I would be concerned about the quality of the Viper, the expense of parts, and I can imagine not many places have experience working on them. $45k is also way out of my price range.

I bought the newest, most low mile 'Z that I could find for reliablity.

 

Love my Z16, but if I could keep her and own a used Viper...

 

Hi rbartick -

Their products might be, but I'll never give them another chance to prove it to me.

Long story short - they way Chrysler treated my mother and step-father after they had bought two brand new top-of-the-line LHS's was deplorable.

Want more details? PM me.

best regards -

mqqn

 

I wasn't ready to give up my Z06 so I kept it

and got a nice used Viper GTS

it's great having both

 

Ive had into the dealer several times asking why the heat tranfer problem to the tunnel area. each dealer told me its a common problem and of the 4 other Z's ive been in they all had the heat problem.

Now granted I drive my car really hard in city/freeway driving and the rpms are never below 4K in town in whatever gear im in and I very rarely use 6th on the freeways, even when cruising, so the heat buildup is there. Its just something I learned to live with and adapt some heat sheeting to. Its a common area to roast eveything in the center consolealso. Ive seen countless threads on this heat transfer issue also.

 

That does seem odd. I've had:
'00 FRC
'03 Z06
'05 C6 Z51
'03 Z06 (again)

None of them have had ANY heat transfer problems and I live in Arizona where I drive it in the 118 degree heat. I don't doubt what you're saying but I'm wondering if its an issue with a select few???

I will definitely agree on the Chrysler quality. We bought my wife a new '06 300C SRT-8 for her Realtor car. At about 1,000 miles I took it into the dealer with SIX problems on the list. Don't get me wrong, it was a killer car. Big, fast, handled great, looked great, etc... but the quality is as bad as Chrysler has always been (even with all the Benz parts; oh, wait, that's not saying much either! ).

Needless to say we sold the car and bought a BMW 330i that never faultered once (and they're no Toyota if you know what I mean).

 

I would never own a Viper, have fun paying the Viper Tax on mods. Plus they really are not that fast at least the ones I have raced, and who wants a car that sounds like a V6.

 

If you do buy a used Viper- make sure you have a warranty-extended or original- and be ready for a whole lot more attention- good and bad............

 

I've got two DCX products, a 94 with 105k and a 2006 with 10k. Both have been great.

 

Porsche Gt3......oh wait.

 

Well i am not exactly looking to buy a Viper. Just curious what people thought about them who have had the oppertunity to drive one. Although I might consider one for a next vehicle in the future. No way I can even consider buying one now. Just got my vette 2 weeks ago. I love driving my Zo6. The first time I got into my vette I felt like I was getting into a cockpit of a F-16.

 

Why not own both?







Geterdone, I have to disagree, I dont think they sound like a V6 at all. They have a sound all of their own. If anyone thinks mine sounds bad please let me know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQS1oiBovX4

Here is my review form someone who has both; The Viper is a american exotic muscle car that is pure, raw, basic and loud amoung ather things but I love it. There is no cupholder, there is no heads up display, there is no traction control. It is a drivers car ment to be driven and it can take a beating win no porblem. The Corvette is a sports car and refined in comparision, rides smoother, power everything, not as loud, lots of electrical gadgets. The Viper tax is about the same as the Vette tax but really in comparing the two there is no comparision. Some love the raw nature of the Viper and some love the refinement of the Corvette, its personal choice, apples to oranges. My only question is why not own both? If anyone has any more questions feel free to ask.

 

I see you are also in Fort Worth, if you want to go for a ride in my Viper sometime shoot me a PM.

Patrick

 

Wow, Thank you very much for offering to take me for a ride in the viper. I just might take you up on that sometime. I have never even seen the inside of one in person. Your garage is awsome. Best of both worlds!!!!

 

When I take my Z06 on 2hr Canyon runs, the tunnel gets very warm. Not burning Hot, but you do really notice it. Not a huge deal though...

Vipers are cool looking to be sure, and more Exotic than a Z06, but from what I've read and heard they're not as near as user friendly as a Z06 vette. I'd like to drive a GTS or ACR though just to see what that V10 feels like.

 

Holy Revs Batman!!! WHY??!!? The car feels ready to shift below 2k. I will cruise as low as 40mph in 6th. I would love to hear what kind of mileage you are getting. I shift like a race car when I'm racing and like an automatic when I'm criuseing. I average 26mpg. In all seriousness, I don't think you can complain about the way they built the Z06 when you choose to drive like that.

 

Hi rbartick -

That is great! Really - I don't have a problem such as "I think the products of Chrysler are inferior and more prone to malfunction than other competing brands."

My issue is more about the character of the corporation - the people that I have dealt with IRL, as compared and measured by the people that I have had personal contact with IRL from GM.

* IRL - in real life...

Make no mistake - the Viper is far more desireable from an aesthetic point of view, and I am careful not to "bash" the car. I believe the Viper is hand built all the way and should be of the highest quality.

Just wanted to clear that up.


RE: the compromise of performance......

Face it - I would not store my vintage Hershey bar collection in the console of EITHER the Z or the Viper.

However, neither cars heat transfer issues would sway me against owning and driving one. C'mon people - these are great cars and too much fun to drive - either one!

In the real world, where normal people shudder at the thought of buying 4 tires for more than $300, consumers do not accept a console that "melts your chocolate", nor would the same consumer live with a harsh ride or loud-ish exhaust or any of a number of other annoyances that extreme high-performance automobiles tend to share.

But in our world, who cares about that, really?

best regards -

mqqn

 

I love the sound of the small block reving at 4K, so thats where I like to keep it. Im constantly banging gears at 6500 in town and on the freeways as I really do drive the Z06 very hard.

Gas mileage on the Z? I reset the DIC once when hitting the backroads hard for an hour one day and it showed I averaged 12 mpg which was mostly 2nd gear in the 4-6k range in twisties. I dont really care about gas mileage in any vehicles we own so it really isnt a concern driving low rpms to save gas for me. Im in this car to have alot of fun and drive it hard.

No im not really complaining about the heat issues the way I drive, but just commenting on observations on different models.

 

Ditto. Some friends of mine have\had Vipers and the Z06 simply could not compare with the Vipers in the attention and looks department. A Viper GTS\ACR version would be in my garage right now if I could afford one.

 

You have one of those too? I thought I was the only one