What was your first time like...

[SnakeBolt]

...in the viper? When you first got it, what was that first drive like? It is going to be A LOT of money for me to get mine, and I just want to be sure. Only 19 here, gotta plan every move

I mean, if you had to do it all again, was it worth every penny? 50 grand is a lot for a kid, but I am very sure it will be worth it....

 

[GCHDEALER]

Wish I had 50 large at 19. At 19 I had a 9 year old Corvette w/ 85k miles.

 

[Nexus-6]

Funny you should ask...
http://vca1.viperclub.org/ubb/Forum14/HTML/015779.html

 

[SnakeBolt]

dealer, like i said, it's going to be a big chunk out'o the monthly budget, but it's been my dream for years now... i can almost finally realize it, and i just want to make sure before i go in debt

 

[GCHDEALER]

Take the plunge!! It is the best fun money can buy.

 

[RX VIPER]

Dang! I thought I was doing good owning my 1st Viper at 25. The second time I drove it I was going to make some copies at Kinko's. I'm inside in line and a guy in a black Lexus parks right at the door and comes running inside and says, "Hey is that your Viper?" I hesitantly said yes not really knowing what his next question or comment might be. I must admit I was a little freaked out by the whole thing because he had been going the other way in traffic and did a Uie to come after me. He then introduced himself as the local VCA President and gave me his card. After that, I went to a Dierbergs, a local grocery store. When a came out just 5 minutes later there were 3 bag boys standing around look at the car. One asked me if he could have his picture taken by it. The other to were just staring at it. It was sooo cool. It's still the same today- everywhere I go somebody wants to peek inside, see under the hood, or have a photo of it. You never get tired of it, it just takes some getting used to. I never got 1/10 the response out of my Vette.
I say if you can afford it, by all means DO IT ! ! ! !

 

[Frank00Viper]

I am 23 and freaked out when I first drove it. I was like man I cant believe this is my car. It is an awesome car and worth everything u put in it.

 

[Tusc]

If I am VERY lucky, I will get one while I'm still 23. So I have until March 19th to make that one-liner come true. Most likely, I will get my 1st Viper when I'm 24. Nothing to be done about it, really. I have to unload the C5, which won't be too terrible. But I also have to take that big leap and land a new job as I change careers. After those two events are behind me - LOOK OUT! There's going to be a man on a mission. I've already been educating and familiarizing myself with the car and the market, so I hope to be primed and ready to go with a list in-hand and ready to go the moment I'm ready.

I wish I could go out and buy the Viper all in one day the way I did with the Corvette, but I'm not as lucky nor as willing to risk it anymore. I'm still pumping up my portfolio (looking a wee bit thin these days) and my IRA (doing much better thanks to KKD), but I want the GTS to be my last "big" purchase for a while so I can dump a larger percentage towards those other life expenses they call a family someday.

Of course, that is my plan NOW. Once I have keys in my hand, watch me dump some coin on mods. I have that problem.

I live frugally in all other aspects of my life, but when it comes to cars I spend money like a fool. I guess I always will.

But if we're all going to go into debt or spend wads of cash on a car, can any of you seriously think of many cars better than the Viper? I can think of "better" cars, but none that I would/could seriously consider buying.

 

[George Murray]

First time I drove the first one of mine? Nah...tired of telling it.

Second time? I took a friend to a local Chevy dealer to drop him off so he could pick up his truck from their service dept. I went inside to take a leak, then came out to find a bunch of Chitty mechanics standing around it. A couple in awe, but most just rambling on about how this or that 'Vette or this or that SS package COPO umpty squat RS Z Q(ueer)XYZ or whatever Chitty junk would beat it. I got in the car (yellow RT/10), fired it up, started to back out of the parking spot, and was asked "hey why you leaving so quick...we got questions..."

My answer: "I don't feel comfortable around ****. Bye."

 

[RSNAKE]

This is an excerpt from the first post I made after I bought my Viper just over a month ago. The feelings still have not changed. Enjoy. I would be concerned about dropping that kind of cash on a car at 19 though. Make sure you understand the time value of money before you buy and what that money could be doing for you to advance yourself even just over the next 5 years, let alone the next 10, or 20 years. That 50K is really a lot more than 50k when you consider your opportunity cost + cost of ownership (insurance, tires, gas, maintenance, etc). If you really want it, go for it, just make sure you understand the real cost, not just what someone is charging for the car today.

Good luck with your decision.

I took the plunge and bought a '99 Black / Cognac RT/10! I have dreamed of owning a car like this for a very long time, and still can't believe I now own one. Probably not the smartest financial decision I have ever made, but sometimes as Tom Cruise put it in Risky Business, "Sometimes you just have to say what the ......". At least I took advantage of the soft market for Vipers that I have noticed a lot of others being justifiably concerned with. Unfortunately, since I live in Chicago, I only drove it about 250 miles the weekend I bought the car and put it to bed for the winter. Incredible weekend it was though. The reaction and look on my close friends / relatives faces, was truely priceless. The first night after the purchase I was so wound up, I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas morning to come so that I could go back out and play with my new toy again! I debated a long time about what type of car to buy and whether the no compromises design of a Viper would be something that would make me happy. I have had zero buyer's remorse and could not be happier with my purchase (at least so far, lets hope nothing breaks). The driving experience is just incredible. I have not gotten comfortable enough yet with the handling to push it, but the little I have has been great. The accelation and speed is everything it is hyped up to be. The car is completely stock and yet I have only ridden in 2 other cars in my life that are as quick, and both of them were highly modified. The way it sets you back in the seat, especially in the first 3 gears, is unforgettable. This car is the stuff of legends and dreams, and it is real and mine.

 

[ACR Joe]

Bought my ACR with 600 miles on the odometer (6 weeks old). The original owner is a friend that was buying a new Diablo - the Dealer was doing a courtesy trade.

Beautiful, warm, sunny day. My deal is done so I want to split, but I'm waiting for my buddy to complete the transaction on the Lambo. Two of the hottest Latina chicks you've ever seen saunter over and just couldn't stop starring at the Viper, except for an occasional glance over at me. I thought, this car is going to be fun to own! I was right. First time ever behind the wheel of a Viper and I was completely comfortable. Fabulous car - then and now!

 

[Vic]

I always get a kick out of reactions from other states!

Here in So Cal, we've got sports stars, movie stars, captains of industry, movie moguls, etc, and so there are a lot of

Mercedes SL55, SL500, S500, CLKs, et al.
All the Lexus line, ** hum
Jags galore, and all the lesser beasts, Cadillacs, Lincolns,

On a sunny Saturday on Pacific Coast Highway, there rolls by the occasional 360 Modena, many Testarossas, 328s, 348s, a Ferrari is not unusual around here.

Lots of Porsche single turbos, a few GT2s, many Carreras.

About once a week, I see a Bentley Arnage, or a Rolls. (not the same one all the time) And there are a few Aston Martin Vanquishes, Lambos, and BMW Z8s around, too.

And we also got more Vipers than any other state.

So when I hear reports of people standing around the Viper in awe, staring at it, taking pictures with it, etc, it sounds a little funny. Yeah, people certainly do look at it here in So Cal, but generally, people don't let their tongues hang out of their mouths. To get that reaction, it would have to be a super rare exotic, like a McClaren F1, or may be the Enzo, for sure.

But then again, maybe I'm getting old. When my son drove my Viper, he had two girls riding in another car kiss each other out the window to get his attention, another time a girl flashed him, and still another girl licked her window suggestively. I was in the passsenger seat when that happened, funny as h*ll.

How come this never happens to me? I'm not ugly, am I?

<FONT size="1">(Don't answer that!)</FONT s>

 

[Snakester]

When I was 19 I was driving a 40HP 1964 VW Bus, and happy to have my own car.

When I first drove my Viper I was concerned that I would wreck the car. I had been reading a lot of posts on this forum about members wrecking their Vipers.

I was comfortable driving a fast car, as I owned a Corvette previously (with N20), but the Viper had a very different cockpit, and obviously a LOT of torque.

I was careful about not punching the gas in a corner, and grew comfortable with the car's ample performance pretty quickly.

What DID surprise me was the instant celebrity status of the Viper.
Whether you like it or not, people are drawn to the Viper.
Every gas station visit is accompanied by strangers questions and compliments of the car, and most every winged Civic and Mustang has to rev their engine, and squeal their tires to show that they are "cool" too.

I have always loved the style of the Viper, and it's nice that the car actually has the performance to keep up with it's bigger-than-life supercar image.

I had planned to drive the Viper only a couple times a week, but I enjoyed the car so much that it has been my daily driver for a year now, and even a year later I'll make any excuse to get into the Viper and drive somewhere. It is everything that I hoped for and more.

But I suspect that if I had a Viper at 19, I'd be dead by now.
I had MUCH more to prove back then, and thought that I was immortal (like most teenagers).

-Dean.

 

[RX VIPER]

Hey Vic. Too bad you can't keep a NFL team out there &lt;grin&gt;. I'm quite sorry to hear that people out there don't go as nuts when they see your car. I guess it has it's advantages. As for me, part of the fun of owning this car is seeing other peoples reaction to it.

 

[anunakki]

Well its only been 3 months but buying the car was like finding the perfect girl...All I could think was " why didnt I do this a few years ago". It just always seemed like too much cash to spend on a car but now having owned it for a while I'd spend TWICE as much for this car.

I was terrified first couple weeks of it getting out of hand but now that I've worked it a little I find it handles very simliar to my old Dinan M Roadster ( 340 hp in a really light weight car). I still wont drive it in the rain unless its surface streets only and necessary.

As Vic said earlier in southern California you see almost everything on a daily basis though I live in a very normal middle class area and as far as I know its the only exotic in the neighborhood ( yeah I do consider it an exotic and as I picked it over a 348 it better be). Truth be told vipers shouldnt be stared out because of the exlusivity or the price..just because they're beautiful.

Anyway.. if you can swing it GET IT ( but dont call it too close because if you lose it it'll hurt THAT much more) - I cant figure who you are going to find to insure you at that age without it costing as much as the car.

Good luck!

 

[SnakeBolt]

insurance?? not that bad really, i checked. about 50 bucks more a month than my lightning believe it or not

 

[George Murray]

anunakki...nice color. Yellow is the best, most elite, and fastest of all Vipers. That's a fact. Period.

 

[Vic]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RX VIPER:
Hey Vic. Too bad you can't keep a NFL team out there &lt;grin&gt;.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ha ha, you pretty funny, g.i.! Touche'

 

[Vic]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by anunakki:

Truth be told vipers shouldnt be stared out because of the exlusivity or the price..just because they're beautiful.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

D*mn good point! Timeless lines, worthy of classic status. And it goes like h*ll, too!

 

[anunakki]

Snakebolt...I wanna know who your insurance company is... I use StateFarm because they insure my home and its still over $ 200 a month just for the Viper and Im 35 with just one ticket.

 

[Tommy]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SnakeBolt:
...in the viper?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It was nice.

 

[SnakeBolt]

i HAD state farm too, but now i have progressive

 

[Nadine UK GTS]

I bought mine in '98, I'd just turned 24. I wanted one so bad it hurt! I used to pray please let me drive / have a Viper in my lifetime. I'd wanted one from first sighting on TV aged 18, glad now it took me as long as it did to save the deposit, any earlier and I'd have wrapped it around a tree or something. I put the deposit down on my coupe before ever even seeing one in 'the flesh', I'd read up on them, and was in love! My first drive was all I'd dreamt it would be...and MORE! (...the UK sales guy was scared sh**less!)