A bad day...

[Andrew/USPWR]

I know the feeling, and any other car you might not feel as bad, but your Viper . It hurts. Glad to hear you walked away though.

Don't write it off if can. These things are getting rarer by the day.

 

[Viper Scot]

If it is written off then I think I'd like to buy it back and see if I can rebuild it. It would be an interesting project and it's still got a good N/A engine with good power figures. I spent too much on the engine to just let it go for scrap...

 

[mike & juli]

The thing is that I was driving considerably slower than I normally would and I still lost it. I would obviously emphasise the care required in driving these cars in anything less than perfect conditions. I never would take the car out in the wet normally and I only did it yesterday as I had to move my car from my folk's garage to the new house I've just bought about 90 miles away. Yesterday was the only day I was free to make the journey for some weeks. I had reservations about the journey which were, sadly, realised.

So very sorry to hear about the Viper...but glad that YOU were not hurt. Boy, once you get those 'gut' feelings, you really learn to listen to them. Let us know how things go. A car is a car is a car...as Kelly said, a dead Viper is just a car, a dead body...well that cannot be replaced. Good luck to you.
~juli

 

[v10kingsnake]

dang man. Looks aweful for only a 30mph impact!!! Glad your ok, the car CAN be replaced, YOU CAN'T.

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

Ouch. The pics are brutal. Just wait until you get the bill for the bridge!

Rebuild it!

 

[rcl4668]

Sorry to hear that but glad you're ok.

 

[FinalEd357]

Thank God you're alright. Sorry about the car.

 

[Viper Scot]

I've just got some information from the insurance assessors - estimated cost of repair is £37k (about $76k)! Nearly £11k (about $22k) for the hood alone!! And I don't think those prices will include tax at 17.5%!! I know they've got to go for original parts for an insurance claim but this seems ridiculous - high quality after market parts are a fraction of the cost and would prevent a rare and classic car getting broken for parts. And they don't appear too keen to allow me to buy it back salvage...

 

[GTS Dean]

Depending on how extensive the frame damage is, it could very well be fixed just fine.

Why do Vipers always get smashed in the front end?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

And they don't appear too keen to allow me to buy it back salvage...

Contact JohnB NOW! So very sorry to hear of your misfortune I bought a 1:43 version of your car this week on Ebay, it really is one of the better looking color combos.

 

[Viper Scot]

Excuse my ignorance but who is JohnB?

 

[Neil - UK]

Excuse my ignorance but who is JohnB?

your kidding right, you owned the viper in CA, use this forum, and you ain't heard of JonB ?

Online Shopping - Home

over here there isnt a need for gen1 parts as there arent many about, the hoods have dropped in price then ! about 10 years ago a gen1 hood was over £13.5K +VAT from Chyrsler.

if you want to repair you need to keep pestering your insurance until you break them, i know of a viper here that was a lot worse accident damaged and the owner succeeded in buying it back and saved it, quite an expense and effort though i'd imagine even with replica body panels

 

[mike & juli]

Excuse my ignorance but who is JohnB?

partsrack.com--if it fits on or in a Viper--JonB has got it!!! That's who JonB is~~call him up, he's GREAT to chat with and very very knowledgeable about Vipers...VERY enthusiastic!
~juli

 

[Viper Scot]

your kidding right, you owned the viper in CA, use this forum, and you ain't heard of JonB ?

Online Shopping - Home

over here there isnt a need for gen1 parts as there arent many about, the hoods have dropped in price then ! about 10 years ago a gen1 hood was over £13.5K +VAT from Chyrsler.

if you want to repair you need to keep pestering your insurance until you break them, i know of a viper here that was a lot worse accident damaged and the owner succeeded in buying it back and saved it, quite an expense and effort though i'd imagine even with replica body panels

Price for hood is now only £10.6K +VAT! Had no reason to buy parts for car when I was in CA, hence JohnB is not known to me. Same guy who makes Stetson hats?

 

[Venomiss]

Price for hood is now only £10.6K +VAT! Had no reason to buy parts for car when I was in CA, hence JohnB is not known to me. Same guy who makes Stetson hats?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Venomiss
Hey Jon, can you tell people here and on this thread what VCA discounts they can get by being a member?

VCA membership
(limit is asking)

Thanks Jon...and Dan from our KC club loves his tires!

Sorry to bother you on a Monday.....

VENOMISS just becuz U asked I made a lengthy reply on the linked thread. Thanks for asking:

VENOMISS asked me to reply, so here goes: "will I be seeing some of my money come back?" Great Question and easy answer; HELLL YESSSSS.

Some vendors allow discounts to VCA members. Example: PartsRack allows 22% off to the world, but 25% off most new Dodge Service Parts to VCA members. We allow an extra $50 off CORSA and an extra $75 off Belanger to VCA. Our local dealer here allows a lower LABOR rate, as well as well as a parts discount. Your local club can tell you about local discounts. Thats the short $$ answer.

VCA members get a whole host of other tangible and intangible benefits. Exclusive Auctions; Raffles; Web Forums and tech suport; VCA Notes; Occasional coupon deals; THIS VERY SITE that you all love and use is FREE TO ALL HERE because of the VCA. Please Join.

But the reason JonB wants you to join is NOT because I want to dilute our profit!

The simple and honest reason I want you to join is this: THE VCA MATTERS. The true founders had a vision to create a club with an "IMPACT on the ownership experience."

THE MANUFACTURER SANCTIONS THIS CLUB ! From Before Day 1.
THE MANUFACTURER CATERS TO MEMBERS, ME INCLUDED. You TOO!
THE MANUFACTURER HOLDS OUR COLLECTIVE OPINIONS IN HIGH REGARD.
THE MANUFACTURER SEEKS OUR OPINIONS IN DEVELOPING FUTURE PRODUCTS.
THE MANUFACTURER ENGINEER TEAM LOVES OUR CAR = to OR MORE THAN WE DO.
WITH YOU AS A MEMBER WE HAVE MORE CLOUT. VCA NEEDS a LARGER % of OWNERS.

Please Join. For a Viper owner, the wealth of knowledge (and instant access to it) on this site ALONE is worth the dues. Your generous fellow owners make it so. So DONT BE A FREELOADER. Help to make it better by joining.

If I turned this into a PBS Telethon Im not apologizing. Sneaky Hint: Join VCA '08 NOW (or by 12/31) and beat the $15 '08 dues increase. And get Nov-Dec 2007 for FREE!

(Just like with CELL PHONE companies, only new customers get the best deals......)
__________________
JonB-PartsRack
If It Fits On or In A Viper, PartsRack Probably Has It.
8am-5pm Pacific 360.837.3937. Thanks
Online Shopping - Home

This is JonB and membership can be helpful

 

[AFL in NJ]

Viper Scot,

Sorry to hear about your accident, very glad to hear you're okay. There are a few places that specialize in new/used Viper Parts and JonB from partsrack.com is amazing! I'd look into getting a quote for the parts from him and possibly others such as X2 Builders and Don Scharf Automotive and have your insurance company speak with JonB personally if at all possible.

With the damage I see in the pictures, your Viper is very repairable....not cheap, but very repairable. I actually picked up a 2nd hood on ebay that I keep in my garage in case something like this ever happens to me. The expensive parts are the hood, bumper reinforcement and some of the inner fender items....the rad, suspension parts and even frame sections can be bought and sold quite cheaply.

Trust us on this one...call JonB, he's great to work with and even if you or your insurance company choose to walk away from your baby, at least you won't regret doing all that you could.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[DodgeViper01]

Sorry to hear about that. Those pictures are pretty bad but I am glad that you are okay.

 

[Viper Scot]

I've spoken to the insurers and they insist on breaking the car. They've legally classed it as a 'breaker' which means it can't go back on the road. Apparently the chassis is badly twisted and the engine has been forced into the bulkhead. The chassis will now be cut up

 

[Freddog11]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I hate to see another white and blue go away.

 

[GTS Dean]

I've spoken to the insurers and they insist on breaking the car. They've legally classed it as a 'breaker' which means it can't go back on the road. Apparently the chassis is badly twisted and the engine has been forced into the bulkhead. The chassis will now be cut up

Buy it back and part it out.

 

[Viper Scot]

Buy it back and part it out.

That's what I want to do but I think the insurance assessor realises they've got a fairly big pay-out one way of another and have written off the car to recoup some of their loss my splitting it for parts. I think I'd pay a hefty sum to buy it back for salvage. They're saying the chassis is damaged beyond repair but, knowing how simple the chassis is, it can't be that hard to fix. It doesn't seem fair that this car will get cut up when it doesn't need to. They are an endangered species!

 

[PKH2552]

Did they give it a Category C or B Scot?
Mine was classified as a Cat B (beyond economical repair), bought it from a guy who had purchased it from the insurance company, tried to fix it up himself but failed miserably by not getting to this website, ever. £7.7k later, some valuable hours from some (now) very good friends & top class suppliers (inc Jon B, Chuck, Colin, Neil, Baz, Nadine & Paul Scharfe), lots of time & advice from UK & US members, and hey presto, back on the road in 2007, and lovin every minute.

 

[ViperTony]

Sorry to hear this Viper Scot...at least you walked away from it and that's what matters. I hope your insurance company treats you fairly and you're back in a Viper soon.

 

[Viper Scot]

Did they give it a Category C or B Scot?
Mine was classified as a Cat B (beyond economical repair), bought it from a guy who had purchased it from the insurance company, tried to fix it up himself but failed miserably by not getting to this website, ever. £7.7k later, some valuable hours from some (now) very good friends & top class suppliers (inc Jon B, Chuck, Colin, Neil, Baz, Nadine & Paul Scharfe), lots of time & advice from UK & US members, and hey presto, back on the road in 2007, and lovin every minute.

I'm not sure of the classification but I don't think 'it's betond economical repair' (although it is from the estimate of £37k!). The guy was saying the chassis is so badly damaged that they're considering it unsuitable for repair (i.e., it would be dangerous if it was put back on the road). I don't believe that as I didn't hit the wall that hard. I think they're just wanting to recoup soom money by breaking the remainder of the car (most of it's fine) for parts. It's a shame to see it go in such a way

 

[bth1]

My sympathies from another 96 W/B owner.

 

[Nadine UK GTS]

Hi Hamish, check your PM's on here...for offer of some help and advice (from experience!) with the UK insurance and saving your snake.

 

[Venomiss]

Let us know what happens. Fingers crossed you get another one!

 

[InjectTheVenom]

I'm not sure of the classification but I don't think 'it's betond economical repair' (although it is from the estimate of £37k!). The guy was saying the chassis is so badly damaged that they're considering it unsuitable for repair (i.e., it would be dangerous if it was put back on the road). I don't believe that as I didn't hit the wall that hard. I think they're just wanting to recoup soom money by breaking the remainder of the car (most of it's fine) for parts. It's a shame to see it go in such a way

I really hope you are not letting those money hungry ******** talk you into what they are planning, and I also hope that the help from everyone on here will be of good help to ya!