Jeremiah 29:11

Disgusting!

High demand expected for Challenger

09:06 AM PST on Friday, December 28, 2007

By TIM HIGGINS
Detroit Free Press

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.

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Dodge
Dodge will sell a limited number of the 2008 Challenger SRT8.
Some dealers are telling customers that only 4,500 will be made; others tell the Detroit 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 Detroit 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 a dealer told him 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.

MGDMike

LOL! I agree whole-heartedly what Bob Monaghan said! And Jerimiah, I second that "disgusting"!

Albeeno

Yeah, well, I guess we'll see if they're really getting $10-$20K over sticker after mid-`08 when the economy is in a full-blown recession and oil is in excess of $100 per barrell and people are getting laid off from their jobs and the homes they live in aren't worth as much. I know, I know...people who buy these cars could care less about MPGs...I say that's a bunch of hot air! People aren't stupid...cost is a factor in any big-ticket purchase like a car, boat, house, etc.

I'm not an Economist, but there are a lot of factors in play right now. For starters, surging gas/oil prices with no let up in sight; the mortgage crisis / real estate bubble bursting, soaring energy costs...anyone who heats their home with home heating oil knows exactly what I'm talking about right now and of course, the state of the job market. I am a Recruiter / Headhunter in the Boston area and already we are beginning to see a slowdown in our client's staffing needs. It could be a little blip, but from everything I've read it's just the beginning. I can't speak to the condition of any other job market throught the country, but I suspect Boston isn't the only market undergoing a slowdown. Point being - no job, no big ticket purchases.

I certainly realize there is a huge demand and a lot of buzz right now about this car, but if you don't have the financial means to purchase one, let along spend $10-$20K over sticker, you ain't buyin'! I happen to believe that the Challengers are going to be on the dealer lots longer then we all think, in a year from now. It will certainly sell, but not nearly as much nor as quickly as a lot of us think (at this point).

kramtrah

I think the worst part of this is so much on the supply and demand sort of thing, it's the high rollers supply and demand and cut out the every day joe from getting one of these beautiful cars.

I will be as patient as possible throughout 08 and push into early 09 to get one, and at that point it would be nice to see if the high roller club will have left the area for us regular guys to get what we have been dreaming of for the last two years.

fatcat

[:@]To Kramtrah, I'm with you in the same boat as I've been waiting and saving patiently now for 2 yrs since I first heard of the Challenger but will try and wait thru 2008 into 2009 if needed like you, so good luck to both of us!.
As for ALBEENO I hope your right about the Challenger situation but wrong about the economy but I guess that can't be and still have the SRT8'S sitting around in showrooms to be sold. I have the sneakin suspicion your right and just for the reasons you stated, some may remain for the average "Joe" to buy if he can find one.
Lastly for JEREMIAH 29:11 , it is to me also disgusting when the greedy dealers let the rich, the collectors, the buyers just to hold and sell for a profit, instantly drive up the demand and price of the Challenger. This to me is well substantiated by my recent attempts to set up an appointment to order an SRT8. I whole heartedly believe that LLC Chrysler or DODGE has some guilt in this also as they sent me an E-mail on 12/18/2007 telling me that the New Dodge Challenger has a MSRP of $40,095 and to " Get to your local dealership to place your order". Of the 14 dealerships I've tried,( and I have a list to prove it along with some recorded phone calls), to make an appointment to place an order here's what I got:.....

2 dealers said I could place an order with no deposit but no guaranty as to final price or delivery.

3 dealers said they could not order due to unknown allocation which was due to unprecedented demand and that they would sell to what the price of supply and demand dictates which they were sure it would be MSRP plus a min of $10,000 premium.

3 more dealers told me flat out that they had long waiting lists and that the Challengers that they were able to pre order went already for $70,000 and $80,000 with $10,000 NON-REFUNDABLE deposits and any more orders they would take would have to be based on the same sales order aggreement.

4 dealers said that because the demand is so great they are only taking names and phone numbers for already long lists of as many as 27 thru 115 at one dealership.

1 dealer gave me a long winded sales pitch about supply and demand and that it was only correct to sell each and every one of the 3 Challengers that he"s getting to the first customers on his list of 147 that come up with the best offer over msrp. He said one customer willing to go $90,000 for numbered SRT8 Challenger. Also told me they would not let anybody look or sit in them and would not be on showroom floor.
( By the way, this is the largest dealer known in the eastern USA, Reedman)

The last dealers which is a small local Dodge Dealership not far from me said that he is allowed to order one SRT8 Challenger and he will sit it on the showroom floor and call me the day it arrives and allow me to go sit in it and make a offer over MSRP along with the 8 other customers on his list.

To finish let me say that all these dealers are in the north thru southern regions of New Jersey and I willingly gave all of them my info, ph number, E-mail; address and home address so they knew I wasn't kidding along with a guarantied down payment and prove of financial ability to buy the car.

So there you have it , THE HIGH DEMAND FOR THE CHALLENGER and its effect on us little guys who just want a chance to buy , drive and injoy an american muscle car and to some of us like me it may be our last chance. GOOD LUCK TO ALL WHO ARE WISHING AND HOPING TO BE ABLE TO BUY A CHALLENGER