New Guy Question

[jav8or]

Hello All!


Im looking to be in the Viper Market in about 9-12 Months. The reason for the wait is that I only have $30K Cash to spend at the moment. I have found a couple of Vipers that fit what I am looking for (96-02 GTS, Not Red, Yellow or Silver) for around 35-37.5K. But I am suspicous about these deals. This site has been an enourmous help, but are these prices normal or suspicous for the Viper I am looking for.

Here is the Criteria:
GTS
Anything below 40,000mi
Not Red, Yellow, Silver
Mostly Stock
Clean CarFax

Thanks for any help guys, hope to be in the club soon!

 

[Slithr]

Your range seems reasonable, but probably closer to the 37.5 part. A really clean, low mileage '99 just sold for ~38k (but it was silver). Good Luck with your search, that's part of the fun, I'm sure th right one will come along as you look. If you had said high 20's or low 30's you'd have to be really careful, but regardless before you buy any Viper .... have it inspected by a trustworthy source.

 

[jav8or]

Your range seems reasonable, but probably closer to the 37.5 part. A really clean, low mileage '99 just sold for ~38k (but it was silver). Good Luck with your search, that's part of the fun, I'm sure th right one will come along as you look. If you had said high 20's or low 30's you'd have to be really careful, but regardless before you buy any Viper .... have it inspected by a trustworthy source.

Its funny you say that, but now that the wife has given me the go ahead, the "WAITING" feels like its the worse part. Haha. I found one for sale at Exotic Motors for $37.9K, but there seem to be some issues (maybe minor) with the carFax.

 

[Slithr]

Be careful in your trust of CarFax .... not worth the paper it's written on! Granted a good CarFax is better than a bad one, but trust niether. (Don't ask how I know ). Ideally you could've began your search at the start of Winter vs. coming into Spring .... there could be that Spring bump in price. Don't lose the faith, you're day will come just keep saving those pennies.

 

[DrTaco]

$35-$40kish is a good range for a nice car. You should be able to find something good in the coming year. Maybe in the meantime, to help pass the time, you can start to narrow down the year and features you really want? ABS? Interior? special editions? Plus, remember to budget money for new tires and fluids.


Good luck.

 

[jav8or]

$35-$40kish is a good range for a nice car. You should be able to find something good in the coming year. Maybe in the meantime, to help pass the time, you can start to narrow down the year and features you really want? ABS? Interior? special editions?

Good luck.

The only reason I would want a specific year would be for a color choice. ABS and Forged Internals aren't a need for me, especially since I won't be modifying at all.

Nice car by the way!

 

[Knight Viper]

I've seen some very nice Vipers sell in that range, you have time to do your homework and be patient with your search to be able to narrow down what you are really looking for or to be able to jump on a great deal when it rolls around, and that is to your advantage. You’re searching for a Gen II Viper, same as I was, and I chose to go with an 01-02 to have ABS as it was easier to modify the motor and add forged internals (wanted to build the motor anyway) then to add ABS.. If you are looking to keep the motor NA than 01-02 would be a great choice. The oo car does not have ABS (01-present) or forged pistons (92-99) so usually not the first pick of buyers. Read and search as much as you can on hear and you will learn a lot and that is priceless when looking/buying your first Viper.
Good luck and enjoy the hunt/addiction !!
KV

 

[jav8or]

I've seen some very nice Vipers sell in that range, you have time to do your homework and be patient with your search to be able to narrow down what you are really looking for or to be able to jump on a great deal when it rolls around, and that is to your advantage. You’re searching for a Gen II Viper, same as I was, and I chose to go with an 01-02 to have ABS as it was easier to modify the motor and add forged internals (wanted to build the motor anyway) then to add ABS.. If you are looking to keep the motor NA than 01-02 would be a great choice. The oo car does not have ABS (01-present) or forged pistons (92-99) so usually not the first pick of buyers. Read and search as much as you can on hear and you will learn a lot and that is priceless when looking/buying your first Viper.
Good luck and enjoy the hunt/addiction !!
KV

Thanks for the thorough response. I don't want to modify any Viper I own. So Forged internals arent a neccessity for me. However, I do like the Charcoal color that was available in the later years.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Be careful in your trust of CarFax .... not worth the paper it's written on! Granted a good CarFax is better than a bad one, but trust niether. (Don't ask how I know ). Ideally you could've began your search at the start of Winter vs. coming into Spring .... there could be that Spring bump in price. Don't lose the faith, you're day will come just keep saving those pennies.

X2. I bought my car with a clean carfax in 2002.....in 2007 (five, count-em, five years later) the carfax was updated to show an accident that occurred in 2001!!!!!! A clean carfax doesn't mean what you hope it means. If the carfax shows something, its usually reliable but if its clean, don't trust it without other data sources.

 

[jav8or]

X2. I bought my car with a clean carfax in 2002.....in 2007 (five, count-em, five years later) the carfax was updated to show an accident that occurred in 2001!!!!!! A clean carfax doesn't mean what you hope it means. If the carfax shows something, its usually reliable but if its clean, don't trust it without other data sources.

Sorry to hear that. Was the damage done noticeable?

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

X2. I bought my car with a clean carfax in 2002.....in 2007 (five, count-em, five years later) the carfax was updated to show an accident that occurred in 2001!!!!!! A clean carfax doesn't mean what you hope it means. If the carfax shows something, its usually reliable but if its clean, don't trust it without other data sources.

That's really not fair at all to you. You may have bought regardless or yo may have passed... but this way you had no choice in a large investment. Is there any way to rectify those records or are you screwed?

Sorry to hear that. Was the damage done noticeable?

Obiviously not since he was surprised by it years later.
Good luck on your search. Sounds like you know exactly what you want

 

[jav8or]

Good luck on your search. Sounds like you know exactly what you want [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the well wishes. At this stage, its hard not to hop on the fist deal that comes my way, take out a ridiculous loan and start to order my VCA gear, lol!

 

[GTS Warp]

Our '97 GTS (red w/stripes) had 20K on the clock when we got it last April for $31K. Had it inspected on site and transported here within 10 days of when we found it. I know it's not your color (charcoal is sweet). The first one you find may also be THE one. Only you will know. Keep us posted. We're going to add a sapphire w/stripes to the stable once the extra garage is done.

 

[DrTaco]

I know you're still a few months off, but I made a checklist of things to look for when I was on my GTS search. It helped me out, so maybe it will help you too. I'm actually updating it now after actually becoming an owner, but maybe it will help you in the coming months. Just pay attention to the entire thread, and what some of the senior members brought up that should be added.

Let me know if you'd like an updated version when it's ready.

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/648082-GTS-Checklist?highlight=checklist

 

[jav8or]

Our '97 GTS (red w/stripes) had 20K on the clock when we got it last April for $31K. Had it inspected on site and transported here within 10 days of when we found it. I know it's not your color (charcoal is sweet). The first one you find may also be THE one. Only you will know. Keep us posted. We're going to add a sapphire w/stripes to the stable once the extra garage is done.

For that kind of deal, I would have taken the Red as well! She looks great by the way.

 

[jav8or]

I know you're still a few months off, but I made a checklist of things to look for when I was on my GTS search. It helped me out, so maybe it will help you too. I'm actually updating it now after actually becoming an owner, but maybe it will help you in the coming months. Just pay attention to the entire thread, and what some of the senior members brought up that should be added.

Let me know if you'd like an updated version when it's ready.

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/648082-GTS-Checklist?highlight=checklist

Hey DrTaco!

Your checklist was first thing I downloaded from this site. Thank You for creating it. It certainly helped get my bearings in the Viper world. Are there any other things that I should look out for that are specific to Viper GTSs?

 

[plumcrazy]

you wont have any problems finding one at that price

 

[moparracing]

if you're patient, you'll find what you want, found lots of good ones in the autotrader...

i was looking for over a year & wasn't really thinking a red one, but i couldn't pass this one up:

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/639471-well-finally-found-one........

 

[jav8or]

if you're patient, you'll find what you want, found lots of good ones in the autotrader...

i was looking for over a year & wasn't really thinking a red one, but i couldn't pass this one up:

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/639471-well-finally-found-one........

I don't normally curse, but DAMN! Again, I WOULD pick that one up for that price. Why was the owner selling so low? Beautiful car, maybe Red isnt as bad as I thought. Just not the color I have always dreamed of having.... Might be having second thoughts though.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Sorry to hear that. Was the damage done noticeable?

Not really BUT now the car has the Carfax "history" of a crash. Its academic for me because I'll probably keep the car forever......just wanted folks to know about how ****** Carfax is when it comes to these things. Especially if you may want to sell/trade up in a few years....do not count on Carfax!

 

[jav8or]

Not really BUT now the car has the Carfax "history" of a crash. Its academic for me because I'll probably keep the car forever......just wanted folks to know about how ****** Carfax is when it comes to these things. Especially if you may want to sell/trade up in a few years....do not count on Carfax!

noted, thanks

 

[moparracing]

I don't normally curse, but DAMN! Again, I WOULD pick that one up for that price. Why was the owner selling so low? Beautiful car, maybe Red isnt as bad as I thought. Just not the color I have always dreamed of having.... Might be having second thoughts though.

he had run onto some hard financial times, was selling his house too......

 

[jav8or]

he had run onto some hard financial times, was selling his house too......

Ouch, that *****

 

[scottmarston]

I shopped around for a good six months before getting my ‘95. I was looking during the hysteresis of the great housing market collapse and the $4.00 gas hike…I’m pretty sure it was right in the middle of the “cash for clunkers”. I was about to pull the trigger on a lime green Viper (yuck)…then my firm started laying people off so I sheathed my money till things quieted down.

After the coast was clear, I found a red one in Texas, but the trip didn’t fit in my schedule. So I turned my head back to California and Oregon. I’m not sure what it was, but the West coast was a veritable Viper “short sale”…lots of folks panicking. I eventually found one in Sacramento straight out of Craig’s list. It was black with dark gray stripes and the pictures weren’t very good, but the plane ticket was cheap and I couldn’t stand waiting for the test drive any longer. The long and short of it is, I was already signing the paper work in my head once I saw it coming to pick me up from the airport. I spent $24,400 and it had 17k miles on it. My opinion, you shouldn’t have ANY problem finding a quality snake meeting your criteria. Take your time and find what you want because it’s out there…I’m extremely glad I didn’t choose to go with the lime green one.

 

[jav8or]

I shopped around for a good six months before getting my ‘95. I was looking during the hysteresis of the great housing market collapse and the $4.00 gas hike…I’m pretty sure it was right in the middle of the “cash for clunkers”. I was about to pull the trigger on a lime green Viper (yuck)…then my firm started laying people off so I sheathed my money till things quieted down.

After the coast was clear, I found a red one in Texas, but the trip didn’t fit in my schedule. So I turned my head back to California and Oregon. I’m not sure what it was, but the West coast was a veritable Viper “short sale”…lots of folks panicking. I eventually found one in Sacramento straight out of Craig’s list. It was black with dark gray stripes and the pictures weren’t very good, but the plane ticket was cheap and I couldn’t stand waiting for the test drive any longer. The long and short of it is, I was already signing the paper work in my head once I saw it coming to pick me up from the airport. I spent $24,400 and it had 17k miles on it. My opinion, you shouldn’t have ANY problem finding a quality snake meeting your criteria. Take your time and find what you want because it’s out there…I’m extremely glad I didn’t choose to go with the lime green one.

I feel like I have had a few "Lime Green" moments as well. As I am in Florida, I have been hoping not to have to fly out to WA or something, but if the right deal comes along, I will be ready to pack my bags!

 

[CEJ]

Do you have a copy of the Viper Buyer's Guide by Maurice Liang? That is a must-read before you buy. Loaded with info. You can buy them directly from Maurice.

 

[jav8or]

Do you have a copy of the Viper Buyer's Guide by Maurice Liang? That is a must-read before you buy. Loaded with info. You can buy them directly from Maurice.

I don't have it. Is it really that good?

 

[GTS Warp]

jav8or thx. I was originally looking for that sapphire blue but the reds are way more available. I was gonna fly out, but I was comfortable with the dealer and the inspection service. It also had a clean carfax, but that doesn't mean it's perfect, as you've read here. I paid for an open trailer shipper and got an enclosed for no extra charge (saved $$$). Even if red isn't your first pick, you'll soon realize how special these beasts are. Vettes are a dime a dozen and Vipers are rare. Join a club and get a few on the road and people go nuts! The old '81 Vette hasn't seen a day on the road since.

 

[jav8or]

jav8or thx. I was originally looking for that sapphire blue but the reds are way more available. I was gonna fly out, but I was comfortable with the dealer and the inspection service. It also had a clean carfax, but that doesn't mean it's perfect, as you've read here. I paid for an open trailer shipper and got an enclosed for no extra charge (saved $$$). Even if red isn't your first pick, you'll soon realize how special these beasts are. Vettes are a dime a dozen and Vipers are rare. Join a club and get a few on the road and people go nuts! The old '81 Vette hasn't seen a day on the road since.

You found a DEALERSHIP selling a GTS for $31K? Again, very impressive!

 

[GTS Warp]

Yup they wanted $35K and I knocked it down a bit. I saw 2 more in the low 30's within a month of buying mine (again both red, low miles). Right around tax time last year.