Jeremiah 29:11

Totally disgusting.


Demand for Challenger could drive price through the roof


December 8, 2007

BY TIM HIGGINS

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Sure the sticker price for the new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 is $37,995, but good luck finding that price on a showroom floor.

Several dealers are saying to expect to pay more -- much more -- if you want to be taken seriously to purchase the new muscle car that comes out next spring.


Chrysler has said it will sell fewer than 10,000 of the Challenger SRT8s -- the first model in the return of the classic nameplate.

Some dealers are telling customers that only 4,500 will be made; others tell the Free Press they've been told around 5,500. The company isn't saying.

Chrysler LLC says more than 6,000 people have already pre-ordered the vehicle at dealerships across the country.

One Dodge dealer in New York already has bidding up to $50,000 on the online auction site eBay. Other dealerships are simply asking customers: How much are you willing to pay over sticker price?

"Be the first one in your neighborhood to own the all new redesigned 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8!!" Brian Hopper of Friendly Dodge in Penn Yan, N.Y., wrote in his ad on eBay.

Hopper told the Free Press he was inspired by how prices went sky high when special editions of the Ford Mustang first came out.

"We've had a lot of calls," he said.

Other dealers already have bids or are asking for $15,000 over the MSRP.

"Every dealer in the country is going to get one, and after that we're not sure how many we're going to get. They are basing it on how many cars we've sold in the past," said Darryl Pavlik, co-owner of Colonial Dodge in Eastpointe. "I'd heard they're going to bring $30,000 over sticker."

He added, "We're kind of thinking that we'll see what the market is going to bear."

Car shopper Bob Monaghan, 60, said he was told by a dealer that the cars would be selling for $80,000 to $90,000. "He started chuckling and said, 'It's all for the high rollers,' " he said.

Albeeno

Hey look, a new SRT8 Challenger starting at only $62,144 on ebay!!!! Interestingly enough there are 0 bids at the time of this post...

You are bidding the Pre-Sale of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8!!!!!! Whoever wins this auction gets their name on the invoice! This vehicle has been ordered and allocated! As you may know they are making a very limited number of the vehicles. They will be individually numbered on the dash. This will be a collectors car!!!! We are a five star Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep Dealer. We have been in business for 35 years, so you can buy with confidence. Dont miss this chance. This vehicle has been ALLOCATED which means we will be getting it. This is your chance to be one of the lucky few to get their hands on a legend re-born!!!!!!!
A 10,000 deposit will be required within 24 hours of auction ending.
Serious bidders only!!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...spagenameZWDVW

RLSH700

Agreed, I think it was a bad decision to make the first year a limited production model like this. They should just introduce it like they do with any other car.

kramtrah

It would be an insult to us if the dealers gouge us on the price. It's as if they want to cut off the hand that feeds them, and considering the precarious situation Chrysler is in financially, they need to set a good precendent, not bad. Yeah, we are all die hard Mopar fans drooling for the Challenger, but the real world out there is based on compelling product at a reasonable price. Please Chrysler, do us right.

Axel

Oddly enough that Challenger has been pulled on Ebay. Must have been a phony post to try and rip people off.

Kramtrah, from what has been said on here by others, unfortunately Chrysler isn't allowed to control their dealers, not allowed to stop them from raping the public. They can only coach. Now there is one thing they can do to the dealers that do have it if they don't cooperate. Pull their five star rating. That would change a lot of things for them if I had heard correctly, but who knows if the law could step into that or not, or if they even could.

RLSH700

On top of this, Chrysler's relationship with their dealerships is in the need of mending in the first place. The way the dealers were being treated in the whole merger was terrible and left a lot of bridges burnt along with forcing them to sell models they didn't want and taking away models that they were able to sell. They have to be careful in the way they deal with their dealerships.

Justinec101

I have seen several of these challenger auctions pulled from ebay. Last christmas when people were selling Wii and PS3 preorders they were getting pulled left and right as well. I believe ebay has a policy in effect now where you must actually have the product in your hands by the time the auction ends. . . or something like that. I've only seen one of these Challenger auctions actually completed and it was the buy it now one. . . it must have sold before ebay caught it.

kramtrah

We can only hope, and hope is what we have, that things do go well and the dealers do see the light.

RLSH700

I didn't know anyone was able to pull that off in the first place. There is no reason why they should be allowed to sell something they don't physically have. That requires a lot of blind faith on someone they have never met if you ask me.

RLSH700

Well, the best advice I can give you is don't get your hopes up. I think that the 2009 models that will start selling in later 2008 should be sold at more affordable rates with less price hikes as much of the buzz will start to go down by then as well as there being a higher supply of them.