Viper vs. Corvette question

[2tapshooter]

The very postings everyone is saying, is getting me more and more excited.

[Bitten]

92-95 are 400 hp
96 RT/10 are 415 hp
96-02 GTS and 97-02 RT/10 are 450 hp
98 GT2 and 99-02 ACR are 460 hp
03-06 all are 505 hp
08-10 all are 600 hp
13-14 (present) are 640 hp

Torque has gone up accordingly from mid 400s to 600 over those years as well. Any year has more than enough torque to have fun.just compare torque figures to Corvette during this time. Should make it easier to take off the bow tie!

06 was actually rated at 510 HP but it wasn't any faster than the rest of the Gen 3 cars that I know of, most people don't realize this unless they have a 2006.

[Steve M]

06 was actually rated at 510 HP but it wasn't any faster than the rest of the Gen 3 cars that I know of, most people don't realize this unless they have a 2006.

That's the year the SAE horsepower measurement standard changed.

[ViperSmith]

What is a 1992 Corvette worth compared to a 1992 Viper?

[Coloviper]

Did not know about 06 HP change and funny thing is my first Viper was a 06' Coupe. Ha! Ha!

[Leslie]

If your reasoning for buy a Viper is for a future investment, I wouldn't buy one. Then again, unless you buy a Vette that is already a collectible I wouldn't buy a Vette either.

I switched to Vipers after owning Vettes for 27 years because Vettes are everywhere. You will see a Vette just about anytime you go for a drive where I live but there are only five Vipers in this region and in 15 years I can count the # of times I've seen another Viper here on one hand. Not to mention they are just a bad-ass car, not for the masses.

what he said!

I have had 6 vettes, you see them everywhere! I love the body style of the Viper, it's very unique.

[Sybil TF]

what he said!

I have had 6 vettes, you see them everywhere! I love the body style of the Viper, it's very unique.

Yep,for me it's all about image and standing out from the crowd. I can't drive worth a darn but I blew by a C6 corvette today and the look on his face was priceless.

[Leslie]

Yep,for me it's all about image and standing out from the crowd. I can't drive worth a darn but I blew by a C6 corvette today and the look on his face was priceless.

hahaaa! love it!

[slitherv10]

If you had to ask this question in the first place then I say, to truly appreciate the Viper, you need to buy a Vette first. Otherwise you will never know why this is the best car in the world bar NONE!!

[Space Truckin]

Yep,for me it's all about image and standing out from the crowd. I can't drive worth a darn but I blew by a C6 corvette today and the look on his face was priceless.

If you had to ask this question in the first place then I say, to truly appreciate the Viper, you need to buy a Vette first. Otherwise you will never know why this is the best car in the world bar NONE!!

Nothing wrong at all w the ZR1 or Z06, it's just they blend in with all the stock/ base model Corvettes (which you see EVERYWHERE). The ZR1/ Z06's are totally different animals than a standard/ base Vette, but in the end NONE of them are a VIPER

[DreadLox]

Bitten, well put (referring to your page 1 post)! Vipers need to be driven, I've stomped on my Gen IV and have almost regretted it... A few times! You need to learn the car well and be a DRIVER... Of course what am I going on about? BITTEN, she put it perfectly. But sometimes those are the reasons people do not want the viper, they are scared of it. Viper all the way

And yes people will be jealous of you

[Bitten]

Bitten, well put (referring to your page 1 post)! Vipers need to be driven, I've stomped on my Gen IV and have almost regretted it... A few times! You need to learn the car well and be a DRIVER... Of course what am I going on about? BITTEN, she put it perfectly. But sometimes those are the reasons people do not want the viper, they are scared of it. Viper all the way

My husband is the Viper guy at his dealership. He sold 4 of 6 2006 cars and 6 cars in 2008 (small dealer) and 3 of the 6 2006 cars were totaled and one of his customers died. 1 of the 2008 cars was recently totaled. The guy was in a vert and passed through a barbed wire fence, backwards

I have lost control once on the track and thankfully ended up with a woodchuck (Viper Days) a pissed off instructor and a muddy car. I can tell you I didn't get back on the track that weekend. The Gen 3 cars are scary. I loved them, but you must have respect for them and you need some seat time.

There is nothing like them and Leslie can tell you that. She is a brave woman for tracking them!!! For anyone considering these cars, you need to spend some time with professionals at a track and learn your car. That is the biggest difference between the Viper and the Vette.

And yes people will be jealous, don't leave your car anywhere you can't see it.

[GhostStalker27]

Troll (I'm pretty sure he's trolling), I suggest you go look at some local corvettes. Then go look at a viper (you'll be lucky to find one near you). At that point you'll need no more convincing.

As far as future resale value. It won't even be close - for every 1 viper there are like 40 corvettes. Value comes in a 1 - 2 punch - desire and limited quantity. All those kids from the 90s and 2000s that dreamt about the viper are gonna hit their mid life crisis some day and/or finally have the means to buy one (and want it badly, especially if you have the particular one they always dreamed of). High demand and low quantity = perfect receipt for value.. Vettes = dime a dozen (don't get me wrong I love me a z06 and zr1) but it's just not the same.

[Chorps]

Outside of the Gen V (I haven't driven it yet), I'd have to say the easiest Viper to drive is the Gen IV ACR.

Super sticky tires and a whole ton of downforce make it very friendly and inviting to go fast. Just watch the tire temperatures and don't let the rear end get too loose. Probably the hardest is the Gen III with old run flats, since they don't grip very well and can be hard as rocks.

[daveg]

Another important thing to ask yourself is how much can you spend without putting yourself in the poor house and do you want a Vert or GTS.. Once that is answered, we can go from there!

[Jack's GTS]

I have owned over 30 Corvettes in my time. I still have a 68 427 Coupe SURVIVOR. My 97 GTS Viper is AWESOME. It is in a different class.

[Newport Viper]

Troll (I'm pretty sure he's trolling)

That's why I gave him the warm welcome

[Bill Pemberton]

ACRucrazy has a very valid point, and some respected automotive collector specialists would tend to agree. The gentleman who runs Russo and Steele Auctions has often commented that the Viper
will likely be a stellar performer in future Auctions. Part of it is due to the special nature of the car, a handbuilt American Supercar, but it is also a numbers game. Relatively few have ever been
built. In response to ColoViper I would very politely disagree that the Viper takes a bigger drop than the Vette initially. Percentage wise the Vette has taken a bigger plunge over the last ten years
as GM has commonly done huge rebates ( we also have a GM Store ) and plummeted their resale value. There have been instances with the Viper also , but at present the older Vipers are staying steady or have actually seen
a small increase in value over the last year or two ( verified by Bank values even more than just the increase in sales prices).

Keep in mind that fewer than 30,000 Vipers have ever been built , and there are actually times that there were that many Vettes built in a single year.

[Coloviper]

Understood Bill and I am not one to enter that argument with you as you are there living it, I am just casual observer looking from the outside, but from the outside, it sure looks like the specialty Vettes, the Z06 and ZR1, versus Vipers of late, it doesn't seem to be the same percentage drop out the gate. The Viper seems to drop more those first few years. After a few more years, they seem to be the same depreciation and after about 6 total years from Point of Sale, the Vipers seem to start to stabilize and do better overall as opposed to the Z06 and ZR1. Z06 and ZR1 seem to continue to fall after that.

I would not compare a regular Vette to the Viper as that is not apples to apples IMHO. Taking all vettes into account, I would absolutely agree with your position and points 100%. That was really what I was trying to say and with my 06' Coupe I had from new, that was in fact what I saw. Took a 20% Factory-Back discount on my 2006 Coupe for me to buy it new and for it to sell to me in late 2006. That was a brand new car with 13 miles on it. After six years, that 06' car stabilized and has still been worth $50k to $65k ever since. I sold it in 2012 and made out okay, but those first few years from a price versus MRSP, it was brutal. Did not see the same with Z06 and especially not ZR1 at the time. That car has stabilized where as the Vettes seem to keep falling. I agree that some Vipers that are appreciating now (a little).

Either or, I think in the end we can both agree that the Viper is going to do the best overall the long run. Aside from the small production numbers, a lot have been written off in accidents, crushers, pimped out paintjobs, etc. That number is quite a bit lower for what is out there. I would hazard a guess that 15% of that 30,000 number are already gone forever. That might even be low. It is still a good car to have, if you want to own it for the long haul.

[Sybil TF]

Friend of my husband paid $ 47,000 for a 2007 ZO6 vette a couple years ago with 27,000 miles. I paid $35,000 for a 96 GTS with 27,000 miles( he wanted $39,000 but not from me lol) 11 year difference and his will depreciate and mine will at least stay the same.

Dude ran the vette a little to hard and now something is wrong with the valves. Geeze.......

[GhostStalker27]

Corvettes started in what 1953?

Vipers in 1992....

Common sense...

That's why I gave him the warm welcome

haha yea that made me laugh, the thread should have ended there

[slitherv10]

When you get someone asking you which car should I buy, which one is better?...I smell a troll as well. It's like my 16 year old son asking me what car he thinks he should get for his first car.

The internet is a handy tool. The questions he is asking seem childish to say the least. They could all have been answered by doing some research and common sense as Newport put it at the start of this thread, which, I agree should have ended there.
Everyone is always willing to help out someone with advice, but, in this case it just smells too fishy.

Corvette guy trying to stir the pot if you ask me.

[Newport Viper]

haha yea that made me laugh, the thread should have ended there

I try



Viper Production numbers: As of 12/2001:

Dodge Produced 13,891 Vipers

Chevrolet Produced 244,581 Corvettes

Dodge just completed 25,000 Viper (from 1992 to Feb 2008)


These guys have it at 1,370,759 Vettes at the end of 2013 pretty exclusive car if you ask me.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette

[Joel]

Yes, a 1968 427 Corvette survivor just sold last weekend for $700,000. It had only 12,000 miles but I was shocked at the price. I don't think we'll see that for Vipers but maybe...

I have owned over 30 Corvettes in my time. I still have a 68 427 Coupe SURVIVOR. My 97 GTS Viper is AWESOME. It is in a different class.

[Steve M]

Friend of my husband paid $ 47,000 for a 2007 ZO6 vette a couple years ago with 27,000 miles. I paid $35,000 for a 96 GTS with 27,000 miles( he wanted $39,000 but not from me lol) 11 year difference and his will depreciate and mine will at least stay the same.

Dude ran the vette a little to hard and now something is wrong with the valves. Geeze.......

Valve guide wear on the LS7 is fairly common...if I ever owned one, pulling the heads and having them gone over would be my first priority, especially if I planned on beating on it, which I would.