Dodge Viper fans here ?

[shooterg]

Chrysler wants 93 of 'em crushed within 2 weeks ! Mostly given/loaned to vocational schools/etc. Seem somebody went joyriding in a couple of 'em so Chrysler is afraid of liability. OK, but why not let the schools auction/sell 'em to private individuals who would then assume liability. Schools wouldn't have the cars, but a lotta bucks and good press for the car company! One of 'em was the 4th one made.
I hate it when old cars get crushed - that makes my dreams of ever owning one even less realistic !

[dubber123]

That make no sense whatsoever. A lot of needed money down the drain. If they insist on crushing them, I'll take the drivetrains for scrap value.. :)

[clyde-the-pointer]

They sound like a hopped up UPS truck to me.

[lylejb]

but why not let the schools auction/sell 'em to private individuals

Because, the majority of these vehicles are not titled. Training center vehicles fall into an odd catagory, sort of "unfinished", and therefore were never issued a certificate of completion or titled. That's part of the trade-off. The manufacture writes off / donates the vehicle for training in trade for never having it available for sale.

Think, If a manufacture was to donate a vehicle and then some some greedy sob was allowed to resell it, it would be big $$ for the sob, and a loss for the manufacture. Could / would become quite a scam.

Not all training vehicles are this way. Others are lemon law buy backs, and unsold new total's ( think what happens when a new car dealer gets flooded, and has a lot full of new cars underwater), either of which will result in a branded title.

Another point is after years of "learning" on these vehicles there in no where near as good of condition as you might be thinking. After being taken apart dozens to hundreds of times, parts get lost, broken, stripped, cross-threaded, pushed , pulled, hammered, cut, torn, and or beaten. These are NOT showroom condition vehicles.

Though you might be thinking great things about a viper, the reality might leave you disappointed.

Years back, I worked at Ford and earned Ford Senior Master certification. After the dealer I worked at closed, I was hired at Dodge and earned level 4 certification in most catagories. You could say I've spent some time at training centers.

At the Chrysler training center near Portland, Or we did not have a Viper car, we had an engine on a stand.

[TXGunNut]

The big three has indeed donated many cars to schools but they were never intended to be titled or driven. I've seen a few school cars, even had the priveledge of working on a few engines and the ones I'm familiar with would not interest a serious collector. I don't agree with what Chrysler/Fiat is doing here but the liability of doing otherwise is considerable.

[sidecarmike]

It's too bad that can't be sold as parts. A friend of mine has one. It seems like every time something breaks he waits months for replacement parts. I remember him telling me once that he had a cracked intake manifold and had just found one in a salvage yard in Ireland and was having it shipped to Wisconsin!

[MaryB]

Boss had one ay an appliance store I worked at doing electronic repair. Got to take it to pick up some parts a few times. It is a shame they can't at least part out body panels etc.

[2wheelDuke]

I remember a similar thing when my brother worked in the junk yard. The local vocational school had to dispose of a GMC Typhoon and there had to be proof of destruction.

I always wanted one of those trucks, but of course as a teenager I could never afford one. It was pretty sad seeing it there waiting to be crushed.

[Lloyd Smale]

then youve never heard one at full song. Check out one of the new challanger factory racers with viper motors. They sound more like a pro stock car then a ups truck. I kind of chuckle at there reasoning for this. they claim the old ones that were dangerous for an unskilled driver but want you to believe the newer ones with a 100 more hp are much safer. Heck from what ive seen the majority of the buyers of them have been wealthy men with gray hair that dont drive them over 70. Who the heck else can afford one.
They sound like a hopped up UPS truck to me.

[dragon813gt]

I remember a similar thing when my brother worked in the junk yard. The local vocational school had to dispose of a GMC Typhoon and there had to be proof of destruction.

Only part required for proof of destrucrion is the frame(unibody) w/ the VIN number on it. This type of thing is common w/ imported grey market cars. They come on shore w/out being imported properly. Eventually it catches up to them and they have to be destroyed. A bunch of VW MKII Ralleyes had to be destroyed because one company didn't import then properly. It was an early 90s all wheel drive widebody supercharged GTI. Way ahead of it's time. They were all stripped and parts sold off while the unibodies were crushed.

[DCM]

Only part required for proof of destrucrion is the frame(unibody) w/ the VIN number on it. This type of thing is common w/ imported grey market cars. They come on shore w/out being imported properly. Eventually it catches up to them and they have to be destroyed. A bunch of VW MKII Ralleyes had to be destroyed because one company didn't import then properly. It was an early 90s all wheel drive widebody supercharged GTI. Way ahead of it's time. They were all stripped and parts sold off while the unibodies were crushed.

IMO if they can get away with it that is what should happen to these Vipers.

[MrWolf]

When I bought my 1996 Dodge Ram with the V10, the dealer told me it had the Viper engine. Since learned it had the Magnum engine but either way that is a boat load of power. Problem is I only get about 9 1/2 miles to the gallon, so she mostly sits except for hauling, towing, etc. Love that truck