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.



http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071208/BUSINESS01/712080309

It happened with the GT500, it will happen with the Challenger, and it will happen with the Camaro... :rolleyes:

I dont see that happening with the new Camaro. 30-40 thousand V8 Camaros could be produced the first model year (about 17 months). It will be the only car at the plant its first year. GM can add a second shift if needbe. I hope the dealer I know doesnt go back on his word in offering me a new V8 Camaro for supplier price. I bought 2 new 2002 Z28s and used a $1000 Camaro Legends Certificate on each to help get the price WAY down. If anyone deserves a discounted 2010 V8 Camaro, its me. :-)

The dealers should enjoy it while it last... Because it's possible there 10,000 people with more money than sense, or who are hoping to turn a profit and will snap these up at an exorbitant rate.

But I expect that number to fall off a cliff very soon. A lot of people would like a LX coupe and a lot of people are interested in a retro challenger, then some aren't, but interest is entirely different from putting down cash, especially with the way the economy is going.

Guys, the Challenger isn't going to be scarce 12-15 months from now. Chrysler's going to do 35-40k a year -- and they have the capacity to do plenty more if needed. The premium is for the FIRST ones. The FIRST current-gen Mustangs sold at a markup too. I think it's pretty safe to bet that the FIRST Camaros will go out the door above MSRP as well.

Baby boomers just seem to have more money than they know what to do with. :D

Baby boomers just seem to have more credit than they know what to do with. :D

*fixed...

:D Touche, very true

Might as well buy the real thing, and have it appreciate in value once you get it.....dealers ruin everything.

Might as well buy the real thing, and have it appreciate in value once you get it.....dealers ruin everything.

The people who pay these prices are more blame . If no one would pay like $90,000 for say a GT500 then the dealer would have no reason to mark it up . Buy one at sticker about year after there out and just laugh at the idiots who had to have it first .

I dont see that happening with the new Camaro. 30-40 thousand V8 Camaros could be produced the first model year (about 17 months). It will be the only car at the plant its first year. GM can add a second shift if needbe. I hope the dealer I know doesnt go back on his word in offering me a new V8 Camaro for supplier price. I bought 2 new 2002 Z28s and used a $1000 Camaro Legends Certificate on each to help get the price WAY down. If anyone deserves a discounted 2010 V8 Camaro, its me. :-)

We aren't talking about regular production cars here. We're talking about a car that's going to be a high performance limited production car, and for the 1st 6 months or so won't have any other versions of it on the street.

If Chevrolet started off Camaro production with just the ZR1's LS9 engine and limited to "less than 10,000" cars till the 2011 changeover in the summer, you'll no doubt see the prices of those 1st Camaro instantly head into the stratosphere. Even once regular Camaros were in production, you'd still see the scalping on these the way scalping continues on GT500 Shelbys today.

Might as well buy the real thing, and have it appreciate in value once you get it.....dealers ruin everything.

Why would I buy an original Challenger? To pay 6 digits for it then sit on it and speculate, hoping it goes up even more??

NO THANKS! :no:

The new one is a vehicle I can buy and enjoy. It goes quicker than the original, handles superior to the original, is light years better made than the original, has a warranty for life (save the SRT version) and I don't have to have armmed security in the garage with it to keep my 100K pride and joy from being stolen and ending up in someone's collection in Columbia or Russia or lining someone's pocket being sold for parts.

If I want to buy something that will appriciate in value, I'll buy more stocks..... or foreign currency.

Why would I buy an original Challenger? To pay 6 digits for it then sit on it and speculate, hoping it goes up even more??

NO THANKS! :no:

The new one is a vehicle I can buy and enjoy. It goes quicker than the original, handles superior to the original, is light years better made than the original, has a warranty for life (save the SRT version) and I don't have to have armmed security in the garage with it to keep my 100K pride and joy from being stolen and ending up in someone's collection in Columbia or Russia or lining someone's pocket being sold for parts.

If I want to buy something that will appriciate in value, I'll buy more stocks..... or foreign currency.

WOW! Well put. I agree with you on everything... I love looking at other peoples good looking cars that they put in glass cases, but Id like to drive mine thank you :p

All I can say, is I am glad I am not buying either a Camaro or a Challenger until 2010 at least. I am waffling so much on the decision I make John Kerry look like the rock of Gibraltar!

If the market likes 60k Challengers, why didn't the manufacturer charge more for them (with the dealers making less profit)? Because we scream about it. Then drop the price for the next year?(Because if everyone knew, no one would buy)
I am thinking GM will drop the prices on the Camaro the second year.

GuionM- That is the reasoning I am using against dealer gouging on the new Camaros. First year (17 months) production could be 60-80 thousand V6s and 30-40 thousand V8s. With the convertible and super Camaro coming out a model year later, I predict only $3-5 thousand market adjustment on early V8s. Now I have to decide on an interum (sp?) car: A leftover new Monte Carlo SS for $23000 or a supercharged 550hp 06 GTO for $23000. I like the Monte body style better, but a high performance front wheel drive car gets half a limp wrist on the gay meter. On the other hand, a 550hp GTO would be one fast jelly bean. :-)

I have a very nice 67 C-10, but it gets driven. I put 6K on it last year. It sits outside 365 days/year (no garage :( ).

As has been stated before, we're more to blame than the dealers. Their adjusting their prices based on what we're willing to pay, and obviously, some people are stupid. Is it wrong? Yes and no. It's wrong for them to jack up the price, but it's also stupid of us to pay it.

I'll be waiting until I can get a camaro for regular price. Probably fall '09? GM is hoping for 100K cars per year.

Baby boomers just seem to have more money than they know what to do with. :D

until there social security gets slashed and medicare premiums go up 5000% in the near future:eek: