should I go for '93 gen 1

[David-BE]

Hi guys,

I would like to indulge myself and buy my dream car : a Viper RT/10 ;-)
I am from Belgium / EU and we have crazy local taxes on big engines (pitty country) but as from 30years old cars are consider as oldtimer and... no more taxes!
Gen 1 '93 Viper is therefor considered as oldtimer and my dream might come reality as I'd rather invest in gas rather than in local taxes!

I have read so many stuff talking about difference vs GEN 1 - GEN 1.5 & GEN 2 that I was wondering if GEN 1 is a good invest ?
Thanks for sharing your advises and experiences

cheers,
David

 

[MoparMap]

The gen 1 market is strange to me. I would have expected it to have gone up more than it has considering it was the "original" Viper. The gen 2 market seems to have outpaced it more though. The coupe tends to be more popular and the racing heritage that started with it certainly helps that. I still would have thought the car that started it all would have seen more growth, but that being said I don't think I'd call any Viper a bad investment. What you want it for has a lot to do with that though. If you want something purely as an investment that you might drive every once in a while but are more concerned about future value, I would probably look at other models. If you want something to enjoy yourself that you just might happen to be able to get your money back out of later, I think any Viper fits that bill pretty well. The gen 1s are definitely "simple" cars, but they are still a ton of fun to drive. My mom's 94 might be noticeably short in performance compared to my slightly modified 04, but the 94 still has a special quality that makes it a ton of fun to drive.

 

[David-BE]

The gen 1 market is strange to me. I would have expected it to have gone up more than it has considering it was the "original" Viper. The gen 2 market seems to have outpaced it more though. The coupe tends to be more popular and the racing heritage that started with it certainly helps that. I still would have thought the car that started it all would have seen more growth, but that being said I don't think I'd call any Viper a bad investment. What you want it for has a lot to do with that though. If you want something purely as an investment that you might drive every once in a while but are more concerned about future value, I would probably look at other models. If you want something to enjoy yourself that you just might happen to be able to get your money back out of later, I think any Viper fits that bill pretty well. The gen 1s are definitely "simple" cars, but they are still a ton of fun to drive. My mom's 94 might be noticeably short in performance compared to my slightly modified 04, but the 94 still has a special quality that makes it a ton of fun to drive.

yes clearly the fun level worth it with any Viper and I fully agree with you thinking that the "original" one would have gone up more than others but as you said later racing heritage probably gives the coupe a more desirable trend.

I was just wondering about any a known problem, fragility of the GEN 1 model, which made it less desirable and would impact the model value..
My goal is to enjoy it during summer, enjoy the look, the torque and sidepipe noise but also be able to recover my investment if I want to sell it.
Talking about sidepipe I have seen they are different GEN 1 vs 1,5, is it a problem?
I have also seen about 200 upgrades vs GEN 1,5 and 2, no probleme to find spare parts for maintenance?

thx for your time, appreciate it.

 

[Midlife Crisis]

Maintenance parts so far are ok. Replacement parts if you break something or have an accident are a different story. They made so few of them that aftermarket headlights and windshields are not made. Salvage yards or private sellers are the only option. But I still love mine and even track it once in a while !

 

[MoparMap]

yes clearly the fun level worth it with any Viper and I fully agree with you thinking that the "original" one would have gone up more than others but as you said later racing heritage probably gives the coupe a more desirable trend.

I was just wondering about any a known problem, fragility of the GEN 1 model, which made it less desirable and would impact the model value..
My goal is to enjoy it during summer, enjoy the look, the torque and sidepipe noise but also be able to recover my investment if I want to sell it.
Talking about sidepipe I have seen they are different GEN 1 vs 1,5, is it a problem?
I have also seen about 200 upgrades vs GEN 1,5 and 2, no probleme to find spare parts for maintenance?

thx for your time, appreciate it.

Ah, okay. I see what you're getting at. Overall pretty much all Vipers were very well built and have lasted a long time without much for major issues. That being said, the ones I hear about the most on the early cars are the paper head gaskets weeping over time and the power steering pulley, pump bracket, and cap causing issues. I think the head gaskets were updated by gen 2, but I believe the steering issues were present throughout both generations. Fixes are pretty readily out there though, and I think a lot of cars have already been upgraded.

The early cars were more or less "parts bin specials" in that they shared a lot of components with other vehicles in the lineup at the time. In that regard I would say maintenance parts and some replacements could be more available than the later generations that had more bespoke parts, but at the same time you're talking about a 25+ year old car, so even if more vehicles used the same parts, those vehicles aren't around anymore either. Body panels are probably the biggest worry when it comes to replacements. Salvage yards are you friend of a lot of Viper parts in general though, which obviously isn't great for you across the pond as I'm guessing there are pretty much none so any part you'd need it very likely going to require shipping. Overall though I think they are solid cars and shouldn't really give you any trouble for a fun toy to enjoy when the weather is nice. They are really pretty simple cars in the end, and they are pretty easy to work on, so even if something does come up it's usually not that hard to fix.

 

[Heysie]

If you are Dutch speaking, you should contact Kees Mets, the Viper Wizard in Middenmeer in the Netherlands.

 

[JonB]

30 Years Ago This Week, my life changed forever when I bought my first Viper, a 1993 RT/10.

It had a small card in the glovebox that said:

'Built With Pride in the Motor City by Team Viper.'

It also had the Team phone # on the card, and since I planned to track and Auto-X, I called it. It was Memorial Day Weekend, so I left a message, expecting Nuttin'. A couple days later a guy named HERB called me back. HE had as many curious questions as I did! All the why-what-where-how stuff. Seemed truly interested, both ways! "We built this car for guys like you" he closed....WOW ! I was in shocked disbelief that a large corporation would care about me....but they DID! I met Herb at VOI-1 a few mos later

Herb and I stayed in touch....for 30 years. I was invited by Team Viper to speak at his retirement party a while back. 200+ folks. They said 'In all the retirements we have held, we dont recall ever asking a CUSTOMER to speak!' They DID care! I told some true and funny anecdotes about "Fun with Herb" stuff, including the Ripley's F-16 race:

You must be registered for see images attach

Herb Driving

I truly could write a book about all the Fun With Team Viper that my 1993 purchase brought about.

Go For It.

Jon Brobst
Int'l Viper Registry NW Region President 93-94
Car & Driver Viper Forum co-founder 1993-4
VCA "Founding Fourteen" 1995
VCA Nat'l Secty-Treasurer 95-97
VCA Forum Paying Sponsor #1
VCA Nat'l Secretary 98-99
VCA Regional President 95-02
VCA National and Regional Sponsor 96-10 (then banned)
VRL / Viper Cup Pace Car Driver & Sponsor 97-15
Welcomed back as Legacy Sponsor. Thanks.

 

[Mr Diesel]

Did you already buy one?
I searched for 3 years and finally bought it 6 weeks ago, same story like yours while i from Belgium too