Very low mileage Vipers

[f80m3driver]

This is just a question out of curiosity.

When looking for my Gen 2 GTS I noticed a lot of Viper with very low mileage, 5000 miles, 8000 miles, that sort of thing.

As a non-US resident, I'm just wondering how so many of these cars that are pushing 20 years old seem to have such exceptionally mileage.

Was it common for them to be bought as a second car, were they owned by collectors, were they tampered with to fool the odometer... Can anyone enlighten me?

[Viper98912]

Very common to be bought as a third or fourth car for the occasional weekend drive

[plumcrazy]

what he said. i wouldnt be thrilled about low mile, 20 year old car. id rather see a well maintained, documented and driven car with some more miles on it

[dave6666]

The less it was driven, the more a real owner will have to fix later.

[COI]

Not true.

The less it was driven, the more a real owner will have to fix later.

[FrgMstr]

Not true.

Not so sure about that. May not be true all the time, but sometimes it surely is. Going through a 2004 right now with a buddy that basically sat "undriven" for 10 years. We are finding all sort of knick knack stuff that needs to be fixed.

[COI]

The statement was "The less it was driven, the more a real owner will have to fix later." which is simply not true for all cars. What matters is how well the car was cared for while sitting "undriven." A well maintained vehicle will be just fine. A vehicle that is not well maintained is clearly going to have some issues, and yes, potentially major issues. When looking at a low mileage car I spend time understanding how well the car was maintained. How old is the gas in the car, how often has the gas been removed/changed, have fluids such as oil, coolant, etc. been changed, is the car started and allowed to idle for an extended period regularly, has the car been regularly subjected to significant temperature/humidity changes, etc. These things all matter and are the same whether you're talking about a 20 year old Viper or a restored/unrestored classic Mustang, 'Cuda, Charger, etc.

Some things do age (i.e. tires) and there is nothing you can do to change that. That is not a result of low-mileage, just time.

Not so sure about that. May not be true all the time, but sometimes it surely is. Going through a 2004 right now with a buddy that basically sat "undriven" for 10 years. We are finding all sort of knick knack stuff that needs to be fixed.

[FrgMstr]

the statement was "the less it was driven, the more a real owner will have to fix later." which is simply not true for all cars. What matters is how well the car was cared for while sitting "undriven." a well maintained vehicle will be just fine. A vehicle that is not well maintained is clearly going to have some issues, and yes, potentially major issues. When looking at a low mileage car i spend time understanding how well the car was maintained. How old is the gas in the car, how often has the gas been removed/changed, have fluids such as oil, coolant, etc. Been changed, is the car started and allowed to idle for an extended period regularly, has the car been regularly subjected to significant temperature/humidity changes, etc. These things all matter and are the same whether you're talking about a 20 year old viper or a restored/unrestored classic mustang, 'cuda, charger, etc.

Some things do age (i.e. Tires) and there is nothing you can do to change that. That is not a result of low-mileage, just time.

no way!

[Atari_Prime]

Vipers aren't the most practical car in the world. They scrape every bump, the gas mileage is meh to blah, if the battery dies enjoy that climb through the car, if you break the hood prepare to spend a lot of $$$, no traction control, no abs, and everybody wants to look at your car. The result, they don't get driven very much. I haven't done any statistics but I would guess the average Gen I & II Viper has between 30k and 40k miles and your average enthusiast/collector level viper has between 10k and 25k miles.

[ClayR]

I have one with 6K miles. It was never titled by the dealer so I am the original owner of a 98'.

[Atari_Prime]

I have one with 6K miles. It was never titled by the dealer so I am the original owner of a 98'.

Considering the dealership drove it 6k, I think most would consider the dealership the original owner.

[venum4u]

My 02 GTS had only 6900 when i purchased it in 2013. Now has over 10.000

[FrgMstr]

A lot of folks just like to polish their Vipers and look at them in the garage apparently. Which is great for the rest of us that buy'um to drive.

[EricMcClellan]

A lot of folks just like to polish their Vipers and look at them in the garage apparently. Which is great for the rest of us that buy'um to drive.

I dunno... I just rolled over 11,000 and mine spent the good part of its life on the race track...

[BFoster]

Maybe you all live in paradise, but here in Iowa, you can only drive a nice car a few months out of the year, and it is guaranteed to get dirty! No bueno for a nice car, so mine stays under it's cover unless the conditions are perfect!

[Viper Red]

My Gen1 '93 has 6k on it now.
Drives like a dream. No problems.

Had the injector leaks which i fixed, and upgraded the radiator.

Pretty much it

[Vprbite]

There is a right way and wrong way to store a car long term. Just not driving it is the wrong way.

I think many of these were purchased for the cool factor/fun factor and then also many people tried to keep the miles down, so to speak. They drove them only on nice days to fun destinations sort of thing. They may not have been thinking of value, it's just how they choose to enjoy it. And since daily driving one is rare, that leads to the fairly low mileage average we tend to see.

JMO.

[f80m3driver]

There is a right way and wrong way to store a car long term. Just not driving it is the wrong way.

I think many of these were purchased for the cool factor/fun factor and then also many people tried to keep the miles down, so to speak. They drove them only on nice days to fun destinations sort of thing. They may not have been thinking of value, it's just how they choose to enjoy it. And since daily driving one is rare, that leads to the fairly low mileage average we tend to see.

JMO.

OK.... well I'm gonna daily drive mine, and make up for all of the previous owners lack of use.