Viper Heaven

[MarkRx]

Saturday night I was coming home from a friends house pretty late at night (3am). The road was dead quiet and streight and I decided to get on it a bit from the light. I feathered the start from 1st and got on it at 3000rpms. I ended up getting some real bad wheel hop and let off the throttle, but it was too late. The next thing I know I begin to spin real bad. I went to counter and before I knew it I was up on the opposite lanes curb and clipped my rear quarter into the tree. Totally sucked, but I walked away from it with some bruised obliques and lats from slamming into the center console on impact and some still lingering sadness and depression.

Today Im at work and get a call from my insurance telling me its totaled. Im so disappointed, I read some past posts saying that people in my position should push for a total, but deep down I really didnt want them to consider it a total loss. That car was awesome. I loved the attention I got in it and all the comments. My insurance hasnt come back with a value yet, but they said the price would be "dealers retail", whatever the hell that means. Well see what happens, but man do I miss that car already.

I talked to Chuck Tator today and would just like to thank him again for spending time with me on the phone and offering his advice. I really appreciate it.

Thanks to all you guys on the forum and the guys I met at the Hawaiian Tropic Event in NYC.

Whenever I look at this pic I cant help but think of that bikini top on it reminding me of the sheet they pull over someone after theyre pronounced dead.

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[VOI9 ASP]

Wow... bad day... the car looks like a little red x. Not much left of it. Glad you are ok.

 

[MarkRx]

Wow... bad day... the car looks like a little red x. Not much left of it. Glad you are ok.

Fixed..i think

 

[big-n-italian]

Wow... bad day... the car looks like a little red x.

you werent paying attention. those arent "x"'s. the car has gone to viper heaven - they are little red CROSSES.

 

[dave6666]

Sorry about your loss.

My sale price just went up another $100 again.

 

[jpa99acr]

dang, another one bites the dust... what year? I would like to see the pics. if you want to email them to me I will upload them to the board for you. [email protected]

 

[MarkRx]

are we getting pics or crosses still?

 

[AFL in NJ]

Dear Mark,

So sorry to hear of your loss, I will never forget the smile on your face at the Hawaiian Tropic event!! I think the red RT/10 was a great first Viper.......so now that you've seen more, what will be your 2nd? (year & color)

RIP Red RT/10

Glad to hear you're okay and walked away with just bruising.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[dave6666]

Pics up.

Red car.

Now I'm extra sad.

 

[MarkRx]

Hey Aaron- I was looking to hear from you. Thanks for your support bro. Ill be back soon.

 

[AFL in NJ]

Dear Mark,

It doesn't look that bad, was anything at all damaged in the front? It appears that a rear tub, maybe a frame section and suspension, rim & tire might just fix your baby back good as new. If you've already chatted with Chuck about what the adjuster wrote up, then take his opinion and go from there. I'll look forward to hearing from you anytime!!!

Regards,
Aaron

 

[RX VIPER]

Mark-

Very sorry to see your post. I put my red rt/10 into a wall at the track some years ago and feel your pain and sadness. I hope you find another one you love just as much very soon!

RX-V

 

[big-n-italian]

wow. it doesnt LOOK that bad.

 

[MarkRx]

Aaron and big-n-italian- I thought the same thing when I got out and looked at it. I figured it was hit pretty hard and knew it was in trouble, but I definetly wasnt thinking totaled. One thing that is deceiving is how twisted the frame is. If you look at a larger image of pic 2 you can see that the top wont line up on all 4 posts. The front right is the worst and seems to miss the catch point by a good 3-4 inches. The frame is indeed quite messed up. The front is unscathed, their is one area where the hood seems to have connected into the door and is actually pushed into it (you can slightly see this in pic 2). One mechanic assured me that it probabley would NOT need a new hood and it could be worked out.

I was at work when I talked to Chuck and he hasnt seen these pictures, but was going from info from what I was telling him. The shop its at right now has never done a viper, and chuck was thinking they may be unaware of how to really work on it or provide a proper estimate. Im not exactly sure myself into how much the frame can be corrected and get everything in line. In terms of panels all it would need is a quarter, but that frame is different story. The adjuster said he did a quick run down and ended up with damages exceeding 50k. I asked him if we were talking about a red viper.

 

[MarkRx]

Mark-

Very sorry to see your post. I put my red rt/10 into a wall at the track some years ago and feel your pain and sadness. I hope you find another one you love just as much very soon!

RX-V

I got the call while I was at work today. I hope everyone got the right meds today and makes it through the night.

 

[AFL in NJ]

Hi Mark,

I hope that you can persuade your insurance company to get a 2nd opinion....but sadly there are few good shops to deal with any Viper repair. I know of two here in Jersey but that's way too far away to get it shipped here for their opinions. I've gotta get my front fascia re-painted again likely this winter and I'll only use Ferrari & Son in New Brunswick, NJ.

Keep us posted if you feel we're able to help in any way.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[RTTTTed]

Dealer's retail price should be a little higher than "Market Value", but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much.

When you go in to meet the adjsuter take a LOT of comparable ads to your car. They pay a lot of attention to mileage and condition.

I proved "perfect condition" by giving them a copy of my car's feature magazine article and showing them the 1st place trophy I won at the only car show I'd taken the car too. I settled for about $5,000 less than what I figured the car was actually worth. Not problem, I bought another one for that price. The insurance co. also paid my taxes and trasfer fees. $73,000Cdn.

Ted

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Call JonB. He is absolutely your best source of advice about how to deal with this if you want to save the car. He will give you great information on how to deal with the insurance company. He saved my butt last year when this happened to me. Here's his link
Online Shopping - Home

 

[CAIN MKII]

Each time I saw a destroyed Viper, my heart bleed.
This car is like my holy grail and I feel very sorry for you Mark.
Just like this shot of a VOI viper 2006 coupe wreckage. It's a shame.
I hope you will find a way to fix it.

 

[big-n-italian]

Aaron and big-n-italian- I thought the same thing when I got out and looked at it. I figured it was hit pretty hard and knew it was in trouble, but I definetly wasnt thinking totaled. One thing that is deceiving is how twisted the frame is. If you look at a larger image of pic 2 you can see that the top wont line up on all 4 posts. The front right is the worst and seems to miss the catch point by a good 3-4 inches. The frame is indeed quite messed up. The front is unscathed, their is one area where the hood seems to have connected into the door and is actually pushed into it (you can slightly see this in pic 2).

if what you are saying is correct about the frame, then this very well could be a total. the frame could be straightened, but unless the entire frame is straightened "dead-on", nothing will fit right ever again.

add up the time to straighten the frame, re-align everything to fit, paint and bodywork, misc parts, suspension work, etc, etc, etc., then take into consideration the low value of vipers right now - its probably toast. damage costs adds up fast on a car when used headlights cost $500.

 

[DrDJ]

It's time to move on once the frame is messed up.

DrDJ

 

[PDCjonny]

No problem finding a replacement, plenty around.
You go through all the trouble to have it fixed, and it will be yours forever. Vipers are hard enough to resell, imagine the trouble trying to sell one with that history. You'll have to give it away to a private party. No dealer will take it as a trade in.

Caller: Hello, I'm calling about the Viper you have for sale.
You: Great. What would you like to know about it?
Caller: Have any stories? Ever been hit?
You: Yes, but all completely repaired by XYZ body shop.
Caller: Oh. <Click>

Be glad you weren't hurt, and move on.

 

[BOTTLEFED]

Mark, I'm very sorry for you and I'm sure this is very depressing. It seems like such a small mistake and yet you have to pay so much for it.
Sometimes these cars are the most difficult, sensitive cars in the world to drive. I just don't get it.

 

[BOMBOVIPER93]

Mark,

That *****!!!! Man I'm sorry to hear that. You could definatly tell how proud of your new car you were when we met you in Manhattan. I hope you get back on the horse and get another one. I wish i could tell you i dont know how you feel but I did the same exact thing only 3 weeks out of Pharmacy School. My only saving grace was mine was a Chevy! A brand new Z28 with only 1300 miles on it I just picked up the week before. Totalled it the day I took the boards. I was up celebrating in Cape Cod at 4:00am and drove it right into a dead end at about 60 mph hitting a rock a bunch of trees and flipping it on its side. You and I both walked away, consider it a learing experience! Let me know If there is anything I can do for you, or if you want to come with to any events I attend until you get you new one. Shoot me a PM and I'll give you my cell. Take it easy man, thats a serious bummer thats gonna be in your mind for quite some time.

BOMBO

 

[Venomiss]

Look at it in the "glass is always half way full experience."

Now is probably a great time to get a good deal on a Viper with a large selection.
My guess is you will end up with something better and we'll hopefully be reading about it on the forums very soon.
Remember that sometimes the biggest thrill is in the hunt-for a new Viper of course!

 

[viperdude118]

Sorry about your loss.

My sale price just went up another $100 again.

So did your insurance, though maybe only like 0.0000001 of a %.

Sorry to hear about the car, always hate to see another viper go down, glad your okay.

 

[MarkRx]

Thanks for all the kind replies. I figure Ill start my search again come jan/feb. I did always want a black GTS. The red RT was close by and was going for a decent price so I picked it up due to ease and I just couldnt wait any longer to buy a car.

On another note my adjuster came back with a price today. Ill post numbers when check is in hand, but so far things are looking good...

 

[ViperTony]

I got the call while I was at work today. I hope everyone got the right meds today and makes it through the night.

Mark, I see you're in CT. There's one shop in CT that works on Vipers and other high end cars and knows what they are doing. The place is called A & R Body located in Wallingford. Give them a call and talk to Tony. Good for second opinion and may also be able to get you a better payout from your insurance.