I have rarely made timely buys or sales during my life (stocks, gold, etc...) but for once I can pat myself on the back for a well timed buy. When we hear about all the delayed orders and higher prices today, it's nice to have timed something properly for once. I was going to order my 2020 R/T with all the right boxes checked for what I wanted. No settling. I was rather specific, right down to color, stripes, packages, etc.. I was referred to a dealership less than 200 miles away that had my car already built. The only thing different was red brake calipers for an extra $595. When I learned that the dealer was offering a $3,000+ discount and the $3,000+ factory rebate I bought the car as quickly as possible. The red calipers ended up being a nice bonus.
^^ Many nice options and packages are offered with the R/T it seems. I really loaded mine up since I didn't need the bigger Hemi. I want to guess I have 'floored' my R/T twice in the past 6 months. Plenty fast for me as I'm up in my late 60's now, a far cry from my teens/20's when speed was key and I took my '71 Plymouth to the local drag strip. I actually enjoy the handling/braking as much as anything now considering where I live. The Brembos are amazing and stop the R/T so quick! I'm just so impressed considering the weight of the car. Someone pulled out in front of me last week and the response of my R/T made me grin instead of being mad at the idiot who somhow can't see a bright Go Mango machine coming his way. The packages I ordered with the better handling, suspension, etc.. just make this R/T perfect for me here in the mountains. I could not have checked off any other boxes unless i wanted the two tone interior. I actually was thinking about it but $48k was quite enough to spend (actually $42k plus tax/title after the discounts).
In addition to the bags of cash you saved by not buying a "faster" model of Challenger, with the 5.7 you get to do something those other guys can't as often: FLOOR IT! It was one of the things I missed having a Hellcat that I did almost ALL the time in my little Neon! Also, my little SUV I had at the same time as the Hellcat, I almost never went the speed limit, as it was a forgettable, anonymous, black little car that I nicknamed the "anonymobile." Only ticket I ever got in that was from some automatic speed camera I forgot the city had reactivated. There is some satisfaction in the floor-it-and-wait-for-speed-to-build paradigm. Flooring it in the other car needed far wider, far more remote, far less occupied streets. Not that you wait long in your Hemi car *ahem* but I am just assuming the car is high on the "fun to drive" metric, PLUS "I spend more time with the pedal closer to the floor" metric. Besides, if you are of such a mind, you can savor putting all those little personal touches on the engine/etc. that give the satisfaction I ALSO noticed was missing in the ownership of the Hellcat. Why gild the lily? Geez, why gild the gilt that is already on the gilded lily? Driving a Hellcat can be a positive gilt trip!
Moparisto, I see that you once owned a Hellcat, a Neon, and SUV in the past. May I ask what you are driving these days??
You bought almost exactly the car I would build for myself if I was even remotely in the market. Very well bought. In hindsight ... and in real time ... you got a heckuva deal. Again, very well bought. I've had a Challenger and two Chargers with the 5.7L/345ci HEMI and I never felt they were lacking power.
