Salvage Gen IV - deal or ripoff?

[DLTARNU]

Dodge : Viper:eBay Motors (item 300375970347 end time Dec-29-09 19:07:26 PST)

Strangest damage I've ever seen.

Classified as a salvage title, but it only looks like minor damage to the front right, then looks like the airbag popped on the passenger side and something poked holes, or tried to poke holes in the passenger side seat.

Seller is capitaloneautos, so I'm thinking it's the bank who bought it from the insurance company and is trying to break even. Buy It Now price of $38k. Reputable seller.

Anyone know about this car?

 

[bmw2nv2000]

I too was thinking about buying this car before I decided on the 06' but one thing I did not understand is why the coolant hose is all jacked up??? But nice looking car. Obviously a track car. The drivers bag is blown though and the indention's in the pass seat is where some one had piled broken parts and/or debris from the accident, Seen this a million times at the insurance auctions. But will make a nice car I am sure. Buy it and post the rebuild process

 

[Viper Specialty]

Not a BAD deal, but REALLY tough to tell without seeing the car in person. The damage looks like it went under the back end of another car, or hit something very flexible like a plastic water barrel on a hot day. Possible frame damage, that would be the deciding factor. other than that, new dash, airbag, bumper, fender, headlight and a few odds and ends. Not horrible.

PS- that radiator hose is throwing me, as well as the inner fender structures... they appear to have moved, but they arent cracked as far as I can tell, very odd. Long story short, I cant tell where exactly it shifted. There is probably more to this car than meets the eye.

 

[DLTARNU]

There is probably more to this car than meets the eye.

So, you're saying it's a Transformer? Because I would totally pay extra for that.

 

[Cop Magnet]

The frame is totally whack. Look at the overhead/front engine shots. Also, BOTH airbags are used up, not just one.

 

[big-n-italian]

i am looking at this motor pic

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the rubber tubes that connect the air filter housing to the throttle bodies look very bent. they should look more like this i believe.

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is the airbox jammed up?

 

[Darbgnik]

I might be wrong, but does it look like the rear of the intake manifold touched the cowl?

Seems as though there is a gray mark on the plastic above it.

 

[plumcrazy]

certainly looks like it worth looking into more

 

[ViperGeorge]

The front has definitely been tweaked (radiator is crooked and airbox is jacked up) but boy it really doesn't look that bad. Probably worth 37,900 if you want to part it out.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Looks to me that the entire front clip is toast. The damage looks like the car was jumped off something like a track berm and landed ******* the nose. The fenders breaking away from the supports indicate they are probably also broken. My guess would be everything from the dash forward needs work including the suspension. With the values of perfect cars low right now I would bet you would end up with about that in it after a repair and still have a car with a salvage title not worth what you have in it. IMHO.

 

[ferraritoviper]

Who would buy a cheaply priced used race car, Viper or otherwise, unless one knew the car or owner. Buyer beware, and you get what you pay for, are two adages that come to mind.

 

[Motivated]

I would have to agree ^, all the little things (fenders, airbox, radiator and who knows what else) being out of alignment to me would indicate the front end of the car suffered some sort of trauma from below, unless they come down on the price quite a bit i would keep looking. If this really wasnt that badly damaged then they would have just repaired it on their own, its always easier to sell a car if it is in good working order even if it has a salvage title. So to me, just trying to hawk it as is means its got quite a long journey until it is back to respectable.

 

[Malu59RT]

That car used to belong to a member here, so maybe he will chime in on how bad the damage is.

So, you're saying it's a Transformer? Because I would totally pay extra for that.

Am I the only one laughing at that?

 

[CarGo]

Doesn't a salvage title mean the insurance co. felt it would cost more than the car is worth to fix it?

 

[eucharistos]

Doesn't a salvage title mean the insurance co. felt it would cost more than the car is worth to fix it?

generally, but not always

 

[Martin]

Kind of looks to me like it hit something on the right front at speed, driver overcorrected, and then got airborne and landed hard. Both upper radiator support bolts are out, and the right side looks way out of whack. Frame also looks twisted - take a look at the gaps between the wheels and fenders - especially the rear wheels and fenders. If it were a coupe and I was looking to build a track car, I'd probably have a close in-person look at it and see whether it's worth the effort or not. Since it's a vert, track use is going to be limited. If the price were in the $25k range, it might be interesting, but no way I'd pay more than that...

 

[big-n-italian]

i just noticed the steering wheel too.

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almost looks like the drivers side air bag blew too and they tried to pack it all back in. ???

 

[Martin]

What's strange is the body panels look like they line up pretty nice for a car that blew both airbags. This is one that a buyer would definitely have to look at in person - CLOSELY. I wish they would have taken some up-close pics of the undercarriage. Something tells me you'd see some serious flora and fauna embedded pretty deep into the nooks and crannies down there.

 

[bluesrt]

look at the rad hose-the front inner structure is definatly tweeked

 

[AZTVR]

Kind of looks to me like it hit something on the right front at speed, driver overcorrected, and then got airborne and landed hard.

I would say that the driver was probably 50-ish, possibly with graying hair, male, and somewhat well to do. Probably happened on a right hand turn on a Saturday or Sunday.

I'd be interested in knowing who his insurance company was.

 

[Martin]

look at the rad hose-the front inner structure is definatly tweeked

Maybe they did too many dyno tests on the car and it ended up staying that way

 

[Martin]

I would say that the driver was probably 50-ish, possibly with graying hair, male, and somewhat well to do. Probably happened on a right hand turn on a Saturday or Sunday.

I'd be interested in knowing who his insurance company was.

I better go out and get a bottle of that "Just for Men" that I keep seeing ads about. Take the greying part out of the equation and maybe it'll save me from a similar accident.

 

[CarGo]

I would say that the driver was probably 50-ish, possibly with graying hair, male, and somewhat well to do. Probably happened on a right hand turn on a Saturday or Sunday.

I'd be interested in knowing who his insurance company was.

Whoever the insuror, they must be fairly benevolent, or maybe just missed the big ol' number 3 on the sides of the car?

 

[Achilles99]

I would buy a clean 06 coupe in the 40's before I bought this one. By the time you fixed it, you'd be darn close to a Gen IV coupe I bet.

 

[slysnake]

Same car was listed on the auction site ridesafely.com. Can't recall but I don't think it got any bids. I see it's listed again with a starting bid of 14,***.

SALVAGE CARS AND MOTORCYCLES DODGE VIPER SRT-10&Search=vt%3DA%26make%3DDODGE%26model%3DVIPER%26region%3D%26status%3D%26AuctionDate%3D%26description%3DSEARCH%2520FOR%2520DODGE%2520VIPER

 

[Malu59RT]

I would say that the driver was probably 50-ish, possibly with graying hair, male, and somewhat well to do. Probably happened on a right hand turn on a Saturday or Sunday.

I'd be interested in knowing who his insurance company was.

The driver has posted here before, that he has a specific coverage for HPDE events, and has been a good source of information to the board. I severely doubt he would try to lie about the nature of the accident. If it happened on a track, the track insurance took care of it, and if on the street, his normal insurance.

 

[Martin]

Don't the passenger side airbags in the Gen IV cars have a seat switch that keeps them from deploying unless the seat is occupied? I'm not up to speed on the lastest and greatest safety stuff, but I thought they did something like that to automatically disable the airbag when the seat was either unoccupied or had a child seat installed. Anyhow, if that is the case, then I'd suspect this wasn't a track accident since the passenger seat was occupied (passenger airbag deployed) - unless of course they were doing something on the track that allowed passengers...

 

[AZTVR]

I'd suspect this wasn't a track accident since the passenger seat was occupied (passenger airbag deployed) - unless of course they were doing something on the track that allowed passengers...

I have found that sometimes, an instructor will push you farther than your comfort level. More than once, I have seen an "off" with an instructor on board. (Not that it is their "fault," its just that you may be exploring new limits with them there in the right seat.)

 

[slysnake]

If I was looking for a project car this one would be interesting. If anyone here buys it and fixes it up please let us know how things went.

 

[bluesrt]

Maybe they did too many dyno tests on the car and it ended up staying that way

good lord not that subject again