Which TA year and color will be most collectable, 2014 0r 2015?

[slitherv10]

Putting into account that the TA will not be produced next year, which TA would you feel would be more collectable, the 14 or 15?

Seeing as the 14 was the first year car, would that be it? If so, would it be the icon orange for that year over the rest? Would the numbers for each car make a difference? In that, would number 89 ( introduction of the Viper concept at the NAAS) or would #91 or 93 as they are the race cars numbers?

Would the new 2015 TA be the collectable as they are the new and improved version with the 2.0 (whatever that means) and special edition badging (whatever that means) make a difference and make that car the collector. Would color for 2015 be the collectable? Blue, yorange or black?

Just a curious question of course that I have debated with others in the last little while.

[ViperSmith]

Lets break out our time machines

Though, TAs have held values best, followed by the SRT, and the GTS has taken a bath.

In reality none of them are collectors, but prices will stabilize once the 300+ unsold GTS models move.

[slitherv10]

Lets break out our time machines

Though, TAs have held values best, followed by the SRT, and the GTS has taken a bath.

In reality none of them are collectors, but prices will stabilize once the 300+ unsold GTS models move.

So you feel that even though it is just a 2 year run on these cars they won't make any noise in years to come?

I may agree and disagree but like you said, time will tell and that crystal ball is yet to come to fruition.

But...my curiosity and question is geared towards color and year combo out of those two that will be most if and when it does happen.

[theviper]

20+ years from now, the 2014 and the 2015 TAs will be worth the same (given that they are in the same condition). But what that value will be is unknown as my time machine is not fully functional currently.

[KickAsp]

20+ years from now, the 2014 and the 2015 TAs will be worth the same (given that they are in the same condition). But what that value will be is unknown as my time machine is not fully functional currently.

I agree, I don't think there will be much price diff b/t '14 and '15 down the road, but who knows what that will be. I would like to think they will be collectible, but Vipers have never reached the collectible status like Ferrari, vette, or 911.

[Nine Ball]

There are no 2015 TA's. Only TA 2.0's, from what I understand. And, the 2.0 cars won't be built until spring next year, so early summer arrival.

I'm sure all of these cars will become collectible, once we are all dead and gone. Vipers tend to be collected even today, most are just prized garage queens. If I were to pick, it would be the orange cars, even though they built 93 vs the 33 white and black. Because it was the only model you could get that color. Even 93 cars isn't much, compared to many other "collectible" cars out there.

[JonSav]

I don't think the TA will hold value better than other vipers. If by some miracle they do, orange would be the most desired like nineball said.

[Bruce H.]

All Vipers meet the standard of being a collectable, and many have been purchased as such from new. Color is always very much a personal preference. The TA has been very highly regarded since its introduction, and I see collectors being rather fond of it into the future for a number of reasons.

-It was very highly regarded in every automotive review, while initial reviews of other Gen V's was quite mixed, and it turned the Gen V conversation positive when nothing else was.
-It was the Gen V model most uniformly accepted by Viper Nation.
-It raised the bar with comprehensive performance upgrades.
-It set the Laguna Seca Production Car Track Record, taking it back from Corvette, and previously held by the Gen IV ACR.
-It was one of a few hundred Ralph Gilles Vipers, his team's creation, and built by SRT with him as President and CEO during that division's brief existence.
-It's the highest performance Gen V Viper to date, and the rarest.

The TA 2.0 may not have so many distinctions or such an impact, and may somewhat sit in the shadow of the 2014 TA and a future ACR. The TA was supposed to be a very special and limited edition car of just 159 units, but it seems Dodge is milking its success as much as possible, at first adding 10 Carbon edition GTS models with a partial "TA Package", and maybe for a few other GTS models, and now a complete new series of TA's. Unfortunately they don't appear to raise the performance bar much with only a mild aero enhancements, and nothing to suspension, brakes, transmission, electronics, ect. Each one of those areas could benefit from improvement, and each would be a performance step-up that would be appealling.

I'm still amazed that it's taken this long to sell out the 2014's TA's, with the last ones currently being significantly discounted, and that makes me wonder if when the time comes whether the TA 2.0 will actually be built, and whether they'll be able to sell a run of 96 when they aren't even going to start building them until very late in the 2015 model year. I tend to feel an early 2016 line-up could make a lot of sense. All of this leads me to think grabbing a '14 TA if you can is a pretty safe plan.

Bruce

[Drummerviper]

Neither. At least not within our lifetimes.

[v10enomous]

Here's a 20 year old car sold at about 85% of original cost.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Viper-...US_Cars_Trucks

[J TNT]

The Last Viper made with the most options or rarest of options will be highly sought after , 20 years later. At least that's how past history went in Mopar circles Fwiw.

[slitherv10]

I have to agree with most here that I too was leaning towards the first year orange TA. As a better car, I would say the new 2015 2.0 is obviously the better car with some of the aero enhancements and blips refined over the outgoing car but, again, collectable doesn't always mean the better car. I was not referring to what they may be worth either. That answer will never be answered, not in our lifetimes anyway. That being said, who really cares in the first place.

By the time any of the Vipers is worth anything of value that will make sense to us, WE won't be worth anything of value. Drive your cars and enjoy them as the return over enjoyment is not worth it. To me anyway.

[theviper]

I

Here's a 20 year old car sold at about 85% of original cost.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Viper-...US_Cars_Trucks

So if you are willing to buy a TA and sit on it for 20 years, you'll only lose $15K based on this sale. I don't plan on sitting on it and averaging 20 miles/year

[timberwolf]

New guy here watched as the market shifted with the Dodge price change. Im stuck in a damn lease or else id be in an Orange TA. 2 months ago there were a bunch, and now not a single one, and all the requests I see are for orange.

[Track Pack]

I would guess the Orange '14 will lose the least when compared to the others.

[TitleMine]

Rant incoming... sorry if I step on any toes but...

Here's a 20 year old car sold at about 85% of original cost.

It sold for 57% of the original cost in basically undriven condition, so the owner paid to store, clean, maintain, house, insure, and protect the car for 20 years, and in return, lost almost half his money. You guys should Google the word "inflation" before you opine on what a great investment a Viper is. The MSRP of the Viper in 1994 was the equivalent of nearly 80K in today's money, making the car selling for $44K a big punch in the gut. If he paid just $500/yr to store, clean, and maintain the car, he lost far more than half his money. And he didn't get that money back in "smiles per hour" either. <500 miles driven in 20 years. This thing was a decoration.

If you invest in exotic cars generally each time you buy, hoping for them to appreciate so that you come out ahead, except for a few real unicorns like the Ford GT or the GT3RS4.0, you are, IMHO, a complete moron. There are so, so many better ways to invest your money, that will result in you seeing the returns for your own use in your own lifetime rather than leaving them for when your granddaughter has entered menopause. Buy and drive. The TA is not rare enough or unobtainable enough to deliver returns that would edge out any but the most dreadful stock portfolio every year. Cars are for driving. Don't buy it to make money. 98 times out of 100, you will lose, and lose big. Just ask the people who bought the "collectible" launch edition cars that now command a whopping $75,000 trade in value at dealerships a year later.

If you want one of the most glorious, enviable, exciting American cars to come out in the last 20 years, get a TA. My soft spot is for orange but any color looks sweet. If you want to make money, ditch the car nonsense, buy a Gen 1 Honda Insight for 3 grand, and take your remaining $90K over to BizBuySell and try your luck there.

[Policy Limits]

Good post. Wish I bought a Countach a few years ago for a buck and a half. Now they're 1/2 mill and climbing. Still, it's an exception. Cars are generally depreciating assets.

[TitleMine]

Good post. Wish I bought a Countach a few years ago for a buck and a half. Now they're 1/2 mill and climbing. Still, it's an exception. Cars are generally depreciating assets.

10-4 on that. A local exotic re-seller bought two of them a few years ago, and he frequently tells anyone who will listen just how far the values have gone up. Diablos are also going through the roof; used to be $150-180K, now they're popping up in the mid 200K range all over the place.

Anyway, sorry to blow my top, two things I hate to see are a person make a bad investment, and a great car that never gets driven.

[Bruce H.]

The question was about collectibility, not whether a TA was a good investment...that's two completely different things.

[slitherv10]

The question was about collectibility, not whether a TA was a good investment...that's two completely different things.

Correct!

I was merely curious as to peoples thoughts on the TA. Why the TA? Well with the ACR in the foreground (hopefully), I am wondering where that will leave the TA since it only had a 2 year run and it seemed to me like SRT only brought them out to put Viper back on the map after a deep fall off the deep end with sales and enthusiasm among enthusiasts. Will the ACR outshine the TA so much that the TA will simply be an afterthought or , will the TA hold its own as a limited edition vehicle that was made to fill in the gap that SRT made between it and the competitors or was it just a marketing scheme. Anyways, just my thoughts as I sit here looking into Vipers future and on that note the future of the short run TA.

[TitleMine]

TA is the most collectible of the Gen V Vipers so far, for essentially the reasons Bruce H. Stated.

[Unorthodox]

I plan on driving the wheels off of my TA as that really is the only way I truly feel like you get your money's worth out of any car.

I really don't foresee myself ever selling my TA, or my VOI9, ever.

I think all TA's will hold their value well. I would say the orange for reasons Tony mentioned above; however, the lower production numbers of the white/black cars will keep those cars in high demand also as the orange isn't for everyone.

I prefer the TA over the TA 2.0 also, the rear spoiler of the 2.0 is only beneficial on a road course and I'd go with the ACR (if it happens) over a TA 2.0 any day. If they do a ACR, I don't see the point of a 2.0.

Michael

[Fatboy 18]

Late 60s Mustangs seem to fetch stupid prices in the UK, 70s Trans ams, firebirds are now also seeing a price rise! Yet people don't seem to want Vipers? They all love looking at Vipers but very few will reach out and actually buy one.

Example: Mustangs
http://www.southcoastmustangs.com/#!...by-gt350/c1q06

Nuts!


Example: Trans Am
http://www.exchangeandmart.co.uk/use...FVPJtAodl2wA6A

These used to be between £5 to 7k!

Current Vipers for sale (and have been for a while)
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...rt-10-gts-rt10

[swexlin]

Rant incoming... sorry if I step on any toes but...



It sold for 57% of the original cost in basically undriven condition, so the owner paid to store, clean, maintain, house, insure, and protect the car for 20 years, and in return, lost almost half his money. You guys should Google the word "inflation" before you opine on what a great investment a Viper is. The MSRP of the Viper in 1994 was the equivalent of nearly 80K in today's money, making the car selling for $44K a big punch in the gut. If he paid just $500/yr to store, clean, and maintain the car, he lost far more than half his money. And he didn't get that money back in "smiles per hour" either. <500 miles driven in 20 years. This thing was a decoration.

If you invest in exotic cars generally each time you buy, hoping for them to appreciate so that you come out ahead, except for a few real unicorns like the Ford GT or the GT3RS4.0, you are, IMHO, a complete moron. There are so, so many better ways to invest your money, that will result in you seeing the returns for your own use in your own lifetime rather than leaving them for when your granddaughter has entered menopause. Buy and drive. The TA is not rare enough or unobtainable enough to deliver returns that would edge out any but the most dreadful stock portfolio every year. Cars are for driving. Don't buy it to make money. 98 times out of 100, you will lose, and lose big. Just ask the people who bought the "collectible" launch edition cars that now command a whopping $75,000 trade in value at dealerships a year later.

If you want one of the most glorious, enviable, exciting American cars to come out in the last 20 years, get a TA. My soft spot is for orange but any color looks sweet. If you want to make money, ditch the car nonsense, buy a Gen 1 Honda Insight for 3 grand, and take your remaining $90K over to BizBuySell and try your luck there.

This is one of the best, most insightful posts I have read in a long time. 100% agree. Cars are meant to be driven, and driven, maintained cars are more reliable as well. If you want to look at it - buy a poster!

[Bruce H.]

I was merely curious as to peoples thoughts on the TA. Why the TA? Well with the ACR in the foreground (hopefully), I am wondering where that will leave the TA since it only had a 2 year run and it seemed to me like SRT only brought them out to put Viper back on the map after a deep fall off the deep end with sales and enthusiasm among enthusiasts. Will the ACR outshine the TA so much that the TA will simply be an afterthought or , will the TA hold its own as a limited edition vehicle that was made to fill in the gap that SRT made between it and the competitors or was it just a marketing scheme. Anyways, just my thoughts as I sit here looking into Vipers future and on that note the future of the short run TA.

Or maybe the TA's features and performance is what Viper buyers wanted all along, with the question being what will happen to the SRT and GTS models in the future.

I think Dodge is answering that with the GT package. With the SRT model you can't have the better riding electronic suspension, and the flexibility of the 5 way stability control, the GTS added those and more luxury features and cost than many wanted, and along comes the GT that bridges the price vs features divide rather nicely...and eliminates the need for the SRT and GTS I think.

The TA starts with the electronic dampers and 5 way stability control and adds comprehensive performance upgrades for those who like to do track days more often, more aggressively, or who simply want the higher performance version for their street use.

The ACR concept is an entirely different animal as it's appearance is very different, and not to everyone's taste. It will look too much like a race car for many buyers, trading the elegant look of other models for a very in your face personality that is way over the top for most I bet. Owners on this forum are far more into these cars than the average high performance car buyer, and while we have a keen appreciation for the ACR's of the past, and their accomplishments, there isn't even a remote chance that the ACR would make much of a dent in sales of other models after a small and rabid group of us here jump on it initially, IMO.

Perhaps the limited edition TA needs to disappear along with the SRT and GTS models, completely replaced by a Viper GT that comes equipped with all of the most desirable features from the departing 3 versions. A more sophisticated damper system and upgraded brakes on all would allow for the stiffened suspension of the TA to ride and perform even better than the GTS and TA. The best performing Viper model that they can make to appeal for the street is where the sales will be, and I don't think it will be an ACR.