capevettes

Most of the factory paint jobs were actually pretty good for the era. The patina/surface rust might be due to storage in a humid environment. My 01 had 16,400 miles on it when I bought it 2 1/2 years ago and appeared like new.
None of those issues are insurmountable.
May serve you well as a bargaining chip to get the price closer to where you want to be. Sounds like a nice car that just sat alot.

pullin-gs

The rust on the fittings bothers me. I want shiny.
Everything else is fixable (wheel, tires, interior I can live with).
I'm going to sit on making an offer for a few days....make a few calls to a viper broker out of texas (Viper Exchange) and maybe another lead I found on AutoTrader.

Plusses of car I looked at yesterday:
Car is only 1-hour drive from home(!!!!). Thats easily 2K in trasportation money/etc saved.
If he accepts my offer, I can lock in on a car now. Otherwise I might be looking at an extended search and spring-time increase in prices.
Paint is perfect. Glass is perfect. Is dialed-in. Owner only had it serviced by "certified" viper master mechanic (what ever that means). Has documentation.
v/r,
P

JohnZ

Should be, even after 22 years. I was the Plant Manager from 1996-2000, and our paint quality standard was always "Show Paint".

wmf62

seeing as all the cars in the pic are the same color scheme; did they run the colors through in batches?

Bill

capevettes

Bill, I think John's picture depicts the 96 GTS which only came in blue and white.
Nice to have John's brain to pick for both Vettes and Vipers.

wmf62

I guess it's like Henry Ford supposedly said: "you can have any color you like, so long as it's black"...

thank you

Bill

JohnZ

Yup - blue/white was the signature introductory color for the new '96 GTS Coupe; other colors came later.

pullin-gs

Thanks for the feedback all....it has been very helpful.
Yesterday, I lobbed an offer of $49K (he is asking 57K) for the viper I looked at last week. The owner countered $52K. I let him know I'd decide today.
I'm thinking I will hold tight at $49K.
There are two nice 96 B/Ws at Viper Exchange in Houston Texas....worth a trip to check out.
Anyone know Viper Exchange? Anyone live in Houston?

capevettes

Viper Exchange in Tomball, Texas has a pretty good reputation. The car I assume you are interested is the stock 96 B/W, one owner with 11,xxx or so miles. The other one has a few mods. There is a huge Viper following in the Houston area. Contact someone from that Regional/Houston area group through the VOA site and have someone inspect that car for you. Certainly looks worth an inspection.

Good luck.

pullin-gs

Yes...those two. I called about the stock one.
Unfortunately they were "old stock" and not currently for sale. Not sure why they put them up on page if not available.

pullin-gs

I put a deposit down on this one....hopefully deal will not fall through.
https://www.naplesautocollection.com...3ccd95d9f0c96f

The seller took my offer which was in my budget range for a minty 96 GTS.
Here is a good story for all to enjoy:
I got the lead about this car through another Viper owner whose car I looked over last week. We could not agree on a price, so I respectfully declined his best offer. He called me yesterday and told me about this GTS being just listed on AutoTrader, knowing it was in line with my expectations. Wow! That was a life lesson for me in honor and taking the time in doing whats right.
Real stand-up guy. The gentleman is currently an officer serving in the Navy. The only reason he is selling his Viper is because he is being deployed to Japan.

2nd story still unfolding:
The dealer received a higher offer for the GTS I put a deposit on from another buyer 24 hours previous. However the person never followed up with deposit payment as agreed upon, so dealer honored my offer and deposit. Hopefully it does not fall through.
Once I line up an inspector I'm driving/riding 200 miles to inspect/close deal.

Thanks all,
Paul Blakeslee

capevettes

Paul, looks like you found a beautiful, low mileage car. If it runs as good as it looks and isn't a leaker, it looks great. That first seller sounds like a real standup guy.

Maybe one of the Florida VOA members can assist you with the inspection. Good luck and have fun.