My quest to realize a teenage dream of someday owning a Viper has reached fever-pitch thanks to recent buy-in from my wife. I am now finding myself obsessively searching Ebay, CraigsList and every other "cars-for-sale" website to seek out every Viper for sale in the 50 states. I'm watching endless YouTube videos for reviews, insights and everything in between.

My goal is to find the best example of a 96-02 GTS that I can afford. $40K being just out of my budget so ideally high 20s to mid 30s. I would love a 96 (or 97) blue and white GTS with less than 30K miles. However, for my budget, I realize this may put me at the top or even over. I am very willing to "compromise" on a red GTS as far up as 2002. I would like to stay less than 30K miles

I am open to shipping but ideally I would like to find a local specimen. My research has underneathed an 01 red GTS in Green Bay (private party), only 30 miles away! There are other potential candidates in Chicago at dealerships. There is also a B/W GTS in lower MI which is at $40K and a ways away. I found the 01 GTS from Green Bay on CL. No pics, just a description....weird. I sent an email and I am "patiently" waiting to hear back so I can go take a look.

My question for the group concerns mechanical inspections. Does anyone know of Viper specialists in WI AND Chicago that I can count on for a quality inspection prior to purchase? We dont see a lot of Vipers around here (NE WI) so I am concerned that simply taking it to the Dodge dealership my not yield the most inclusive inspection.

I really appreciate any insight the group can provide!