OK guys, I need advice. If you've owned a Dodge Challenger, specifically an RT with a 5.7 Hemi, tell me your experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I love the look of these cars, and around here, everything is either a Mustang, or a Mustang. lol I've owned at least one Mustang , and up to four, each year from 1987 until today. I currently have two. They are both older, 95' GT, and a 98 that is my son's. I've never had issues with them, always been great cars, but I'm needing a change, and the old vert is needing some love and care, new top, PW regulators and motors, among many other things.

So, that basically leaves me with the Challenger RT 5.7 if I want that same kind of car. Not interested in the Camaros.

I have to fit it in my budget, so as far under $20K as possible. I've found a few 2012-2014 era cars around $15k with less than 60K miles.

What I like about the car, is as I'm getting older, it's easier to get in and out of. The front "cockpit" layout isn't cluttered up with meaningless crap like the Mustangs and other new cars. It's mostly old school in look, simple in design and layout. It's equipped pretty much like a late 80s or early 90s car.

It has a great sound, and it has power, at least enough to get out of it's own way, but it's not going to win any races. My ex wife's 2.3 ecoboost mustang with a tune and about $3000 in parts puts it well over 400hp and into the low 12s in the quarter. I'm not racing the car anyway.

The cons to the car, for me, it's a fat, overweight, sluggish pig, though it handles we for what it is, and moves pretty good overall. So, I kind of feel sort of a kinship to it, since I'm the same way in my older years.


Anyway, I'm not looking at anything else at the moment. I'd like to know, from actual owners of these cars, how reliable, or how unreliable they are. I don't want hearsay, but rather real experiences you've actually had.

Thanks

For the tl/dr crowd, if you actually owned one, what are your thoughts. I don't care about speed and racing. I did more that ten men's share of that when I was younger.

If you get a Challenger, get a 15+, as that's when they did a major update to them.  I had a 2017 R/T. It was a great car. 15 MPG in town, with sport mode on full time. They're basically a couch on wheels.  IMO getting on the 5.7 sounded better than my 19 SP. I had 0 issues with it. If I was in the position to get another one, I wouldn't hesitate.

The A8 is one of the better automatics out there. The A8 uses 89 and the stick version is premium, so keep that in mind.

EDIT: I have bad knees and had back surgery. The Challenger was very easy to get in and out of, compared to my buddy's 16 Mustang GT.





EDIT 2:  As you can see the height difference comparison for getting in and out of these cars. My 19 SP, buddy's 16 GT, and his 93 Vette.

I'm 47 and my Challenger was in the shop more than any car I've owned...by a lot. Power steering failed twice, among other things, which is alarming at highway speed.

Really nice cars. I have a bad knee, a bad back, and other problems, in my mid 50s, so I'm not looking at being able to drive too many more years. Thanks for the advice.

Is there a way to turn off the cylinder deactivation? I've always heard that was the main issue with engine damage when it happened, but that it could be bypassed?

Yeah, that is scary.

Owned a 2013 SRT and I currently own a
2016 hellcat that I ordered new.
I would recommend getting a SRT or better.

During the past few years, I went through 3 Challengers - the V6, the 5.7, and most recently, the 6.4 Scat Pack. Never had issues with them, but I didn't keep them that long either (about 10K miles). All three were automatics. Guess what I'm in now? A 22 Mustang GT manual. Why? I wanted to roll the gears myself, but in a smaller, more agile car. I'm happy but do miss the torque of that Scat Pack at times.

Thanks! 48 myself. As for turning off MDS, just turn on sport mode. Why I always had it on full time. Just one button press after start up.

Oh that's great. I only drive about 100 miles a month, maybe 200 miles if I have doctors appointments.

I'm expecting a dividend with enough to buy a car, but don't want to spend it all on the car. I have a few other things that's going to take up a good bit of the money, so I can do about $20k, but want to stay lower than that, closer to $15k.

Here's the thing, when the money gets here, I may run right back to the Mustang GT. If I could afford it without spending all my money, I'd buy a pristine, nearly 100 factory 89' GT with 50K or less original miles it. They're $30K and up now though. My first was an 87', but my favorite was an 89'.

Not 100% relevant to the Challenger question, but close. I had a 2007 Charger R/T with Road & Track pack and put over 200k miles on it. Overall great car. Roomy, big, and heavy, but moves ok. Not fast in a race sense, but adequate. Brakes are a weak spot if you push it hard. Zero issues rolling down the highway at extra-curricular speeds though. Eats miles.

Parts I had to replace in 200K miles-
spark plugs (30k interval IIRC, regular old coppers are what were spec'd for mine)
oil pressure sensor
alternator, belt, idler pulley, belt tensioner
fans, radiator, thermostat, upper and lower hoses
1 power steering hose
motor mounts (mine were the old fluid filled ones, I believe they went away from these)
radius rod bushings (replaced with OG pedders bushings back in the day)
one set of toe-arm bushing in the back I believe
inner and outer tie rods
typical fluid services
1 right side differential axle seal

Only time it went in a shop was for the airbag recall and the occasional alignment. Everything else I did. One tow, when the cooling fans exploded and took out the radiator, which there was a recall for on the early cars, but my VIN landed outside of.

As said, get as new as you can, the 8 speed and updated hemi I'm sure help. If you do get stuck with an R/T, a set of take-off SRT wheels help compared to the dinky ones that come on the R/T. Same with adding SRT suspension all around. Little ride penalty, much better car.

Honestly though if you can, any of the 392 options with the extra power will make it a much more rounded car.

That's not bad.

The 95 GT convertible I'm driving now has about 200K on it. I've replaced an idler arm pulley, a thermostat ( though that was due to preference of temp range ) belt and hoses, brake light switch, and the TFI ignition module. The day after my best friend, no lie, traced a a Chevy bow tie in the pollen on it on the rear wing, the car backfired due to the pip sensor going out. I had to buy a Summit Billet distributor because everything else was cheap Chinese junk. Then I bought a battery last week. Car cranks and runs great. I have all the records from the previous owner, everything done at the dealer, brake pads twice ( I bought it with 160,000 for $2500 in 2012 ), an AC line replaced and the AC recharged. That's it other than gas and oil, belt, plugs and wires.

The car was perfect when I bought it and up until last year.

But, now the throw out bearing is making some noise, telling me it needs a new clutch set soon. All the adjustment is out of the cable / quadrant system.

When I do that, and the trans is out, may as well put a new rear main seal in it, and while doing that, may as well put a fresh oil pan seal on it, and if I'm in there, might as well put a new oil pump in it. Of course, if I'm doing all that, may as well pull the motor and rebuild it since it's got 200K on it, whether it needs it or not.

Add to that, needs a new top. Needs all new weather seals. All four window motors and regulators have to be replaced, needs a hood latch, needs a speedometer cable or one of the gears, driven or drive, either in the gauge or the transmission. Needs ignition key switch. To top it all off, it really needs a paint job. All of the clearcoat has come off on the hood.

I'm not a fan of the SN95 body to begin with except for the Cobras.

So, looking at the time, work, and costs involved, I'm better getting a new car.

I'm not able physically to turn wrenches like in the past, and I don't have access to a local garage to put the car on a lift and take up a stall space for a long period of time. The guy that used to let me pay him to use his shop if it was a day or three's work, has retired. Rebuilding the engine will take a good month or so. Tearing it down a couple of hours, and a couple of hours to put it back together, but ordering parts, getting machine shop work done, decking the block and shaving the heads, all that, that's a month and a half around here. If it was a Fox body I'd do it.

But, I'm better buying a newer car. Nothing out there appeals to me like the Challenger. It's just old school push rod V8 American grunt.

Bump for today's day crew, and with a question.

What are the differences in the standard RT with 5.7, and the Scat Pack, or other options with that engine.

Also , can you get a 392 in a car priced similar, within a couple of grand,  to maybe a 5.7 scat pack etc?

Thanks

Main differences is the SRT drive modes, linelock, etc.  There may be other items, but I don't remember offhand. Here's a forum that will answer a lot of your questions.  https://www.challengertalk.com/

I couldn't tell you for used, as prices are nuts still. SP will most likely command a premium over a 5.7. When I bought my 19 new, after power dollars and dealer discount, it was cheaper than my new 17 R/T.

Thanks, I'll take a look at that link. I'm new to the Dodge stuff.

Have owned 5 Dodge Chargers Pursuits. I know not a Challenger. I love those Chargers. Nothing beats a straight piped Hemi, IMHO. Reason for the Chargers is the ole police versions can be bought so cheap. Plus get 20mpg with 370hp if you can keep your foot out of it. Everyone I've made money on after driving them for some time.

Sure you can buy a newer Challenger and take the depreciation. The point for me is a super fun V-8 powered car cheap. I could care less about it being pretty. Bought a 2016 AWD Hemi 3 days ago with 100k on it for 12k. Runs and drives great even brand new cop tires, Eagle Enforcers.

One point I don't like about the Challengers is the A pillars block my view. When sitting in the car there is a HUGE blind spot along both sides. At stop signs and lights it's hard to see out the sides without moving around to see past the pillars.

Wish they made a 6 speed manual Charger.

I like the look of the Charger, but that's just to big of a car for me.

I bought a used 2013 Charger RT back in 2017.  It had 60K miles on it at the time.  Now 162K miles.  The only thing I've replaced has been the starter.  I'm pretty sure it needs a new center support bearing for the driveshaft.  Once it warms up, I'll probably do it myself.  It's a cheap part.  I've also got a CEL for the cylinder deactivation stuff.  It just came on a week or so ago.  The part to fix it is cheap, the labor, probably not.

Google Dodge Hemi tick.  Pretty common complaint.  Mine does it.  Drive without the stereo on and it's rather noticeable.  I'd never buy another used car if it had it.  

The only other thing, front brake rotors are shit.  Replace with something good.  Autozone Gold is not good.  And I'm easy on the brakes with a lot of highway driving.

21mpg has been typically.  Mine is the AWD version as well.

Good advice. A good bit of that applies to the Challenger as well.

One of my other concerns is the daytime running lamps. I'm sure the issues with them are solved by now, but I've always had an aversion to them. When I worked slinging parts, in the 90s, GM cars would come in all the time with those badly designed CS Series alternators needing replacement. Pat of the reason for their failure was the daytime running lamps. The CS series was so small, they could not cool, because not only did they shrink them from the previous models, they increased the load on them with all that GM was putting in the cars. The daytime running lamps just added to that.

Ford and Dodge stayed with their larger alternators on their V6 and V8 cars, so we didn't sell many. We would see the CS alternators go out probably 10 to 1 over the other two.

I saw a video yesterday showing how simple it is to turn those off on the Challenger. Not sure if it's necessary these days, but it's good to see.

I never see Mustangs parked properly. I like Mustangs, but if I get one will I never be able to park centered in a parking spot? The Challenger is a really nice car.

The EPA mileage mandates. They were still being offered in limited quantities to police departments after civilian sales stopped

Not a Challenger owner, but have spent a lot of time in a 5.7 Charger. They are awesome cars, same platform as the Challenger. The only negative is the 5 speed auto sucks. I would recommend if you are going for a RWD car try and get one with the ZF 8 speed automatic transmission. It's the best RWD transmission in any vehicle and used in many European luxury brands. A car equipped with the 8 speed will be faster and smoother than a 5 speed car. The 5 speed auto will eventually have 5 neutrals and glitter in the fluid; the 8 speed is bomb proof.



Great car but the Achilles heel is the 5 speed transmission. They were offered up to 2020 for police fleets. The transmission shifts are harsh, even when new. When they fail, and they will, it's instantaneous without warning. For power and acceleration the AWD 5.7 is a beast and handles any weather with ease until you high center it in snow

The AWD V6 with the ZF 8 speed is a much nicer driving car. Transmission shifts are on point and the transmission is bomb proof. It's not as fast as a V8 but still faster than a Crown Vic. Gets good fuel mileage as well, 25 MPG + is not hard when cruising at the speed limit.

Thanks for the replies, and keep on adding info if you have any.

I'm stuck on the V8, I just don't like 6cyl unless it's in a Japanese car.

I have basically $20,000 cash to spend on the car.

That knocks out anything too new, so I'm mainly looking 2015-2018, because I want under 50,000 miles if possible.

It knocks out the 5.7 Scat Packs and the 392cid engine.

I did see a 6.1 liter 2009 car with 45+ thousand miles for a very good price, and it was at a dealer I know and trust. I've read good and bad about that engine, plus it's a bit older. It was clean, beautiful inside and out.

So really, I'm trying to find the newest, cleanest, lowest mileage Challenger RT, in black, that I can. I(f, if, I run across a Scat Pack in that range yeah, or even a 392, but I doubt I will.

Scat Packs are 392 cars.

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When I was searching, all I wanted was a Hemi and a manual.  Ended up with a 16 Shaker 5.7 RT. Love it. Fast enough to be fun without the insanity of a HC that would get me  in trouble. Comfortable, handles great and no issues.  Thanks to Dodges great depreciation, I got it in 2018 for almost half of sticker

Oh, I hadn't looked hard enough to see that. I'm a Ford Mustang guy, from way back in 87' to today. Just decided since I needed a newer car, I wanted something different, and at my age, with my back, my knees etc, those Mustangs are not easy to get in and out of. Have to fall in them and climb out.

So, I guess 5.7 or 6.1 then.

Love the shakers. Good looking car.

I'd stick to a 15+ 5.7 with an 8 speed transmission. There are a lot of updates. The 6.1 is a pre 15 vehicle and has the 5 speed auto.

Scroll to the bottom of this link to get a general idea.  https://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/17/2015-dodge-challenger-video-new-york-2014/

Thanks for the link and for the advice.

So, what I'm looking for is a 2015+ 5.7 with 8 speed auto. I've mostly owned manuals in all my sports cars / pony cars, only had an auto in one 89' GT that I bought just for cruising, and my luxury type cars, and one late 90s Explorer. With my left knee earning the nickname, " Snap, Crackle, Swollen," I need to be in an auto, and there's no real penalty for it now like there used to be.

I had a 2016 5.7 RT 6 speed manual I bought new and drove for 5 years before unloading it at the peak of the used car prices along with my 09 Tundra to get into a brand new F150 Super Crew and rebuild my deck at the same time.

The car only asked for oil changes for 5 years and 32k. The only issue I had that luckily did not show itself when the Car buying service looked it over was it would sometimes stick in gear when trying to get out of first or reverse at a stop to the point where the car had to be turned off and on again to shake things loose. It was intermittent but when it happened it was a real pain. I read it had to do with something about improper grease on a transmission spline on some builds in a certain time frame that caused problems after a year or two. The fix was to pull tranny out, clean off the old grease from the spline, and apply the correct stuff. So not cheap if not covered. It was said to have been remedied before my year but apparently not.

It could not be duplicated by the dealer within warranty. It was the only thing that made me nervous about the car and I am dealing with things for the next few years that made one in
Warranty vehicle more practical than two out of warranty ones with one or the other needing something else every other month.

I hear only wonderful things about the 8 speed and would probably go that route with no worries if I ever get the chance to buy one again. Aside from the shifter issue she felt rock solid and if it weren’t for that I’d have kept it forever if financially practical.

I loved the car and the irrational side of my brain misses the performance and sound. but the analytical side can’t help but note that at least on paper my F150 hybrid is right there on its heels until you’re talking top speed. 0-60 in 5.3 So within 1-2 10ths and quarter in the high 13s so within less than a second. The 5.7 sounds great and is nostalgic. But you just have to live with that some V6 family sedans and half ton pickups will give you a good run for your money or even stay with you as you make that hemi sing and you won’t outrun lighter V8 Mustangs and Camaros. It was reasonably quick on paper but a heavy pig so didn’t exactly kick you in the ass through the driver’s seat. Didn’t bother me in the least as I bought it due to being a bigger fan of the looks of 70s Mopars than anything else from that time frame. Just felt like Dodge did the best job reimagining that era with the Challenger. Didnt really care if it wasn’t the fastest thing out there.

If I do it again in 5 years and they follow through on the all electric thing I’d probably want a used 6.4 auto or else a MuStang. Very comfy road trip car with good trunk space and the only usable rear seat of any modern 2 door muscle car.

Sold last year for 5 k less than what I paid brand new in 2016. If I dumped it a few months earlier probably would have been within a couple grand.

Thanks for the insight. I'm going to try and get into 392 if possible, although a 5.7 is more likely, but you never know. I have to strain not to submit to the urge to buy the first one I get a chance at when my money comes. I have to remind myself that I have a car that does what I need it to do, and will for another year or two, and just look around and wait until a deal pops up.

I'm a tall guy at 6'7" and I thought that the Charger was more comfortable to drive and get in/out of than the challenger I had.  There is only about 3" difference in the size between the two.

Can't help with the 5.7 but I have had a 07 SRT8 300, 16 Charger SP, and a 21 Challenger WBSP and all were fun.  The 300 was the best as it only cost 8500 bucks.