Finally the search is over and drove my dream car home

**chris_lee** · 03-19-2018

Hey everyone! New guy to the viper club

I will never forget the day when I was 17 and a guy showed up to my work in one of the first RT vipers. He was nice enough to let me the idiot teenager sit in the car and get a picture. I had that picture for YEARS with the goal that one day (23yrs later) I would make it happen. Once I saw the Gen 5 I knew it was the one... It shared some of the old lines that made the viper so unique. (huge fan of all the generations though). I've been searching "seriously" for about two years for the right color, the right miles, and started to feel like it was just not going to happen. Almost talked myself into the new z06. Did not help that I can talk myself out of every car I find.

Recently came across a Black on Black 2014 base with 6k miles that looked very promising. Went to check the car out and it was absolutely flawless. Paint, Interior, Engine bay all flawless. The car was priced high to begin but we settled on a decent price that I didn't think I was going to be able to beat. For me, color is huge and I'm willing to pay a bit more for the right color. I've read about some killer deals but mid 70's in Texas seems to be as good as it gets. Its had the recalls completed and has the 10yr/100 and they gave me a crazy good deal on a 3yr/36 for the rest. Overall decent deal, but just could not let the car get away in basically new condition. I found a car one year ago in the same trim for 69k that turned out to be a full respray on the entire car. Glad I passed on that one.

That drive home... Hands so nervous I was nearly shaking. Just something about that first drive that scares the hell out of me. That blind spot from hell will take some getting used to. I was VERY surprised how loud and drony these cars are especially with the windows up. I had to watch some videos to even make sure the injector/valve train sound was normal. "I did hear the same thing in many test videos". Loudest I've ever heard in a car. Almost like loud sewing machine on top of the engine sound. Coming from Twin Turbo Surpas to SRT8 Challenger this car is a totally different animal. I can't believe how raw and aggressive this car feels! I've also never had a car that I'll walk out into the garage just to look at it. Now I get why all of you are addicted to these cars.

Quick Questions: Is there a way to default the home screen to the SRT gauges? How easy is this car to mis-shift? The shifter feels incredible but damn those gears are close. I'm used to my challenger I guess.

First day home
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**swexlin** · 03-19-2018

Congrats. Beautiful car.

Performance Pages cannot "default" I have to access mine from the Apps Screen. They can sometimes take over a minute to load.

**swexlin** · 03-19-2018

PS -

If you have a Challenger, the screens/controls for the 8.4 screen should be almost identical in the Viper.

**chris_lee** · 03-19-2018

Thanks!!! Yea those loading times are pretty bad. My challenger is an 09 so it has the old screen. Going to have to sell old blue to help with this Viper expense. :-(

**Lost me beer** · 03-19-2018

Very nice! I know exactly how you feel... I pulled the trigger a couple months ago after a year long search for my baby.
Carefull with her.
Congrats!
Troy

**BrianACR** · 03-19-2018

Congrats on the new ride! She's a beauty.

**1ststrike** · 03-19-2018

Congrats on that awesome Viper!. Wait till you experience all the attention the car gets.
Great pic!

**Hawk** · 03-19-2018

Great looking ride I love the black with the black rims (not as much as the orange!) Congratulation have fun and respect the power!!!

**chris_lee** · 03-19-2018

Funny you mention the orange. That was my absolute #1 choice but I could never find one in my price range. Those TA’s are incredible!!!

**Vipes** · 03-19-2018

Beautiful car! Black is the best color for the 10 minutes it stays clean. Nice find, the base is actually a lot more rare than the GTS during the SRT years. Congrats!

**Fatman2006** · 03-19-2018

Awesome car brother! Make sure you have a good supply of oatmeal to eat!

**chris_lee** · 03-19-2018

Thanks guys! I forgot the fun times of trying to wash a black car before the sun dries the water and leaves spots. This car had zero swirl marks so now I’m going to be totally ocd about it...

Super excited! I do plan on driving this car often and putting some real miles on it. I have a short work commute so figure why not enjoy the hell out out it.

**ForTehNguyen** · 03-20-2018

congrats, welcome to the group. I would suggest a clear bra to protect a black car

**Bill Pemberton** · 03-20-2018

Good idea from ForTeh , black is beautiful but it does show the rock chips. My 2000 Black/silver stripe was an older sibling to yours and that was my main issue. Do get a 6 inch strip done above the windshield , also, as that area picks up a ton of debris from air flow.

Congrats !!

**chris_lee** · 03-20-2018

Originally Posted by Bill Pemberton

Good idea from ForTeh , black is beautiful but it does show the rock chips. My 2000 Black/silver stripe was an older sibling to yours and that was my main issue. Do get a 6 inch strip done above the windshield , also, as that area picks up a ton of debris from air flow.

Congrats !!

Good to know. Do you guys recommend doing the full bumper/hood? I was very surprised by the paint quality on these. No orange peel, and a mirror finish. Does the 6" strip look ok? I've always seen cars with the strip that starts to "fade" and it just drives me insane.

Any other tips for a new owner? Thanks for the warm welcome!!

**Vipes** · 03-20-2018

I almost gave up on black cars forever until I discovered the xpel ultimate self healing film. You never have to worry about getting swirl marks, scratches or have to polish/wax the car again. It’s a little pricey if you do the whole car but the ceramic coating is also another option to look into that is less expensive. Due to the cost of the film, most people just do the front bumper, 2/3 of the hood, mirrors and the part of the lower stills where the tires would sling rocks. It blows my mind that was never done before on your car. Who is buying these 100k cars new and just driving them raw dog...

**chris_lee** · 03-20-2018

Originally Posted by Vipes

I almost gave up on black cars forever until I discovered the xpel ultimate self healing film. You never have to worry about getting swirl marks, scratches or have to polish/wax the car again. It’s a little pricey if you do the whole car but the ceramic coating is also another option to look into that is less expensive. Due to the cost of the film, most people just do the front bumper, 2/3 of the hood, mirrors and the part of the lower stills where the tires would sling rocks. It blows my mind that was never done before on your car. Who is buying these 100k cars new and just driving them raw dog...

Anyway to tell if it has ceramic? You have me sold with not having to think about swirl marks. That would be AMAZING. My Supra was black and I swore it would be my last. Having to worry about swirl marks was by far the worst part other than pollen season.

The guy that traded it in had quite a few exotics so he may just rotate cars out so fast he does not mess with it. I plan on being a LONG time owner of this one so going to start researching a good Houston xpel installer.

It's funny how every time I start to question if this was too much money for a car... I walk into my garage take one look and think "This car is just un-freaking-real..... "

**Slithr** · 03-20-2018

Originally Posted by chris_lee

I plan on being a LONG time owner of this one so going to start researching a good Houston xpel installer.

Eric at Xpel Houston did a fantastic job on my new 1:28 ACR, 100% coverage. Myself and ViperExchange highly recommends them.

https://www.facebook.com/xpelhouston

**chris_lee** · 03-21-2018

Originally Posted by Slithr

Eric at Xpel Houston did a fantastic job on my new 1:28 ACR, 100% coverage. Myself and ViperExchange highly recommends them.

https://www.facebook.com/xpelhouston

Great! Didn't have to search too far ;-)
Thanks for the tip.

**Dusty1** · 03-21-2018

Chris:

If your here in Houston, we have a very active club. Join VOA and come join us.

Richard

**chris_lee** · 03-21-2018

Originally Posted by Dusty1

Chris:

If your here in Houston, we have a very active club. Join VOA and come join us.

Richard

Roger that! I'll get on that asap. Glad to hear there is an active group. I miss that from the old Surpa days

**Vipes** · 03-21-2018

Originally Posted by chris_lee

Anyway to tell if it has ceramic? You have me sold with not having to think about swirl marks. That would be AMAZING. My Supra was black and I swore it would be my last. Having to worry about swirl marks was by far the worst part other than pollen season.

The guy that traded it in had quite a few exotics so he may just rotate cars out so fast he does not mess with it. I plan on being a LONG time owner of this one so going to start researching a good Houston xpel installer.

It's funny how every time I start to question if this was too much money for a car... I walk into my garage take one look and think "This car is just un-freaking-real..... "

You'd be able to tell about the ceramic if there were no swirl marks on the car, the water just beads off perfectly and the car always has a wet look to it. This would also be the case if the car just got out of a fresh full detail but after a couple months you would know. I also had a black Supra, I thought the same as you and actually bought an adrenaline red viper to get out of the color maintenance. I ended up going back to black once I discovered the film/coating options. The expel film doesn't last forever, it will eventually start to lift up at the seams ever so slightly after 5-10 years. Although the car will look amazing for years and be a breeze to wash with a quality coating, it doesn't offer any chip/rock protection like the film. I think a combination of both is a great option. Haha, I agree with you about these cars, they are amazing!