I decided to stop in at my local dodge dealership to see if they had any brochures on the challenger. As I expected none of the sales people new much about the challenger and they even admitted I knew more than they did based on the research (this forum) I have done. Actually treated me very well and got the manager to talk with me about the Challenger. Told the manager I was interested in only the R/T 2009 model and he was not sure when they would start production but thought around July they might get some in. We also talked about the SRT models and they are getting in 5 cars. I indicated to him that I had heard most dealers would get 1 then based on sales they could get additional allocations. He grinned and stated this was correct and they do a lot of sales. I also asked him how much over MSRP they were selling them for and stated 5000 over and have sold three but two are left that are not presold as of yet. He also indicated he has over 40 people on the list for the R/T. I thought 5000 over was not bad and told him other dealerships nationwide were selling them for 10000 to 20000 over MSRP. Again he grinned and stated other dealerships had contacted them and wanted to purchase one or two of his vehicles for 10000 over MSRP but they decided not to do it and save them for the customers in the Salem area.

The manager did not know what the production numbers would be but thought Chrysler would try to build as many R/T versions that it could since there was excitement for the car and based on the number of folks on the list for the car. I also asked him if he would sell the R/T for MSRP when they start delivery of them and kind of hesitated and was not sure but thought as the production increased he would.

Most of you will find this boring since really no new info I am providing but thought it was fun to talk with our local dealer and make initial contact with them regarding the challenger. Of course I will shop around and ultimately purchase the car with the dealer who will offer me the best deal, but really appreciated the way the local dealership treated me and could see they are very excited about the challenger. Might even buy it from them even if they are a few hundred over some other dealership just because of how they treated me. Also want to test drive one and will have to wait on the R/T since he has presold the three and sure the other two will sale very quickly before delivery (SRT 2008).

 

They're not preventing sales, my friend, they're getting more for your Challenger from someone else and you've been thrown to the curb like a chicken bone.
If you don't have a deposit / contract for the car, you're probably out of luck. Let them know that "word of mouth" is the best advertising, and your word won't be positive for them.
Why not wait, get an '09, and make that deal with another dealership......a reputable one.

 

mac, I would say if you found a good reputable dealer and like dealing with them......hold on and don't let go. They are hard to find.

 

I stopped by some dealers just to ask if they had sold any, how much, etc. One said they had already sold 2 for around 50-60k and the other said they didnt even know when they were getting them in and they hadn't even taken deposits! So much for the 1 car per dealer thing.

And of course neither knew anything at all about the 09s. I figured they might wanna lay groundwork for making a sale but neither one even offered me a card or anything. . . I wasnt there to buy a crappy avenger or sebring on the spot so they didnt seem to care.

 

That is too bad they treated you like that. The manager I deal with at my local dodge dealership asked for my name and mailing address and will send me a packet of information when he receives additional information on the 2009 R/T model. He was just as excited as I was about the challenger.

 

It's a shame too. Cars with exclusivity are cool.

 

Cool cars are cool. I, personally, believe exclusivity has nothing to do with it.

I thought the Ford Probes were cool when they came out, certainly not exclusive. Hell, I thought the Neons were cool, absolutely not exclusive.

I want a car for the car, not for the resale value of the car. Again, for investments why not just buy gold or a good tech stock, not an automobile.

 

if you spend 40 000.00 for anything there should be some element of investment thought. I know, cars dont appreciate and are lousy investments but some more than others. I ordered an 08 w/ Dodge telling me there were limited supply of 4500 and now find out there will be 9000...double. Whether you like it or not this will have a huge impact on resell and is causing me to reconsider if the adjustment is factual. I'm not looking to make money on the deal i just dont want to sell in 2 years for 17,000.00 like some other cars that we know.

 

You said it yourself though, new cars are lousy investments. You don't have to look too far back to see how this has happened to the Dodge Ram SRT-10's. I remember, my dad got one of the first ones, thinking it was going to be a rare vehicle and then the market fell on its face.

 

I never buy anything (except when used to day traded and my new house) with thoughts of reselling value. I buy things to use them and enjoy them.

I get what you're saying about some of the reasons you bought, but I guess this scenario only proves the time tested phrase: caveat emptor.

I will run mine into the ground, build it back up, and run it into the ground again! OK, actually, I will use it on weekends (Fridays included) and will garage it, not because I wish to sell for some ridiculous sum in 50 years because I intend to pass it down and the memories had in it.