Looking to buy this Viper Thoughts

[airsel]

So i'm looking to buy a 1993 Dodge Viper, I first came across this about 4 or 5 years ago when it had 8,000 miles on it. I didn't pull the trigger (and for good reason, i was young and dumb at the time). Long story short, it had an R title which made me nervous, but I have bought and fixed and own a few salvage and R title cars and have not had issues (corvettes, 370z, g35 etc).

The owner is a collector and has quite a collection with some one off cars. I just got in touch with him again and saw the car today, it has just over 9000 miles now, he added a wing and a hood decal. The cars battery was dead so we hooked up a jumper and it started right up as he doesn't drive any of this stuff at all.

I attached some current pictures, it does have the hard top, better functional windows and all the lines and gaps match up, it was damaged on passenger side and honestly I couldn't tell at all that anything ever happened.

What should I be concerned of or look for on this years model? Also what do you think a car like this is worth with an R title 9,000 miles.

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https://youtu.be/tD8lXzeTR_4

[SilverACR]

The question my friend is what it is worth to you? Do you want the car because you really want a 93 viper or that particular car? Seems you have history here and this forum documents all issues you will find on a gen 1. You are going to have a lot of opinions good and bad, but is it the car for you? Only you can decide that. It’s a rebuild gen 1... honestly it’s anyone’s guess what it’s worth... it easily could bring a clean gen1 price to the right person with time. Look no further than the debates on lemon law cars, G5’s with motor replacements, G2s with the “creampuff” motors, G4’s with cast pistons, G3 shitty cross over exhaust and bad rear ends... in the end the viper is a car meant to enjoy, so get in and enjoy it for the price you are comfortable with. If they hold value awesome! If they don’t then you can say yep I have a viper, the baddest ass thing dodge ever made!.

That being said ~30k +-5k

[daveg]

Where was the car damaged to give it the R title?

[capevettes]

I'm not a big fan of Rebuilt title cars even if they can be purchased for less. They are hard to sell and come with issues. Do you know the nature of the damage or was it a flood car? Flood cars present a whole different set of electrical issues.

[PittsburghRT]

Being an R title I say $15- $18k. There have been a lot of Gen1 cars in the upper 20's to low 30's with clean titles and no stories. Plus, this car has that awful wing and hood decal... that should cause a lower price alone.

[ViperRyan]

I read that it was damaged on the passengers side, I would be curious as to the extent. Maybe get it out in the daylight, look closely at all imperfections that are visible, and look very closely on the passenger side(Door/Door Jams/Sills, Under passenger side, hinges, door function,inspect hood inside and out, etc). Just see if anything is visible.

Can't speak to the value accurately, I am seeing what clean Gen1's are going for, this has lower miles, I would say $20k-$25k would be fair. As others have said, yes remove the hood decal.

[Bill Pemberton]

Not a fan of rebuilt Snakes either, and would agree this is an upper teens to maybe as much as 25K like Viper Ryan suggested, but you need to be buying it for yourself, not for resale down the road. Would imagine the wing and other items are a detraction to many , and likely the car does not have A/C. Keep in mind it is an old car and you will likely find 3-7K worth of work (minimum) to do on it after you get it. Keep in mind , the owner likely got this as a fun toy , as a serious collector would have passed on a salvaged Viper in my personal opinion.

[Robertk]

As you stated you have had salvaged vehicles before and as someone in the collision industry I have as well with no problems knowing what I'm gaining on the purchase I will loose on the sale but absolutely agree in not buying a viper with resale in mind... if the actual salvage title doesn't bother you at the right price (20%-25% under clean title value) it's all about why it was salvaged and the quality of the repair which should be easy to inspect with a collision from any high quality repair facility if you don't know what to look for yourself, assuming there was frame damage it would more than likely be pulled and repaired as frame sections would be hard to come by with this car... there will be both a cosmetic as well as structure side to the repair and I would want to be fully aware of both as you don't want bigger problems down the road with ride, track, alignment and more so safety

[Pauler85]

If you plan on keeping it for a lifetime, doesn't matter on title. If you want it now and in the next coming years may want a different vehicle or newer Viper, I'd be a little more on the cautious side.

[Russ Oasis]

For me, aside from being a salvage title, I'd worry about any street car that had a huge wing added. So, they wanted to drive it fast and when they did, they wrecked it? There are SO MANY really nice Gen I cars out there. Unless you really need to keep the price down, I'd look for one without a story.

[airsel]

The wing was added in the past couple years because it did not have it when i originally saw it. The owner buys stuff he likes and doesn't care to sell. When i asked about the collision he said it was cosmetic damage, fender and wheel well, i took a picture of the passenger side as thats where it was, hood, doors all line up straight. I think i can get him down to $18k so i think its a good price but it doesn't have a/c which is a bummer.

I do like that he added windows onto it that are a sliding glass instead of those awful curtains. I kick myself for not buying a gts back then when you could find one for 29k-32k. I would buy this to enjoy but with all my cars I eventually sell them for something else (and usually get my money back or more).

My last main question is with these cars sitting and being driven 200 miles a year do they need special maintenance like some Porsche do and do they go to hell like chevy camaros and corvettes do if you dont drive them for 6 months.

[FrankBarba]

Buy It...You won't be happy until you do.

[GTS Dean]

It's a little hard to tell from the photos, but the dash appears to be in unusually good condition for a Gen 1. I have a real soft spot in my heart for black '93's. That was the first brand new car I ever factory ordered for myself and it was a magnificent piece - until my GTS unloaded off the truck.

[Steve-Indy]

Airsel...whatever Gen I Viper(or early Gen II for that matter) you ultimately decide to purchase, keep in mind that a Viper of this age can need another $6000.00 to $10,000.00 investment to get it dependably roadworthy in my opinion. For example, tires and head gasket replacement for a Gen I can add up to over $3,000.00. Obviously, there are exceptions. Also, one can save a lot of money doing these things yourself...if that is within one's skill set.

All that said, these are fantastic drivers which offer a phenomenal fun-to-price factor.

Good hunting !!

[drewsss]

Being an R title I say $15- $18k. There have been a lot of Gen1 cars in the upper 20's to low 30's with clean titles and no stories. Plus, this car has that awful wing and hood decal... that should cause a lower price alone.

^^^ totally agree...probably more in the $18k range. Only my opinion, based upon having had salvage/rebuilt vehicles in the past, and problems with selling them. They are a bear to unload when the time comes. But it's all up to you and what you are looking for. Good luck either way!

[dave6666]

Wings look retarded on the Roadster.

[Bryan Savage]

Can't sufficient repairs be completed and then inspected to clear a salvage title and get a regular title? Or do repaired cars get stuck with the dreaded "R" forever?

[capevettes]

Can't sufficient repairs be completed and then inspected to clear a salvage title and get a regular title? Or do repaired cars get stuck with the dreaded "R" forever?

Once it's damaged it will remain a rebuilt title. Some unscrupulous dealers buy these cars and "clean" the title by moving them to non titled states and sell them as never hit cars. A saavy buyer can research it's history.

[Robertk]

Can't sufficient repairs be completed and then inspected to clear a salvage title and get a regular title? Or do repaired cars get stuck with the dreaded "R" forever?

I don't believe any states "clean" titles any longer, I used to live in Mass and and you could sell a car through New Hampshire and get back a clean title but I'm not aware of any state doing that any longer, once a title is marked salvage, restored, rebuilt etc its gonna stay that way

[daveg]

That's correct. Filtering it through NH would scrub the title but no more. That car will always have a black eye.
Buy accordingly because if you go to sell it, the next guy will...

[Taximan1]

15k car

[Robertk]

15k car
+1 agree with this value, clearly gonna need some repair and paint work for the wing removal... decal should come off with a heat gun as long as good quality paint was used on the collision repair and hope the decal doesn't leave some discoloration after removal and that's also assuming it's a good car the rest of the way (tires etc) without additional cost/repairs