School Me On Vipers

[IceAxe]

I have always owned **cough*Corvettes*cough** but I'm currently looking at a 2006 Dodge Viper Coup SRT 10, 600 hp , Mopar cam, exhaust and performance ECU, all made by Mopar for the Viper. Clean title. 23,000 miles. He is asking $43,500.

Tell me what I should know, what I should ask, what you see in the pictures and what is a fair price.

I know you guys probably get a lot of these type of questions, but I also know you guys can look at a few pictures and tell a Viper noob like me a bunch of things I have no clue about, So thanks for the help.

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[IceAxe]

And a couple more pictures...

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[01sapphirebob]

Nothing jumps out at me.car looks pretty good IMO. Tasteful mods it seems. I guess the big thing I would ask about is tire age and the age of ALL the fluids in the car. As far as price goes, people are going to have A LOT of opinions on that. I'll just say, if the price seems far to YOU, thats all that matters. Good luck with the hunt. :)

[13COBRA]

I wouldn't want the speakers in the trunk... but it looks like a clean car.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Hope you dont have to carry a passenger AND a six-pack......

[IceAxe]

Some of the mods also bother me, particularly the stereo in the trunk, but that is probably easily corrected.

I looked at Hagerty's valuation tools and the car is priced right where an average 2006 Viper should be. So is this an average used Viper? I've also looked at eBay and a few other places and it's hard to get a feel for price as they are all over the board.

If any of you know of similar cars I should be looking at please post a link. I have no problem traveling to buy the right car. My last Corvette came from 600 miles away.

[IceAxe]

Next question is from what I can tell it appears a 2006 Viper has pretty much bottomed out in pricing and started to inch back up. Is that a reasonable assumption? I understand you buy cars like this to enjoy, but it's also nice to know your not going to lose your shirt if the car is well cared for.

[Vipermann]

By 'Mopar' exhaust, assume you are talking about the Mopar Race exhaust - I have that - good mod, but not much HP gain. 'Mopar' performance ECU? Also a fairly common mod - and also not much HP gain. Mopar cam? Ok, but point here is, there needs to be more that was done in that motor than just these Mopar mods to gain +100HP from 500HP to 600HP - and that leads to lots of questions about who did what work to it...

The investment value in Vipers these days, is leaning more and more closer to stock. The car you show - wheels, speakers, motor, looks highly modded. Starting at $43K you probably can't lose much, but won't appreciate that much either, with all those mods.

Starting with '08, Vipers came stock with 600HP right out of the box, and also had better gears, etc., and may be a better investment for that reason - IMO.

[Creatre]

Priced well, up to you whether the mods are up your alley. Just double check and make sure it's a clean title. It's also lowered, you may want to check into how it was done.

[SlateEd]

Next question is from what I can tell it appears a 2006 Viper has pretty much bottomed out in pricing and started to inch back up. Is that a reasonable assumption? I understand you buy cars like this to enjoy, but it's also nice to know your not going to lose your shirt if the car is well cared for.

Yeah - a values thread will make your head spin, but it's reasonable to expect that GenIII cars, especially 2006, are probably not going much lower (except in high-milage or salvage title situations.)

[LifeIsGood]

It looks reasonable. Buy it.

[ky13]

Clean car and a good price imo.

[Creatre]

Next question is from what I can tell it appears a 2006 Viper has pretty much bottomed out in pricing and started to inch back up. Is that a reasonable assumption? I understand you buy cars like this to enjoy, but it's also nice to know your not going to lose your shirt if the car is well cared for.

At WORST the Viper will depreciate maybe $500 or $1000 a year, but likely will be very stable. Generally whatever money is gained/lost on Vipers is because of the rush of sale (seller is rushed, you get a good deal - you are rushed to sell, you lose a bit of money). For a car that is very reliable overall so doesn't add to much cost there other than rubber or fluids, can't really beat the enjoyment to money ratio.

[SilverACR]

Wrong logo on the speaker box. I would have to change that to fangs due to my OCD.

[Bill Pemberton]

Probably not a black stripe, but part of a front bra kit. The remaining black fascia section is not on the car.

[1BADV10]

I would request a pic after that bra is removed, might be covering or causing paint damage. Just say'in.

[LifeIsGood]

Wrong logo on the speaker box. I would have to change that to fangs due to my OCD.

I'm thinking the Sneaky Pete logo was an upgrade. ;)

[SlateEd]

I would request a pic after that bra is removed, might be covering or causing paint damage. Just say'in.

Good call

[Austin]

Take off that silly bra. Take out that goofy stereo setup (thats not what Vipers are for). Sell the stereo and get some extra cash to put towards some tasteful mods. Other than those two things, I cant see anything from the pictures that would steer me away. Its a good looking/clean coupe. Good luck!

[ACR-ISH]

Take off that silly bra. Take out that goofy stereo setup (thats not what Vipers are for). Sell the stereo and get some extra cash to put towards some tasteful mods. Other than those two things, I cant see anything from the pictures that would steer me away. Its a good looking/clean coupe. Good luck!

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I also questions the "cam" mod, and would want receipts for the engine work. Otherwise, go for it!

[Old School]

I won't get into whether I like the mods or not, that is of zero importance. But, I will say if the mods are to your liking, great. Then use them as a negotiating tactic to beat him down on the price since it's not stock. Win-Win for you.

[IceAxe]

I'm going to go look at the car. The guy says he has all receipts and the dyno papers. I hate the huge speaker box and what I assume is an afterthought gear shift. 30 years ago I taught at a high performance driving school and the first rule is you need a ball shift knob to shift properly. Some of the mods I like and some not so much. The engine mods don't bother me if done correctly, but some of cruising main street mods have got to go.

I really appreciate all the help and with a little luck I might become a regular on your great forum. Thanks again :-)

[06SRTCoupe]

I'm going to go look at the car. The guy says he has all receipts and the dyno papers. I hate the huge speaker box and what I assume is an afterthought gear shift. 30 years ago I taught at a high performance driving school and the first rule is you need a ball shift knob to shift properly. Some of the mods I like and some not so much. The engine mods don't bother me if done correctly, but some of cruising main street mods have got to go.

I really appreciate all the help and with a little luck I might become a regular on your great forum. Thanks again :-)

Maybe you could use the stereo setup as a bargaining tool, save some money, and have them removed before you drive the car away.

Like others have said, if the mods were done right, it is a nice car at a decent price. Offer him 39K and he keeps the stereo...see what happens.

[Old School]

I'm going to go look at the car. The guy says he has all receipts and the dyno papers. I hate the huge speaker box and what I assume is an afterthought gear shift. 30 years ago I taught at a high performance driving school and the first rule is you need a ball shift knob to shift properly. Some of the mods I like and some not so much. The engine mods don't bother me if done correctly, but some of cruising main street mods have got to go.

I really appreciate all the help and with a little luck I might become a regular on your great forum. Thanks again :-)

That shifter is pure nostalgia, the pistol grip used in the '70 to '74 Challenger, 'cuda, etc. but carbon fiber looking.

[Gen3CoupeTX]

Good luck ... Hope it all works out. I'm not anti-Vette, evidenced by the number of them I've owned over the years. But after buying my first Viper, I never thought of buying another Corvette. Viper is just a different experience. Be safe!