Cost of Viper hoods?

[Klayfish]

I'm in the process of looking for a Viper. I called about one and found out that it had a salvage title. That removes my interest in the car, as I don't want to buy a salvage/reconstructed car. He mentioned that it only had damage to the hood and headlights. Out of sheer curiousity, does anyone know what the Vipers' hood costs? I'm a licensed auto appraiser, but when I was appraising cars, I never wrote a Viper. I can't imagine an insurance company totalling a car just because the front sheetmetal is damaged.

Steve

 

[GR8_ASP]

Okay I will bite. If your Vipers "sheetmetal" is damaged I would indeed total it.

I have heard anywhere from 12-15k for a new hood and 5-7k used. Cheap eh? The headlights run over 500 each as well. If the radiator surround is damaged (very likely if the headlamp and hood are) you can be talking well over 20k in total damage.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Depends if it is a Gen I or a Gen II hood. The Gen II hoods are generally more expensive. I have a Gen I hood for sale, am asking $3200 for it. A car can be rebuilt, but it won't be cheap.

 

[Klayfish]

Thanks for the replies. The car I called about was a GenII. Sorry if my post sounded like a fishing expedition. It really wasn't, it just peaked my curiosity. I've seen several Vipers that are listed for sale as "salvage" and the seller claims it was basically just sheetmetal damage. Having appraised many, many cars, I found that very odd. I've written appraisals on new Mercedes and such that have hoods costing about $3000, but I never wrote an exotic like the Viper. So I had no clue what the repair costs would be for front end damage. I guess I can see why they may total the car.

Steve

 

[hemibeep]

yes, can be rebuilt... NOT CHEAP and that is even as a DIY project. I can assure you that will cost at least as much if not more than a car without damage. Of course, my car was probably worse than the car you are looking at.

I modified a GEN 1 hood for my GEN 2. so anything is possible.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I'd be willing to guess that A LOT of totalled Vipers were just due to damage to the hood, bumper and maybe the radiator support

 

[Bonkers]

I've seen several Vipers that are listed for sale as "salvage" and the seller claims it was basically just sheetmetal damage.

GR8 was making a subtle point - there is no real sheetmetal on a viper save the aluminum sills. The front, hood, roof, doors, ect... are all RTM, a composite. The general repair costs of a viper are pretty steep which is why most people tend to shy away from the them. A hood, front fascia, and some headlights can easily punch a $20,000 hole in your pocket - before paint.

But there is another catch - viper has the highest wreck per capita rate amoung any car - offically I think it's 42% but I'd be willing to bet more like 50-55%. Chances are any car you decide on has a genuine 50/50 chance of having once been wrecked with ot without the offical title.

 

[Klayfish]

The car I had been calling about had already been repaired.

Bonkers, you're right, I probably shouldn't have used the term "sheetmetal". I understand that the cars aren't truly metal, it's just the phrase I always use for the outer panels of most cars. I say the same thing when talking about Saturns or Corvettes.

This is very enlightening. Still would be very hesitant about buying a salvage car. Guess it's just the image in my head....
Steve

 

[SylvanSRT]

Autoform make replacements in several versions at a fraction of the OEM

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

But there is another catch - viper has the highest wreck per capita rate amoung any car - offically I think it's 42% but I'd be willing to bet more like 50-55%. Chances are any car you decide on has a genuine 50/50 chance of having once been wrecked with ot without the offical title.

I've always wondered, with so many Vipers being wrecked, why are insurance premiums so "reasonable"? I always figured insurance premiums would be a BIG roadblock in me buying a Viper. When I called and got quotes, even being 23 at the time, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasnt nearly as high as I expected

 

[Asp Man]

"I've always wondered, with so many Vipers being wrecked, why are insurance premiums so "reasonable"? I always figured insurance premiums would be a BIG roadblock in me buying a Viper. When I called and got quotes, even being 23 at the time, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasnt nearly as high as I expected"

Maybe you've got a great driving record??
I know mine was only a couple hundred more a year than my Dakota R/T, and an R/T10 would have been less than the Dak.
Who knows how those #s are figured.

Back to the subject, I passed on a 'fixed' R/T10 when I was looking and I'm soooo glad I did. Again, front end, had "new" hood, nothing fit right, and generaly gave a 'I've been wrecked before" vibe. It was only about 30% less than what I ended up spending on the GTS, but it was sooo worth it.

 

[Magicboy2]

I've always wondered, with so many Vipers being wrecked, why are insurance premiums so "reasonable"?

It's because most of your insurance costs exist to cover medical and hospital bills of you and, if you were at fault, the other party, in the event of a catastrophic accident.

A (relatively) small portion of your bill is for covering the car itself. This portion, the collision and comprehensive premiums, are likely higher than a "normal" car. On my policy from allstate, the collision and comprehensive portions on the Viper are 2x those of my Maxima.

 

[big-n-italian]

<< I have heard anywhere from 12-15k for a new hood and 5-7k used. Cheap eh? >>

PLUS the cost to completely refinish, PLUS the cost to reassemble the little things like both speaker grilles and hood pad, PLUS the cost to replace emblems, PLUS the cost to install and align hood, PLUS the cost the gap the hood to the nose, etc.

<< The headlights run over 500 each >>

PLUS the cost to adjust the headlights, PLUS the cost to gap the headlights to the hood, PLUS the cost to install, PLUS, ..... well you get the idea.

 

[Knight Viper]

From the 05 Daimlerchrysler crash estimating data issue;
HOODS
92-93= $4,775
93-94= $7,850
95-96= $7,800
97-98= $15,475
GTS 96-98= $14,910
All 99-02= $18,450
HEADLAMP
92-95 R&L= $649
96-02 R&L= $632
If you took it to a body shop this is about what you will pay they get about 30% off of that price. If you want any other #$ I do have the book.

 

[Klayfish]

Matt is right on. What scares the insurance company most and raises rates is the cost of liability. They're more afraid of the $100,000 or $1,000,000 they'll have to pay out for the person the Viper driver hits than the $50,000 or so they'll pay out for the car itself. That's one of the reasons that many insurance companies stopped writing the Cobra replicas that I owned. Too many liability losses, including fatalities.

Those are some expensive parts! I'd imagine it takes a special body shop to be able to fix the Viper right.

Steve

 

[QUICKV10]

For a 99-02 dodge viper the cost for a new hood painted and installed is $20,868.68 plus the side emblems. the hood alone is $19,010.00 emblems are around 100.00 apiece

Cost to install a headlamp 819.00 total, but just the lamp is $652.00

ofcourse different years there are different prices and these are the updated prices for these oem parts, if a car like this is hit in the front end there would be alot more parts then just a hood and light

 

[radta7]

Buy the parts through Partsrack. Jon is about 25-40% give or take less than the numbers posted.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

What's the difference between a '92 and '94 hood? Or a '96 vs. '97?

 

[big-n-italian]

naca duct and vents over front tires for starters. i am sure there are alot more finer details.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

OK, I got myself confused about RT hoods not having ducts, but they eventually did. But what about the '92-'94 difference - both are smoothies.

HOODS
92-93= $4,775
93-94= $7,850
95-96= $7,800
97-98= $15,475
GTS 96-98= $14,910
All 99-02= $18,450

 

[ViperJoe]

I tell folks 20k for the hood 12k for a pair of side sills


And folks wonder why the insurance companies total a car for just "small" incursions off road or into a stationary object!

They look at the total of the parts etc and then use the NADA for valuation which we all know is a freakin joke for the condition and the real world price / valuation of our cars

 

[pdmracing]

But why is the insurance so cheep? its 1/2 of what my vette used to cost.

 

[mit]

my theory is that all of our accidents are one car accidents with no medical payouts. That's what they worry about moreso than the cost of our hoods and side sills.

What I want to know is why someone doesn't start producing hoods and side sills. A high quality aftermarket hood would sold at $12K would still leave a lot of profit for someone who wanted to build the mold.

 

[Saint_Spinner]

my theory is that all of our accidents are one car accidents with no medical payouts. That's what they worry about moreso than the cost of our hoods and side sills.

What I want to know is why someone doesn't start producing hoods and side sills. A high quality aftermarket hood would sold at $12K would still leave a lot of profit for someone who wanted to build the mold.

They have. As mentioned above, Autoform has replica hoods at a fraction of the price of the OEM one.

 

[DodgeViper01]

I've seen several Vipers that are listed for sale as "salvage" and the seller claims it was basically just sheetmetal damage.

GR8 was making a subtle point - there is no real sheetmetal on a viper save the aluminum sills. The front, hood, roof, doors, ect... are all RTM, a composite. The general repair costs of a viper are pretty steep which is why most people tend to shy away from the them. A hood, front fascia, and some headlights can easily punch a $20,000 hole in your pocket - before paint.

But there is another catch - viper has the highest wreck per capita rate amoung any car - offically I think it's 42% but I'd be willing to bet more like 50-55%. Chances are any car you decide on has a genuine 50/50 chance of having once been wrecked with ot without the offical title.

I knew the rate was high, but that number even shocked me. WOW!

 

[RedEnuf93]

What I want to know is why someone doesn't start producing hoods and side sills. A high quality aftermarket hood would sold at $12K would still leave a lot of profit for someone who wanted to build the mold.

USEXOTICS is producing vented custom hoods or original hoods. They are around $ 6500, handlaid fiberglass, NOT sprayed. I am very happy with Roger's quality!

Lauri

 

[Bonkers]

I've always wondered, with so many Vipers being wrecked, why are insurance premiums so "reasonable"?

I've always thought to myself that its because most vipers are totaled up front. There's little hassle, no driver down-time, no rental or paperwork headache, just crash, claim, check...