How did you decide?

[germ79]

Just wondering how you all decided between a Gen II and a Gen III Viper? Obviously, cost comes into play, but what else? Sometimes the prices don't seem TOO terribly different between the two.

Also, even though this may be hard to answer, how did you decide between a coupe or convertible?

Thanks for your insights!

Jeremy

 

[alpine7822]

There are more creature comforts in a Gen 3 over a Gen 2. The position of the pedals, the seats, push button start, convertible top, bigger motor, etc. are all pluses of a Gen 3 over a Gen 2.

As for the coupe v. vert, it's a personal preference there. The Gen 3 vert is almost like a coupe with the top up (other than looks). It's relatively quiet. Another factor is deciding if you are going to track your car, coupes are pretty much good to go out of the box, verts require some "tweaks" like hardtops, roll bars, etc. before you can track them at most places.

 

[mike & juli]

Jeremy: As alpine said, there are many things that come into play. Depends WHERE you live as well...is it FEASIBLE for you to drive a convertible top-down??? Do you prefer the LOOK of the Coupe? Gen II's have awesome styling. Gen IIIs have more HP/TQ stock. We love the vert, but if we had to do it over, we'd get a COUPE...NOT feasible in Upstate NY to drive convertibles top-down.
We hardly ever drive it with the top down. Just my .02 GOOD LUCK if you're considering a VIPER...once you've driven one, you've been BITTEN and there is NO CURE!~! ~juli

 

[01sapphirebob]

For me it was the look of the car. The Gen I Gen II body style is what I fell in love with when I was young so when I was able to buy I got a Gen II RT/10. Everywhere I looked ther was a GTS. Nothing wrong with that but I wanted to be a little different. Now that I have an RT/10 I want a GTS as well, just to have one and add to the collection. Once you've been bitten theres no turning back.

 

[hemihead]

For me, here in the great white north of Michigan, my toy car has to have no top. I'm not a racer so for me there is nothing quite like a convertible. I'm the guy driving around on a 50 degree day with the heat blasting in the car.

The next thing for me was the body style had to be a gen II. I recognize the advanced engineering of the genIII but the styling is a little to "soft" for me. I would never want my Viper to be a daily driver, but being 50 years old I've driven it for 6 plus hour trip and flet fine.

The GTS's and SRT's are outstanding cars but for my driving experience give me a gen II RT 10.

 

[Chris88t]

As an "about to be new owner" (planning a gen III purchase by end of November) I was going through this same decision process. I've been lurking this site for a while reading up ownership issues, etc.

For me one of the concerns was being weather tight. I don't intend to drive the Viper everyday and won't plan to be in the rain. But it will be a 3 day a week car for me, and Florida can have afternoon down pours regularly in the summer.

I definitley like removable tops and have driven convertibles that were solidly dry in a storm (Porsche), and some that had a few drips at the corners (Nissan 300ZX)- which can be annoying. I had read quite a few posts on the Gen II, which seems to be hit and miss with re: leaks in the rain. Some owners have reported no problems and others seem to have fit/finish issues.

So far everything I've come across on the Gen IIIs is that they are pretty weather tight.

 

[mike & juli]

As an "about to be new owner" (planning a gen III purchase by end of November) I was going through this same decision process. I've been lurking this site for a while reading up ownership issues, etc.
For me one of the concerns was being weather tight. I don't intend to drive the Viper everyday and won't plan to be in the rain. But it will be a 3 day a week car for me, and Florida can have afternoon down pours regularly in the summer.
I definitley like removable tops and have driven convertibles that were solidly dry in a storm (Porsche), and some that had a few drips at the corners (Nissan 300ZX)- which can be annoying. I had read quite a few posts on the Gen II, which seems to be hit and miss with re: leaks in the rain. Some owners have reported no problems and others seem to have fit/finish issues.
So far everything I've come across on the Gen IIIs is that they are pretty weather tight.

Congrats on your upcoming purchase! Can't wait to see what Viper you chose.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS on the VERT's soft-top in the rain...and hail...and snow...
lol...our '05 held up for 4 years (purchased in Oct. '04/sold June '08) thru LOTS of rain. Never any leaks, or any problems whatsoever. Have driven this '08 thru the rain a few times as well...no leaks...water beads right off. GOOD LUCK on your purchase, and be SURE to let us know! ~juli

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

The Gen 3 cars are a bit more user friendly for more than occasional driving. They have better ingress and egress IMHO and of course are somewhat cheaper to repair if there were ever a problem that was hood related!

 

[Mopar Boy]

I had the same questions. As I saw the price of the 2 generations were almost the same, it came down to preferance. What am I looking for. User freindlyness? More luxuries? Style? For me, I love the older bodies so I went with that. I also prefer the rawness of the older cars.

Coupe/Roadster. As all mentioned, climate is a huge factor. The other thing I liked is a hardtop is more secure.

Lastly, go to Chapters, Coles, etc and geta book called The Vipers Buyers Guide by Muarice Liang. Best book I have ever purchased. Answered all of my questions, and ones I did not even know I had. Gives you breakdown by year, options, colors, changes, problems, etc.

Robert

 

[dave6666]

Cost consideration... ZILCHO

Body style... KA-CHING!

Dave, GTS owner.

 

[All Blue ACR]

Gen 2 GTS

LOOKS

 

[Viper Specialty]

Owned a Gen-2 GTS, Drove an RT-10. Wanted a convertible, but didnt want to deal with a removable top. Didnt like the SRT-10's when they came out........ Body style grew on me, then I saw one in White, inserted my foot into my mouth, and bought a White Mamba SRT-10. Case closed.

 

[ViperGal]

you have an IM

 

[Ratical2]

This wasn't even a question for me... I fell in love with GTS and that was what I had to have. I still get a kick out of finding in the garage when I open the door. I thought about the RT10 but I had have the 96 GTS and nothing else would do.