First Viper test drive

[rcdice]

On Saturday April 14 I drove a Viper for the first time in my life, what a thrill. I've been researching the car for sometime now and decided to take a drive out to an area dealer that I know regularly deals in Vipers. After a lengthy discussion with a sales rep he asked "have you every driven one"? I said no. Within about 20 minutes we were out in a 01 yellow RT/10 (exactly what I want) with all of 35 miles on the odometer. My one word summation of that drive is, WOW! I now know that I don't just want one, I need one. If someone can convince my wife of the same thing I would be gratful.

Bob

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Bob -

With the wife, here are a few "selling points" for her:

5. If she ever wanted to see what it would be like to be a movie star, this car will do it. She will get more stares and waves than Julia Roberts in a parade.

4. If she isn't crazy about the attention, the car has the ability to quickly ****** you away from the throngs. A nice trip through the countryside with the roof off is one of the most enjoyable things you will ever do.

3. The car is pretty easy to drive as long as you keep the right foot in control. My wife drives our GTS pretty often and is definitely NOT a car person. She really enjoys it and found it easy to pick up driving a stick after a ten year absence of doing so.

2. You can promise that you aren't going to go through the typical male "new car fever" every year or so as long as the Viper is in the garage.

1. Does your wife like a little quiet time to herself now and then? NO PROBLEM! Just tell her, "Honey, I'm going to go put a couple more break-in miles on the Viper" Just be sure to call if it is longer than five hours...

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Chris

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Bob -

The other thing I would suggest is that this is probably THE best time to buy a new Viper. Many of the dealers have the 01's in stock and are discounting them to clean up the inventory. I would guess that the 02's will be a short run to retool the line for the '03 builds. That, and as the last year for the original body style (both RT/10 and GTS), the 02's will probably be snapped up before they can be discounted much. If you wait for an '03, you may as well wait for an '04 or later - I hear that there is standing-room-only on the wait lists for an '03 and that being a current Viper owner may give you first dibs on a new one. Don't expect many discounts if you do manage to find one at some remote dealership like Ralph Wiggum Dodge in Barrow, Alaska...

Bottom line is that this is the time to buy a new Viper in the current body style. I don't know if your dealer is offering any discounts, but there are SEVERAL site sponsors here that are awesome to deal with and will deliver that yellow RT/10 right to your door. I bought my GTS from Bill Pemberton at Woodhouse (1-800-889-1893) and it was the best car buying experience I have ever had. Great price too!

Be sure to let me know if you need more "ammo"...

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Chris

 

[DRYVEM]

Whenever I buy a car, I always buy it for my wife, this way she never says no! Word of warning: this method tends to lead to more cars than can fit into the garage.
BTW - I would rather live in a crappy house if it meant I could have 1 more cool car!
Martin

 

[Vreracing]

I agree with the thought of it saving money. I've had the lowest desire for a new car since owning the Viper than I have ever had in the past.

Its fun to look through the ads in Autoweek and think that you could get a Ferrari or Porsche Turbo or what ever.

Now, with the Viper, everything else just seems like it would be a step down.

There's only one thing worse than getting too much attention with the Viper and thats driving a car where you get no attention at all. What's the use of living if you can't have a sense of style to you.

Here's coming right at you.

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[2BADD 4U]

Those test drives at 120 mph and wot thru the gears doesn't sound like it's doing the engine any good, since there is a strict break-in period,on those engines. 2500 rpm for the first 200 miles amd 3000 for the next, 3500 for the next 200 miles and so on . I know of a guy who didn't adhere to the break-in 0n a new 01 rt/10 and blew the motor in 3 hours. For whatever it's worth.

 

[rcdice]

Chris

I'm working on her. She hasn't said never, just not now. In all honesty we have a lot of work going on at our house right now. Inside renovations, new pool being installed along with "major" landscaping, etc, etc. While I wouldn't call her a car person, by any stretch, she does like to drive. She/we bought a new Lexus IS300 last August. (Blk/Blk, spoiler, 17" alloys, tint) Her ONLY complaint (she drives it everyday) is that it ISN'T a manual. I believe a manual tran. will be offered for the 02 model.

You say the Viper attracts attention? I experienced it for the first time at the dealer. This Chrysler/Dodge dealer is also an authorized Lamborghini dealer. Additionally, they regularly stock other high end performance cars. On the lot there were five Vipers, 6-7 Vetts, 4-5 Lambos, a few porsche, 2 Lotus and a few other odds and ends. All of the performance cars were in the same general area. The entire time I was there (approx. 1.5 hours), there was a crowd of people around the Vipers. The faces kept changing, but they were always looking at the Vipers. I can honestly say that except for a few looks at the Lambos, the other cars were ignored. Very, very exciting!

Bob

 

[ViperRon]

Your are lucky, I have owwned a couple of Vipers and have recently thought about a new one and as of yet not one has ever let me drive one before I paid for it. Maybe it's my reputation. I got to drive the Shelby 1 prototype in Las Vegas a couple of years ago and the guy keep hollering " this is a million dollar prototype" PS I like my old 94 better than I did the Shelby.

 

[rcdice]

345BhpLS1 from Centerville. Yep, Marrysville OH is right. BTW, I'm from Centerville, K-12. My parents still live there. I didn't expect to be offered a test drive. He asked and my response was something calm like "what exactly does that entail?" Thinking that they were going to pull the "you have to buy it first, if you don't like the test drive we'll tear up the paperwork" routine. Of course, inside I was screeming "lets go baby"! Very simple, basic info and we were off. I had my wallet in my car. I offered to go get it and he said don't worry about it. Never even saw my license.

RE: breakin miles. I was concerned about that too. This car had 35 miles on it. Jake (sales rep) drove first, through the first turn in front of the dealership he hit 90. He made no mention of "not" opening it up. He also told me that earlier this year a sales rep took a customer on a drive. The pavement was wet with sleet (that's wet snow for you CA guys). Anyway, the sales guy lost it in that very turn and ran the car off the road down into a ditch. It bounced off a few trees on the way down and totalled the car! Unreal! I didn't catch whether it was a RT or GTS, just that it was red. That sales guy no longer works there. Both occupants walked away unharmed.

RE: Lamborghini. They had a yellow one that was sold and being preped for shipment out to Arizona. $266,300 on the sticker, ouch!

 

[Ron Hickey]

I saw this thread yesterday and, like JTV, cringed about the dealer letting prospective buyers flog a brand new Viper. The eventual purchaser of that car is in for a few surprises down the line when the engine develops problems thanks to the lack of proper break-in. There's a good chance of an Arrow rebuild in that car's future.

Obviously this dealership is clueless as to the 1000-mile break-in period. My advice would be to go to this dealer for a test drive, but buy your Viper from another dealer who is more protective.

 

[rcdice]

I have to agree with you guys on the breakin issue. I felt like I was in a catch 22. I wanted to drive the car and see what it could do (my first time driving a Viper), and they were more than willing to let me do that. At the same time I've read about the importance of the breakin miles and was sort of cringing at the idea driving a low mile car at higher rpms. I almost asked the sales guy that if I bought one from them could I get one fresh off the delivery truck even though I was driving exactly what I want.

Let me ask this question: If in the first 1000 miles of a new Viper, say 75 or so miles are "hard" and the rest are by the book. Will that car be seriously damaged long term? It would seem to me that a very high percentage of cars have experienced at least some of their first 1000 miles at higher speeds and rpms.

When I buy this car I plan on keeping it long term. I may buy a new one or I may buy a "slightly" used one. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks, Bob

 

[Ron Hickey]

The factory recommends a pretty gentle 1000-mile break-in, which includes a maximum of 2500 rpm the first 200 miles, followed by the next 200 at a max of 3500, etc. I'm no engineer, but since I invested over $70,000 in my new Viper, I decided it was best to follow the break-in procedure to the letter. (This break-in procedure came about with the switch to cast pistons in MY 2000.) I've got 4000 miles now on my 2001 GTS, and I've noticed that the engine seems to be more responsive and freer as the miles increase. It seemed awfully tight the first 1000 miles. I wouldn't touch a car that had been run at WOT in the first 100 miles. When you take delivery of a new Viper, you get a card signed by one of the Viper craftsmen which contains the VIN and the mileage on the car when shipped from the factory. Mine had 7 miles. Allowing a couple miles for loading, unloading, and shuffling around the parking lot, the mileage on that car when you take delivery should be darn close to the number on the card.

I have no respect for a dealership which allows customers to abuse brand new cars. They should have a well-broken-in demonstrator which customers can test drive -- that car will run better than a brand new one and will give prospective buyers a better Viper experience.

 

[RoyV101621]

I'm going to go out on the limb here...
I believe that part of the "break-in" is not just for the car itself but also for the driver.
JonB, How many Vipers died (totaled) within a month of manufacture?