How many owners have come from GenII vipers to Gen III?

[riverflyer]

I am trying to decide on my next car and gen III is high on the very short list. I would appreciate to hear from present owners who had and loved the gen II vipers. Thanks guys. John

 

[SylvanSRT]

I'll start the list, 2 prior. the SRT is a ten times better car in all respects.

 

[SRTim]

I also had a Gen II. I highly reccomend the SRT over the Gen II.

Tim

 

[Leonard Knight]

I think I posted on another thread on this subject but I like the SRT for daily driving and it instills more confidence than the GTS. That said I have a 96GTS and I will probably be burried in it. That color combo and the looks are too good to let go of. Different cars but both are great. Not much help I know.

 

[kverges]

I have both. You need to decide for yourself, but my Gen III is gone as soon as I can get rid of it. 47 days in the shop since Feb delivery and a low oil pressure problem in left hand sweepers on track and I have no further interest in helping develop the car. The '04s may be better.

 

[riverflyer]

THANKS all so far! Keith, what kind of problems has the 03 car had? Agreed, that is way too much shop time and very frustrating I am sure. Have other owners had the need for a lot of repairs?

 

[riverflyer]

I'll start the list, 2 prior. the SRT is a ten times better car in all respects.

\
Sylvan, wow, just noticed your info. I used to go to Sylvan Lake when I was a kid! Was very beautiful then, hope it still is. Let me ask you this, is the srt10 as much fun to drive as the spec miata?

 

[Paul Hawker]

riverflyer. I owned a 96 GTS prior to O3. The 96 was more emotional, while the 03 is a much better car. I modded the GTS heavily, and raced it all over. The 03 is still stock, and a much better daily driver. I have had far fewer problems with SRT than with GTS. Quality and construction is far superior.
I just came back from a trip through your part of the world. Drove through the Redwoods, and enjoyed the time warp compared to San Diego. You will find the easy to operate convertable top a vast improvement over the RT-10. In a moment you can flip it down for a sunny afternoon, and put it right back up when it gets chilly.
Go for the 03

 

[kverges]

My personal experience:

48 hours after delivery, Power brake booster failure that caused brakes to drag all the time, with much heat and odor. This was a real blast, because Roadside Assistance had no idea I even owned the car yet - the selling dealer had to intervene and pick up the tab to get the car towed (much appreciated on the dealer's part).

Intake Valve recall

Flickering Lights Recall

Cooling module recall

Power steering pump failure

O2 sensor failure and destroyed catalytic converter (but no check engine light, so I wonder about whether there is another hidden cause)

Oil pressure gauge shows dramatic drop in left hand sweepers, see my post here for more details:

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=356322&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Two failures required flatbed tow to dealer.

In contrast, my 2001 GTS has been virtually perfect, has fewer squeaks & rattles (which have already begun on my SRT-10).

I attribute much of what I have wrong with the "blessing" of getting my car in early Feb. I wish I had flipped the car for some profit when I could have gotten an easy $5-10K out of it.

I really wanted to love the 2003, and it has the potential to be great. But my car is far worse than my '93, which I regretfully traded against my '03.

I also remain VERY concerned about the low oil pressure issue, and do not track my SRT-10 because of it. I don't want a performance car that I can't take on track, but I am a track rat and absolutely cannot tolerate a car touted for its performance that in fact won't turn many laps if pressed.

I need to be more patient and never buy a first year of production car again.

And I saw a post about Spec Miata above - let me tell you that my SM is WAY, WAY, WAY more satisfying to drive than my SRT - for one, the SM holds oil pressure in left hand sweepers rather than terrify me with a gauge that heads for zero the longer you hold the G's. All with a BONE STOCK engine that holds only 4 qts oil in the sump and NO special mods like an accusump, etc.

 

[Ramman]

I have a 93 RT-10, a 96 GTS and a new black SRT-10. To date the early production V000106 black SRT is by far the best yet. Outside of the recall for the light problem the car has been outstanding both in fit and finish, not to mention the performance. I like each of my vipered for there own unique qualities but if you have to rap it all up the Gen III is by far the best. People that arn't viperer owners also seem to be attracted the the 03 more than my other cars

 

[SylvanSRT]

To date 7,000 miles almost a year(jan. 14th) just about 2 days in service dept. much better car in every repect! this car is a world class sports car now. My Miata is anything but a spec car, supercharger(8 psi), all suspension and chassis braces, anti roll bars, koni adj, h & r lowering springs, exhaust header to muffler, roll bar extrude hone intake, big brakes and on and on... Stock these cars are 96 rwhp mine is in the 160-165 rwhp range in a 2,300 lb. car. car looks totally stock except roll bar and lowered, and panasports(completes the 11/10ths lotus elan look british racing green and all) The SRT has seen several track days (6) and performed flawlessly!

To riverflyer Sylvan is still the prettiest little city in michigan.

 

[VIPER D]

Had a 2000 gts with no mods or problems. Now I have a 04 srt 10 with mufflers and 2nd set of cats removed. I have 3 major problems

1 not enough summer days in NY for top down weather.

2 my local drag strip, is not so local

3 cant wipe smile off face when driving

I took my srt to the 1/4 track with 650 miles on it and went 2 passes w/o problems

question for you. What other supercars were on your list?

 

[1TONY1]

Stay with a GenII.

 

[doctorbob]

I have had all three. I currently have an SRT. Much better driving car. I kind of miss my GTS but am looking forward to the SRT coupe. I hope Dodge announces that they are making the damn thing soon.

 

[riverflyer]

Once again, thanks for all the replies. And keep the feedback coming in.
Viper D, well as WE all know, nothing gives the bang for the buck like a viper. The other cars on the short list are gen II viper(like the one I just sold), Ferrari 355 and if I could find the killer deal on a euro model(think cheap!!) 550M. Going down later this week to test drive all three models and will certainly post feedback.

 

[Black SRT]

Check out this previous thread for more inputs:

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB21&Number=312759&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

 

[riverflyer]

Rick, thanks, very informative thread. BTW, a Dodge manager told me today that his DC rep just told him this is the last year of the Viper. Has any one heard that before?

 

[Paul Hawker]

Heard that every year since 92.

 

[Phoenix SRT]

Doesn't seem to make sense that DC would spend millions on an all new Viper, then can it after one or two years.

 

[Dead President]

The SRT-10 is way better than the Gen II. I have had a 93 RT/10, a 96 GTS, still have a 97 RT/10 and the '03 SRT-10. The SRT-10 finally stops as fast as it accelerates. But I am looking at over a month in the shop for intake valve recall, cooling fan module recall, headlamp flicker recall, and the WOT TSB. Engine mods used to be only done at Arrow. Not any Viper tech can do it. Not on my car! Had to take it out of town for the work. Wait for a 2004.