No garage. No problem?

[brianveg]

Unfortunately, I don't have a garage at my house and I don't really have a place to store the car. Would anyone consider that to be a major problem with buying a car such as this? Would covering it/sealing it up be sufficient?

 

[ViperGTS]

Depends where you live?
Countryside or urban?
If YOU do not care, why not.

Most owners, and me, we would NEVER EVER store a VIPER outside except for a night at a hotel if they do not have a garage.

 

[bluesrt]

buy some plastic tarp,drive the car on it,put a car cover on,fold over the tarp over the roof to the other side- car should be happy

 

[Martin]

As long as it's not going to get hit by anything, I don't see what the problem is. There are perfectly good car covers out there, and if you really want extra protection, you can put up one of those CoverIT garages. I had my GTS in one of those for years when I moved it down to the Bay Area and didn't have a garage, and it was just fine. Like blue said, put down plastic tarping, either cover the car or put it in a portable gargage (or both), and you should be fine.

 

[sniper1]

I would check into a local storage facility nearby with security gates and plenty of padlock space on the door before leaving mine outside in the elements, to include the criminal elements

 

[Viper 55]

Well, my Vipers have never seen rain and some even water. Many of the Viper folks are very particlar about where and when we drive our cars (maybe too much at times). The Viper is a graet car. I guess the real question is:

if I had a choice to have a Viper and not able to garage it or not have a Viper at all, I would pick having a Viper all day long without the garage. Life is too short not to have a Viper if you can. I would be more concerned about theft.

What area do you live in?

Which Viper are you looking at?

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I agree with Sniper. Even when I'm at hotels and have to leave it parked outside, I have an uneasy feeling. Having it outside permanently would scare me.

 

[dave6666]

Mine gets a 2 car garage all to itself. Anything less is disrespectful. But it is your car.

 

[cash84]

Don't worry, thats why we have insurance. Have the max coverage and anything happens claim it


As for the hotel, I was at daytona Beach (picked mine up in West Plam Beach, FL) I don't know for sure it happend before or after I picked up the viper. I didn't see any marks other than a scratch on the bummer from like a stone. But it got keyed I didn't claim it because its not worth getting my insurance jacked up. Its not very visiable.

 

[NorthernSnake]

If vandalism or acid rain are realistic threats where you live then i would say not having a garage is not a good idea.

but if you can sleep at night with her outside and the elements arent going to do anything agressive to the finish (besides typical UV)then i say go for it. Its a car...a nice car yes, but still a car. i recommend driving it lots and enjoying it in whatever way makes you happy.

 

[dave6666]

Don't worry, thats why we have insurance. Have the max coverage and anything happens claim it


As for the hotel, I was at daytona Beach (picked mine up in West Plam Beach, FL) I don't know for sure it happend before or after I picked up the viper. I didn't see any marks other than a scratch on the bummer from like a stone. But it got keyed I didn't claim it because its not worth getting my insurance jacked up. Its not very visiable.

Get the max coverage and claim everything.

Mine got keyed but I didn't claim it because I didn't want to raise my rates.

Can you hook me up with your dealer? The one supplying your stash?

 

[RavenFan_94]

I wouldn't but at the end of the day its just a car. With the unfortunate precipitous decline in Viper values you have to ask yourself would you do the same for a Corvette? A ;ot of people do.

 

[brianveg]

Depends where you live?
Countryside or urban?
If YOU do not care, why not.

Most owners, and me, we would NEVER EVER store a VIPER outside except for a night at a hotel if they do not have a garage.

Sorry, yeah, that would probably have been useful information, hah. I'm from New England, south of Boston, in a small town of about 9,500. It's not the nicest, friendliest weather here but the town is a great place to live.

 

[brianveg]

Mine gets a 2 car garage all to itself. Anything less is disrespectful. But it is your car.

Haha, I wish I had a nice comfy garage waiting for the car when I purchase but sadly, gotta work with what you have.

 

[brianveg]

Thanks for all the replies and input from everyone. It's very appreciated. I refreshed the page and saw all the responses -- seems like a great place to be a member of!

I'm not positive on what I'm going to get. It really comes down to the price of the car. I'm thinking somewhere in the mid $20s to mid $30s would be a pretty good range to purchase a car and then gauge what I think of it. As I saw mentioned elsewhere on the forum by a few people, the Gen I and II Vipers being a bit older now have made it more affordable. I agree completely. I had been considering purchasing a Porsche but for the same price, I'd rather go Viper. Simply put, it is one of the sexiest cars I have ever seen and always considered it to be way out of my budget. After researching, I see it's expensive, sure, but doable for what you get.

Also, I should mention I'm extremely rusty with stick shift -- I know how to drive stick but haven't in going on 4 years. Is the Viper forgiving? I'd probably do circles around an Industrial Park or something to get some practice in. Nothing worse than stalling a car that attracts attention, lol.

As for the garage, I will talk to some friends and even family members to see if I could store it in their garage. I feel remorseful for even considering leaving the car out in the elements and the girlfriend says I can't turn the house into one big garage...

As for as the location of the car, I'd consider a car pretty much from anywhere in the US so long as I'd have a way to check it out or have someone I trust check it out. I read all the posts that highly recommended a gentleman that frequents this forum as a shipping professional so I'll go with him. I also have on Amazon the Viper buying guide that everyone swears by on the way.

 

[SkyBob]

Also, I should mention I'm extremely rusty with stick shift -- I know how to drive stick but haven't in going on 4 years. Is the Viper forgiving? I'd probably do circles around an Industrial Park or something to get some practice in. Nothing worse than stalling a car that attracts attention, lol.

When I bought my 2003 a year and a half ago I did not have much stick time either. I grew up on the farms and as a teen could drive anything and any size but at the time I bought my Viper it had been maybe 25 years since I'd driven a manual. As far as the Gen 3 goes, it is very forgiving. The torque is so great that it makes up for less than great footwork. When I back the car out of the garage I do it slowly and don't even use the throttle.

If you're worried about how it looks to stall at a traffic light do the opposite. Rev it up a bit and let the clutch out. If you chirp the tires everybody will look at you and think you're showing off.

Bob

 

[dave6666]

I sat in one for 2 minutes, handed the dealer the cash, and drove it home. No practice, no lessons, just giddy up and go. And no problemo.

 

[Venomiss]

You might find this handy from your area.
New England Viper site.
Viper Club of America

Will this be your only car as a DD?

 

[brianveg]

You might find this handy from your area.
New England Viper site.
Viper Club of America

Will this be your only car as a DD?

Wow, I took a look at that site. Great! Loved the image gallery of the runs and the Vipers next to each other. Nope, this won't be my only car. I purchased a 2006 BMW 325i last year with about 10k miles and nearly fully loaded options (minus iDrive and sports package). Absolutely love the car. No mods on it though, I know very little about cars and to be honest, I'd be a bit scared to do any work on either car. Hah!

Thanks again for this link!

 

[jdeft1]

I sat in one for 2 minutes, handed the dealer the cash, and drove it home. No practice, no lessons, just giddy up and go. And no problemo.

Love it!! Me too! Nothing like honesty... When you gotta have one, it's a simple thing.

Buy it, love it, wear it out, it wants you to!!!