Y are we letting our Vipers value drop?????

[fast?]

i think we as viper owners should not let the economy dictatate the value of our cars. i see the prices of vipers dropping more and more. we as owners can dictate what the value of our cars should be. Don't Sell Cheap!

have you looked at the prices of supras in the classified lately?
since the fast and furious came out supras value increased 50%or higher. we know supras are not better than vipers. they are holding a resale value because not many where made and there are many mods out there that can make them ridiculously fast. but what does it say when the company stops makin them? they weren't selling that good back in 93-98.

i have a friend that bought one a year ago for $10,000 put over 10 g in mods and now can sell it for $40,000. thats insane.

STOP SELLING YOUR VIPERS SO CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
REMEMBER THEY DON'T MAKE THEM ANYMORE.

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

So maybe you can lend the money to those that are selling it cheap LOL Let me see ... you lose you job and need money...is the Viper more important than your family? I don't think so. If I was in trouble I would sell the car fo as much as I could get at that time.

 

[Vic]

The value of any significant collectible car will drop initially when the car is new, and remain low for years.

Then after a long time, after many of them have been totalled, the value will start to creep back up.

Eventually your Viper will be worth a mint, but by that time you will be old and grey, and it won't matter any more!

Thanks for letting me brighten your day. Don't thank me-thats' my job, thats' what I do. Well, I'm off now to cheer up someone else.

ttfn

 

[ExecUtron Technologies]

I've solved the problem by dumping another 100k+ into mine. That should actually raise the value by 10k or so! (at least according to AllState Insurance)...

 

[46hemi]

Hey you never know what 30 years will bring!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1872364857

 

[VIPER1996]

I am in the car business so I have a lot of experience with depreciation. I think that we need to help with the reputation of the GEN1 cars. All I ever hear is how much better the GEN11 car is. It may be a better car all around, that I won't argue. But when an individual decides to do some research on buying a used Viper and all they hear is less horsepower, no windows, bad headgaskets etc etc, it deters them from at least experiencing a Gen1 car. When this goes on long enough then the prices of the Gen1 cars start to drop and before you know it people are talking about buying a used Viper for under $30,000. Here's where it effects you Gen11 owners. Now the individual thinks he can buy a 94,95 Viper for under $30,000 if he looks hard enough. Then when he comes accross a 97,98,99 etc they start to rationalized how much they should pay extra per year over a 94,95 Viper. I see it everyday at work!!!! Just watch ebay, Gen 1 cars don't bring the money. I watched Ebay for 3 months before buying my car. I originally wanted a Gen11 car, but for the difference in price I'll take a Gen1. It's just a matter of time before the Gen11 owners will be in the same boat unless we build up the Gen1 reputation and get the market price where it should be so people don't have to sell them for wholesale prices. Everyone will benefit in the long run!!!!!!

 

[viperrt96]

viper1994 Well said!

My 96 has a little of both worlds(genI vs genII).GenI motor / GenII suspension-exhaust etc. I have noticed that little discrimination myself. Its also bad between GTS and RT10's owners also. I wont start that flame throwing topic around but I think you know what I mean. I'm holding on to mine. Not worrying too much about the Value. It's like watching your stock market shares. If you haven't looked lately that market isn't doing too good either(at least mines not). My end point is this. A Viper is a Viper. They all wear the same badge.

 

[George Murray]

Ack...I bought a '70 440 6 BBL 4 spd Superbird in 1978 for $1000. 40K miles, no rust. Had been in garage for previous three years. A high school buddy's older brother owned it, and had it partially dismantled as he wanted to get rid of the pointy nose and wing, which he disliked. They were stored in garage overhead. He never finished (dismantling/changing to regular RR) the project. I bought the car and attempted to put it back together (drivetrain and interior still intact). I was 17. The guy's older brother sold it because it was a "gas hog." I tired of the project and dumped it in 1980 for a grand.

Yeah, I ****. I try not to think too much about it these days.

 

[MiamiJeff]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by trent:
Don't Sell Cheap! ...
have you looked at the prices of supras in the classified lately?
since the fast and furious came out supras value increased 50%or higher. we know supras are not better than vipers.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Along this line of reasoning, maybe it'll be helpful to Viper values when the SRT appears in The Fast and the Furious-2 ?

 

[jimandela]

46hemi,
do you know what the sticker was on the hemi was back in
69?
Wow! what a increase in value.
I refuse to dump mine .. but right now i can wait.
but for the those who can not for whatever reason, i
understand.
It ***** for the rest of us. but you do what you have to.

JIM

 

[Casey]

Prices have dropped on our Vipers, but the SRT-10 isn't not the only one to blame here.
If you need to sell now, you will most likely have to sell lower than you would like. But let's not forget to look at the economy that has hammered the market for our cars, and also, it's winter, which is always the best time to buy, even though in many parts of the country you can't drive a Viper for a few more months.
Wait until spring to sell, prices are sure to go up somewhat! Or take advantage of the cheap prices and buy!
I am not trying to say that the SRT-10 will not initially hurt the prices of our current Vipers, but I don't think it is as bad as it is looking right now!
I can't wait to see how much my GTS is worth in 25 more years!!

But hey, with the prices of Mods. going down, just think about how much faster our Snakes will be!

 

[joe117]

The percentage of Viper owners who look at this site is probably very small. The owners who do look at this site are not just Viper owners but Viper enthusiasts. The average Viper owner probably thinks of his Viper as a "nice car that I will play with for awhile". When the average Viper owner wants a new car he will trade in his Viper to a new car dealer and take what he gets. I think this board has very little influence on the value of Vipers on the whole. The idea that VCA members could all make a pact to sell high and keep up the value is a pipe dream.

 

[Tiepilot]

Okay, I gotta write my .02 here.

There were two cars I screwed up on in the past and the one that kills me the most was a 1969 Daytona Charger. It was 1982 and a friend of mine that owned a '70 Superbird told me of a fellow that was sick with lung cancer and was selling a Daytona. The car was toro red with a white tail, factory AC 440 4-bbl, original owner 43k miles. The price was $8000.00 and I had no cash to do anything about it.

I bought my Viper as it will become more rare and more expensive as time progresses, this car is my modern day chance to own a "real" collectable status car such as the original Shelby Cobra's or a Mopar Wing car. I remember my friend that owned the Superbird telling me about how he paid $3900.00 for his car. Everyone made fun of it and him back in '71 for owning what they referred to as a "submarine".

So, in essence I don't care what these cars are selling for as my RT will be with me a very long time and I will be getting a GTS to park beside it. I will be the gray haired guy with the beautiful RT Viper that everyone will wish they owned or will think "I wish I still had mine".

 

[46hemi]

I must admit I do not know what the sticker price was on that Daytona in 1969 but I do know it was a relatively expensive car. I also do not think our Vipers today will have the same exclusivity of that particular car.

Having said that, and being involved in several Mopar restorations and purchases in the last 10 years I can say this. The reason the late 60's early 70's Mopars are so high in value right now is based partly on irrational thinking by the buyers, but also largely on the fact that they were cool cars. Growing up as a teenager of that era when you saw one it was really special , awe-inspiring thing. Mopar had a knack for making cars that appealed to adults performance wise and kids as well (RoadRunner, Coyote Duster, SuperBee, Sneaky Pete, etc). Even today when you drive down the street in a classic Mopar you will turn alot of heads by both the older and younger generations. So, do I think a hemi daytona is worth 300k? No, absolutely not but god bless him if he can get it (which I dont think he will).

Having said that do you notice the look on the teenagers faces when they see your car. I have been stopped by teens who have information about the Viper that could make some D/C exectutives embarrased. They know everything about them. They can recite performance numbers as well as color and option choices for each year.

What do you think will happen when those teenagers who spent countless days thinking about the "classic" Viper finally have some disposable income to get into collecting classic cars. For all of the other insane people, such as myself, who get involved in collecting anything, what do we collect? Usually, we collect the things that have a special meaning to us and it may branch out from there. I dont know if I will still have my car when one of those kids who now has a big house with 2 kids and a great job is looking to recapure a special piece of his childhood, but hopefully some of us will.

 

[DEVILDOG]

Personally I don't care what they sell for now or in the future. I'm keeping mine till I die then it will go to my son. The original body design will never be surpased and neither will it's hissssssstory making racing record. If you have to sell that's unfortunate. If you sell by choice you will regret it later. There will never be another original, raw, in your face, exotic like the original race proven VIPER! Just my opinion..no flames.

 

[DEVILDOG]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MiamiJeff:
Along this line of reasoning, maybe it'll be helpful to Viper values when the SRT appears in The Fast and the Furious-2 ?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What if they have the SRT being beat by a rice mobile that gets it's power from a bottle?

 

[ACR Joe]

The basic economic principle of supply and demand will always prevail. It's that simple!

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

Many good points. Bottom line, as ACR Joe says, is supply and demand. That being said, I think the supply is higher due to many car enthusiasts who bought these cars in the late '90's. Their livelihoods were connected to the 'irrational exuberance' of the day. The year 2000 saw 'irrational' start turning to 'rational'. Reality set in swiftly. Many lost jobs which had been created by the heady times of the roaring 90's. For many of these people, probably young and/or raising families, something had to go--Vipers went. Supply increased quickly and economic principles took effect. I believe the economy is much more responsible than the new model, for the huge drop in market valuation. However, Trent is right. Viper owners can control the price by not selling cheap or not selling at all.
Unfortunately, those that are, or were, forced to sell most likely did not have the option of holding out.

Maybe it's a cycle--maybe not. Like the stock market, the loss is only on paper till you sell.

Steve

 

[Catwood]

Part of the problem is people like me. I seriously considered getting a Viper starting back in July of this year. I'm a car guy but I've tired of the current project and wanted something new or newer. A Viper was one of the choices for me. I shopped several and there is a great price range. I walked away for what I would consider an ok deal, not great, but at least OK.

I also considered some other high end vehicles in the Vipers price range.

I live in SoCal so a Viper would get driven much more than perhaps someone back east.

However, there are folks out there buying the Viper because they can and they think it would be kewl. Once they have one, they discover how raw of a car it is. It runs hot inside, it's hard to see out, it's loud, etc. Some of these people would have called themselves "car guys" also. But they didn't really know what they were buying. Now, I don't think those folks are on this board. You all are a different breed. Your more educated on the Viper, probably knew what it was before you bought, and share a comradery with the rest on the board. That brings another misconception. You all believe your cars are worth more because of how great you know they are. And you all pretty much feed on yourselves. Very cultist. This is not an insult, just an observation. I think I could easily fit into this crowd as a Viper owner.

So that comes back to the original question. Why are the prices dropping?

Because

A "car guy" like me
---with the income to afford one
--permission from the family to execute
--the weather to enjoy
--the garage to park it in
--finding 2002 GTS's for $58-62K

Decides not to buy.

The real answer.....


I DON'T KNOW

 

[SERPENT INDIANA]

Are we ALL old enough to have owned a "Winged Warrior" ???...The first 69 Dodge Daytona I bought was in 1980....window sticker was $4,356....I paid $9,000. fo the car...it had 10,427 miles when I purchased it....sold it in Dec 1988 for $46,500. ....When I bought that car, even my best buddies thought I had become mentally deranged....bought another Dodge Daytona in 1988 for $45,000 that only had 6,600 miles on it, one of 3 known dealer installed 6 paks with paperwork...also had a 10,000 mile Superbird I bought in 1989 for approx $21,000...sold it a few weeks later for $34,000...yes, the prices were crazy in the late 80's....Vipers, maybe if we all live long enough, but I am not holding my breath.........

 

[46hemi]

Serpent Indiana,

I think you are saying that so we all lower our prices on our cars and you can scoop them up

Lets see....you have a great track record dealing in Mopars for the last 30 years and now you have stockpiled 2 ACR's!! Somethings fishy (no cuda pun intended).

 

[SERPENT INDIANA]

46HEMI.........I have always been a car enthusiast, first car 55 Chevy, new 68 GTO conv, new 69 Chevelle conv..and that was when I was still 16-17....have had lots of Vettes thru the years, all generations....started messing with MOPARS almost by accident, my first 69 Daytona(F6 Green) was just sitting outside one day and the original owner had decided to sell it, I just happened by at the right time....always have liked winged cars, but ended up owning about 30 of the Trans Am cars, T/A Challengers and AAR 'Cudas, all 340 SIX PAKS/BARRELS...owned lots of other MOPARS, 440 SIX PAKS, HEMIS, Cuda convs etc etc....finally got tired of messing with the older stuff and started messing with Prowlers and Vipers(have had 8 of each)...Still have one T/A Challenger(Plum Crazy 4 spd)...the old stuff was/is neat, but the new stuff is so trouble free, fast etc etc....have little desire to mess with the oldies anymore....it just reminds me how long it has been since I was young :&gt; )))

 

[garolittle]

The economy is bad and the introduction of the SRT-10 could put as many as 1,500 Vipers on the market in the coming months. Also, a war is brewing which could make oil prices sky rocket. Translation .... Prices will go lower, much lower.

 

[GTS Bruce]

Factors,factors,market,blah,blah.The immediate problem is that no one NEEDS a Viper.And I mean absolutely no one.This is also the long term problem because no one will ever need one.If you want one or wanted one you should have seen the financial downside going in.Since no one needs one they can simply walk away from any deal at anytime.Going racing?Why buy a viper?Expensive car,parts etc.Makes a lot more sense to by a busch cup car for less money and go circle track or roadracing.Or one of the multitude of other less expensive fully prepped race cars lying around out there.I got my 01 gts for 1000 over invoice when the dealer started out wanting 74.I wanted the car only if I could get it at invoice but decided after 3 hours of negotiating that invoice plus 1 was still pretty good.The dealer bargained down a lot more than I bargained up because I could have walked away from it anytime and drove my ram home through the afternoon snowstorm.Poor salesman was like a yoyo going back and forth between me and the boss.Finaly I said I want the car and I want to go home.Lets get the deal done for 1 over and he said sign here.I say I will never sell mine,but you never know.Not a big market,few can afford it even if they want one.I knew all this when I bought in.Yep still makes me smile every day.Still glad I bought it. Bruce

 

[fast?]

thanks steve, someone agrees with me. i do understand that times are hard for some right now. i just wanted to voice my opinion about seeing vipers sell for such a low price. i know that if people started to sell high and recieve the amount they are asking, that will help keep the value of our cars. 12,000 cars in 10 years does seem to be an exclusive car (at least domestic).
30,000 corvettes a year makes our cars definitely exclusive.

 

[malcoll]

I hate to say this, but if the price of a 1997 RT/10 could just drop another $5,000????? Please?
Then once I get mine... I want prices to skyrocket...

 

[anunakki]

My .02 cents

I just bought mine a month ago and heres an observation I dont see a lot of on this board.

People think they're more expensive than they are so they dont include them on their shopping list. Thus the number of buyers is low and people need to drop the price more to sell them.

So many people i run into who have Roush or Saleen mustangs or corvettes ( which end up being REAL close to a lat emodel Viper in price) think Vipers ( used) are $ 80,000 cars. They dont even consider them on their shopping list. Plus theres an urban legend going around that insuring a viper is gonna cost at least $6000 a year. Thats what everyone told me when i started looking.

Truth be told I was looking at Z06's and M Roadsters when I decided just for the heck of it to see what Vipers cost. I couldnt believe I could get a late model for around $ 60,000 ( at least at the time I started looking).

Obviously this observation is in addition to all the other factors everyone on the board has mentioned.

The Viper is probably the most unique taste in production autos. Its hot, hard to see out of, worse gas mileage than just about anything else, expensive to repair, hard to drive,etc ad nausem but "WE" love that about it.

Most people want a fast car but are not willing to be compromised by the eccentricities of the viper, thus not that many buyers in the used market.

Of course the posts that mentioned future resale value are correct. Figure most vipers will be trashed by their rich owners who just consider them a toy for a while ( my favorite thing about the viper is that its kinf of the working class exotic... people find it patriotic and not pretentious). But when the kids from the 90'***** their 30's the prices of the surviving vehicles will go way up. And the looks of the SRT will only help that. It looks like a new generation corvette and not a new gen viper.. Myself, i dont care what the car is ever worth just like I dont care if my paintball gun or seadoo or video games are ever worth anything . They make me happy regardless of their value.

 

[garolittle]

Come on guys. It is not an investment, it is a car. Drive it and do not worry about the re-sale value. When you are on your death bed do you really think you are going to be thinking about the drop in Viper prices in 2002?

 

[AJ]

the viper is a toy. so is the 911 turbo. so is the z8. the prices on those are also in the toilet.

when the going gets rough the toys are the first to go.

it is that simple.

alex
02 gts
few other cars

 

[VIPR GTS]

The bottom line is: who cares about the value, when I climb in and drive down the street I have the best feeling I have ever had in a car. It is exactly what I thought it was, a modern day version of my dream car of the sixties, the 427SC. It is raw, it is fast, it is beautiful and it is addicting, **** , its really perfect for what I bought it for. And talk about fun, mine is on jack stands now, waiting for JetHot to return my new headers, all the mods mean it is almost always Christmas here waiting for the next little goody, The Roe SC being the most fun so far. So think, you take a hit for $10,000 to $15,000 if you have to dump it, there are people doing that everyday on Chevy Impalas and other everyday cars they have no fun with. I say, what ever it cost, what ever I would lose, it is worth it.
Tony