Wow...love the condition this car is in. Tempted. What do you think?...
Wow...love the condition this car is in. Tempted. What do you think? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Viper-THE-ULTIMATELY-MAINTAINED-VIPER-GTS-PRICED-TO-SELL_W0QQitemZ120148095071QQihZ002QQcategoryZ6209QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem RMX
Once my business gets off the ground (positive thinking)...I think a Viper will be the first car I buy...great style, awesome torque, just a really fun street car to cruise around in on a Sunday =)
Not listed by owner but friend of owner. Repainted front bumper every winter. What's that about? Six point belts? Tracked? Bubbleing in paint around gas cap. You can read a lot between the lines in this listing. He tried to go on and on how perfect the car is but it is not. IMO Repaints of any kind for any reason are never good and taking things apart to "clean" them is a bad idea. It's a car and a lot of the time things are better left alone. If he was really so worried he could have clearbra'd the front.
This car belongs to Jerry Dobson, a good friend of mine. He is a car perfectionist to the EXTREME......I can't even begin to describe how beautiful and well care for his car is. It is almost to the point of overdone. You can eat off the bottom of his Viper.....He cleans every inch of his car w/ white towel and Q-tips. He also works on all the Vipers in the area (as a favor for friends) If I were in the market for a Viper, this is the car I would buy. It is probably in better conditions than most newer ones out there.
ALl of the GTS cars bubble around the fuel fill to some extent something about the aluminum fuel fill or something or another. This car looks in amazingly good shape...I say "do it" but don't park it in the same space where you parked the TL (sorry to see that btw).
Dave, Have you seen the car? Tom and I have as well as many others. Jerry is just a perfectionist and enjoys working on his car. Just not sure what lines we are to read between.
Looks like a great example, but I'm not a big fan of 'em in red. Now a BLUE GTS with or without the white stripes....woof!
Get the car and enjoy it. The 2nd gen cars look amazing and they are just cool cars. The only thing I would do to the car would be put some HRE's on it.
This thing looks really good...it might even be too nice (and why I created the thread). I seriously doubt I could maintain the vehicle in the same condition as the owner. I simply do not have that kind of free time. Looks like it was sealed up in a time capsule. I might benefit from more of a "driver". The price seems pretty good, though. How does this sit in relation to GTS prices of the same year? RMX
I know the owner and I know the guy listing the car - you are way off base with your comments. There is nothing to read between the lines. Paint bubbling around the gas cap is a very common problem. Front fascia painted - well, if you owned one of these, they get scratched on the front all the time. It's not rock chips on the front, but the underside. From road debris and rocks. Six points? The GTS/R had them in '98 and the ACR got them in 99. A lot of guys put them on the car - there are factory tabs to mount them, its not like you need to drill the frame. As for the tap on the curb - it says no paint work was done (easy to verify, right?) so it's also called "curbing a wheel". You're way waaaay off the mark. The car is excellent and one of the nicest 98 GTS's around. Don't assume that a seller who is being 100% honest is just out to screw you - sometimes they are just being honest (surprise, surprise!)
Price (th buy it now) is fair but slightly on the high side for that year and miles. But just slightly - and considering the condition, I think its worth it. If you got one for less than around $39k, you would be driving a "beater". If it goes for what it's currently at ($42k) I think thats a fair price. Even a couple grand more. For the buy-it-now you could easily get a 99 ACR but not in as good condition, but probably with a bunch less miles.
Remix - sorry to read about idiot and your other car. But, remember... there is a reason for everything. Look how many fine, upstanding f-citizens are vouching for this beast and it's caretaker Clearly, the condition it is in speaks for itself, whether you'll be able to approach that level of care or not - it *spoke* to you, man! If you don't get it, it will haunt you like Charles Dickens' um, Viper of um, Summer Past get it - you deserve it - <Nike>just do it</Nike>
If you guys are willing to stand up for the owner by all means do so. I just pointed out some interesting parts in the listing. Used cars sold private party on Ebay are 97% out to screw you. This is the exception, not the rule.
Evolved is way off base. Here is the story on my Viper. I had a firm offer for $53,900 on my car about six months ago. I turned it down. My brother offered me $50k for my car so I went out and bought a new Viper Coupe which I now have. The deal with my brother is not going to happen. So I need to sell one of the Vipers. I have been the Vice President of the Kansas City Viper Club for five years. I personally work on most of the Vipers in Kansas City at Rosso Motorsports, I know a lot about cars. I can walk around most Vipers and quickly pick out a few thousand dollars in repairs. You get what you pay for. You can see this Viper every year at the Crescent Classic, its on numerous posters and calendars. It has appeared on TV several times. This is one of the most photographed Vipers. I drive this Viper everywhere. I took it to the world wide meet in Dallas. I drive it to Arkansas every year for the Crescent Classic. I am driving to Springfield in September. I run it on the Buffalo Run. How can it be this clean? When winter snow is on the ground, I have months to clean the car. Whats with the paint work? If you drive a car, you are going to get chips and scuffs. Remember 30 years ago when people put plastic on their sofas? Some people are now doing that with to their cars .I am not. I like a pure shinny car without flaws. So the only option is paint. Ryck S had 218 miles on his 1997 Viper. My Viper is nicer. Chad U. has 1800 miles on his 1996 Viper, mine is nicer. Dont base the purchase solely on mileage. Low mileage cars are more of a problem than cars that are driven on a regular basis. I would buy a car that is proven reliable with a few miles. Garage queens are only garage queens. You can have a near perfect car that is driven and enjoyed. I could go on and on. Jerry Dobson
On the MB board I've read of people with sedans having their front and rear bumper covers repainted yearly to keep it looking good. I would expect a low car like the viper to get even more damage from rocks. I know the bottom of my Miata's nose is full of chips even with the air dam.
Jerry- Congrats on having a great Viper. It is nice to see someone truely cherish and care for their belongings. Happy motoring.
If you are wanting a Viper, buy the car. If it is not everything promised I will buy it back from you. How is that for a testimonial? Steve
I don't make posts on here just see to my name in print, I have more important things to do... Some posts on Ferrarichat are just reckless, the post made by Evolved is wrong and he should not be commenting on issues he has no direct knowledge of... He has never seen this car and lives hundreds of miles away. Mr. Dobson's Viper is extremely well documented with every record available. This Viper comes off the road in November of every year and is disassembled, cleaned and the hood, front bumper and side sills are repainted by a shop that works on nearly every Ferrari in Kansas City. Mr. Dobson spends three months cleaning and maintaining the car before he puts it back together at tolerances closer than factory specs. Mr. Dobson is an I. T. officer of a major insurance company, but he is also a master Viper tech at Rosso Motorsports, a posistion he has simply to fulfill his passion for Viper's. And yes, Rosso maintains most of the Viper's in Kansas City. This car is driven, not abused, but driven as it should be. If someone was lucky enough to own this car, they would have the best Viper at any Viper gathering. This car has numerous 1st place trophies, I would reccomend this car to anyone. My advice to anyone buying a Ferrari, is to buy the best car you can, it will SAVE you money, the same holds true for Viper's, a cheaper car will COST you money. It is too bad "Evolved" made a statment regarding a car he knows nothing about... Chris Parr President Ferrari Club of America / Kansas City Chairman Crescent Classic
Like all the Kansas City guys that have posted I too think this car is an incredible buy. One that I would jump if I was in the market. The car is the best example of a GTS I have ever seen. Clean, Perfectly maintained, and exactly in the condition stated in the ebay add. This purchase will not be regretted.
In defense of the fellow I must say, before I read any of the posts on this thread (other than the 1st of course ), I was thinking some of the same things-- The two things that jumped out at me were the claims of frequent repaints and how "every winter he tears the car down." Generally speaking, a car with lots of paintwork is not preferable. And the thought of someone *tearing* down a chrysler product several times makes me kind of queasy, especially thinking of my experience with the flimsy parts on a Viper. And frankly the ad is written a little too enthusiastically. But reading the rest of this thread I would feel very confident about the car. Just don't jump on a fellow for raising a couple questions. He didn't make any big claims about the car, he just asked questions that any normal buyer should ask. Sheesh.
