars are lousy investments anyway -- and buy a Viper and enjoy driving it. If you buy the car used, you won't take that big a hit on depreciation. And you won't regret a Viper purchase.

 

[big-n-italian]

<< buy a Viper and enjoy driving it. >>

My car now has a little over 30K on it. I could care less about depreciation and resale - I am having the time of my life. Will my "high-mileage" viper be worth less in the future? Probably. But your choices are:

1. Drive the car on the open road, enjoy the cars' awesomeness as much as possible, and make miles, or,

2. Sit in the car while it is in the garage, make car noises with the ignition off, PRETEND to enjoy the cars' awesomeness, and keep the mileage to a minimum.

I have seen quite a few beautiful low-mileage vipers that are never driven, but to me, that is sad - seeing people not enjoy these cars.
Give me mileage anyday.

<< forget about resale value -- cars are lousy investments anyway >>

Ditto. Enjoy life while you can. Tomorrow may be your last. my 0.02

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

<< buy a Viper and enjoy driving it. >>

My car now has a little over 30K on it. I could care less about depreciation and resale - I am having the time of my life. Will my "high-mileage" viper be worth less in the future? Probably. But your choices are:

1. Drive the car on the open road, enjoy the cars' awesomeness as much as possible, and make miles, or,

2. Sit in the car while it is in the garage, make car noises with the ignition off, PRETEND to enjoy the cars' awesomeness, and keep the mileage to a minimum.

I have seen quite a few beautiful low-mileage vipers that are never driven, but to me, that is sad - seeing people not enjoy these cars.
Give me mileage anyday.

<< forget about resale value -- cars are lousy investments anyway >>

Ditto. Enjoy life while you can. Tomorrow may be your last. my 0.02

Only way to look at it. It amazes me the depreciation due to mileage in a Viper. If well maintained, why should Vipers be different than any other car. I have 48,000 miles over five years of 6 month seasons. I probably have driven more miles (and had more fun!) in a Viper than many owners who bought cars, or multiple cars, long before me.

However, there is an upside to this low mileage mentality. When, and if, I use my car up, I know there will be plenty of used, very low mileage, well maintained garage queens to choose from. So I say, thank you, keep up the good work. Keep those miles down so us high milers will have a large selection to choose from down the road.


Steve

 

[plumcrazy]

dont buy a car based on money.

drive it.

my 98 has 36K on it now and i bought it 2 years ago with 9100 miles.

 

[slaughterj]

I put about 17-18k a year on mine, had it 4 years, so if you want to save the hit on depreciation from putting miles on a viper, you can buy mine!

 

[29OUTLAW]

If you want to put high miles on a Viper, consider leasing one. They'll give you 12,000 miles a year on leases plus you can get a new one every 2 years. The $85,000 you were going to spend on a Viper can be invested at %10 and basically make your least payments. Kind of like having a free Viper.

I bought mine vs. leasing but I would love being able to drive mine 12,000 a year with no worries about resale. I'd be driving it every day vs. only on weekends.

 

[AviP]

If I put that many miles a year on a Viper will that hurt it's resale value ?

It's a keeper, not a seller.

 

[Leslie]

I just bought an 01GTS with 23K miles.

My Z06 has 53K miles

go for the Viper, and drive it like you stole it

 

[Dave T (BADVENM)]

mine has 1498 miles on it.

 

[29OUTLAW]

mine has 1498 miles on it.

Help me out. What’s the purpose of your post.

Are we supposed to be impressed?
Are we supposed to be disgusted ?
Are we supposed to be envious?

Sounds like you have a “Garage Queen”. Good for you.

 

[David]

Restoration of Vipers in future decades will be very expensive... It's getting hard to find interior trim parts for GenII cars now -- and that's a car that was in production just 3 years ago... The low quantity production is probably a factor in this. That, and some parts, like the center console cover, got used in ways the engineers probably never expected... I doubt that the engineers were expecting a parade or homecoming queen to be sitting or standing on the center console of RT-10's...

In the short term, mileage will probably be a factor in resale. However, beyond that, confirming actual mileage may become difficult. Much will depend on the cars' actual condition based upon careful inspection.

Today, many 40 or 50 year old Harley-Davidson panheads are sold with indeterminate mileage. This is because many bikes had their gauge clusters restored or replaced (they tended to rust) so one can no longer trust the odometer reading. That and with parts swaps over the years, what actually matters more is the actual condition. Yes, it's much more laborious to document. The only mileage which seems to matter is the number of miles since the last restoration -- and who performed that restoration.

Using anything causes degradation -- both mechanical and cosmetic. But, if one plans on eventually restoring one's Viper and takes those costs into consideration, the actual cost of driving the car will become apparent... Thankfully, the more miles driven between restorations -- the lower the cost per mile!

 

[MatchboxMadeMyViper]

man that last post made me think of the SuperBird and Daytona 500 Charger. amazing cars that just became rediculously rare and hard to find. Mopar should kick in a Viper devision of Resto-parts

 

[Bad Car]

23,500 miles on my 2001GTS. Who cares what the cost is? Just enjoy yourself.

 

[Jay Herbert]

Restoration of Vipers in future decades will be very expensive...


....Using anything causes degradation -- both mechanical and cosmetic. But, if one plans on eventually restoring one's Viper and takes those costs into consideration, the actual cost of driving the car will become apparent... Thankfully, the more miles driven between restorations -- the lower the cost per mile!

Well said. The Viepr will be an intersting restoration as parts will likely not be available like for the Muscle cars of the 60's, the lower production of the Dodge muscle cars makes them more expensive to repair than similar GM and Ford Muscle cars of the same time frame.... lots of six cylinder donor cars out there for them!! We'll never be that luck for our snakes.

If the VCA can ever get the tooling, things may be better. GM understands this and has a much better than DCX and has a good program to get old tooling in the hands of quality suppliers. You can get still get great panels off production tooling for most Vettes.

Some things are already silly priced on Vipers, try to buy a piece of weatherstipping or hoses for gosh sake. I can by a complete set of reproduction weatherstripping for my Tiger for the price of one piece of weatherstripping for my Viper. Ever try to get Gen I "pieced" carpet set or later Gen I and Gen II carpet tubs??

Bottom line? drive it, enjoy it, and take good care of it. In 20 years, if we can still get premium gas, the cars will still be loved when seen on the street, just like '67 big block Vettes with side pipes and E-Type Jags are today.

If you have the ambition, stockpile a few wear parts.... plug wires, hoses, brake pads and calipers, interior bits like carpets and seat covers, maybe a radiator, waterpump, windshield glass.... sadly the list could be endless and as large as you garage!

 

[GTS Bruce]

Mileage is BS.Would anyone turn down a pristine restored ferrari 1952 vintage because of mileage? GTS Bruce

 

[2001ViperGTS]

I just drive the cars as much as it makes me happy. Putting miles on the car doesn't affect my decision to drive it as much as where I am going and if I'll feel safe leaving the car there.

 

[viperama]

Just enjoy you car and drive it whenever you like.

I think you work (like the most here) a lot to afford this kind of luxury, so why store it in a dark garage?
It is not made for that and they didnt call it autoMOBILE just because it sounds good.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Just hit 27,000 today after two years.

 

[94RT10Ohio]

If you are concerned over resale because you fear you may get to many miles, buy a Viper with "moderate" milage already, problem solved.

When I bought my Viper I was considering a bunch of mods, now I am done with the very few I have completed. I also think restroing these cars 10-20-30 years down the line will be so freaking expensive, maybe even impossible unless you can fabricate many of your own parts, that a low milage good condition car will pull some good money. Not ALL cars are bad investments....

 

[forensicsteve]

Bought mine 5 weeks ago with 17K on clock
It's my only vehicle. Use it every day for everything.
Superb machine and pleasantly docile while city slicking. Estimate 15 to 20,000 a year including going from New Orleans area to College Station, Texas 6 times a year.

 

[98MODMTR]

College Station, Texas 6 times a year.

What a great party town!!! The women are very gracious!

 

[forensicsteve]

Alas at my age... I am just happy to be able to get into and out of my car.

I'm just an Aggie dad

 

[agentf1]

mine has 1498 miles on it.

Wanna sell it?

Seriously, everybody seems to want to buy one with way less than 10,000 miles.

 

[93 Cobra R]

I just bought mine last Thursday with about 25k on the odometer. In less than 1 week, I've put nearly 1000 more on it. With the enjoyment I've had with this car, I won't feel bad racking up the miles. I originally bought it to drive on the weekends and not as a daily driver - which is what it seems to have become. I didn't realize that a Viper would become my drug of choice, but it is and I've been thoroughly overdosing!

 

[GTS Dean]

Mine just turned 9 years old last week with a little under 27k on the odo.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Come October both me and my car will turn 40, thats 40K miles on my 99. Love every mile and hope to continue to put well over 100K even with the supercharger