Prices for Coupes

[CCBrian]

Ok, I am going to buy a First Edition Coupe this weekend. Two local dealers have them sitting on their showrooms for the past couple of months...not selling. I have to buy a blue/white one because my CC is painted that way. What type of prices are you guys paying for them. I have seen several dealers on E-bay offiering them in the $85k range new the past few weeks. List is around $91,990 I think. But its much easier to buy one local than half way across the country. I am planning on using this as my open track car, as it cost too much to run a CC for a track day car...I'm going to use the CC for actual races-SCCA and VRL. Plus a warranty is sounding pretty good right now!

 

[C.Thomson]

$80k without the gas tax is a good deal.

 

[SylvanSRT]

if your going to use it as a track day car why spend the extra money for a 1st ed. when you can surely pick up another non FE coupe for less money, the sticker price was more than a few thousand less for a non FE.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

I've seen $81k

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

And that's what I got them down to with two coupes on the showroom floor. Small dealer in Jupiter Fl.

 

[knuk]

We are getting sooooooo burned in Canada on the price. Since our dollar has gained a lot of ground lately you would think this would reflect on the price of cars, etc. Not so.
The list price of a new coupe in Canada is $128,500 ($111,855 US)
The price you get them for in the US - $81,000 works out to $93,000 Canadian - that's $35,500 (Cndn) less than list up here! I assume that we can get the cars for around 15K (or a bit more) below MSRP which still makes it about $20,000 more in Canada to buy!
What is the MSRP in the US??

 

[CCBrian]

The reason for a First Edition is I want a Blue/white striped car. I have a Comp Coupe painted that way and I thought it would look cool next to it in my shop. Just an ego thing with the colors...

 

[RainMaker]

Evan Kohler lives about an hour and a half from you and he has a 2006 First Edition Coupe for sale. The car only has 475 miles on it and it is flawless. Gas tax and CA reg already paid. His number is (925) 757-0199.

 

[00prowler]

How come the new Coupes are sitting on the showroom floors even with discounts??? Is the Z06 causing this due to the price/peformance difference???...AL...

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Or you could buy this one and just have white stripes added to it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4615719409

 

[CCBrian]

Ok, so my friend brings over his new ZO6. Really nice car. Fast...but I am not sure if really faster than a Coupe...then I stand at the dealer last night looking at the new coupe I was going to buy. I cannot decide to buy it. I toss and turn all night thinking about ZO6's. I see tha new video posted where the SRT gets it butt kicked by a new ZO6. I HATE LOOSING! Help!!!! I am supposed to hate Corvettes...but I could drive that car everyday. Park it anywhere because no one notices it.He calls his Corvette disposable...a Viper is not. I AM CONFUSED! I just wanted a track day car. What if he goes out and kicks my butt in it every time we go to track days (we are equal drivers). I could kick his ass in my CC but that was not the point- I already do that. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or that's what my wife says I need-anyone care to explain what she means?)

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

Change the rearend of the coupe.

I'd still like to hear how the Z06 holds up the whole day, against the coupe.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Do not buy one over invoice. Anything under dealer invoice is a good deal. I think Invoice on these are around $84K depending on options.

 

[RainMaker]

CCBRIAN,

Did you ever buy the Coupe?

 

[CCBrian]

Dealer offered me the car for $84,000. But as I said...I am having ZO6's thoughts again. Several people offered me very low mileage used ones but not low enough prices to steer me from a new one. Most paid a lot more for them just a few months ago and they would take a bath selling one right now with the dealers now discounting pretty heavy discoutns. A non First Edition Coupe was offered to me by the same dealer for $79,500- roughly $10K off window. These discounts are going to kill a used ones resale value. I lost $20k on a 2001 ACR after only 12 months back in 2002 with only 2000 miles. So I feel for them.

 

[sween]

get the viper put a paxton supercharger

 

[Jim Hodel]

Did you say you have a Comp Coupe? If you have a CC, why would you need to use a new (street) coupe or Z06 as a track day car?

Jim

 

[CCBrian]

Because the cost to run a CC is about $2500 a day. Tires for the CC are around $1600. and they are garbage after 3 or 4 heat cycles. Meaning if you go out for 4 20 minute track day sessions, they are hard as a rock and dangerous. It takes at least two people to run one. Engines have a 35-50 hour max life so you can figure $500 per hour run time for the engine. That does not include transmission, clutch, etc. There are 10 hour suspension replacements- averages another $100 an hour. If you go to the Comp Coupe section, everyone there figures $5000 minimum per weekeknd to run in VRL- and that is only going out to qualify once, two pracitve sessions, and two 50 minute races- So around $1000 per hour. If I take a SRT Coupe- its 7/10th of a CC, it seems real cheap to run for a weekend....gas/brake pads and tires maybe every thrid or forth weekend. The payment on a SRT for a month is about the cost of a set of tires for the CC- plus it has a warrenty! I figure it cost 8xs more to drive a CC on a track day than a street car. And guys like Tommy Archer are spending $25-$50K a weekend to run-excluding any body damage to the car. I have friend who runs Grand Am in a Porsche Cup car and averages $50K a race!
So it makes sense to do track days with a still fast and entertaining car liike the SRT Coupe, and still keeps me sharp for when I get into my CC- Which is chassis #64 and set up as a 2006 World Challenge car.

 

[SteveBCloud9]

In Chicago, Z06's are going 7-10k OVER sticker.... if you can get a FE Coupe for under $87k NEW you're doing well IMO... Used..under 84k is great... do it soon as warm weather is coming and prices go uPPPPPPPPPPPPP

 

[Janni]

Because the cost to run a CC is about $2500 a day. Tires for the CC are around $1600. and they are garbage after 3 or 4 heat cycles. Meaning if you go out for 4 20 minute track day sessions, they are hard as a rock and dangerous. It takes at least two people to run one. Engines have a 35-50 hour max life so you can figure $500 per hour run time for the engine. That does not include transmission, clutch, etc. There are 10 hour suspension replacements- averages another $100 an hour. If you go to the Comp Coupe section, everyone there figures $5000 minimum per weekeknd to run in VRL- and that is only going out to qualify once, two pracitve sessions, and two 50 minute races- So around $1000 per hour....

Tires $1400. We use one set per weekend. About 5-6 hours of track time. We usually ditch them after about 10 heat cycles.

We do work hard to prepare the car - but don't think that it takes 2 people.

PLEASE do not tell my 65+ hour motor that he hsould have been rebuilt twice by now. Thanks. Or - my original transmission....

We've replaced some suspension stuff and have some more to do - keep the car off the curbing and on the track and it will last WAY longer than the specs in the CC manual. Also - torque the center hubs too 300 ft lbs frequently and many of the suspension issues go away.

And yeah - $5K per weekend is about right - but that's everything for us - travel, fuel, fees, tires, etc.

The car is VERY reliable and really shouldn't be that much more to run as an open track car - it's a very similar car - engine, brakes, suspension, etc. And if you are going through tires, brakes, trannies, motors, suspension,etc on a CC, - you'll do the same on a street car - maybe more - because you don't have things like brake cooling, tranny and diff cooling, etc.

 

[DodgeViper01]

CC Coupes are EXPENSIVE to run. Wow, I never knew they were that expensive but must be a blast to drive so it probably makes up for it.

 

[Wayne Finch]

We are getting sooooooo burned in Canada on the price. Since our dollar has gained a lot of ground lately you would think this would reflect on the price of cars, etc. Not so.
The list price of a new coupe in Canada is $128,500 ($111,855 US)
The price you get them for in the US - $81,000 works out to $93,000 Canadian - that's $35,500 (Cndn) less than list up here! I assume that we can get the cars for around 15K (or a bit more) below MSRP which still makes it about $20,000 more in Canada to buy!
What is the MSRP in the US??

I have had this discussion with DC Canada. The current pricing in Canada is outrageous. They have known about this for over a year and don't seem to want to do anything about it. I can cross the border pretty easily to save $20K

 

[CCBrian]

Hey Janni, but a street car has a warranty and track days are instruction days and insurance covers any damage..at least my policy does. With an extended warranty (7 years)I will never during my ownership pay for a motor, gearbox,suspension parts etc. The local Dodge dealer shop manager and Viper tech is a good friend so he will see to that.I agree that the engine can go 60 plus hours but most owners of 2003 CC's I have spoken with have gone no more than 50 hours...what VRH claims...so I assume the worst. And if you read on you will know why.And the friends I have out west here w/ CC have had transmissions get tired after 30-40 hours. I have had my CC out 5 times and all 5 times it has come home on a trailer...we have less than 2 hours run time on it. We had the car delivered with defective control arm/ball joint- and charged for new parts by Tom. We had had the car stop running the next time out after 5 laps due to a pinched ASD wire in the loom-took my factory Viper tech 6 hours to trace it down, and now the last 3 times out the ABS has intermitently failed. We have changed out the CAB, wheel sensors, rewired all the grounds, and now the positve leads...we hope its fixed but weather has been an issue to get it back out to a test/tune day. So our experience is that its not that dependable as delivered. 3R has confirmed they have gone through some of the same problems. With a street car I can drive to the track- no trailer necessay. I can use 91 fuel-my car is set up as a WC and fuel cost are double that of a street car (100 octane).And street tires will last 6 to 8 track weekends.I also cannot believe you can heat cycle Hoosiers 10x's. They turn to rocks after 4 or 5 heat cycles. Even on my Panoz GTS they turned greasy/slick after 4 or 5 cycles and its a much lighter car.Also, I would pay to see one person remove the hood by themselves-LOL! Maybe your driving your car too easy-just kidding. I look forward to meeting you guys in the future!It's this kind of stuff that has always led me back to a Viper...everyone is outspoken and fun!Brian

 

[Paul Hawker]

Two items. I have seen Dan Cragin spend hours going through new Comp Coupes, getting them ready for their first track days. An experienced tuner can go a long ways to prevent some of the issues you mentioned from ever coming up. Rerouting some wires, and generally using his vast experience from working on hundreds of track cars.

Second. I do not believe the new Z06 will be a decent track car. Issues such as a undersized radiator will cause cooling problems. The stock exhaust cannot be modified, and aftermarket tires or wheels will cause the stability control to switch into full soft mode. Tire pressures cannot be adjusted without triggering the electronic controls. Rear gears are also a no-no. While stability control is a great safety item, it tends to take a lot of the pride out of getting the most out of your vehicle. It may be fast, but there is no joy in having a computer control your car.

Due to the aluminum frame, almost no organized races may be entered. (SCCA etc.) Only ViperDays seems to be able to afford them a venue to be tracked in competition.

I believe it will be very hard to modify, at least till the Chevy tuners get some time with it. As a track vehicle I believe it will be very frustrating.

From a price standpoint, there is much less street price difference than you would expect. Z06 selling at a premium and SRT's being discounted.

Getting a Coupe at discount as compared to a Vette at premium should result in much less depreciation on the Viper. The Vettes premiums tend to evaporate quickly, and early owners pay.

I believe the Viper Ownership Experience is far superior to Vettes. Much tighter friendships, and better racing experience. Regional clubs tend to offer a higher quality experience with Viper than Vette...

Get the Blue/White. Best color combination ever in a Viper.

 

[CCBrian]

Paul, I agree. I am going down right now to buy the car! And blue/white is a must as my Comp Coupe is paitned that way exactly. I will post pictures of them both as soon as it stops pouring here!
Brian

 

[Janni]

You are right, Brian - you seem to know better than I. We'll see if we can go a little faster this year.

I hope you get your car sorted out so you can enjoy it.

 

[REDSLED]

This must be the "Mythical World Challenge CC from the North" that no one has ever seen on a track. Such a shame.

 

[CCBrian]

Redsled-I agree...read above. Maybe one day soon it will actually run more than 5 minutes and not get towed in due to build issues. Then we will have to go out and play.

 

[Detlef]

Not here. The local dealer added $10K market surcharge for a black with silver stripes coupe coming to a total of $100,650.

 

[knuk]

We are getting sooooooo burned in Canada on the price. Since our dollar has gained a lot of ground lately you would think this would reflect on the price of cars, etc. Not so.
The list price of a new coupe in Canada is $128,500 ($111,855 US)
The price you get them for in the US - $81,000 works out to $93,000 Canadian - that's $35,500 (Cndn) less than list up here! I assume that we can get the cars for around 15K (or a bit more) below MSRP which still makes it about $20,000 more in Canada to buy!
What is the MSRP in the US??

I have had this discussion with DC Canada. The current pricing in Canada is outrageous. They have known about this for over a year and don't seem to want to do anything about it. I can cross the border pretty easily to save $20K

I also spoke with DC and the answer they gave me makes a pile of [******]. Mind you when it comes time to trade in a vehicle they sure cut that price WAY down! CROOKS !!!