millitary people and vipers?

[b3rndtt0ast]

how many people here are in the military and afford vipers? I'm going to be joining the navy (go to basic july28th), and want to know if a viper is really within reach within 2 years of that date (saving as much as possible for it)
also, if you are and or where in the military, please tell me what you thought about it and your rank/service (if you don't want to, np)
thanks in advance.

-Dan

[RSNAKE]

A used GEN I Viper may be within your reach, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. You will be spending almost all of your pay on the car and insurance and storage. You won't see many Vipers at all owned by folks in the military. If you do even see one, it will probably be owned by a high ranking officer. I would say O5 or above. There are always exceptions, and if you don't have any other expenses and don't mind blowing basically all of your money on a car, you could do it. I would not advise it though.

[99 R/T 10]

A used GEN I Viper may be within your reach, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. You will be spending almost all of your pay on the car and insurance and storage. You won't see many Vipers at all owned by folks in the military. If you do even see one, it will probably be owned by a high ranking officer. I would say O5 or above. There are always exceptions, and if you don't have any other expenses and don't mind blowing basically all of your money on a car, you could do it. I would not advise it though.

Umm, yeah. RSNAKE is correct when he says Gen I is more within reach than the Gen II, (goes without saying) and if the car is your only mode of transportation, insurance will be expensive(that's why I have a second car). I am a CW3 flying Blackhawks for the Army. I could have afforded a Gen II if I wanted to wait for the bonus to kick in, and will get one in the near future, but decided to enjoy the car when I could. So I did. There are a few soldiers that do own these cars and most are commisioned officers, but not all. That said, depending on your rank even after two years, it will be difficult. Not only because of the cost, but the moves involved. I happened to be stationed at a TDA base for four years, so it worked out for me. You will have to evaluate your situation when you get to your first duty station. Maybe Vipermad(Tony) will chime in here as well.

Mike

[b3rndtt0ast]

thanks for all the info so far, i really had my eyes set on a 96 + GTS, the GTS just looks better to me. i can get a viper wholesale (dad works for a dodge dealer up here), so i hope that will help me a bit, i just hope i get stationed some place fun like Pesacola (never on a ship :-D ), do military people get discounted rates from insurance companys because they get stationed away? i would really hate to leave a viper some place uninsured.

[b3rndtt0ast]

oh yea, anyway i can talk to you like AIM or anything? send me a PM if you dont want to post them here.
thanks
-dan

[99 R/T 10]

thanks for all the info so far, i really had my eyes set on a 96 + GTS, the GTS just looks better to me. i can get a viper wholesale (dad works for a dodge dealer up here), so i hope that will help me a bit, i just hope i get stationed some place fun like Pesacola (never on a ship :-D ), do military people get discounted rates from insurance companys because they get stationed away? i would really hate to leave a viper some place uninsured.

That does help when you can get the car at a discount(that always helps). And no, no discount on insurance, just shop around(minimum of 5 different companies). email me at scherzberg@hotmail.com

Mike

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Hmmm, Vipermad can only speak in riddles.

Seriously, as stated it does depend on rank(income), just as it does for any other person in the world. When I was active duty, early on as an E-4 and E-5....I probably could have done it if I was single. NOT anything against being married, honest...just facts. I was a geo-bachelor for years while my wife (currently an O-4 in the Navy) was in college. I lived on the ship, had NO bills whatsoever, ate on the ship....everything ON THE ship. Kept my CJ7 in that parking lot and my crotch-rocket in a storage she off base.

Again, as stated, logistics are very hard. Even now, while married to the Navy, it is very hard to keep the car (in a manner I am comfortable with). I ended up buying an enclosed trailer so I could move EVERYTHING Viper-related myself. Furniture, TV, stereo....all that stuff the Navy can move for me. They touch NOTHING Viper.

I had a friend on the USS Texas, back in 87..E-5, saved every penny, and he had a pretty good portfolio at the time! He had NO life off the ship though.

Can you do it? I don't see why not. I currently live one of the Navy hubs...Virginia Beach. Sold cars at a Ford dealership and saw a few E-5's and up (the odd E-4 who had more to put down) buy Cobras, Lightnings....not really cheap cars. It can be done IMHO.

Where are you gonna live? Where will you keep the car? I just saw your post about not going on a ship???? I have seen that happen. I used to give my wife a harrd time about some of the people she had working for her who never went to sea. Me, like a majority of men in the Navy, made 1 WestPac and 2 Med Cruises....and even when I went to shore duty I was on an inspection team that, you guessed it, went to sea with the ships to do testing underway. LOL!!!! What rating are you looking at? If you say anything about engineering let me say that a sailors place is on the ship and a ship's place is at sea. LOL!!!

Speaking of....why NOT go to sea? I was rigging friendship lights on the mast of the Texas as we steamed into Singapore. Liberty in Pearl! Sitting on the fantail behind the Tomahawk launchers as we followed a Monsoon in teh Sea of Japan.....wave that I looked UP at!!

I digress! You can do it if you are good with money and you are happy just HAVING it. You can get a good deal...but make sure you think about the cost of ownership. Insurance, storage, etc.

That aside, if you have the means....go for it! If it doesn't work out, bail! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

(if my spelling sucks...I'm dead tired and heading to bed!)

[b3rndtt0ast]

i have nothin against going to sea, hell, i will probably end up on a aircraft carrier. my rating is going to be AM, i love aircraft, but my eyes wont let me fly them :-/, so i might as well work on them. i dont plan on getting married within the next 5 years (i want to get all my fun out of the way first) but you can never tell what happens. thanks for your insight, any info on what i should/shouldnt bring to basic, or anythin that will help me though basic i should know?

-Dan

[George Murray]

Don't even think about the Navy unless you're willing to go to sea! As Vipermad mentioned, sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea! If sea duty has no appeal and you like aircraft, join the Air Force and enjoy their bowling alleys, golf courses, and "hey dude yo how ya doin' sir" military bearing

If you're going in enlisted, Viper ownership will be a hardship after only two years' service, if all you have income-wise is your Navy pay. Even a junior officer in the first two years will have a tough time if relying only on military pay, because your first two years will generally be spent in training (that is...training AFTER basic (enlisted) or OCS, Academy, NROTC (officer)), often shuffling from one temporary training base to another, and Uncle Sam's Canoe Club doesn't provide garages...

A word of advice: don't do what many new recruits do and get a car loan right out of boot camp. You'll tie up your $ for years, and create financial burdens. In my 16 years active service and five years reserve service, I've seen scores of examples of military people with weak credit due to bad decisions they made early on in their careers.

Let the other guys buy the new Cobras and 4x4s and bikes. Pay yourself first by saving money, and then pay cash for your first Viper. You may have to wait, but it'll be worth it.

And remember: top down motoring can be more easily enjoyed in an RT/10, because using a saws-all on a GTS roof creates splinters!

[Supercharged Vipermad]

What Goerge said! Though I moved from active duty to the life aof a kept man, my wife (who shares some of George's experience) dealt with many junior enlisted where the majority of the problems stemmed from bad financial decisions. It can be very energizing and exciting to have some income....and no bills (assuming you live in barracks/ship). And, to be honest, there are some people out there who will take advantage of that.

[b3rndtt0ast]

i never said i wont go to sea, i just woulndt want to go from basic, to training, right to a 6 month deployment :-/, but what happens, happens. thanks for all the good advice, i already have a bit of money saved for the car (8 grand to the car in the band)

[JetMec]

After 13 years in the USAF and a very generous wife I was finally able to afford a 96 R/T. I use the term afford loosely. Pay yourself first. Make sure you plan for the future and then if you can still eek out enough to buy one... DO IT!

[99 R/T 10]

Dam Jetmec,
Only seven more to go to do 20! Come on back in, and get retirement, they'll take ya back. Or you can branch in the Army and become a Helopilot!

Mike

[b3rndtt0ast]

okay, what I have gotten is this. Save Save Save because I don't want to get stuck in debt. IF I have the money to pay for one in cash, should i take it? that'd basically what I need to know, I plan to save, I want to save as much as I can. I have never been much of a "go out and party and waste a few hundred bucks!" type of person.
here are a few of my Goals as of now.
1) get through basic
2) be in the top of my class though basic, and into Training in pesacola Florida (for AM)
3) start at pay grade E-3 (im already starting at E-2 after training, or was it after basic? hell, i cant remember) any one want join the navy? ehe.
4) pocket as much money as i can.
5) in around a year and a half, 2 years take all the money i have (hope more then 35 - 40k saved) and start to look for a 97 - 99 GTS (find one at auction)

do you think it would be possible to get a "okay" one? i don't want a perfect car, i want one i wont be afraid to park in a parking lot, or be afraid to drive as a daily car

thanks for all your help so far.

[JetMec]

As I walked...ahem... MARCHED along at Lackland AFB during basic training, just having been screamed at for not staying in step. I wondered why the heck I was putting myself through this. I was down. Just then out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a guy in BDUs riding to work on a motorcycle. That guy might as well have been me. From that day on my goal was to ride. Maybe it was just to have the things I wanted. I'm not sure. At any rate, it is what got me through basic... tech school and the first few weeks of duty. I rode MY bike as hard and as fast as I had ever been. Achieve your goals by not listening to what others think you can or can't do. Stay focused on what you want and the hard stuff gets a little easier. Picture yourself driving to work Seaman!