Sick To My Stomach - Need Advice

[Racer Robbie]

My 2003 viper had 3 miles on it when I bought it off the showroom floor.

Robbie

 

[Scratch]

I use to work in a Toyota dealership, auto-body shop. We always got brand new stuff that got dinged or dented. This happens alot from moving cars around the lot, test drives, ect.
I would like to think dealers are extra careful with flag-ship cars...but I'm sure stuff happens. I also agree with others, you may not be happy over this, but if it was never noticable before, just keep it shiney

Sidenote; when I worked there, I couldn't believe the amount of auto theft that occured on the lot

 

[SRTJOE]

One thing noted , reported by Sgt. Joe, about mileage, and that needs to be corrected as it can give you a false sense. Many cars come in with lower miles, but it is very common for a new Viper to come in with as much as 40 miles ( they put a sticker in the window to denote that this car was subjected to extra inspection ). The fact that your car had 12 miles is very,very normal and indicates the Dealership likely did the required Pre Delivery Inspection, which requires a road test to check for rattles , alignment, driveability, etc. It is also highly likely Sgt Joe's car was never checked over,never driven, etc., but just applied for the funds Dodge provides the Dealer to do such work. So do not feel the 12 miles means anything at all, and if the paint was not noticed by you before , I would comment like some others, to not worry about it too much, as regardless of whether Dodge redid it or the Dealer , it must have been done awfully well.

For your peace of mind , just go chat with the Dealer and enjoy the beast.

Respectfully,
Bill Pemberton

Bill,

I was specifically told by my dealer when I picked up my car that the factory put 3 to 4 miles on it to make sure everything was working and checked for squeaks and leaks and I believe there was a Viper mag story or I read it elsewhere where they talked about putting 3 to 4 miles on the car. Frankly I would not buy a new Viper with more than single digit mileage.

Regards Joe

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Sgt. Joe,

Sorry Joe, then your car was not given a proper PDI, and therefore the Dealer got paid for not doing his job. If the cars are not checked over , driven, then there is no way to tell if the car is tracking properly ( alignment okay). , if there are other drive issues, etc. and the Dealers are paid to make sure your car is right. Dodge feels it is important enough to go over the car by a Tech at each Franchise to pay the store. There are tons of Vipers that come in with more than 3-4 miles , and frankly some of the best cars we have seen are the ones that are doubly inspected ( must have a sticker denoting ) --- we had one that came in with 40 miles.

 

[jpas]

Sgt. Joe,

Sorry Joe, then your car was not given a proper PDI, and therefore the Dealer got paid for not doing his job. If the cars are not checked over , driven, then there is no way to tell if the car is tracking properly ( alignment okay). , if there are other drive issues, etc. and the Dealers are paid to make sure your car is right. Dodge feels it is important enough to go over the car by a Tech at each Franchise to pay the store. There are tons of Vipers that come in with more than 3-4 miles , and frankly some of the best cars we have seen are the ones that are doubly inspected ( must have a sticker denoting ) --- we had one that came in with 40 miles.

As a supplier to DCX, I am very familiar with the random secondary inspection that is done at the production plant. I would prefer having a car that has gone through this inspection process, as almost every car they pick will have something adjusted or replaced. Bill is correct about the sticker in the front window indicating that it has been through the secondary checks, however most dealers remove it as soon as it lands on their lot.

 

[Racer Robbie]

I have a different opinion on this subject and that is that the viper should be spot on and perfect when it leaves the factory for it's $90,000.00 price tag. DC should not depend on a shop tech at a dealer to correct any mistakes that should have been done correctly at the factory considering these are hand built cars. I do not want some wash bay jockey or oil changer beating the hell out of my new viper on a road test. I will gladly pay to have the alignment checked which should be right on as I said before. I know there are good dealers out there like, Tator's, Woodhouse, Bill Pemberton, and I am sure others that I can not remember, but there are a ton of looser Dodge dealers who sell vipers that they by off of other Certified Viper Dealerships that are not Viper Certified. Hell Pappa's Dodge in CT wanted to rip out the rear end and replace the gas tank, on my friends new 2002 GTS, when the problem was a faulty gas cap. Enough said? I bought my viper from them and you can bet it will never see the inside of their service bay.

JMHO

Robbie

 

[jpas]

I have a different opinion on this subject and that is that the viper should be spot on and perfect when it leaves the factory for it's $90,000.00 price tag. DC should not depend on a shop tech at a dealer to correct any mistakes that should have been done correctly at the factory considering these are hand built cars. I do not want some wash bay jockey or oil changer beating the hell out of my new viper on a road test. I will gladly pay to have the alignment checked which should be right on as I said before. I know there are good dealers out there like, Tator's, Woodhouse, Bill Pemberton, and I am sure others that I can not remember, but there are a ton of looser Dodge dealers who sell vipers that they by off of other Certified Viper Dealerships that are not Viper Certified. Hell Pappa's Dodge in CT wanted to rip out the rear end and replace the gas tank, on my friends new 2002 GTS, when the problem was a faulty gas cap. Enough said? I bought my viper from them and you can bet it will never see the inside of their service bay.

JMHO

Robbie

At the 3 dealers in my area, the only person allowed to drive any of the Vipers on the lot, new, used or cars in for service are the certified Viper Techs. I know they are still just Neon grease monkey's. I do agree, I will never take my car into a Dodge dealer for service, they are hacks.

 

[SRTJOE]

I have a different opinion on this subject and that is that the viper should be spot on and perfect when it leaves the factory for it's $90,000.00 price tag. DC should not depend on a shop tech at a dealer to correct any mistakes that should have been done correctly at the factory considering these are hand built cars. I do not want some wash bay jockey or oil changer beating the hell out of my new viper on a road test. I will gladly pay to have the alignment checked which should be right on as I said before. I know there are good dealers out there like, Tator's, Woodhouse, Bill Pemberton, and I am sure others that I can not remember, but there are a ton of looser Dodge dealers who sell vipers that they by off of other Certified Viper Dealerships that are not Viper Certified. Hell Pappa's Dodge in CT wanted to rip out the rear end and replace the gas tank, on my friends new 2002 GTS, when the problem was a faulty gas cap. Enough said? I bought my viper from them and you can bet it will never see the inside of their service bay.

JMHO

Robbie

You beat me to it!! That's exactly my point also - if a Viper comes in with 40 miles on it then it had a lot of problems that needed attention. I do not want anyone from the dealer playing around with my car plan and simple. Also I would say that 3 or 4 miles is plenty of distance to let you know how the car is doing.

Thanks Joe

 

[TAXIMAN1]

Sgt. Joe,

Sorry Joe, then your car was not given a proper PDI, and therefore the Dealer got paid for not doing his job. If the cars are not checked over , driven, then there is no way to tell if the car is tracking properly ( alignment okay). , if there are other drive issues, etc. and the Dealers are paid to make sure your car is right. Dodge feels it is important enough to go over the car by a Tech at each Franchise to pay the store. There are tons of Vipers that come in with more than 3-4 miles , and frankly some of the best cars we have seen are the ones that are doubly inspected ( must have a sticker denoting ) --- we had one that came in with 40 miles.

This is 100% correct. I used to be involved with a Ford Dealeship.. Many Fords come into the dealer with 30-40 miles from the factory. There is always a label with that mileage written on it, next to the monroney.. We had a few, with over 100 miles .... Now, most of the time they are "average" cars.. Explorers,Expeditions,Taurus.. So the people dont really care too much.. however, once we got a Cobra R in(2000 model year). And the guy refused delivery... We sold it the next day to someone else.

Bottom line, All manufacturers do this... If you get a single digit mileage car.. Your lucky, or unluckly depending on how you look at it.. Some like to know the car was "tested" first..