Viper Dealer List/ Travel assistance

[Dave292]

Does anyone know if a Viper Dealer list exists??? The reason I ask is because I plan on driving my car to Calif from Colorado. If I have a problem on the road i'd like to have a list of Viper service dealers. Also, I belong to the Porsche 356 Registry. There is a TAN network that has been established to help 356 owners if they have problems on the road. TAN means Travel Assistance Network. 356 owners provide their contact info and what types of service they can offer to other members. It's only available to 356 Registry members. I, for example, have an enclosed trailer, spare parts and know where the Porsche mechanics are located in the 4 Corners Area.
Any thoughts about starting a TAN? I'm challenged on a computer but maybe there is interest from our officers to make this a part of the Owners Group.
Thanks

[Steve-Indy]

Dave292, you have a helpful idea...that has been brought up more than once in my 20 year history with Vipers.

There is a thread on this site which may offer some help.

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/threads/12449-ULTIMATE-Viper-Friendly-Dealer-List

The problem is, in my opinion, that the numbers of Viper Techs have dropped way off from the early days. In fact, the training programs were abandoned for several years prior to the spinoff of SRT with the Gen V cars. Though many dealers bought in, it was hard to keep the techs up to speed In areas with few Vipers. Of course, with "the end nearing", the numbers of trained, qualified, interested techs will (has already fallen) fall sharply.

Were I in your position, I would contact the Regional Clubs and find out just who they use/trust. In central Indiana, I keep a list of nearby dealers, techs, and trusted flatbed drivers...and, folks often call me for advice. There are also very helpful members scattered around IN, IL, KY, and OH who are always ready to assist.

With a well prepped, well maintained car you should be fine. Have a great trip.

[CarolinaViper]

Does anyone know if a Viper Dealer list exists??? The reason I ask is because I plan on driving my car to Calif from Colorado. If I have a problem on the road i'd like to have a list of Viper service dealers. Also, I belong to the Porsche 356 Registry. There is a TAN network that has been established to help 356 owners if they have problems on the road. TAN means Travel Assistance Network. 356 owners provide their contact info and what types of service they can offer to other members. It's only available to 356 Registry members. I, for example, have an enclosed trailer, spare parts and know where the Porsche mechanics are located in the 4 Corners Area.
Any thoughts about starting a TAN? I'm challenged on a computer but maybe there is interest from our officers to make this a part of the Owners Group.
Thanks

Dave,

I suggested something like what you guys have in the Porsche 356 Registry and brought it over a year ago and just recently again to "Viper Girl" (not throwing her under the bus there was reasons why she couldn't do it) who was going to make an "App" with VOA members who would volunteer to assist members across the country. As Steve stated and with the Viper coming to an end there is going to less and less places to obtain assistance. Wish the club would take this into consideration...I will bring it up during the next Presidents meeting. In the meantime, every VOA region President's has their phone number on the VOA site, if someone is in need of assistance they could reach out to the closest VOA Region President to see where the closest tech or support is. Not perfect, but its all we have right now.

Jeff

[WhiteSnake]

As one who has driven across country a few times, I always take a list of the Region Presidents with me in case I have any problems. As you are probably aware all the Region Presidents are listed on this site. They will have the best info to help you if needed.

[Dave292]

As one who has driven across country a few times, I always take a list of the Region Presidents with me in case I have any problems. As you are probably aware all the Region Presidents are listed on this site. They will have the best info to help you if needed.

Well…the closest region president is 190 miles from me. I guess The Viper Group here may be different. If I break down in my 356 I look at the TAN which I carry with me. I contact a member who in most cases will travel to my breakdown location, follow the tow truck, usually offer to store the car at the TAN members house and either offer a bed in their house or take me to a hotel. If they have a trailer they normally will take my car to the closest mechanic or go to the Registry to find local help.

[Steve-Indy]

Well Dave, so for you have not described any activities done by your TAN that I and my fellow Members haven't done for each other and for complete strangers in need across a two state area. I think that you will find equal interest, cooperation, and repair facilitation in helping fellow owners in most Regions...which is a certainty in the Midwest. Just reach out. Of course, having a parent organization such as the PCA with nearly 100,000 members certainly increases the odds of connecting with someone.

[CarolinaViper]

Well Dave, so for you have not described any activities done by your TAN that I and my fellow Members haven't done for each other and for complete strangers in need across a two state area. I think that you will find equal interest, cooperation, and repair facilitation in helping fellow owners in most Regions...which is a certainty in the Midwest. Just reach out. Of course, having a parent organization such as the PCA with nearly 100,000 members certainly increases the odds of connecting with someone.

Steve,

Well stated, we are not as large, but we are very accommodating and do the best we can.

[Dave292]

Thanks for the response. I never said anything about PCA. The 356 Registry is not affiliated with PCA. As far as reaching out for help from other members that have Vipers, I think it's great that that currently exists. Obviously I don't want to re invent the wheel since you seem to believe that this already exists in the Viper Owners Group. I'll drop the subject.

[Steve-Indy]

Dave, thanks for pointing out my misconception about the 356 group's connection to the PCA. In my Porsche days (70's to 80's), the groups seemed comingled.

As the designated and appointed "east coast convoy " local coordinator back in 2000 for VOI.6 in St. Louis, my task was to scout, then post an Indy beltway merge point that was supported by hotels having large and "safe" parking lots, restaurants, gas stations, and easy return access to the Interstates. With I 65, I 69, I 70, and I 74 all contributing to I 465, we had two separate groups of Vipers (just short of a couple of hundred as I recall) that coild need various levels of assistance. I also visited and interviewed several beltway Dodge dealers to gauge the level of Viper expertise and cooperation. Also identified were available and experienced flatbed operators who agreed to help us if necessary.

I believe that this level of owner cooperation still exists in many populated area. Unfortunately, western geography likely further dilutes what is already a fairly thin population.

I think your premise is quite solid...especially with the Viper "wind-down". Admittedly, it takes considerable time, work, and energy to make anything like this successful..but well worth it in my opinion. As the future evolves, we ALL will need each other more and more for parts, info, service, etc.

If you plan a trip east through our area sometime, give me a heads up.

[repiV]

I think it would be nice if members would at least put a city in their profile rather than just a state or a region. That would be a good start.

[TrackAire]

I think it would be a great idea.....being part of a TAN with the very diverse yet resourceful group like the VOA would definitely help put your mind at ease when traveling a long way from home.

But, I would think that just being part of the group is key, not just Viper secific. I know that if I was on vacation driving the family SUV and had an issue along the way, I'd love to be able to call somebody in the area from the VOA for assistance if I was in a particularly difficult situation. We're not just Viper guys, we're car guys that will help out a fellow club member whenever we can (at least that is how I feel about being part of the VOA).

Lets hope something can be put together to form a TAN by the VOA for those that want to sign up and be a part of it.

Cheers,
George

[BrianACR]

I think it would be nice if members would at least put a city in their profile rather than just a state or a region. That would be a good start.

Ageed. At least then they could see if there is anyone nearby.

[CarolinaViper]

Thanks for the response. I never said anything about PCA. The 356 Registry is not affiliated with PCA. As far as reaching out for help from other members that have Vipers, I think it's great that that currently exists. Obviously I don't want to re invent the wheel since you seem to believe that this already exists in the Viper Owners Group. I'll drop the subject.

Dave,

Don't drop the idea...you idea/contact list is a whole lot better and more capable of just having a list of telephone numbers of the Region Presidents. Maybe someone in the club has the IT skills to make it work. Also, would be a great reason for those "Enthusiast" to actually joined the club, if they could have access to this emergence/assistance information.

[SmoknTires]

I think it's a good idea and certainly willing to facilitate something. I don't believe IT should be a challenge in this case so I don't think we'll have a road block there. I think my concern is our capability to assemble and sustain the information. There's a lot of great ideas, but if not executed with reasonable success, the patient dies on the table (and goes unused, and even get criticized - even with best intentions). Anything we do in the club, we want to do it well.

I'm sensing that collecting information from members, keeping it up to date, and sharing with others - is where the problem will really be over the short and long haul. It sounds easy, but it's more of a challenge than it seems. Aside from assembling a list that would prove useful (having good coverage), I can give lots of examples where sustaining will have it's challenges with doing this well.

If someone is willing to spearhead this, I'm willing to sponsor it and help get it going. Viper owners are helpful, but I sense providing contact information for specific people across the nation is going to be hard to assemble. Over the long haul, keeping it up to date is just as challenging. And in the places that I anticipate you need it most (remote areas, places of less density, etc...) you'll have a hard time finding someone to fill that geographic region. I'm just gong by what I sense will be the issue. Coordinating things for the club for so long, I have a good sense for when something will execute well. I don't think this will work out as well as I think most people are hopeful or would prove truly useful. But I'm open if we have a volunteer who can help assemble and maintain. "TAN Director"? : )

Always willing to do something that will help, don't want to be a downer, but wanted to offer some perspective. It's a perfect idea, just hard to execute well.

[CarolinaViper]

Alex,

We had this idea over a year ago, and with a few days had numerous people offer their assistance from tires to bedrooms, as far as updating the info, I have had my same cell phone number for the last 15 years, as I would assume yours has not changed since you moved. Those that would volunteer their time and effort are more than likely long term Viper owners and not they kind to be in a Viper one year and then out. I wish I had the IT experience to do it. As mentioned before with Viper sales coming to an end, less and less dealerships are going to maintain quality Viper Tech, they just can't afford to do so. This network of assistance would be awesome.

Jeff

[SmoknTires]

I'm indeed certain people would help, it's the comprehensiveness and maintenance I'm commenting on. As I said, I'm not too concerned about the IT part being THE show stopper - it indeed has it's own challenges, but in fact even if we had no way to do this digitally, at the very least a list could be made and maintained. So no need to focus on the technical, I can help with that, we can work the process and then figure out how technology can help later.

I agree with the idea, I'm looking at the execution. I just don't want to oversimplify and assume we just need to collect a some names. And it'll includes more than just people on these forums (who tend to typically be very responsive), but also the majority of the membership would also need to be touched through email, phones, etc... We have a number of great ideas that begin that haven't been completed because life happens - it's just a part of life. To do this well, someone would need to work with the presidents of all regions, gather the volunteers, create a list, and maintain it. I think for this to work well it needs to be a "function", with ownership. That's what I was suggesting above - I'm looking for a volunteer. Don't need to be convinced that there will be willing participants - as I'm sure there will be. I need someone to help drive this, as we want to do it well, and we have fairly good saturation with all of the current directors and it'll be more than a few hours of work over a few months.

So I'm agreeing with you, just trying to see who will oversee and begin the first few steps.

[Dave292]

Great exchange of information. The 356 TAN is available to 356 Registry members only. You access it through the website but, only if you are a current member and logged in. If you are not a member you cannot access the list. Also, it's voluntary. If you want to volunteer to provide your contact info it's up to you to input the information and to update it. You also can provide the services, tools, trailers etc that you have. If you just want to be a member that is there to help someone and you have no mechanical skills that's ok too. When you're in a foreign city, any help is welcomed. Also, you can provide as much or as little contact info as you care to divulge, mobile or home number, only call between 8am and 9pm, email etc. I don't think it's a wise idea to list your address however, city or state is ok.
Maybe we need a "members" area in our website that can be the portal to the TAN.
Thanks to everyone for being openminded. I think if the members drive the TAN and are responsible for updating their own information then it might be easier than we think.
Dave292

[SmoknTires]

We could create something that exports the current list to the portal - so that anyone who can log in can see it. So I can mimic that somewhat easily. What is tougher is allowing people to add themselves. I also think we need someone to work with the local presidents to promote it and seek volunteers - as even if we can have members populate it - it still needs to be marketed so that we collect volunteers.

You also mentioned some good data points. In the list that is created - it would be good to know what the member can provide (some can provide mechanical support, trailering, etc...).

[Dave292]

One last thing I forgot, on the 356 TAN, you must be on the TAN list to access the list and other TAN member information. Those who are not on the list but are 356 Registry members are "NOT" able able to access it.
I think that's the incentive to join the TAN.

- - - Updated - - -


We could create something that exports the current list to the portal - so that anyone who can log in can see it. So I can mimic that somewhat easily. What is tougher is allowing people to add themselves. I also think we need someone to work with the local presidents to promote it and seek volunteers - as even if we can have members populate it - it still needs to be marketed so that we collect volunteers.

You also mentioned some good data points. In the list that is created - it would be good to know what the member can provide (some can provide mechanical support, trailering, etc...).

Or a good martini!!

[CarolinaViper]

So I'm agreeing with you, just trying to see who will oversee and begin the first few steps.

Does this person have to be IT savvy, if not I can get with Dave and whomever is going to compile the information, draft an email for you to send out explaining the new program to the VOA members and solicit the help of other Region presidents.

Jeff

[Dave292]

As mentioned, the members log in their own information themselves. A person is not needed to compile the info.

[SmoknTires]

That part needs to be determined though, we have to flush things out first. Not sure our website can do that so easily if that's the assumption (or without development costs).

Jeff, as I said, no IT experience is needed, I will help with that.

Guys, to reset so we have a controlled entry here. Before we make decisions and assumptions - let's have a leader. Someone to help work through this discussion, explore options (with me), dealing with data collection (may be likely), etc... There will also be discussion to be had relative to who gets the data. Again, don't want to assume only people who opt in, get the benefit (though it's possible).

Thanks guys