what gen viper

[Yves]

Anything will give you big smiles

Gen I has some less HP and worse handling, but is still a monster. Your chances of being beaten on the street are slim. Do note that chevy only just caught up with the GenI, ZO6 is not able to beat GenII to put things in perspective.

I have a GenI and love it a lot. It's kind of a rough package, but that's what I like. Reliability has proven to be excellent. When you buy one, pay special attention to the tires (the original MX series tend to go hard and that's really dangerous with this kind of power) and the headgaskets.
If you can, buy one with the V-Mania aftermarket windows.
This might be a good moment to buy since the market is slow.

Your question has been asked several times, so please perform a search on the subject. You will find a lot more.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kurt 97 GTS]

Having owned both, they are VERY different cars!! If money is a major factor, the Gen I is your car. However, if you can, try for a Gen II for many different reasons covered on the board (do a search!)

 

[LETHAL GTS]

I have both!
I love both these cars!
There are things about my Gen 1 I like better than the Gen II and there are things I like about my Gen II better than my Gen 1.
They are different cars, but don't forget YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH EITHER!
The "VIPER" is an awesome car, GEN 1 or GEN II.
If you want details, e-mail me.
As far as this Z06 thing goes. I've got 2 friends that own new ones. Don't worry, a few miles behind the wheel of any GEN 1 and the only thing a Z06 will see is your tail lights!!
I've driven one guys Z06 at a high perf driving school, lets just say two words "No Torque".
Ya Z06 has got the creature comforts, but I didn't buy my RT for that.
I wanted to buy a race car and my Gen 1 is as close as you'll find in a reliable production car.
It seems to me that too many people here tend to focus on the downside of Gen 1 Vipers, instead of the truck load of plus+++++.
When your driving through the city and come upon a bunch of hot chicks, do you think they are worried weather or not it's a Gen 1 or a Gen II.
I can tell you this, the Z06 is just a Vette in the girls eyes, but the Viper???
Buy one you'll see!
The stories we owners can tell

.

 

[ubnbit]

Well, I have a Gen1 Viper and I can tell you that I love every min. I drive it. Yea, the Gen2 have some better qualities but like Bigfoot said...you will get the performance you need out of a Gen1 and all those around you will envy you! Plus you can always upgrade to match the things on the Gen2...I am getting close in some areas...and passing in others. Good Luck...you can't go wrong either way!

 

[kARLUG]

I love my Gen1. No problems with anything including
head gaskets. I like to modify things and didn't want
to spend the money for a gen2. The only thing bad about
a gen1 is the availability of aftermarket performance parts.
There are a lot of parts available but much more for gen2.
I had the same idea that you have- leave it pretty much
stock. This thinking can change after you get the car
and get into mods. Best of luck. Either choice is good.