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makser
Original Poster
10 posts
23 months
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Hi vipees ,
Can anyone shed some light on the yellow gen 2 on pistonheads .Does any of you know the car ? Im going to see it on bank holiday monday near stoke .What sort of problems if any do the gen 2 suffer from .Pros and cons generally i suppose .What does a viper novice look out for ? I need one of these cars but i want to buy the right one .There is a red gen 1 in red in autotrader whose owner says is known to this club .Any feedback greatly appreciated .Thanks .
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fatboy18
8,528 posts
80 months
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The Red car will be much faster  Extra 20% BHP on colour alone On a serious note I personally dont know anything about the Yellow car, but hopefully others will chime in  You must get a Carfax done on the car, its the equivalent of an HPI check, (but for American cars) It will give you a bit more history Good luck with your quest. Do the usual stuff, check colour of Brake fluid, check tyres, they may have a lot of tread on them but the rubber hardens up so check dates on tyres  A new set of tyres is not cheap, (you may want to look into that) Check Oil etc. The car is a 2002, so it will have ABS
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Viper
9,409 posts
142 months
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dont know the car but a few of us know of the guy selling, Gary Ellam he came to a few early club meets. I went to his house back in 2002 to look at a red GTS he was selling a few days before we brought the Steel Grey (Mark Jackson ended up with buying it in the end) he's owned and sold lots of Vipers and US cars over the years
there nothing major to look out for on a 2002 model, all the little niggles over the older cars had been sorted by then
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Dr-Bob
5,874 posts
129 months
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Race Yellow ....Gen 2.... RT10 whats not to like......
Just check all the normal. oil hood gaps seat wear.. Drivers electric window works with door open and closed....
They do wonder a bit on the road so dont worry to much about that...
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fishboy
3,311 posts
99 months
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Leatherman
907 posts
95 months
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.There is a red gen 1 in red in autotrader whose owner says is known to this club .Any feedback greatly appreciated Thanks . [/quote] Come on the man wants feedback. I cant give it as I am a little biased 
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Dr-Bob
5,874 posts
129 months
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AHA that red gen 1 LOL!!!!!
Great Gen 1 with nice retrim in top end leather to a very high standard..
Upgaded gen 2 17" rims redone in black..
Baz
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makser
Original Poster
10 posts
23 months
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Well thanks for the feedback chaps .I am on my way down there at 4pm today .I will of course let you all know what i think of the car and should i like it will probably want to have a viper nut do a paid inspection for me if there is anyone not too far away from the midlands .One last question which im not sure will go down well with you viper owners is what is the possibility of having an LPG conversion done on a viper .Please dont threaten to glass me for this question as i am only a rookie after all .
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fatboy18
8,528 posts
80 months
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Just drive one for a bit, I thought about putting cruse control on mine once  If you want an honest answer I would not do it, its just not that sort of car to be messing around with, you would also loose boot space.
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Viper
9,409 posts
142 months
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youd also loose loads of money as no-one wouldnt want it come selling time
the V10 is quite difficult to setup on LPG according to the Ram owners ive read about that have tried to install the kit
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makser
Original Poster
10 posts
23 months
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Hi All ,
Well i took the trip to stoke and had a look at the viper .It was the same one i looked at last june .I posted a comment or two then asking anyone did they know the car ,see page 18 on this forum .When i saw the car last june in dublin it was tatty and clearly hadnt been looked after so i didnt buy .I could have bought it then for 25k but i didnt want a tatty one .The current owner obviously saw potential in it ,shipped it over ,spent a few grand and it looks great now .I do remember at the time last year the oil was really dirty and the car generally had suffered from neglect .Im in 2 minds what to do now as the car seems to have been refurbished and tidied up to a good standard but im sort of thinking that i would like a viper that has been looked after and cherished from day one really hence my scepticism .The viper may be a good car in all aspects now but i suppose that i have to decide wether to have a paid detailed inspection with compression test etc or leave it for now .A bit of a predicament really .
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fatboy18
8,528 posts
80 months
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Move on, It would always be in the back of your mind, the I wonder, what if, etc, etc. Did you get the Carfax done on the car? Its not that hard to bring in a car from the USA, a few of us have done it Have you thought about going down that route? There's a Black Mamba Gen 3 just come on the market for sale in the UK, slightly higher price?  Contact 'TWIGLOVE'
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makser
Original Poster
10 posts
23 months
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MMMMM looks like i might go down the import route after all .I have been looking at all the vipers in the usa and there looks to be a vast array there .I havent a clue how to import from usa but in 2004 i did go to japan and import one although most of the paperwork was done on my behalf by a friend out there .I have set my heart on a yellow gen 2 with hard and soft tops so if any of you vipees can assist me in importing a vehicle from the states i am all ears .
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Viper
9,409 posts
142 months
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Dr-Bob
5,874 posts
129 months
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Theres one in my garage someplace ... Not seen it in a while.....
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ViperDave
3,183 posts
122 months
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Just don't forget the duty and VAT when looking at prices. Usually boils down to replace the $ with a £ by the time its on the road.
US$ price / exchange rate = purchase price
add £1500 shipping, little more if west coast
add 10% duty to price and shipping
add 20% vat to price, shipping and duty
Gives you the price to the docks in the UK a few more £100's to get converted and registered.
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fatboy18
8,528 posts
80 months
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I found my car on the Viper Club America classifieds. Got the Vin Number and got a Carfax done on the car. Asked on the forums if anyone would be willing to look the car over for me and some bloke who was on Holiday over there at the time went and had a look at it for me (Cheers, Viper Dave)  I also got another 2 chaps from the local VCA to take the car out for a test drive They emailed me to say the car was fine Then for an added bonus the owner posted a video of the car on YouTube for me to see http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=TcoiMfwt6...Dr Bob, contacted Tators Garage for me and we checked that any factory recall work had been done on the car I was also recommended Kingstown Shipping. They have huge experience in importing cars, so they talked me through all the stuff you need to know. My car was in Northern California Once you get the car to the UK the next step begins Since I bought my car rules have now changed slightly, SVA (single vehicle approval) has now become IVA, Im not sure of the regulations on this but others here will know. Dr Bob sorted out the SVA test for me and the MOT, then with papers in hand I could go to the nearest DVLA office and apply for a registration number The shipping company takes care of all the paperwork and taxes and duty you will have to pay. There are cars in US Dealers and on eBay but I did not like the idea of bidding on eBay USA, without being able to get the car checked out first, and Ive not had good experiences with UK car dealers so that's why I looked on the VCA site, your buying a car from another club member who will be known If you need anymore advice feel free to ask questions. Cheers Mark.
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Dr-Bob
5,874 posts
129 months
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Any car 10 yrs or older does not need an IVA just an MOT....
Almost all Gen2's are now ten yrs old...
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fatboy18
8,528 posts
80 months
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Thanks for the info Dr-Bob
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oxam
211 posts
42 months
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I went through the process of importing a yellow one myself.
Bought the car from a us dodge dealer on eBay, didn't have a chance to look at it but the guy had 300+ positive feedbacks on cars and he has sold 7 vipers already on eBay so decided to trust him.
Did the carfax, came out as a clear car plus included all the services and recalls (every time the car has been with a dodge dealership). Furthermore the car was fully serviced when left the dealership and would have had 6 months warranty in the states (doubt a dealer would sell a lemon with warranty).
Shipping it over was pia as the uk agent I chose (Hill Shipping) was sometimes a bit useless. Turned out they have a subagent there (Schumacher Cargo) and the communication was a bit of a nightmare. It took much longer than expected but got the car at the end. Went for a container as I didn't want the car to be trashed around being loaded and unloaded - turned out to be a silly decision. It was more expensive and took much longer and when they were offloading the car from the container (even if I gave instructions to wait for me before doing that) they cracked the front bumper (1in crack in the underlip) you cannot see it and it scrapes anyway with the lowering springs now but it's annoying to know somebody did that. Also the insurance didn't pay as there was 500usd excess and is impossible to deal with
If I am about to do it again I would do it myself - fly over, look at the car, pay with a BA Amex (the miles you will get on that will buy you another free ticket to the states), drive it over to savannah and put it on a Ro Ro. Pick it up yourself in the UK and pay a shipping agent 75 gbp to sort out your documents. The whole thing would cost less, will take shorter and you will be in control.
Dr Baz is right - by the time the car is here will be older than 10 years so won't need IVA - just MOT.
If you need anymore info drop me a pm. Btw what time horizon are you looking at? I am still debating with myself if I want a murcielago so my yellow rt might be up for grabs (all the must mods have been done;)
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