Potential new viper owner !!!

GTS Bruce

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The Viper is pretty reliable but remember that it is a little exotic and has some quirks.If quirks drive you nuts them maybe a new corvette automatic or Cadillac is in your best intrest.The Viper is quirky to say the least and a lot of us are always changing things on it to suite our personal eye of the beholder and driving tastes. Bruce
 

Vic

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vic451, that ratio of reads to replies is very typical for the internet. So may are afraid to post, for fear of being ridiculed, or they just don't bother if they have nothing pertinent to say.

Now me, on the other hand, will chime in on subjects I know nothing about, and don't hold back!

I bought my GTS new 8 months ago, and broke it in very carefully. Excruciatingly carefully! Agonizingly carefully! Painfully c...ok, well, you get the point!

The car now has about 8000 miles. It doesn't burn oil, goes like hell, (for a relatively stock car), and it hasn't exhibited any of the problems that I heard about when I first started reading this board a couple of years ago. I think DC worked out a lot of the kinks by the time the 2001 model year came around.

So I guess I'm a happy Viper owner. I just watch the temp gauge now and then, because of the dreaded plastic vane water pump! Whoops, I wasn't supposed to tell you about that!

DC, can I still get my money?
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SoCal Craig

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Build quality??? What's that
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We'll I'll admit it's not up to BMW or Porsche standards... but which car do I get the biggest blast out of driving???

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cstegall

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vic451,

I bought my '01 GTS about a year ago and had the same concerns as your Dad. I had owned exotic cars and I had owned fast cars but those cars had a lot of "civility" built into them. What I was looking for was a car that I enjoyed owning as much as driving. As stated by other owners on this board...when you own a Viper you adopt a new automotive life. The car is awesome...the build is consistent...the attention is unstoppable...and the camaraderie of the Viper nation is second to none. You become a part of a much bigger whole that I honestly believe is not duplicated with Porsches,Vettes or even Ferrari's. These are all supercars and very well engineered and respected,however,they are not a Viper and your Dad will only know what this means when he buys one.

No Flame Intended...Just Observation,

CStegall
 

Kurt 97 GTS

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My biggest issue when I bought mine was reliability!! Turns out that over the past 3 years, this has been one of the most reliable cars I have owned. I am careful and always keep up the maintanance. Great car!!
 

Vic

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I like the simple two valve per cylinder arrangement of our Vipers.

My wife drives a Cadillac with the Northstar engine, and it started burning oil after about 75-80K miles. Its got 4 valves per cylinder, which means its got twice the number of valve guides to wear, and thusly twice the area through which the oil from the top end can sneak down into the combustion chamber. Maybe its just a cheap throw-away engine, but it seems to me the the 4 valve design gives better air flow, but is not designed for longevity. This is possibly why that BMW burns oil, if it has 4 valves per cyl.

Thats' why I like simple, strong designs, like our American V-8s, and of course our V-10 Vipers. Slow turning, lots of torque.
 

dadsvpr

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i'm satisfied with the quality of my car. a newer porsche's fit and finish is wonderful, its a different car though. I always expect improvement quality with next gen cars. i believe the corvette c5 is a better car than the c4. I'd expect the SRT to have many qualities improvements as well.

I'm not too positive on chrysler service as it relates to my previous purchases, (nor in circumstances with other dealer's service), however the corporate/dealer service attention i have gotten on my viper has been fantastic. i still prefer non-dealer service as I feel more at ease with a viper specialist though alot of viper owners seem to work on their own cars because it is relatively low tech.

btw a friend of mines girlfriend had his bmw M5 over the other day. She said the oil light came on. Long story short, M5's burn oil every 500-4000KM (thats like 300-2300 miles). Its special oil, 10W-60 Castrol. We had to *research* and make a few calls to find oil for the car. Is that build quality?

I don't think your dad would be disappointed with an SRT, far from it.

Jason
 
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