I have a question...

[Mastiff]

When I check out the classified adds, I see most Vipers for sale have less than 10,000 miles or so on them. Seems like alot of people (myself included ) dont drive their cars enough. Anyway, when I see a 97 GTS with 25,000 miles or so on it going for up to $10-12000 dollars less than an identical GTS with 8000 miles on it I thought of my question.

Whats a Viper with 25-30,000 miles on it like anyway? I mean, performance, rattles, brakes, interior etc.. Should it be considered whipped at that point considering you may not know the history of the car? If I where looking at a 5 year old BMW for example with 30K on it I would consider it to be barely used and probably in great shape. Maybe its just me but it seems like people shy away from a higher mile Viper.

Im just wondering what other opinions are of the Vipers with higher miles. Maybe someone who owns one could educate me on what to expect. (Im thinking of buying a used GTS to do some track time with)

 

[94RT10Ohio]

25-30K whipped? Unless the person was constantly running races with the car 25-30K is just a drop in the bucket in terms of how long the car should hold up for.

 

[Andy 98 RT/10]

25800 miles now, feels the same as it did at 7,000 miles when I got it.

 

[Mastiff]

25-30K whipped?

Thats why Im asking. I wouldnt think they would be.

 

[Bandit3]

Bought my old gen one six years ago when it had 14k miles. Now has over 60k--- two sets of tires and still the original clutch. Rattles??? yer kidding?? I can't hear the radio let alone rattles over the side exhaust. I love it. This car gives me a chubby. John

 

[ACR steve]

I think the problem is with the mind set not the car.The problem is most vipers become garage queens and guys rarely drive them.So intern they feel that anyone that actually enjoyed the car by driving it must be crazy.This feeling is then transposed to the car it must have been an abused car driven by a crazy person...........this may sound funny but I think its true

 

[AviP]

I used to drive mine over 6000 miles a year. Now that may not seem a lot but considering that I used public transportation for work and put in 6000 miles each in my other car and motorcycle, that's 18000 miles/year mostly over a weekend. Got married in 2000 and now having 2 kids, I barely do more than 1000 miles in it. Is it a garage queen? Not at all. I just became a family man and the car has only 2 seats.

 

[onerareviper]

Mine actually seemed to get quicker up to the 20K mark. From 20K to 37K no loss in performance and everything else works great. I will take a car that has been driven +/- 5K a year vs. 500 miles a year anyday. Ever car I've owned that I had problems with was due to prolonged non-use. Parts start to corrode, seals start to crack, etc... These cars were meant to be driven, as all cars are.....

 

[00prowler]

My friend rented a 97 GTS with 80,000 hard miles on it. Said it ran great,still fast as hell, beat the crap out of it like any other renter would do,and the rental place said all they do is an oil change now and then...

 

[ACR steve]

Avi,my point was that a lot of guys dont even do 1000 miles a year ever in them.In sept. (I bought my 99 with 1500 miles I now have 5600 miles so I guess you and I are in that crazy people category)

 

[Anaconda]

I got mine in January with 23,000 miles and it already has 35,000.

Cars are meant to be driven....

 

[Falconeer]

I bought my GTS with 36000 miles on it and found that to be perfect.. I'm from Europe where cars aren't old before they get past 125000 miles. They still drive perfect and are designed to drive this far. A seven year old car with very few miles on its back is more concerning for me, since the engine might have taken some damage from not being used..

Personally I love to drive my Viper, that's why I bought it. I can't understand all of you guys mentioning how much you love to drive it and still having very few miles on it? It's a car ment for driving. The only thing that concerns me about a high milage car is the condition it is in. The miles don't say anything alone.. If it is well taken care of there is no problem at all!

I don't drive my car hard, I just love to take it out for a spin and see peoples reaction . Now it has passed 43K miles and drives just as perfect as it did when I bought it.

 

[ViperRay]

I would think that it depends, in part, on how many owners it has had.

My thinking is that the first few thousand miles are more likely to be hard with each new owner until the "novelty" wears off a bit.

I'd rather buy a 20,000 mile car with a single owner than from 5 owners with 4K mi. each.

I'm just talking theoretically, statistically as even a single owner can certainly beat the crap out of the car and not maintain it properly.