Potential buy

[CSAY]

Hi Folks,

New member here. I recently got out of a RWS V10 R8 and have been on the hunt for my next ride. I have always loved Vipers.

I have been doing as much research as possible but still have much more to do. I will continue to punish the search feature.

I Was looking at local cars and stumbled on a 15 SRT. It’s finished in GTS-R blue and has under 4K miles. There are a few things that I have questions on.... it’s listed as mostly stock but has aftermarket motor mounts and hard coolant pipe. I understand the coolant pipe but after market motor mounts make me nervous for an otherwise stock car. I have had several exotics in the past and am always weary of the track hard or Mod heavy and return to stock before sale move.

Aside from that and the 28/29 CSN anything else I need to pay extra attention to? I plan on having a PPI done but want to make sure the right things get checked.

Also, what’s a fair price on a build like this? I’ve seen asking prices all over the place but have only verified a few selling prices.

Thanks in advance!

[Bruce H.]

There's a difference in ride quality between an SRT with single mode dampers and the GTS and TA models that have dual mode (and 5 mode stability control vs 2 on the SRT, iirc). Might not matter to you but worth considering. GTS and TA came standard with a 12 speaker system, with 18 as an option on the GTS. Both SRT and GTS also had interior options. TA only came one way.

[chris_lee]

Aftermarket motor mounts does seem a little different for a mostly stock car… Prices are all over the place. 80k is a decent starting point. +/-5k depending on the color, interior, speakers, wheels (SWII), ect. If it’s a color that you’re really loving then don’t let a few grand stop you. Took me forever to find one the right color and it’s not like options are all over the place. Took me a year… If the price is really low find out why and what the story is.

The motor mounts make me wonder if it had the engine replaced under warranty. Not really a deal breaker as for some people as it would mean less potential for engine problems. Just something to keep I mind and be aware of before you make the purchase. Good luck man!

[SLP]

Probably calvo motor mounts and calvo upper coolant pipe. Good upgrades. Nothing to be concerned about.

[CSAY]

Edit- I punched the VIN into the mopar website... looks like only R29 was done.
So I assume no 10/100,000 extended then?

Thanks guys.

Also looking at a 14 that’s only got 250miles on it. Is there an easy way to see if the R28/29 have been done? Also looks like oil was changed 3 times according to car fax, which is certainly less than the mandatory 6mo interval.

How hard/expensive is it to get an extended warranty at this point? FWIW it’s being sold at an FCA dealership.

After reading multiple threads I’m now becoming terrified of low mileage cars and rod bearing failures. I’m not shy about proper maintenance but hearing claims being denied over interval times has be concerned

[CSAY]

Aftermarket motor mounts does seem a little different for a mostly stock car… Prices are all over the place. 80k is a decent starting point. +/-5k depending on the color, interior, speakers, wheels (SWII), ect. If it’s a color that you’re really loving then don’t let a few grand stop you. Took me forever to find one the right color and it’s not like options are all over the place. Took me a year… If the price is really low find out why and what the story is.

The motor mounts make me wonder if it had the engine replaced under warranty. Not really a deal breaker as for some people as it would mean less potential for engine problems. Just something to keep I mind and be aware of before you make the purchase. Good luck man!


Thanks Chris!

I just moved to the woodlands area. I see you’re in spring. Would love to get out for a cruise if/when I settle on the right car

[Bruce H.]

After reading multiple threads I’m now becoming terrified of low mileage cars and rod bearing failures. I’m not shy about proper maintenance but hearing claims being denied over interval times has be concerned

Buy a car with at least break-in miles on it and you'll surely end up with a car that the previous owner(s) have sorted out. There were a number of minor recalls and many cars had this or that to be attended to. Miles on the car also should give you a little more peace of mind regarding engine and diffs that sometimes developed a whine.

[StrokerAce]

There are extended warranty companies. From what I have seen about $4-5k but worth it in my opinion. :)

[catwood]

Edit- I punched the VIN into the mopar website... looks like only R29 was done.
So I assume no 10/100,000 extended then?

Thanks guys.

Also looking at a 14 that’s only got 250miles on it. Is there an easy way to see if the R28/29 have been done? Also looks like oil was changed 3 times according to car fax, which is certainly less than the mandatory 6mo interval.

How hard/expensive is it to get an extended warranty at this point? FWIW it’s being sold at an FCA dealership.

After reading multiple threads I’m now becoming terrified of low mileage cars and rod bearing failures. I’m not shy about proper maintenance but hearing claims being denied over interval times has be concerned

I replied to your PM. I had a buddy take a look at that car, he took some pictures and sent them. I ran away from it. I may have deleted the pictures I got but it looked like it was salt dipped and then parked for years. I also got a VIP report, didn't help it any. Still ran. No warranty at all left on it. There was a white one near me I did look at. It seemed ok except some of the body panels and front fascia didn't line up at all. I've owned 8 vipers and I know the gap issues but this one was way way off. I offered the owner if he took it to an SRT dealer I know I'd pay for an inspection but probably wasn't going to pay his asking since it would take me hours to realign. He choose not to have it inspected. Made me feel there was some unknown story on it. Keep searching you can find the right car. There are few you might want to avoid.

[Arizona Vipers]

Does the car shake and vibrate while sitting in it while it's running? If so, yeah those are Calvo Motorsports solid mounts. They are badass. LOL.

[ViperGeorge]

R29 does not extend the powertrain warranty. It was simple reroute of the make up air line from the valve cover to the airbox. R28 which involved checking oil an filter for debris extended the powertrain warranty to 10 years/100,000 miles. I'm almost certain that R28 only applied to 2013a NS 2014s not 2015s.

Coolant pipe and Calvo engine mounts are a plus, not a negative. Yes there will be a bit more vibration at idle with the motor mounts but you probably won't even notice it. Easy enough to return to stock if that is your desire. Personally I would count them as a plus!

[Dsjp916]

I’m considering selling my 13 gts if you’re interested. 4200 miles on her. No stories

[swexlin]

Edit- I punched the VIN into the mopar website... looks like only R29 was done.
So I assume no 10/100,000 extended then

FYI - It doesn't mean it wasn't done. I had my R28 (and passed) and R29 done back in Feb 2016. I have the "pass paperwork" email from corporate to my dealer, and the official letter from FCA extending powertrain. However, on the Mopar site - still shows R28 as an "open" campaign. (R29 shows as done). Have never been able to figure out why.

[ViperGeorge]

Edit- I punched the VIN into the mopar website... looks like only R29 was done.
So I assume no 10/100,000 extended then

FYI - It doesn't mean it wasn't done. I had my R28 (and passed) and R29 done back in Feb 2016. I have the "pass paperwork" email from corporate to my dealer, and the official letter from FCA extending powertrain. However, on the Mopar site - still shows R28 as an "open" campaign. (R29 shows as done). Have never been able to figure out why.

As I said above I don't believe any model year 2015 got the R28. They had installed a block cleaning station at the factory by then. Given this a 2015 would not have the extended powertrain warranty. Only cars that were covered under R28 got the extended warranty. 2015s did get R29 which was only a re-routing of the make up air line to the air box and a new driver's side coil cover.

[Bruce H.]

While they did add a wash station (not until late 2015 or early 2016 I thought) that had nothing to do with the R28 recalls as that affected series of builds ended in late 2013 as early MY14 cars.

[ViperGeorge]

While they did add a wash station (not until late 2015 or early 2016 I thought) that had nothing to do with the R28 recalls as that affected series of builds ended in late 2013 as early MY14 cars.

But I am unaware of any 2015s that had R28 and that was the only way to get the extended powertrain warranty. I had an early 2015 and it did not have the R28 just the R29.

[Bruce H.]

But I am unaware of any 2015s that had R28 and that was the only way to get the extended powertrain warranty. I had an early 2015 and it did not have the R28 just the R29.

Exactly. The potentially affected series of engines that the R28 recall was issued for went into MY13 and early MY14 builds only. So no R28 (or extended powertrain warranty) on my late MY14 build (April '14) or any of the builds after that like the 2015's. What I'm not sure about is there were some very early MY15 Vipers built in Feb/March 2014 before my MY14 was built and I don't know if they might have had the last of the potentially affected engines that were covered by the R28. At the time I recall that it sounded like those who had a car with an R28 recall seemed to have been built before December 2013, therefore MY13 and early MY14.

[parabs]

Does anyone know the build date cutoff for r28 cars? My car is a MY2014 with a Q3 build date, iirc and it did not have the r28, only the r29.

@OP - gen 3 and 4 cars had weak stock engine and transmission mounts. The factory design for gen 5 is improved but Calvo produced his motor mounts early into the gen 5 run and I suspect many bought them as a preventative measure.