I just returned from VOI. 11 and if you didn’t go you missed a great event. Thank you to Chris and Mary Marshall for all of your hard work. After driving all day on Wednesday from the Bay Area I washed my 2000 GTS and put her to bed for the night.
When I started the car the next morning I had a check engine light come on which concerned me. I called the VOI desk to see if a local dealer or shop could look at the car and was told that there were no affiliations with any local repair facilities that they could recommend. They did suggest calling one of two well known Viper experts who were in town to see if they could look at the car. One was at the track and unavailable but the other, Dan Cragin of DC Performance in Southern California, answered his phone and told me that it was probably not too serious but that he would be happy to look at the car that evening after dinner.
I ran into Dan after dinner and we went down to the garage together. When we tried to open the car the remote would not work so we had to enter from the rear. Dan got in the car and tried to read the code from the dash but the car had gone into shut down mode and would not give him a code or start. At that point up walked another Good Samaritan, Bill Sand, from Washington. Bill asked us what was going on and we explained. He said he had a code reader in his room and went up to get it for us. Bill also loaned me the wrench necessary to disconnect the battery to see if that would reset the alarm system. I should also mention that we got some phone consulting from Eddie Martin of Arizona which was also a big help. This was all going on between 11PM and midnight and not once did Dan look at his watch or try to leave my side. Eventually we got the alarm reset and the code read and reset. Now it is midnight and Dan is still with me making sure I do not have a car that will be a problem on the 725 mile drive home or over the next few days of VOI.
Over the next few days Dan stayed in touch with me to see if the car was operating properly which it was. I know that Dan had many other things he would rather have been doing but without a single moan or groan he stayed by my side like a true friend even though we had never met until Thursday at VOI. I should also mention that I tried to compensate Dan for his time and he refused. I also tried to send him a gift card to his favorite LA restaurant and he also refused that gesture. IMHO Dan Cragin is a very special individual and if you live in So. Cal and do not have your Viper serviced by Dan you are doing yourself and your Viper a disservice. If I have any major work that needs to be done I will drive or ship the car to LA to see Dan Cragin. Thank you Dan for taking such good care of me and my Viper. YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!
When I started the car the next morning I had a check engine light come on which concerned me. I called the VOI desk to see if a local dealer or shop could look at the car and was told that there were no affiliations with any local repair facilities that they could recommend. They did suggest calling one of two well known Viper experts who were in town to see if they could look at the car. One was at the track and unavailable but the other, Dan Cragin of DC Performance in Southern California, answered his phone and told me that it was probably not too serious but that he would be happy to look at the car that evening after dinner.
I ran into Dan after dinner and we went down to the garage together. When we tried to open the car the remote would not work so we had to enter from the rear. Dan got in the car and tried to read the code from the dash but the car had gone into shut down mode and would not give him a code or start. At that point up walked another Good Samaritan, Bill Sand, from Washington. Bill asked us what was going on and we explained. He said he had a code reader in his room and went up to get it for us. Bill also loaned me the wrench necessary to disconnect the battery to see if that would reset the alarm system. I should also mention that we got some phone consulting from Eddie Martin of Arizona which was also a big help. This was all going on between 11PM and midnight and not once did Dan look at his watch or try to leave my side. Eventually we got the alarm reset and the code read and reset. Now it is midnight and Dan is still with me making sure I do not have a car that will be a problem on the 725 mile drive home or over the next few days of VOI.
Over the next few days Dan stayed in touch with me to see if the car was operating properly which it was. I know that Dan had many other things he would rather have been doing but without a single moan or groan he stayed by my side like a true friend even though we had never met until Thursday at VOI. I should also mention that I tried to compensate Dan for his time and he refused. I also tried to send him a gift card to his favorite LA restaurant and he also refused that gesture. IMHO Dan Cragin is a very special individual and if you live in So. Cal and do not have your Viper serviced by Dan you are doing yourself and your Viper a disservice. If I have any major work that needs to be done I will drive or ship the car to LA to see Dan Cragin. Thank you Dan for taking such good care of me and my Viper. YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!
