How I came to own a Challenger

Discussion in 'Dodge Challenger General Discussions' started by KEVIN DONOVAN, Nov 10, 2019.

  1. KEVIN DONOVAN

    KEVIN DONOVAN Full Access Member

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    Been looking for a car to replace my '03 SVT Cobra for a couple years now. Ever since I told my daughter that the car was hers whenever she had a garage to keep it in. Initially, I figured I had plenty of time but as time went on I realized my quest wasn't going to be easy. I figured I'd go get a new Mustang and that would be it. Not so much. Drove a couple, didn't like them. Reluctantly went and drive a couple Camaros. Kind of liked them but still wasn't loving anything.
    Fast-forward to last month when I happened to be reading a post online by some Challenger owner who was pointing out why he chose the Challenger over the Chevy and Ford competition. His points really rang a bell for me so I stopped at out local Dodge dealer and took a used 2016 R/T six-speed for a drive. That was all it took. Totally fell in love with the car. Now all I needed was to find the right Challenger for me. After a whole lot of test drives and online research, I decided the Scat Pack was for me. I really wanted Octane Red and a manual trans but I just couldn't find one. Then, I spoke to a friend who just happens to be the GM of our local Dodge dealer and he just happened to have a Scat Pack widebody coming in...in Octane Red! As soon as I saw the car, I knew I had found my car.
    So, definitely not your typical Challenger purchase but in my case I couldn't be happier.
     
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  2. FrankenMax

    FrankenMax Full Access Member

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    Sharp car! Curious what did your buddy say to you that steered into a challenger? Also are the seats the same with in your 19 as the 16 you drove?


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  3. KEVIN DONOVAN

    KEVIN DONOVAN Full Access Member

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    The guy online had mentioned that while the Mustang and Camaro were great cars, they fell short when it came to daily driver use. Useless back seats and trunks. Not particularly easy to get in and out of etc, etc. Not that I intended to use my new car as a daily driver but, his comments just struck a chord with me. I started thinking that maybe the Challenger was a car I should investigate.
    The 2016 R/T was pretty well optioned but certainly not on the same level as the car I ended up with. Still, that car just spoke to me. Took me back to my teens instantly. My first car was a '70 'Cuda and this Challenger just invokes the same visceral feelings while driving that I remember from the muscle cars of the 60's and 70's. As I drove it, I just found myself smiling more and more. I knew I was on to something. The main issue I had with the R/T was that it needed more power. After all, I'm used to driving my Cobra so the R/T just wasn't cutting it. After driving my first Scat Pack, I knew I'd found the right car!
    The only question remaining was whether to get a manual or auto? Unfortunately, there were no manual equipped cars available with the options and color I wanted so I was a little disappointed. Then my friend told me about the widebody he had coming in. I started doing research on the widebody and the more I learned, the more excited I got about the car. The day I got the call that the car was in, I headed over to check it out and it was love at first sight!
    The seats in my car are not the same as the ones in the 2016. I have the optional heated/cooled leather seats.
     
  4. SRT-Tom

    SRT-Tom Well-Known Member Staff Member Super Moderator Article Writer

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    Congratulations on a great purchase. Post a photo of your Scat Pack when you can.
     
  5. FrankenMax

    FrankenMax Full Access Member

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    I was hoping Dodge would have made some changes to the seats. I liked the seats in my Scat pack. They where heated and cooled but they had suede inserts. My Hellcat is loaded but the seats are full leather. I slide around in the seat. It’s kinda unnerving. I find myself using my knee on the door panel. The other thing is the width. A slightly snugger seat would be nice. Don’t get me wrong there a good looking spot to plant your rear. Dose it need a ugly ricer seats? No, but I was hoping for a change. Because my thought was to snag the seats out of a newer wrecked car or a striped race build if they had changed them. I still might try and snag some suede SRT seats or swap someone covers.




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  6. KEVIN DONOVAN

    KEVIN DONOVAN Full Access Member

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    Yeah, mine have the suede inserts with the Scat Pack logo. Very nice seats. I took these pictures at the dealer.

    20191107_144550.jpg
     
  7. KEVIN DONOVAN

    KEVIN DONOVAN Full Access Member

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    And this one after I got home and removed the splitter guard.

    20191109_191722.jpg
     
  8. FrankenMax

    FrankenMax Full Access Member

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    Thank you all Challenger owners can rejoice! Lol So is it a stick? Or did I miss that...


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  9. KEVIN DONOVAN

    KEVIN DONOVAN Full Access Member

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    It's an auto. I wanted a stick but there just weren't any available. I'd have to wait and order a '20.
     
  10. DVDale

    DVDale Member

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    IMG_1994.JPG Kevin, Man I like your ride. I gotta share my Challenger owner story. And the backstory.
    In 2017 I was driving a 2013 Tundra crewcab. It was perfect for me, my work and the wife liked it (she's a bit of a Toyota snob). Anyway, I had a serious medical condition arise. Really serious. So after surgery, 6 months of chemo and 4 months of rehab it's closing in on my birthday. Jamie says to me out of the blue; "Lets go joyriding for your birthday!" I gave her the 'your acting nutty again look' and she laughed and told me that all the time I was off work she noticed that I was watching youtube videos of Mopars, Graveyard Carz, drooling over vintage muscle cars on Mecum and BarrettJackson auctions. And she knew I had a couple of Mopars in back in the day. she said she spotted a Challenger, so lets go for a ride. My arm was aching from the twisting so off we went.
    We pulled into the Chevy dealer and on the corner was '18 Octane Red R/T all I could think was wow! So the salesman is about my age (66) and he puts on a tag and says lets go out on the I-35 and open her up. Of course I didn't argue. For about a half hour we ripped up and down the interstate, jumping off on a couple of side roads to play with the sport mode and smoke tires. He was a hoot. He had just got the car in on a trade. It belonged to some exec at the Honeywell plant as a company car, and he traded it for a Corvette.
    Anyway we go back to the lot and he says let me take your truck back to the used car dept to get an appraisal. I didn't have the heart to tell him we were just out for fun and had no intention of buying. And off he goes with my Tundra. After he's gone about 30 minutes I'm wondering WTH when he shows up with an anxious look on his face and says "Folks I don't know how to tell you this, but I wrecked your truck..."
    He was backing it out of a diagonal stall and got a little heavy on the throttle and wound up smashing into a customer bringing her new Cruze in for it 3K service. It was going to take a new bumper, tailgate and bed to fix it. The Chebbie looked totaled. He started going on about a great body shop and a loaner and so on and I told him that truck was flawless (it was) and now it has a carfax report! Then I looked at Jamie and she got a nervous look and I told him I guess my negotiation power just went waaayy up. She later said she thought i was going to clock him.
    I made them produce all the documents when they traded on the R/T. All the while Jamie is on her smart phone getting all the KBB numbers for both vehicles. In the end I got KBB top dollar value selling to private party for the truck and wrote them a check for $2000 less than what they had in the Challenger.
    I've been driving it for just over a year and I'm loving it. i spend a lot of time on the interstates for work and the R/T is perfect. Jamie likes it too. I replaced the factory wheels with the American Racing Hot Lap wheels and put a set of Blizzaks on the factory's for winter. It's almost time to put them back on.
    Anyway, enjoy the ScatPak! See you on the horizon!