New Car

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well guys - ended up selling my convertible Satellite project. Just didn't have the time / space / money to complete the project - especially since I am shipping out in 2 months.

So...     

I ended up buying a brand new 2013 Dodge Challenger R/T

it is a 5.7L Hemi, 6 speed manual transmission, 3.73 Limited Slip

Spent 3 months looking for this exact car - happy I finally found it.

[Ghoste]

Good deal. 

[69rtse4spd]

Stay safe & thank you for are freedom. .

[histoy]

How about some pictures?

[myk]

Pictures!

[Paul G]

T T I U W O P

[Rolling_Thunder]

[Bob T]

Noice 

[ws23rt]

  There is something about these cars that reminds me of the 68-70 Chargers.
It is a lasting body style that will always look good.

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well - I'm not going to lie and say the car is no fun....     

It is a great overall built car...    I've driven literally hundreds of different cars from VWs to Ferraris and I would say this is an excellent all around car.  The fastest? no.  Most comfortable ?  no     Cheapest?  Hell no     but....    a great all around vehicle that gives great performance with a price tag that wont break the bank too much. 

I mean MSRP on this bad boy was a hair over $33K  -   

I got 27mpg on my trip back from Las Vegas with the cruise set to 75mph and occasional jaunts at over 90mph...       Drove the strip and messed around town when I had gotten home. A/C going the whole time.   

I would think 29/30 mpg would be possible with a tender foot on the highway.   

Complaints: Lack of interior color options. Lack of ability to add factory performance pieces (ie. mustang you can order a Brembo brake kit for any GT model - challenger requires you to buy an SRT8)   The instrument cluster is antiquated with old style green dot rear outs -  not terrible but no means technological current. Wheels / Tires - factory rims aren't exactly cool looking - but thats why there is an aftermarket.

The challenger is well balanced but porky at 4100+ lbs.


PS - I couldnt imagine this car with an automatic....    IMO this car requires a 6-speed.

[myk]

Is that the only wheel/tire option on the R/T?

[JB400]

Is that the only wheel/tire option on the R/T?

There are other options available, but they pretty much well look similar except for a Torq Thrust type wheel for the classic editions.

[SRT-440]

Congrats!! Very nice! 

[Supercharged Riot]

niiiice man.  I was gunna get a black r/t for myself!

...but I ended up buying a new truck 

[Ponch ®]

Sweet   You should roll it down to the Beach Burger meet tonite!

I think a lot of the "fun" with these cars is the aftermarket and all the mods you can keep doing to them. Im going on 6 years w my charger and still not bored with it.

PS - I couldnt imagine this car with an automatic....    IMO this car requires a 6-speed.

tell me about it...our Challenger is an automatic and...well, you know. Thing is, at the time it was intended to be Mrs Ponch's daily and she did not want a manual (women!). Now its MY daily driver and wish I could .

[Rolling_Thunder]

Hell I might just have to run down there.

[Lord Warlock]

congrats on your new ride,  I know you'll enjoy it, i've loved mine for the past three years.  Six speeds are fine, but the auto's really do pretty well too.  Got my first auto in 20+ years, mainly to drive in daily traffic to and from work. 

[ws23rt]

When I bought mine it had to be a 6sp. A few times I have been in stop and go traffic where an auto would have been nice but I don't use it for that kind of driving much.
These are great all around cars.

[Rolling_Thunder]

Yeah -  I'm still young and the clutch isn't that bad...   already sat on the 405 parking lot with it - didn't mind the 6 speed...   

The autos are solid performers for sure but just not my thing...     

[myk]

Is that the only wheel/tire option on the R/T?

There are other options available, but they pretty much well look similar except for a Torq Thrust type wheel for the classic editions.

The only wheel/tire 'combo I've seen from the factory that I like are the SRT ones.  One would think that they would make that available as a dealer installed option or whatever but oh well...

[69bronzeT5]

Congrats man!!!! Mine is an automatic however it's a 2008 and they only offered automatics in that year....but being a numbered edition, it makes the automatic worth it I also do A LOT of city driving so 6 speed would kill me. I do sometimes wish it was a 6 speed though and I will admit I was pretty set on buying a 6 speed when I was first looking. I wouldn't consider any automatics until my girlfriend's dad showed me mine. I took it for a drive and fell it love, even with the automatic. I also got it for a screaming deal so I wouldn't say no I have been looking at 6 speed conversions for it one day so I get my 6 speed while having a numbered car but I'm worried it may screw up the value or be a giant headache.

[FJ5WING]

stop worrying about value if youre driving that everyday! Youre killing value with every mile. go ahead and hack that floor pan.

[myk]

stop worrying about value if youre driving that everyday! Youre killing value with every mile. go ahead and hack that floor pan.

AGREED.  You guys have cars that have the sex appeal of the muscle car era with today's driving technology; drive them and enjoy them.  Let the historians worry about value when and IF that time ever comes-life is too short...

[charger_fan_4ever]

I have to say i wasn't crazy about the new challengers when they 1st came out, but they have since grown on me. I would love to have this in the garage.

http://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/3889003980.html

$34k for a 6 speed plum crazy srt8 with 12k miles.

[Lord Warlock]

AGREED.  You guys have cars that have the sex appeal of the muscle car era with today's driving technology; drive them and enjoy them

In this case i agree also,  One collector car is enough for me, as it is I'll probably be fiddling with the charger till i'm too old to do much, plus I expect to add one of my dads cars in the future.  I have no expectations with future values of the new challengers,  I bought it to enjoy it, and to drive it, probably about as long as i drove the stealth, or the mustang before that, around 9 years.  After that it will likely be stored out back with the others for occasional use.  I'll have to add a carport to the garage, the challenger will do fine under a temp roof...unless i go gonzo and just remove one side of the screened in back porch and make it a 2nd garage. 

The R/T has several wheel options available, my classic has the heritage wheels which resemble torque thrust or cragar S/S wheels.  They don't fit over the calipers on the srt8 so they're forced to use different wheels. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

I could have optioned different wheels at the dealer but I didn't like any of the options I had available. I guess I just always have to be a little different. The SRT8 was a nice car - I almost purchased a plum crazy SRT8 but the price was a little steep for my budget and more importantly my insurance would go sky high....     the R/T was a nice balance overall and I can add anything on the SRT8 I want later one...    stroker, big brakes, whatever. At that point I would still have a high performance car and be unique at the same time.

The only thing I like about the R/T is the standard 3.73 Limited slip over the 3.06 on the autos.

[myk]

You did the right thing, IMO.  As you said, you can add all of the SRT stuff or better, later, including the wheels...

[Ponch ®]

The only wheel/tire 'combo I've seen from the factory that I like are the SRT ones.  One would think that they would make that available as a dealer installed option or whatever but oh well...

heh. wouldnt be worth it at the dealer anyway. you can pick up a set of take off SRT-8 wheels on craigslist or on the various forums for around $1K (more or less depending on condition, whether tires come with them, etc) whereas the dealer would probably drain you for $3K to add them as an option.

I have been looking at 6 speed conversions for it one day so I get my 6 speed while having a numbered car but I'm worried it may screw up the value or be a giant headache.

Hate to tell ya this brah, but the only people who care about the value of the first edition "numbered" cars are...the people that bought them thinking it would be some kinda retirement windfall investment. There was nothing really special to set them apart from the rest of them that came later. A friend of mine had one, and when he tried to sell it, he took a hit on it. Put it this way: if they were all that special and held their value, you wouldnt have been able to buy yours (or maybe YOU would have, since you have a money tree somewhere   )

A 6 speed swap may or may not screw up the value, but if it does it wont be any worse than on a non-numbered car. So hack away....

[Dino]

This numbered stuff still holds value today?  That seems odd but then again I don't see the value in it now either.  You may as well keep a Chrysler from the Benz era then, that would be more exotic than a matching trans I would think.    

Enjoy your cars fellas, to hell with what could be.  Life's too short, have fun.  Drop a 6 speed in that thing and drive the socks off of it.   

[charger_fan_4ever]

On a side note as far as value. Last year when i got wooded up over the 2010 SRT's in PC purple i looked for awhile and private sale was around 40k for an auto and a 6 speed a tad more.

I looked again last week and found a couple 6 speeds in 32-34k range PC purple of course. All had under 15k miles. They all seem to have no miles on them.

On Challenger talk guys were talking that the KBB after 5 years on a srt was under 20k :O
Don't think i have seen any 08's in that range.

[Lord Warlock]

I checked KBB on the value of my 2010 recently, and it ranged from 29-32k, not that i'd expect to get that on a trade in, but thats what the book says.  Overall the challengers have done remarkably well in holding their values over the first 3 years.  I would be expecting a trade in of about 26k for mine with 20k miles on it.  For the first three years my mileage stayed pretty low, but with the current job i have to go in every day which runs the miles up.  I don't expect to sell it till it hits 70k minimum so i've got at least another 3 years to go, probably more.

[ws23rt]

This discussion about the future value of the Challenger is interesting stuff. I don't recall that as a topic when the Chargers came out maybe because there were so many of them. (there are many challengers now).
I recall stories of cars bought and stored for future value and so far when they come up the interest is ho hum. (not chargers).
What has made the charger what it is today is the look. The lines and shape are what we here about all the time.
I may be off in making a comparison but the shape and lines of the new challenger are clean and lasting enough to make it a good value for later.
Any one that has one knows what I am talking about. They are attractive to almost every one.
But I as an owner now chose to enjoy and drive my car like I would have driven and enjoyed a 69 Hemi 4sp Charger. Those that come after may have something to restore and enjoy and I will have that in the (way) back of my mind as I use my Challenger today.

[Lord Warlock]

30 years from now, the challengers could very well be collector cars, a whole lot of good it will do me though when i'm 82.  I have no plans on waiting it out. There are plenty of owners that hardly ever drive their challengers hoping they'll skyrocket in value in the future,  they just don't realize how long it took for the old chargers to reach the stage of collectibility where they'd bring double or triple sticker price values.  They all seem to think its gonna happen in 5 to 10 years, and that aint gonna happen.  I watched the charger value drop to 300.00 before it started to rise in the late 80s.  Nothing will alter the timespan it takes for cars to fully depreciate, and 80% of those built to wear out and get scrapped before the holdouts get to see appreciation on the value, and even then I doubt we'll be seeing prices much higher than original sticker on them.  Even the 392's don't stick out that much like the old Hemi cars used to.

I would like to have the car modified by one of the reputable tuner shops, such as adding a KB blower at Mr Norms, but spending 10k on an upgrade is real tough when there is nowhere to actually enjoy the speed without repercussions except the track.  I think a Mr Norm's prepped challenger may be worth holding onto for an extended period of time.  It may be worth something extra then. 

[myk]

30 years from now, the challengers could very well be collector cars, a whole lot of good it will do me though when i'm 82.  I have no plans on waiting it out. There are plenty of owners that hardly ever drive their challengers hoping they'll skyrocket in value in the future,  they just don't realize how long it took for the old chargers to reach the stage of collectibility where they'd bring double or triple sticker price values.  They all seem to think its gonna happen in 5 to 10 years, and that aint gonna happen.  I watched the charger value drop to 300.00 before it started to rise in the late 80s.  Nothing will alter the timespan it takes for cars to fully depreciate, and 80% of those built to wear out and get scrapped before the holdouts get to see appreciation on the value, and even then I doubt we'll be seeing prices much higher than original sticker on them.  Even the 392's don't stick out that much like the old Hemi cars used to.

I would like to have the car modified by one of the reputable tuner shops, such as adding a KB blower at Mr Norms, but spending 10k on an upgrade is real tough when there is nowhere to actually enjoy the speed without repercussions except the track.  I think a Mr Norm's prepped challenger may be worth holding onto for an extended period of time.  It may be worth something extra then. 

Not only that, but consider there're at least TWO eras of muscle cars that potential collectors/buyers/flippers have to choose from: the "classic" muscle car era and the "new" muscle car era, which would include the new Challengers.  I think 60's/70's muscle became highly sought after during the early 2000's when horsepower and performance started creeping back into cars again.  People who grew up in the 60's/70's and remember the original muscle car era were suddenly inspired to buy their childhood fantasy vehicles when they found themselves as adults and had the money for it.  Fast forward to now, and you've got a new generation of muscle car fans that could just as easily buy into earlier and/or later muscle.  IMO this will dilute the potential for either classic or new muscle to experience the "pop" in value that 60's/70's muscle cars did in the early 2000's with Barrett Jackson, Meckum (sp?), and all of that other nonsense, because there're that many more cars and choices to be had...

[charger_fan_4ever]

30 years from now, the challengers could very well be collector cars, a whole lot of good it will do me though when i'm 82.  I have no plans on waiting it out. There are plenty of owners that hardly ever drive their challengers hoping they'll skyrocket in value in the future,  they just don't realize how long it took for the old chargers to reach the stage of collectibility where they'd bring double or triple sticker price values.  They all seem to think its gonna happen in 5 to 10 years, and that aint gonna happen.  I watched the charger value drop to 300.00 before it started to rise in the late 80s.  Nothing will alter the timespan it takes for cars to fully depreciate, and 80% of those built to wear out and get scrapped before the holdouts get to see appreciation on the value, and even then I doubt we'll be seeing prices much higher than original sticker on them.  Even the 392's don't stick out that much like the old Hemi cars used to.

I would like to have the car modified by one of the reputable tuner shops, such as adding a KB blower at Mr Norms, but spending 10k on an upgrade is real tough when there is nowhere to actually enjoy the speed without repercussions except the track.  I think a Mr Norm's prepped challenger may be worth holding onto for an extended period of time.  It may be worth something extra then. 

Not only that, but consider there're at least TWO eras of muscle cars that potential collectors/buyers/flippers have to choose from: the "classic" muscle car era and the "new" muscle car era, which would include the new Challengers.  I think 60's/70's muscle became highly sought after during the early 2000's when horsepower and performance started creeping back into cars again.  People who grew up in the 60's/70's and remember the original muscle car era were suddenly inspired to buy their childhood fantasy vehicles when they found themselves as adults and had the money for it.  Fast forward to now, and you've got a new generation of muscle car fans that could just as easily buy into earlier and/or later muscle.  IMO this will dilute the potential for either classic or new muscle to experience the "pop" in value that 60's/70's muscle cars did in the early 2000's with Barrett Jackson, Meckum (sp?), and all of that other nonsense, because there're that many more cars and choices to be had...

Good post. The younger generations might go the way of the new EFI challengers. The owners that bought hte new chally's at over sticker price and drove them home and put them on blocks are in for a rude awakening i figure. Will take a looonggggggggg time if ever that they fetch over the new sticker price.

I hope to pick up a 2010 PCP SRT in a couple years with say some higher mileage like 60k. Hopefully they will be down in the mid 20's then as from last summer the same cars are bringing 6-8k less. In surfing i came across a couple 09-10 srt's in different colors for 27-28k at dealers.

[Ponch ®]

[charger_fan_4ever]

LOL
Back on topic


Nice car rolling thunder keep hammering those gears  

[Rolling_Thunder]

That's the plan...    going to be paying it off within the next year or so (i'll have nothing else to spend my $$$ on) so...     come to find out it costs about $7,500 for a supercharger...     hmmmmmm    decisions decisions....   

[chargerboy69]

I have been looking at 6 speed conversions for it one day so I get my 6 speed while having a numbered car but I'm worried it may screw up the value or be a giant headache.

Hate to tell ya this brah, but the only people who care about the value of the first edition "numbered" cars are...the people that bought them thinking it would be some kinda retirement windfall investment. There was nothing really special to set them apart from the rest of them that came later. A friend of mine had one, and when he tried to sell it, he took a hit on it. Put it this way: if they were all that special and held their value, you wouldnt have been able to buy yours (or maybe YOU would have, since you have a money tree somewhere   )

I totally agree.  I know a several just in my area where people put the first Challengers away hoping to bank on them in 20 years.  I am guessing the only thing that will happen is in 20 years there will be a flood of 20 year old Challengers with less than 100 miles on them.

I remember standing at Kruse auction park in the fall 1991.  They had the very first Viper to run through a auction anywhere in the world.  A guy from Florida came up and paid $100,000.00 for it. Now those first edition Vipers can be had for $25 grand or less.

[Rolling_Thunder]

yep -  i dont see these being worth huge dollars in the future...    I plan on keeping mine for 10+ years but in reality it will loose value like any other car. 

The numbered cars don't mean much to anyone ---

[Ponch ®]

That's the plan...    going to be paying it off within the next year or so (i'll have nothing else to spend my $$$ on) so...     come to find out it costs about $7,500 for a supercharger...     hmmmmmm    decisions decisions....   

I know of a couple of good shops in SoCal to do the job, when youre ready to pull the trigger..

[ws23rt]

yep -  i dont see these being worth huge dollars in the future...    I plan on keeping mine for 10+ years but in reality it will loose value like any other car. 

The numbered cars don't mean much to anyone ---

Even if a few pedigree cars made it into the future with little ware and had value because of that. It would be long after most of us could care.
So all you two year olds out there listen up. We are using our cars up just like gramps did for us. The ones left in the barn are for you