Dodge Challenger thoughts?

[toyotajeep]

He's already posted about that. He was looking for 60-70's era muscle cars and kept screwed around by sellers iirc.

He doesn't sound like that at all. I always see the "build quality is terrible" bs about ****ing every single vehicle made. Ford truck? Pos, terrible fit and finish, wont last. Any GM product made in the last 103 years? All pieces of **** that break down, burn oil, have plastic interior, blah blah blah.

I've owned a ****ing **** ton of cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc. According to people on the internet every single vehicle I've had is a complete pile of trash. Yet every one of them has never been problematic. People that whine about "ohh the interior is so junky it just squeaks and rattles and falls apart", like they drive a Bentley with custom virgin whale penis seats and baby seal skin covered steering wheel. Anything less than that is trash .

Now this is awesome. Same thing here. I have bought a few "don't buy that" vehicles and been fine. I don't think I have ever owned a total lemon but I suppose there are a few I would not buy again. Just buy a decent model, pay attention to it and most cars are fine unless they are epically bad.

 

[DRTDEVL]

I remember when they came out and I was walking past the military car sales in front of the PX in Germany where I saw a brand new Challenger had been parked up on the sidewalk. I went around and looked at the window sticker, and it was something like $40,000... I then took a slow walk around the car and realized that all of the tail light assemblies were filling with water! I said to myself "I'll be damned if I spend $40,000 on a car that they can't keep water out of the tail lights!"

And that's about my extent of Challenger knowledge.

 

[ChiScouter]

Honestly, Ghetto.

The type of person that wants a noise making machine that doesn’t care about build quality, handling, fit and finish, etc.

Im surprised to hear someone say that they don't handle well. Around here I see 1000 of them for every Camaro or Mustang. The Challenger drivers are the ones with the electronic exhaust cutouts open weaving through 50 mph commuter traffic trying to do 90 with inches to spare with other drivers slamming on their brakes to avoid getting clipped. From watching this **** show almost every day they sure look like they handle very well and have incredible brakes and engines. Drivers of them around here are branded as assholes, probably the same guys who used to drive H2's

 

[Stuck]

He's already posted about that. He was looking for 60-70's era muscle cars and kept screwed around by sellers iirc.

He doesn't sound like that at all. I always see the "build quality is terrible" bs about ****ing every single vehicle made. Ford truck? Pos, terrible fit and finish, wont last. Any GM product made in the last 103 years? All pieces of **** that break down, burn oil, have plastic interior, blah blah blah.

I've owned a ****ing **** ton of cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc. According to people on the internet every single vehicle I've had is a complete pile of trash. Yet every one of them has never been problematic. People that whine about "ohh the interior is so junky it just squeaks and rattles and falls apart", like they drive a Bentley with custom virgin whale penis seats and baby seal skin covered steering wheel. Anything less than that is trash .

What I got out of his other muscle car thread was he didnt know what muscle car to buy cause he wasnt sure what was cool. Its a freaking TOY car. Buy what YOU like who gives a **** what the other wannabe "car guys" think are cool.

Personally I think except for the scat packs, demon or hellcat versions theyre a crap car with a v8 or a ****ty v6 stuffed in em. They handle like ****, feel like a generic luxo barge going down the highway and have the same quality as every other car offered by dodge/chrysler.

 

[toyotajeep]

I come here to get away from the world. I have intentionally kept my mouth shut about controversial stuff and my personal life. I am a 50 year old professional who is a lifelong car guy. Real car guy, cut car in half, weld back together kinda car guy. It has been non-stop since I was 17, constant projects. Mainly I do crawler stuff, but hot rods are neat too.

I drive two Cummins trucks, one is a virgin 89 and the other is a 2000 that is well-kept. I have several early Broncos, one which is somewhat built, gathering parts to build another.

My current project is a 55 Chevy gasser that was a tired race car. I am making it into a fast car that I could drive daily if I wanted to. Getting some project creep and it is a year or two from being done. Building it with others so it is taking longer.

Current "hot rod" is the cool 64 Tempest convertible. Fun car, really fun. 326, 2-barrel and 2.56 gears makes it slower on acceleration. Awesome car, but I need a hard top etc.

So what started this whole thing is I like to lay rubber, feel the thrill of a car that is fast and fun and reliable. I live about 20 miles from anywhere so it needs to be highway friendly for the most part. Buying an older car is just not panning out right now. I don't want to spend 20K so no classic hot rods for me in this economy.

As far as looking like anything or a certain demographic I don't worry much. I am secure in my person, and there is no one around so it really does not matter. If I can drive a screaming yellow new GTO with a loud exhaust I can drive anything.

Maybe this explains things a little better. I have one more older car that I may resurrect to fit the bill but at this point I'd rather buy one.

 

[Stuck]

What I got out of his other muscle car thread was he didnt know what muscle car to buy cause he wasnt sure what was cool. Its a freaking TOY car. Buy what YOU like who gives a **** what the other wannabe "car guys" think are cool.

Personally I think except for the scat packs, demon or hellcat versions theyre a crap car with a v8 or a ****ty v6 stuffed in em. They handle like ****, feel like a generic luxo barge going down the highway and have the same quality as every other car offered by dodge/chrysler.

Go drive one. Youll see how well they handle. Total garbage.

 

[toyotajeep]

Go drive one. Youll see how well they handle. Total garbage.

I need to get ahold of one to take it for a spin. Plenty of lifted one tons around, not alot of cars out here.

 

[frank c]

My only critique is all the cars on that platform (300, Charger, Challenger) feel really wide, but you get used to it.

I have a '13 300C and while it's (obviously) wider than my TJ or XJ, it doesn't feel too wide. Not like a big 'ol Caprice Classic.

The tiny rear window seems to be a Chrysler trait. I had a Dodge Shadow and the rear window was small on that too.

 

[Trashman]

Drove a 2010 yesterday. 5.7l/auto.

I had not driven one before.

I agree, visibility sucks, and the hood goes on forever.

The auto was unimpressive to me, it seemed to want to shift at the wrong rpm when getting on the throttle hard.

I wont rule one out yet, the one we test drove was not "the one".

 

[Filthy McChevy]

The 14 AWD Charger I got my wife handles pretty well on the Mountain Pass she commutes on every work day. When I drive it I push it way more than she does and it has no body roll and corners on rails. I grew up throwing big boats into corners and the Charger is a sports car in comparison. And the Beats sound system is pretty decent for OEM. My only complaint is it's as hard to get in to as the tiny Jap ****boxes I have. 145,000 miles 3.6, 8spd w paddle shift sport mode, 27 MPG Average, 80 MPH up any grade with minimal effort all day long. And we can't go anywhere without climbing multiple passes. Has only needed tires and oil changes and I did all the brake Pads and rotors at 135,000 because it was vibrating a little on downhill harder braking, pads still around 3/16ths inch all around. Its really been a phenomenal car. I'm actually looking forward to getting her something else and then I get it. I'd say get one from the Mercedes years with the 8 speed auto if you can or whatever the Manual Trans was then. A friend of ours has a Man. trans Challenger that seemed pretty nice the one time I drove it. I don't know about getting one to smoke tires but it's probably a chip or flash away at most. I pretty much still roll my eyes at Dodge fanbois but this car has changed my tune a little.

 

[Trashman]

The 14 AWD Charger I got my wife handles pretty well on the Mountain Pass she commutes on every work day. When I drive it I push it way more than she does and it has no body roll and corners on rails. I grew up throwing big boats into corners and the Charger is a sports car in comparison. And the Beats sound system is pretty decent for OEM. My only complaint is it's as hard to get in to as the tiny Jap ****boxes I have. 145,000 miles 3.6, 8spd w paddle shift sport mode, 27 MPG Average, 80 MPH up any grade with minimal effort all day long. And we can't go anywhere without climbing multiple passes. Has only needed tires and oil changes and I did all the brake Pads and rotors at 135,000 because it was vibrating a little on downhill harder braking, pads still around 3/16ths inch all around. Its really been a phenomenal car. I'm actually looking forward to getting her something else and then I get it. I'd say get one from the Mercedes years with the 8 speed auto if you can or whatever the Manual Trans was then. A friend of ours has a Man. trans Challenger that seemed pretty nice the one time I drove it. I don't know about getting one to smoke tires but it's probably a chip or flash away at most. I pretty much still roll my eyes at Dodge fanbois but this car has changed my tune a little.

which years are the "mercedes years"?

 

[bunk]

My thought. There are many used cars that are likely beat to within inches of their death. A old srt8 is for sure one of them.

 

[toyotajeep]

My thought. There are many used cars that are likely beat to within inches of their death. A old srt8 is for sure one of them.

That is my thinking for sure. Right on the edge of my budget you can find an older SRT8. It is really hard not to get excited about the HP etc. of one of those. But people do like to use these cars and I do have concerns about them being junk.

 

[toyotajeep]

Drove a 2010 yesterday. 5.7l/auto.

I had not driven one before.

I agree, visibility sucks, and the hood goes on forever.

The auto was unimpressive to me, it seemed to want to shift at the wrong rpm when getting on the throttle hard.

I wont rule one out yet, the one we test drove was not "the one".

Sounds like the same position I am in. Visibility, weird hood whatever I can live with. But big mechanical problems are not something I want to work on.

 

[Filthy McChevy]

which years are the "mercedes years"?

All I know is 14 is one and it's been great.

 

[bunk]

That is my thinking for sure. Right on the edge of my budget you can find an older SRT8. It is really hard not to get excited about the HP etc. of one of those. But people do like to use these cars and I do have concerns about them being junk.

Too risky.

 

[Elwenil]

which years are the "mercedes years"?

'98 -'07 are the years Daimler Chrysler existed. I wouldn't necessarily consider them that good back then. Mercedes tended to over-complicate things a lot.

 

[Elwenil]

All I know is 14 is one and it's been great.

'14 was the last year of Chrysler Group LLC and the beginning of Fiat Chrysler.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Awful blind spots , overall uncomfortable feeling for me entirely the first few times driving one, I felt like I couldn't see a damn thing . Also, wouldn’t drive a dodge unless someone gave me a hellacious deal just personal opinion though .

Literally every modern performance car is like this.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Honestly, Ghetto.

The type of person that wants a noise making machine that doesn’t care about build quality, handling, fit and finish, etc.

Funny how many peopled who are swapping LS v8s into mid-teir vehicles with 20yr of wear and tear on them look down at those people.

 

[TrikeKid]

Used SRT/Skat Pack etc... might have the **** kicked out of it, or it could be an old man's sunday driver that rarely got more than 1/2 throttle. A thorough inspection would make one or the other apparent pretty quickly if it was beat bad enough to be concerned about it.

Of the late model pony cars the Challenger is the most comfortable to me, if I was going to road trip one it would be my pick for sure. When beat the small brakes (at least on the ones I've driven, '15 and older) and extra weight make themselves known pretty quickly. The weight is part of the price you pay for comfort. If I was buying a car to be a track toy/have the **** knocked out 24/7 of it I'd be in a 5.0 Mustang over the Dodge. For a DD/weekend car that I wasn't going to race but would drive a lot I'd buy a Challenger. I have limited to no experience with 5th/6th gen Camaros but what little I have I'm unimpressed and the lack of them on the road compared to the competition says enough to me about that.

 

[toyotajeep]

Used SRT/Skat Pack etc... might have the **** kicked out of it, or it could be an old man's sunday driver that rarely got more than 1/2 throttle. A thorough inspection would make one or the other apparent pretty quickly if it was beat bad enough to be concerned about it.

Of the late model pony cars the Challenger is the most comfortable to me, if I was going to road trip one it would be my pick for sure. When beat the small brakes (at least on the ones I've driven, '15 and older) and extra weight make themselves known pretty quickly. The weight is part of the price you pay for comfort. If I was buying a car to be a track toy/have the **** knocked out 24/7 of it I'd be in a 5.0 Mustang over the Dodge. For a DD/weekend car that I wasn't going to race but would drive a lot I'd buy a Challenger. I have limited to no experience with 5th/6th gen Camaros but what little I have I'm unimpressed and the lack of them on the road compared to the competition says enough to me about that.

I am more of a drive to work, take a trip, lay a little rubber, speed a little. The track/AutoX stuff is not what I am buying it for.

As I recall, you're a tech up there? I am finding a lot in the greater Seattle area. I would prefer not to, but if I needed to I could run up there. If you see anything interesting let me know. I want the most HP etc. I can get, but could live with a 5.7/auto if I needed to.

 

[Ebs]

Best looking of the pony cars I think, but also the most Chrysler of the pony cars.

 

[zlathim]

I've always liked the looks of the Challengers, but never been in one. Pretty heavy cars, but all of the late models are.

 

[Fnl8t]

I run a new gto and have been around similar cars a fair amount, heres my take

The charger/challenger are a relatively competent platform. Heavy, but decently well built. Expect the usual chrysler/daimler/fiat stuff, but shouldnt be much a problem for most irate folks. Much like your old pontiac, the weight makes it hard on tires and the soft nvh oriented bushings. With a good set of tires and bushings, these things hold the g's pretty well. As you would expect, they tend to push a little in the corners but are pretty well balanced. The hemi is a well known quantity, both in reliability and aftermarket. And in general overall parts availability is pretty good - there are alot of these things on the road and they havent changed a ton between the platform update around '15. Overall, a pretty good choice, and a bit more practical than its competition. The charger gets extra points for its sliding ability, the extra weight and wheelbase seem to help

Im probably a little more into pounding through corners than you are.. would like a 6th gen camaro next. The gto has its quirks, but is one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever been in. Period. It strikes a really nice balance between the performance and practicality. The challenger is much closer to the gto in that regard.

 

[reptillikus]

Wife had a 2012 she bought new.
It was a nice car, but had horrible blind spots that took a while to adjust to. Long ass hood that was hard to see in front of, and long heavy ass doors where if someone parked closer than 4 feet beside you, you’re squeezing your ass in, and any incline greater than 1 degree, forget the doors holding themselves open.

Coworker used to have a scat pack, traded it in on a hellcat. I thought the same thing, that hood is a mile long and i felt like you couldnt see ****. Honestly dont get the appeal to the car, i think its more fun to be cruising around in my big bronco than the hellcat.

Also, im not sure if both of them had synchro issues, or its just that he cant drive a stick for ****

 

[Rockbuggy84]

Funny how many peopled who are swapping LS v8s into mid-teir vehicles with 20yr of wear and tear on them look down at those people.

That just seems ******ed. A challenger is leaps and bounds ahead of pretty much any 20 year old muscle car.

I’m comparing late model cars.

 

[toyotajeep]

I run a new gto and have been around similar cars a fair amount, heres my take

The charger/challenger are a relatively competent platform. Heavy, but decently well built. Expect the usual chrysler/daimler/fiat stuff, but shouldnt be much a problem for most irate folks. Much like your old pontiac, the weight makes it hard on tires and the soft nvh oriented bushings. With a good set of tires and bushings, these things hold the g's pretty well. As you would expect, they tend to push a little in the corners but are pretty well balanced. The hemi is a well known quantity, both in reliability and aftermarket. And in general overall parts availability is pretty good - there are alot of these things on the road and they havent changed a ton between the platform update around '15. Overall, a pretty good choice, and a bit more practical than its competition. The charger gets extra points for its sliding ability, the extra weight and wheelbase seem to help

Im probably a little more into pounding through corners than you are.. would like a 6th gen camaro next. The gto has its quirks, but is one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever been in. Period. It strikes a really nice balance between the performance and practicality. The challenger is much closer to the gto in that regard.

I drove an 04 GTO for about three years. Didn't put a ton of miles, but did a few trips and took care of it. It was a great car. Because I do mainly hwy I could drive however I wanted and still get low-20's. Reliable. Lots to love about that car. I would not have sold it but I found a really low-mileage Dodge Cummins that I needed more and stand behind that purchase.

I have been looking at newer Camero's as well, but like the looks of the Dodge better. I kinda think the GM may be a little better made but the Dodge is a pretty well known quantity.

 

[Rockbuggy84]

Im surprised to hear someone say that they don't handle well. Around here I see 1000 of them for every Camaro or Mustang. The Challenger drivers are the ones with the electronic exhaust cutouts open weaving through 50 mph commuter traffic trying to do 90 with inches to spare with other drivers slamming on their brakes to avoid getting clipped. From watching this **** show almost every day they sure look like they handle very well and have incredible brakes and engines. Drivers of them around here are branded as assholes, probably the same guys who used to drive H2's

Like I said, these are ghetto trash vehicles, built for people that wanna make noise.

Driving like a ****head down the freeway, weaving in and out of traffic isn’t really a test of handling or braking, not for me anyway. Your average late model minivan could hang with them in that situation.

 

[Gtrplyr78]

They are pretty popular platform at Cars and Coffee I go to on Saturdays. Lots of Challengers and Chargers of all flavors. Have not driven one but it seems that it would be a nice touring car - set the cruise and let it eat miles in comfort.

Ex girlfriend from a while back had a 300AWD - I liked that car - comfy with plenty of passing power (300HP V6 IIRC).

My personal preference is for small/light cars, and is why I am attracted to Lotus Elise/Exige, Toyota MR2, Miata and Alfa Romeo 4C.

I own a ‘01 NB Miata that I have set up for canyon driving - flat out in the corners. Not impressive in straight line but delivers where I need it to.

When I want more I take my Ninja 650 out, plan is to add CBR600RR to the fleet next year (something about that 15.5k rev range)…

Do a thorough PPI and enjoy the car for what it is, I am sure there are a lot of pampered ones out there, should be fairly easy to spot abused ones.