A year later

[ViperSmith]

Saturday will make having the car a full year

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BrFQfvZCAAAcmF6.jpg

Hit 6600 miles on it today.

Overall, I am very satisfied. I always wanted a Viper and honestly the Gen V is everything I expected it to be. I daily drive it, a whole 3 miles back and forth between home and my co-work space. I'll drive it almost anywhere. I avoid rain simply because it makes more work to wash. Parking is the biggest pain, simply because you want to avoid dings and the like. Thankfully, I do live and work in an affluent area so it doesn't attract too much attention when leaving it in parking lots. An infant has really dipped into the fun driving of it, but such is life.

A few things I've had issue with: Minor yellowing on the paint, which will be fixed by warranty eventually. Interior carpets still pull out from under door sills a bit but not that big of a deal (I may mess around with it some to try and fix).

I tend to get bored with cars quickly, so we shall see how long it stays in the garage. I've thought about upgrading to a GTS since there are deals to be had, but I'd take too much of a bath in the trade in to make it worth it. Maybe looking for something else too, a MP4-12C is calling my name. I'd really like something my wife could confidently drive (ahem DCT in the Viper!). But for now, this is hilarious fun.

I do enjoy seeing people behind me at stop lights squinting and trying to discern what kind of car it is since there is really no marking on the car that is easily visible that says "Viper"

I do not enjoy people driving behind me and taking videos - keep your attention to driving! (Where do those videos end up??)

Would I buy it again? Well, I'd sure as hell would have waiting and not paid near MSRP. But, such is life and there is always more money to be made. I think I'd have waited for a loaded GTS at a steal, but really the SRT is fine as is.

Drive safe.

[FLATOUT]

Saw this on twitter, thanks for the review.

[AbsolutHank]

Saw this on twitter, thanks for the review.

Yup x2

[ViperSmith]

Saw this on twitter, thanks for the review.

The car certainly has its flaws - but IMHO in the $100k range there really isn't a whole lot of fun two seaters till you get to the (new) $250k range and used $150k range. I didn't find the price to be absurd for what I ordered and it is.

It is a shame it never really got its fair shake, because even with the flaws (which I think are minor) it is a great vehicle.

Such is life.

[Policy Limits]

My one year of ownership was Friday 6/20. I have about 1/2 the miles on the odometer at 3,100 but I use it as a weekend toy, and don't use it for transportation. The GTS is great esp the interior. Laguna Sepia guts in Adrenaline red screams Ferrari color combo in an American ride. I had a similar roller coaster ride with the ordering process & with delays. I too canceled my order and then still ended up with the car. My general rule is to purchase toys as second owner so as to get a 30% discount. The hit isn't so bad on 130k as it is on the 1/4 mill cars I'm used to though. So it's not so bad relatively speaking. Then again, with the deals on left overs you are sorta left with a bad taste in your mouth. But whatever. We didn't get the car last month. We've had it one year so being first has a value. I too switch frequently. Read some electrical bug horror stories about McLaren so make sure u have warranty coverage if u go that route. I'm still leaning towards the Huracan. But as second owner this time. ;)

[ViperSmith]

Rumors are the 12C extended warranty is $4k a year - which IMHO for piece of mind is worth it. I drove one and it was just fantastic to me. For what they will be in a year it is just a steal.

I do agree in general with your sentiments about the majority of dealers. The techs at the local dealer are great as is the service manager. I stopped in to look at their TA and some kid who just started selling cars was trying to sell me on it. lol. Come on.

I'd really like to find a fast sedan in the $100k range, but there isn't much that catches my eye. The M5 was a bit bland. The RS7 is hot. Having an infant is getting hard to keep the car, simply because I have to drive home to swap to the SUV then pick her up.

First world problems.

[Policy Limits]

Don't let a baby ruin your fun. I have a one and a half year old and kept the toys. Have your cake & eat it too.

[FLATOUT]

I have a 1 1/2 year old as well and another on the way. No way I'm getting rid of the two seater :)

[swexlin]

This is great to hear. I'd like to pick up a well-maintained (mileage isn't as important( Gen 5 SRT in couple years (the Gen 3 would have to go for that to happen). I'd rather buy a driven car that's been maintained, for two reasons:
1. Sitting is bad for cars. Driven cars are less prone to issues
2. If things happen, the driven cars hopefully have had the standard bugs and issues fixed under warranty.

ViperSmith, that white car of yours is stunning, by the way.

[IndyRon]

Glad to hear you are enjoying it. That's what the car is for....drive that thing, especially the Gen 5 which has the nicest ride and most livable driving experience of all the generations. I also have a 3 year old and looking towards a second soon. If you are like me, you need an outlet. Something to enjoy on a regular basis that engages you and takes your mind off other things. Since golf doesn't do that for me and cars do, thats where I spend my time. Let us know if you get the 12C....they are sweet cars!

[ViperSmith]

Haha, yeah i know. my wife encouraged me to get the car as is - even after she was pregnant. So, I guess while the sun is out I need to make hay!

[ViperSmith]

This is great to hear. I'd like to pick up a well-maintained (mileage isn't as important( Gen 5 SRT in couple years (the Gen 3 would have to go for that to happen). I'd rather buy a driven car that's been maintained, for two reasons:
1. Sitting is bad for cars. Driven cars are less prone to issues
2. If things happen, the driven cars hopefully have had the standard bugs and issues fixed under warranty.

ViperSmith, that white car of yours is stunning, by the way.

I think these things are meant to be driven, "even" 3000 a year like Policy is great on these cars. It seems people are driving this gen a lot, i'd be curious to see what older gens had racked up comparatively.

And I tend to agree with you. I think cars that are driven you'll see less issues from down the road. Garage queens, while nice, imho scare me a bit.

Thankfully all the Viper needs is a $175 oil change and it is good to go for the most part.

[Voice of Reason]

I passed the year mark about a month ago and had about 6500 miles on it at the time. Even with my major warranty claim (I'll make a post about it some day) I'd still buy the same car, MSRP and all. Sure there's huge discounts now but over the past year I've made numerous new friends that without the car the connection never would have happened. Although maybe I should have just bought a high mile Gen 2 last year and then now got the Gen 5, I could have spent the same amount of money and had 2 cars. LOL

[Policy Limits]

More warranty work. Ugh. I read on the "other" forum that the guy who had the lemon that was bought back actually ended up with a different gen V after all. I guess you just want what u want in terms of a purchase.

[Bruce H.]

More warranty work. Ugh. I read on the "other" forum that the guy who had the lemon that was bought back actually ended up with a different gen V after all. I guess you just want what u want in terms of a purchase.

And while there have been a few people with limited issues, the car seems to have excellent reliability overall.

[Nine Ball]

Over a year here, too. Around 9K miles so far, and my wife and I still love the car just as much as the day we got it. The Corsa was a nice addition, made the car sound meaner at full throttle. It needed that. Still very rare for people to see a Gen 5, even at the largest of car gatherings here in Houston. That puts them in the exotic group, just out of rarity.

[Policy Limits]

Yes exclusivity is outstanding. I've only seen one other Gen v in the wild. It's one of my favorite components to ownership.

[MR Viper]

Hey Harold

Thanks for sharing your Gen 5 experiences. The additions to the family, both the little ones and the exotic cars, always lead to great life memories.

FYI - Our research indicates that the average Viper driver puts about 2,000 miles per year on their cars, new cars seeing higher numbers. You and Tony might be statistically skewing that number further north! Cool, keep driving.

[Jack B]

Is anyone coming to the Mopar Nationals (August/National Trails/Columbus) with their G5? This is the new VOA gathering, which was the old VCA zone rendezvous.

What is the most miles anyone has on their Corsa's. The Corsa's really turned out to be a great all around tire. Maybe a little pricey for general street use, but, a good compromise for a street/track tire. I have approx 5000 miles on them and I would say they are about at the 50% point.

How about a little feed back on IAT. My insulated air box definitely slows down the absolute difference from ambient to IAT. Can you give me some feedback on the differentials you see on the highway. My guess is that there is not a huge gain with an insulated air box once you are at highway speed. I ran about 100 miles today at 70 mph, the ambient was 85 degrees and the IAT was a consistent 13 degrees. What does everyone else see, the reading should be after the car temps have normalized, probably at least 30 minutes of running. My oil temp was approx 195 and the coolant temps was at 188.

[Nine Ball]

My IAT's always read about 20-22 deg hotter than ambient, even when cruising. I'm still thinking my burnouts are what caused my car to run like crap in limp mode, that first track visit. On the visit I went 10s, I was hot-lapping the car and never did a single burnout, car ran more consistent.

[ViperSmith]

Hey Harold

Thanks for sharing your Gen 5 experiences. The additions to the family, both the little ones and the exotic cars, always lead to great life memories.

FYI - Our research indicates that the average Viper driver puts about 2,000 miles per year on their cars, new cars seeing higher numbers. You and Tony might be statistically skewing that number further north! Cool, keep driving.

Interesting.

There are quite a few high milage Gen V's, I think mikesax said he has 15k on his already. I know quite a few people that have done long trips in theirs etc. There have to be at least 15 of us here that have over 5k I believe

[Nine Ball]

If Dodge would like to sponsor me with another Gen 5, I'll give you a 1-year test bed of daily driving it every single day I can. My commute to work is around 100 miles round-trip. :)

[Jack B]

That is good info, my air box not only slows down the heat rise, but, it also gives us approx 10 deg cooler air.




My IAT's always read about 20-22 deg hotter than ambient, even when cruising. I'm still thinking my burnouts are what caused my car to run like crap in limp mode, that first track visit. On the visit I went 10s, I was hot-lapping the car and never did a single burnout, car ran more consistent.

[Voice of Reason]

That is good info, my air box not only slows down the heat rise, but, it also gives us approx 10 deg cooler air.

After a long drive yesterday I was going to ask how your research is going here. I also always see a 20+ Temp difference and I always drive with IAT in the center of the tach so I'm constantly watching it. If you're seeing only 13*, and that difference allows the PCM to provide more timing, then this is a worth while mod. I need to get off my butt and do this before the drive to Detroit in 2.5 weeks.

[Bruce H.]

Hi Harold,

Thanks for sharing. It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday and seeing your beautiful car! We hit 9090 km (~5400 miles) by the time we got it parked here in Philadelphia.

Bruce

[Stealth]

How did you like your Corsa Exhaust? Did it reduce or eliminate the 2,000 rpm drone?

[ViperSmith]

it helps dramatically, totally worth it. i wouldn't say eliminates, but makes it a non-issue