RJMDAD996

Gents,
My brother and I are going in on a Pre-owned VIPER 01 GTS Coupe. Before I proceed I wanted to check with you guys to see if any of you have experience with this Beast. I simply have a few Questions:

1 - Any Major Defects ?

2 - Reliability

3 - Bad Weather Handling, Meaning Rain - Can it handle relatively well ?

Zoolander

From what I have read the engine and drivetrain are very reliable.

As far as driveability that is a personal preference. The car is raw. If you plan on tracking it I would be VERY VERY careful. Vipers get in the most trouble at VIR just ask a track worker. So much torque you need to be very gentle on throttle application.

Otherwise they are mean looking and sounding cars. Very obvious though.

NNH

I know a guy who has been using his '95-ish Viper as a daily driver for the last ten years. It's a little raw, but he seems perfectly happy with it.

newport996

Stock it wont handle like your Porsche....and the huge amounts of torque can make the back end come around if you are not careful....but they are MEAN looking...I like the coupes ALOT myself...good choice.

s14roller

I like the car alot for what it can do and how agressive it looks but the interior is what kept me from looking at one

arr0gant

Amazing car, but going "IN" on? Sounds like a mistake to me. If you can't afford it on your own, don't buy it.

ElTorrente

It would be a hell of a lot of fun to own/drive a Viper. I look at them the same way I look at old muscle cars - you don't buy them for handling, just for accelerating and running thru the gears and feeling that torque band. I would be extremely careful in the rain- 1/2 throttle would probably whip the back around on you if you aren't careful.

Einstein

when i bough my 500sl the dealer had a viper.


the salesman told us about the bad quality on the vipers.

Shark

No!!!!!! Even in the dry they handle very poorly, the suspension isn't up to the task of managing all that torque

pl

Viper is a beast.
huge torque makes it nothing like 996.

fast1

My experience with the Viper is basd on an '02 Viper owned by a neighbor.

1 - Any Major Defects ?

Not to my knowledge, unless you consider the placement of the exhaust pipe a defect. I've burnt my calf twice on the side exhaust pipe.

2 - Reliability

No major problems.

3 - Bad Weather Handling, Meaning Rain - Can it handle relatively well ?

Terrible. It handles about as well as a Vette in the wet.

eurotrashed

The front end starts to lift at 150 and gets real nervous. So, stay under 150.

yvesatlanta

I've owned one but had to sell during my last international move.
Regarding your questions :

1 : headgasket in the Gen1 series (93-96). Nothing serious with the Gen2 (which is what you are looking at)
2 : simple technology => very reliable. Just change your oil every 5,000 miles. Even Jiffy Lube can take care of that. The employees will thank you on their bare knees for letting them work on your beast. Maintenance is cheap. Just don't ruin the hood, this will set you back >20K$.
3 : scary, scary, scary...you're on 345's without any heat in them and masses of torque to propel them.

Conclusion : this is one of the funnest cars I've ever owned.

Here are some pics : first one in Oregon, second one on the Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria. Same car, same wife, different continent

Steven C.

It may be just me but the wife seems a lot happier in Austria

I wanted a Viper badly until I read a R&T article on long term ownership. I don't remember the specifics anymore but some minor items were way over the top.

NOBLEGT3

garbage...dont do it...no dead pedal to rest your foot between shifts so you have to put it under the clutch or hover it in the air, especially when on track. steering sucks, bodywork flaps around all loose,seats suck,brakes and handling are brutal. engine is awesome but gearbox is garbage. I swapped with a guy at the track who has three vipers and had never driven a porsche. he drove my 997S until it was out of gas and his first comment when he got out of the car was " i have to get a porsche"
my comment after driving the viper," how the *** do you drive that piece of ****"
and im not a euro car snob as i love the ford gt and hope to get one soon, but the ford is done right. the viper isnt