ORIGINAL: RoswellGrey
You know, the really troubling thing about this whole thread is that here, Dodge dealers had a man who very much wanted to buy one of their products. Although their competitors are offering a similar product (yeah, yeah, I know there are LOTS of differences between a Challenger and a Vette, but at the end of the day, they are both sports cars) at a reduced price, those Dodge dealers would rather LOSE A CUSTOMER than give up 1 cent of profit.
Roswell Grey gets it!
Sorry to bump this old thread, but there is a reason.
Basically I was giving Dodge another chance at my money, a final attempt before real money is paid for the Vette.
Yesterday I went by my local Dodge dealership (Alvin, TX) and finally saw a white R/T and it was a very good looking car. Very good looking, the dark windows and window area was great when mixed in with the white color.........the contrast is what I am talking about. So the manager pulled up local auto R/T's blue color. Hardly any, and chances are the local dealer would not swap cars. The drive out cost for this auto R/T was right at 40,000.
I got to take a good test drive around the neighborhood, even do some performance driving, which was very cool. The performance was OK, about what a Mustang GT would do, however the Mustang will never look this good.
Now this is where it gets 'interesting'.
The manager could not guarantee me a car, even if special ordering it. Per him (and he showed me the screen and he comes off as a stand up guy) their dealership will only get in a very few R/T's and SRT8's. Basically even if I had one built he could not guarantee me delivery. What kind of crap is this? I am doing everything I can to keep the Challenger in my future, and Dodge keeps blowing any chances at my business.
He would sell me a R/T at MSRP, but not a SRT8.
As I mentioned earlier, I am getting the Vette at 500 over invoice, so I have a loaded out Vette (2LT, exhaust, auto, gear) at 48200 drive out versus a R/T at 40,000 drive out, versus a SRT8 at about 46000 drive out. I have no kids, only the wife and myself, so the lack of a back seat is a moot point. The insurance for the SRT8 and Vette is within 10 bucks of each other, per month.
Any bad feelings I have had about not getting a Challenger was put to rest yesterday. When a man can't sit down and special order a car and be guaranteed delivery, especially early in the model year, something is very wrong. Thanks to the fact I work for an electric utility company, and Ike just let me earn more money than I could have ever imagined (8300 take home for two weeks of 16 hour days 7 days a week), putting down a large deposit or down payment wasn't a problem.
At the end of the day I don't feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for the Dodge salespeople that are ready to ship out cars, but don't have them to ship out. In a few months all the Challenger fever could very well turn into Camaro fever, as these cars are in the same market.
Dodge did 75% great with the Challenger, but they lost 25% when cars aren't available, nor could be guaranteed if ordered, basically Dodge lacked the strength to close the deal.