Owning A Challenger, Overall?

Discussion in 'Prospective Challenger Owners Forum' started by IrishRifles, Apr 18, 2016.

  1. Hebrew Barrister

    Hebrew Barrister New Member

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    I've owned a lot of cars. Multiple mustangs (including a modded late model gt500), a c6 Corvette, modded ls1 Camaro, etc. I even have a mostly stock low mileage 89 5.0 mustang in my garage.

    My Challenger scat pack is my favorite of anything I have owned thus far. It gets just about everything right. Good power, excellent trans, nice smooth ride, full complement of luxo tech, spacious interior, huge trunk, massive attitude, great exhaust note. Ok so the massive rear corner blind spots suck and the side mirrors are tiny, but those are sacrifices made for the retro styling.

    The 6th gen Camaro was designed to be balls out the best budget sportscar gm could make. And they succeeded brilliantly.

    The Challenger is an ENTIRELY different car with different goals. It isn't a sportscar. It doesn't try to be the best handling thing on the road. It doesn't try to be light and nimble. It's a great daily driver, surprisingly practical (bigger trunk than most sedans), with a ton of old school character and attitide -- that's all it tries to be, and that's why it's great. If that's what you'd like in a car, buy one, and you won't regret it for a second.
     
  2. ScatPack392

    ScatPack392 Member

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    Excellent write up. Grew up owning old muscle cars. My favorite being a 1969 Road Runner 383 and my 2016 Challenger Scat Pack is the closest performance car in feel (minus the sloppy steering and hideous brakes) that I have owned. I have owned several Corvettes and they are great but because they are so refined none of them ever had that nasty feel like you had better know what you are doing or it would hurt you. Lot more thrill for the buck with the Challenger.
     
  3. IntimidatorRT

    IntimidatorRT Well-Known Member Staff Member Super Moderator

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    have had my 2009 Challenger RT for 7 years now. Paid off is the good thing. would like to buy another but anything over 50K i don't see happening, I love the room we have in our car, Mustangs and Camaros don't have that luxury. I can at least sit 2 people comfortably in the back seat with a small child in between, of the need comes to that, back seat on a Camaro is nothing but a glorified beer cooler holder. and good luck getting that in the back seat, My wife has had 2 Mustangs, an 05 and a 07. the 07 was a convertible, still limited on the back seat, but getting in and out wasn't the easiest thing being I weigh 280 lbs. The Camaro, well I had to squeeze my ass into that one worse than the mustang. once I got in to it, I felt crammed in and very little room for movement. , head hit the roof so that was very uncomfortable for me and turned me off of being a GM owner ever again. I have always wanted to at least own a vette for a little time. but again money is an issue, thought about buying a used one and even saw a 2006 convertible for sale for only 21k local where I live. but would have to trade off something for it.... and with the money and time I have invested in my Challenger I don't think I would ever get what I think is worth. Basically I have a set price if anyone wants to buy my car, they can take it or leave it, so if they leave it , no big loss for me.
     
  4. Eagle1450

    Eagle1450 Full Access Member

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    I have owned 87 different cars and trucks in the last 50 or so years. Many were 60's muscle cars and various types of modern high performance cars as well. Recent examples include, 2012 Mustang GT, 2012 Shelby GT 500, 2015 Challenger R/T, 2015 Corvette Stingray and currently, my 2016 Charger Scat Pack.

    IMO, Dodge has hit the nail on the head with both the modern Challenger’s and Chargers. If you had told me in the 70's and 80's that we would have cars like them that would outperform the original muscle cars, get great fuel economy, and be comfortable, safe, and reliable as well, I would have thought you we nuts. We are truly lucky to have these cars available to us.

    Not all is perfect though. Although I loved almost everything about my 2015 Challenger R/T, the 5.7L Hemi clattered so badly on start up I just could not stand it and traded it with only 1,300 miles on the clock. That is not to say they are all like that. The 5.7L in my Ram never clatters on start up nor does the 6.4L in my Scat Pack. If I ever bought another Challenger it would be a Scat Pack or Hellcat. I like the 5.7L Hemi, but it pales in comparison to the larger engines available
     
  5. Climber

    Climber Full Access Member

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    I have never been one to call attention to myself. I just want to blend in with everyone else. When I saw that Plum Crazy 2016 R/T 6 speed 5.7 Hemi sitting on the Dodge lot for several months with no takers I took the plunge and I have never looked back. Full disclosure here......Back in '71-'72 I had a '70 Plum Crazy 340 4 speed so, the 2016 R/T was an easy sell after I made my decision to hook up with my dream car in my "golden years". The car turns heads everywhere we go. We have received many complements on the car and I have had people offer to buy the car as I was filling up at the local gas station. One lady offered to buy the car because she could not find a new one in Plum Crazy. It is a limited color and apparently hard to come by or so some say. I do get some very snotty looks and hand jesters from some Subaru drivers. They are usually young White males trying to grow facial hair with their hats on backwards, looking for a street race. The car handles great on the highway or a curvy mountain road. Not a Corvette but the Challenger handles curves and turns far better than my '70 Challenger did. I have seen 26-27 highway mpg. This is far better than the 12-17 mpg my '70 340 got. In 6th gear at 80mph the 5.7 Hemi is loping along at 1800 rpm. The Hemi redlines at 5800 so, there is a lot more muscle to be had if I so choose. I have yet to spin the tires, let alone any burnouts and I doubt that I ever will. The speedo has hit 115 mph a few times without redlining in 4th gear with two more overdrive gears to go so, that was as hard as I have pushed it. BTW, we were on some deserted stretches of mountain highway with no one around when we opened it up a little. At 115 mph the car was solid and quite loud as in exhaust and engine whine. I will admit one location was on U.S. 24 in South Park and another was just outside of Toponas, Co. on probably the only straight stretch of mountain highway between I-70 and Steamboat Springs.

    I do believe that I have a "till death do we part" relationship with this purple thing. The last time that I felt that way about anything I married her almost 46 years ago.....and I still do not like calling attention to myself. So, yes I love the car but it is much more than a car.
     
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  6. stingray

    stingray Full Access Member

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    Don't read Consumer Reports because they rate all of these cars as unreliable and as cars to avoid.
    Sometimes I wonder?:think:
    I figure if you buy it new or special order the model you want (so many choices here which is a decision in itself) hopefully this will put down any doubts and ownership of any of these Dodge Challenger models.
     
  7. ZEN357

    ZEN357 Full Access Member

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    Best muscle car I have ever owned!!!!!

    Previous cars:
    1984 Aero Trans-Am
    1987 Fiero GT
    1991 Z/28
    2001 Mustang Bullitt GT

    Current: 2016 Challenger R/T Plus Blacktop Edition 5.7 Hemi/6-Speed/3.90 Rear End

    00000015-50.jpg
     
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  8. B5blueRT

    B5blueRT Full Access Member

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    I don't give Consumer Reports much credit. As my 5 kids were growing up I owned seven Chrysler minivans from 1984 through 2002. CR always gave these minivans bad reliability ratings but excluding maintenance, I only had one failure, a switch for the electric sliding door on the 1996 T&C I owned. I classify all these reports under the "80/20 rule". 80% of the owners are happy, its the 20% that have a gripe and want to take the time to report it. Just my opinion....
     
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  9. stingray

    stingray Full Access Member

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    Thanks for your input. It would seem that Consumer Reports down grades all of the American performance cars i.e. Corvette, Camaro, Mustang and the Challenger. All of the Japanese cars get highly rated but of course two different markets and there are no Japanese V8 comparables.
     
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  10. B5blueRT

    B5blueRT Full Access Member

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    I feel the same way. I always had a chip on my shoulder about domestic brands vs foreign brands. Car magazines and even TV shows like MotorWeek always lean toward the foreign brands being better. Our local news stations just did special interest coverage on the new car show going on this week. The video clips were on Lexus, BMW, Honda, Acura, etc. Nothing on domestic cars except a quick show of some Jeeps driving around their maneuverability course. For overall price performance, I'll take a domestic over foreign brand any day.