***WRECKED VIPER---ADVICE PLEASE (Pics)***

[VPRVENM97]

No, I didn't wreck my 97...A fellow 97 Blue & White owner recently wrecked his Viper. The crash occurred while he was attempting a shift from 2-3. Instead of going into 3, he shifted into 1. End result was rear wheel lock up and loss of control. The Viper struck a curb, a large water pipe then across a small creek and into some trees. Both air bags deployed and the driver was able to walk away unhurt. The Viper, however didn't fair too well. It suffered damage to the front facia, hood, both side sills, front suspension, windshield and various bumps and bruises. The frame is most likely bent in front. The doors, interior and back end seem to be in good condition outside of some minor scrapes. The right front wheel is completely destroyed, some curb rash on the left rear wheel, the right rear and left front wheels look ok. Lots of oil from under the engine so possibly damage to the oil pan.

The owner does not post on this site so he asked me to post the pics and get advice. Here's his situation. The car was not insured. He holds the title and has only had the car since March. He would like to sell the car as a whole unit and does not wish to part it out. The Viper otherwise all stock.

What would be a fair price for this GTS, As Is? Anybody looking for a dedicated track car, this would be a great buy. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Anyone interested in buying this car can PM or e-mail me and I can give you the contact info for the owner.

PS: I'm not getting anything out of this other then helping out a fellow Viper owner. All info that I posted is from my observation and what was relayed to me. Anybody interested should personally inspect it or have it inspected by a trusted party. The car is located in San Jose, CA.

 

[VPRVENM97]

 

[VPRVENM97]

My ride is still very much intact.

 

[GaryA]

Looks pretty bad. I've seen Vipers with significantly LESS damage that were sold by the insurance company for $15K to $20K.

 

[Tomer]

Jeeez Dave, DON'T scare me like that...WHen I saw your user_Id and the WRECKED in the subject, well my heart skipped a beat or two...Glad you are OK, and my condolences go out to the unlucky owner of that car...Glad he walked away!

Tomer

 

[venomblue550]

dave...you have got PM..thanks

 

[VPRVENM97]

Looks pretty bad. I've seen Vipers with significantly LESS damage that were sold by the insurance company for $15K to $20K.

Gary,
I was also thinking somewhere in the area of 20k or the high teens. Thanks for the input.

Jeeez Dave, DON'T scare me like that...WHen I saw your user_Id and the WRECKED in the subject, well my heart skipped a beat or two...Glad you are OK, and my condolences go out to the unlucky owner of that car...Glad he walked away!

Tomer

Tomer,
Sorry about the scare. Won't happen again.

 

[ViperGTS]

I CAN'T see those pictures any more...glad the driver walked away. My wrecked GTS has been sold for a little bit over 14K Euro.

:-(

 

[joe117]

With that shift into 1st spinning up the engine and the oil pan damage,
I'd say there's a chance that the engine is damaged.

No way to know.
Result is a serious reduction in the value of the wreck.

If I wanted a wreck to rebuild or part out, I sure as **** wouldn't want one where the engine might be shot.

Very low value on this one.

 

[joe117]

Does the guy who wrecked the car still owns it?

Were the plates that are on it now, on it when it was wrecked?

Since there was no insurance company involved, the car will have a clean title, right? No salvage or wreck on the car's title?

 

[PhilC]

Why would you think that a car with a bent frame would make a great dedicated race car? It will never drive correctly again no matter what anyone tells you about their ability to straighten it.

My guess is $15k but would advise him to re-think the parting it out strategy.

Phil

 

[YouWish]

My eyes are burning!!! Thank God you put your beautiful Viper in the thread.

 

[VPRVENM97]

With that shift into 1st spinning up the engine and the oil pan damage,
I'd say there's a chance that the engine is damaged.

No way to know.
Result is a serious reduction in the value of the wreck.

If I wanted a wreck to rebuild or part out, I sure as **** wouldn't want one where the engine might be shot.

Very low value on this one.

According to the owner, he started the engine at the yard and it sounded normal. Oil started to spew out from under the car so he shut it down. The engine could very well be damaged by the 2-1 shift but then maybe not. I don't have enough info to comment on that. If I was buying it, I'd definately look into that.

Does the guy who wrecked the car still owns it?

Were the plates that are on it now, on it when it was wrecked?

Since there was no insurance company involved, the car will have a clean title, right? No salvage or wreck on the car's title?

Yes, he still owns it. The plate on it now is the plate on it when he bought it from a guy and Washington and when he wrecked it. He has not registered it with CA DMV as far as I know. Don't know if its been reported as a slavage yet. I'll look into it.

 

[Shelby3]

My ride is still very much intact.

Dave, That's a damn fine pic of a blue/white. My wrecked 97 GTS sold at auction for 23K. It had more damage and more mods. I talked to the guy who bought it last night and he is going to restore it and keep at his driver. Your friend might consider repairing this one and keeping it. If he locates used parts and the engine is not lunched it might not be too costly of a fix. The frame components can be replaced. To sell it as is my guess would be 15K depending on the motor condition. As was mentioned it would not have a salvaged title.

 

[VPRVENM97]

Why would you think that a car with a bent frame would make a great dedicated race car? It will never drive correctly again no matter what anyone tells you about their ability to straighten it.

My guess is $15k but would advise him to re-think the parting it out strategy.

Phil

You very well may be right. I've seen several salvaged Vipers with bent frames that have been fixed and turned into dedicated track cars. They aren't real pretty cars but they serve their purpose. My Viper Tech bought a salvaged car with a tweaked frame from an insurance company. He fixed it and races it in Viper Days. Maybe some body and frame experts can jump in and comment on this.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Why would you think that a car with a bent frame would make a great dedicated race car? It will never drive correctly again no matter what anyone tells you about their ability to straighten it.

I was at Belangers Monday and out back they have Fat Albert's frame straightening rig for Vipers. It is a pretty amazing piece. It is a kind of trailer with wheels so they can move it around. The structure is immense so that it stays rigid - basically a box with jigging on top that is the reference points for the various pick-up point on the front part of the frame. Really impressive. The reason I'm telling you this is that after checking that out, I am utterly confident that Albert Box and his crew could have a Viper frame as straight and stronger than new without problem.

 

[RX VIPER]

AAA offered to let me buy back my totaled '96 GTS for 11,300. I declined. Front end collision and had damage all the way up to the cowl area and one of the valve covers was cracked. He should certainly get more than 11k.

 

[AviP]

Rebuild it. Any frame except CF is rebuildable. And since he didn't have insurance, he'll get more value rebuilding it.

 

[2001 Sapphire Blue]

Just out of curiosity...why didn't he have insurance?

 

[Wild Bill]

My thoughts exactly-why no insurance? It's sad to see those pictures but what if he had hit someone else? If someone else had be hurt he can lose everything he owns not just the Viper. It is against the law to drive with no insurance (at least in my state).

I'm glad nobody got hurt.

B

 

[VPRVENM97]

If he locates used parts and the engine is not lunched it might not be too costly of a fix. The frame components can be replaced. To sell it as is my guess would be 15K depending on the motor condition. As was mentioned it would not have a salvaged title.

Hi Jim,

I asked him about fixing it up but he says that he's done with high performance sports cars. Plus he doesn't have the scratch to buy the new parts. Also discussed the aspect of parting it out and getting more money. At this point he just wants to get rid of it and recover some of the cash he put into it. Its been a good life's lesson. Great buy for anyone who has the means and ability to get it back on the road again. I'm sure he's open to reasonable offers.

 

[chickenwarrior]

I follow the Salvage Auctions for Vipers very closely, As I did for Shelby3's 97 GTS. You can bet he got that price for the mods he had on the car.

I know of a 2000 GTS with 13K with similiar damage as this 97 that sold for $18K.

There is a blue/white 96 GTS coming up for auction tomorrow with 26,435 Miles on it. Very little damage:

You must be registered for see images

Tail lights are missing as well as one headlight and very light damage to the hood and a torn front facia. Can not comment on the frame etc. Salvage title. It will bring low to mid $20's since it it such an easy fix. I will watch it if I can.

Unfortunately (to some) it is worth more to have a clean title so one can rebuild it and claim it has a clean history....= Better Resale value

 

[VPRVENM97]

Just out of curiosity...why didn't he have insurance?

My thoughts exactly-why no insurance? It's sad to see those pictures but what if he had hit someone else? If someone else had be hurt he can lose everything he owns not just the Viper. It is against the law to drive with no insurance (at least in my state).

I'm glad nobody got hurt.

B

Good question. I'm suprised it didn't come up sooner. It is illegal to drive without insurance in CA too. Perhaps that's why it hasn't been registered.

I didn't know Mike(wrecked Viper owner) before the crash. He reads this board regularly so he e-mailed me and asked for my help.

Mike is 19. He was able to buy his dream car but did not research the insurance costs until after the car was in pocket. Insurance for him amounted to $1,200 a month. He couldn't afford it so he chose to drive without insurance. I'm not certain but I speculate that his parents let him go on it on his own to teach him to be a responsible adult. In this case he made his bed and has to sleep in it.

Lots of comments can be made regarding his decisions and his judgements but I'm not going to make any on this one. He contacted me and asked me for help so I'll refrain on lecturing him on issues of responsibility. I'm sure Mom and Dad have covered that subject many times over.

"What if he hit someone else?" I'm glad we don't have to answer that one. No one hurt, just bent metal and broken plastic. Dodged a bullet on this one. Like I said, it's been a good life's lesson.

 

[joe117]

Someone should tell Bonkers to note the VIN in the picture and add it to his record keeping. This car could very well be rebuilt without a salvage title and sold to someone as if it was just another Viper.

I would think that an insurance company declaration of "total" would be needed for a car to be given a salvage title. Even though the Dept of Motor Vehicles in the state might know the car has been in a wreck, I don't think they would have any way of deciding that the car was salvage.

And in this case, the car was not registered in the state where it was wrecked.

 

[1MEANSNAKE]

WOW, did anyone see the destroyed front wheel? The nature of this entire story really stinks. Tell your friend Good Luck!

 

[patgilm]

That is terrible but at least nobody was hurt. Its just a very expensive lesson I guess.

 

[AlvaSpeed]

$1,200 insurance a month?
Here I pay like $2,500 a year!!!!

 

[tim721]

WOW, i've never heard of insurance that high, at 25 it costs $1200 a year!

His insurance payments would be more than the car!

 

[chickenwarrior]

Someone should tell Bonkers to note the VIN in the picture and add it to his record keeping. This car could very well be rebuilt without a salvage title and sold to someone as if it was just another Viper.

I would think that an insurance company declaration of "total" would be needed for a car to be given a salvage title. Even though the Dept of Motor Vehicles in the state might know the car has been in a wreck, I don't think they would have any way of deciding that the car was salvage.

And in this case, the car was not registered in the state where it was wrecked.

As previously stated, this car is going to end up a clean title. Especially if he has the title in hand and it was a one vehicle accident. Insurance companies declare a car a total loss which is then branded on the title with the DMV. Don't expect this wreck to show up on CARFAX either. CARFAX is a good tool, but don't be foolish and think a car has never been wrecked because CARFAX said so.

It is funny how the word "totaled" brings to mind a big scrap heap of metal.

In the world of wrecked Vipers this Viper should rightfully be totalled, but will more than likely end of with a clean title, and some unsuspecting new owner will have paid too much for a pretty messed up car.
Then there are the many other TOTALED Vipers that have a cracked hood and facia like the one on my previous post, that are branded "Salvage" for life that will scare off 90% of potential buyers. As we all know with the price of Viper parts, it doesn't take much to "total" a Viper.
Having had good luck fixing several "Salvage" Vipers, I always feel like it is worth mentioning to prospective buyers. Think about it, would you rather own a "clean title" with very dark history you don't know about, or a salvage title car bought from the rebuilder that went over everything with you and showed you all the pictures of the car before the restoration? At least your know it's history and then can decide if you can live with it. Most people will choose the first option for one reason... RESALE VALUE!

CW

 

[dansauto]

I follow the Salvage Auctions for Vipers very closely, As I did for Shelby3's 97 GTS. You can bet he got that price for the mods he had on the car.

I know of a 2000 GTS with 13K with similiar damage as this 97 that sold for $18K.

There is a blue/white 96 GTS coming up for auction tomorrow with 26,435 Miles on it. Very little damage:

You must be registered for see images

Tail lights are missing as well as one headlight and very light damage to the hood and a torn front facia. Can not comment on the frame etc. Salvage title. It will bring low to mid $20's since it it such an easy fix. I will watch it if I can.

Unfortunately (to some) it is worth more to have a clean title so one can rebuild it and claim it has a clean history....= Better Resale value

You got a dealers lic? I am bidding on this car in Boston also thur copart. So your the bastage bidding the prices up.