Should I wait to buy an SRT 8 Magnum?

[SuperNova]

Hi guys, new to the forums. Definitley like the site, some good information to be found. I'm planning on getting my hands on a Magnum this upcoming holiday season, but I'm on the fence between waiting for the SRT-8 version with the 6.1L or just ordering the 5.7L version.

Does anyone have any information on the SRT-8 aside FROM what's been leaked to the press? I'm only interested in RWD (I know awd is great but I'm looking for rwd) and am not sure if the 6.1 will be released in RWD format. I believe the 300c version is available with AWD only but I may be mistaken.

Any thoughts? I still have to sell my current car so it's not like I have to move on something right away but am debating waiting for the larger engine or just getting my Magnum fix with the existing RT. Thanks for the help, look forward to discussing things w/you guys.

Chris

[sah62]

One of my local dealers told me that they'd be available in early spring of next year. They thought they could start taking orders by the end of this year.

[E55 KEV]

The initial 300C SRT-8 and Magnum SRT-8 are RWD. I read rumors of SRT-8 AWD but I am skeptical. Expect a Gas Guzzler Tax (GGT) on the 300C SRT-8 around $1800 or more and if AWD then maybe $2k or better. No GGT on Magnum SRT-8 because it is 'official' classified as a Truck.

300C SRT-8 will only come in Black and Silver and if the Magnum SRT-8 follows suit than my guess is only in Red and Black.

[SuperNova]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm going to swing by a few dealers to see if they are going to take orders. I'm guessing they won't know what it is, seeing that when I made mention of it the sales kid was completely lost.

same guy who told me they were "running out of hemi's"

hahahah

[E8502]

You can ORDER an SRT-8 this winter (January).

The 300C SRT-8 will be $42K, FYI.

[joseph]

I got approved for a $30,000 loan, and I really want a Magnum RT to REPLACE my 95SS cravings, but I'm afraid of getting one that will have problems and end up at the dealer more often than my garage.
Should I wait for the SRT-8 Magnum, or should I get an RT now?
I'm also thinking that 6 more months will give time for Dodge to fix all the bugs and deliver a vehicle that will run perfectly.
Also, I know about the SRT-8 Magnum HAVING bigger brakes/wheels... and a 6.1 L engine, but what else will be special about it?
I'm also wondering about fuel eceonomy with a 6.1 (no cylinder deactivation), and won't the ESP (on or off) prevent all that power (425HP) FROM being delivered to the road, since I know that many of can only get a chirp.
Any advice will be appreciated.

[PropMan]

If I knew for sure the SRT-8 Magnum was going to be produced I may well have waited. But I just HAD TO HAVE one of these when I ordered mine back at the beginning of May.

You know what, though? The RT is PLENTY fast and mine smokes the tires at will --have to be careful NOT to burn out with the ESP off/

And what will the SRT-8 cost? I'm guessing 40K easy--I bought my RT for 28K. BIIIIIG difference!

[BobF's 6POINT1]

Mileage for the 300 will get 17-18 Hwy. Too much gas for a daily driver. My Tahoe eats enough as is. I can put some mods on my current R/T, get lots more performance and retain MDS and probably get better MPG than I am now.

[MagnumFreak]

Personally I would stick with the RT and do the mods to bring it up to the level of the SRT-8 and keep the mileage. I get 24-25 mpg on the highway and it has all of the get up and go I need. Now, does it have all the get up and go I want?? Nah!!! Headers, etc to come. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Just my opinion though. Go with what will satisfy you.

[joseph]

I'll probably get the RT ASAP, because the SRT-8 will take 1+year to get and it will be quite expensive.
I got a loan for $30.900 at 13% APR and $720/month for 60 month, do you think I could do better via the dealer?

[DMAG]

Joseph...shop around! 13% is horrible! The average new car interest rate is in the 5% range.

Just for comparison. The same loan at 5% would be $583.12 per month! That's a difference of $140 a month!

See what your dealer will offer, try some banks, credit unions, etc.

Good luck!

[bigdaddyoc]

Just an FYI....yesterday on the "Car and Driver" SHOW they aired a srt jeep, srt 300 and srt magnum all with the 6.1 hemi. They were all black with black wheels, kinda cool look for the magnum. They looked to be running 20's on both. The narrator said they were expected with about 420hp. Have they started production on the 300 srt's yet? I thought that one was already on the roll out? I know this was the first actual shots I had seen of the magnum srt or jeep for that matter.

[E8502]

No, the 300C SRT-8 goes INTO production in January. With all options, it will be $42K. The Magnum SRT-8 will probably hit $40K.

[joseph]

I know the 300C SRT-8 goes INTO production soon, but what about the Magnum, anything sure yet?
I know they're talking about the SRT-8 for the 300, magnum and jeep, but so far only the 300 is a sure bet, what about the Magnum, don't they have to fix all the bugs FROM the production line first before venturing INTO the SRT-8 model?

[E8502]

I'm not sure about a production date off hand, but I will look INTO that.

[BobF's 6POINT1]

I got a loan for $30.900 at 13% APR and $720/month for 60 month, do you think I could do better via the dealer?

If you have questionable credit, 13% may be right. If you have decent credit, then DC is gonna go to 5% or less. I couldn't imagine financing a car for that much.

[joseph]

My credit is not so great, plus I have debts.
Financing is out of the question because I couldn't come up with the minimum down payment, so a loan is the only option for now.
I may end up waiting a few months looking around for better loans and APR's, plus I'm looking for a second job.

[D2designs.com]

My credit is not so great, plus I have debts.
Financing is out of the question because I couldn't come up with the minimum down payment, so a loan is the only option for now.
I may end up waiting a few months looking around for better loans and APR's, plus I'm looking for a second job.

I got my Ram financed through the dealership with Zero down, 72 months @ 5.5. My payments are $455 and the final price was $28,000. I've already talked to the finance manager about my RT. I'll be getting it for $29,000 and smae thing. Zero down and same amount of years, rate and same payment if I put down at least $1,000.

SHOP AROUND MAN because you're getting screwed at the moment.

[BobF's 6POINT1]

Joseph, it's never gonna hurt to CHECK financing through the dealer. They will bend over backwards to get people financed and even with less than desireable credit, you should be below 13%. They just want to get cars off the lot.

[apollo]

Joseph,
I was in your situation 3 years ago and 6 years ago. My first car was at 21%APR. Had no credit, got screwed by my business parter. yada yada yada. 3 years ago my 21% APR car died. I had to get a car, did not take time to contest with credit bureaus the lates, so I got 14%APR. 6months later I busted my rump and wrote certain format letters to Experian, TRW, Equifax and got those lates removed. Out of the sudden banks went nuts for me. Got 5% APR, refinanced the car and sold it 6 months later.
Bottom line to this story. Wait, do not rush INTO an RT. You got debts, you need to work on credit. Find that second job, pay down the debt, figure out how to clean up your credit, go back to the drawing board in 6-8 months. Not only will you get the car you want, you will feel about yourself better. Heck, PM me your address, I will send you those books I used to figure out how to clean my credit report.
Now I have a house, a good job, no credit card debt, happy wife, and soon RT will be in my parking lot! It takes some work, but #1 thing is not to let people screw you like that.

Just wait a bit. You need to think hard if you can afford the car.

[cmdycrzr]

I'll probably get the RT ASAP, because the SRT-8 will take 1+year to get and it will be quite expensive.
I got a loan for $30.900 at 13% APR and $720/month for 60 month, do you think I could do better via the dealer?

Apollo has a great point...the Magnums will be around for quite awhile...meanwhile you can take $720/month and do yourself a favor and clean up the debt. I was out of work for quite awhile and you can do wonders with finances when you put your mind to it!

Good luck!

[44MAGNUMHarry]

These last two posts are why I keep coming back to this forum. 99% of the people here are usually looking out for each other as if they've been friends for years. Apollo and Cmdycrzr have good, sober points. I've had my RT for 6 months and time has flown by. 6 months before that, I was driving a 150,000 mile Taurus with a bad oil leak, no radio and no A/C (in Texas that's suffering !). I had the money for the RT, but it wasn't out yet. It was killing me ! But, in the end it was worth it +++. As for the unsolicted advice, it's meant with all sincerity. Your time is coming !

[apollo]

Two books that I have mentioned are:
Fix Your Credit Workbook http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312155301/

Another is The Guerilla Guide to Credit REPAIR http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031210734X/

Patience and consistent effort will make your credit shine. Be nice bo people too. I had a fight with Ameritech when I was in college. They killed my account and wrote it off (huge hit for your credit). Well, I paid everything off, was nice to them, and they removed all their stuff FROM my credit.

Good luck!

[henry]

I'll probably get the RT ASAP, because the SRT-8 will take 1+year to get and it will be quite expensive.
I got a loan for $30.900 at 13% APR and $720/month for 60 month, do you think I could do better via the dealer?


:blam:
That is one horrible loan.

My last car loan was at 7% total and I thought that was good until I got this one at 4.75%. That's not APR, that's the actual loan interest rate.
Shop around. Anyone can do better than 13% APR.

[chicano]

My advice is to take apollo's advice. It's better to get an RT 8 months later and have reasonable financing then to get it now and be payin' out your ears.


Personally i'm gonna see how my Magnum is treatin' me in three years and then i'll evaluate if the modded RT is enough for me or if i need and SRT-8. For me i have a feeling the SRT-8 might be a bit too powerful for a daily driver.

[joseph]

I already returned the loan check, because of the high APR, maybe they'll re-think it and make me a better offer.
When it comes to the SRT-8, I don't like the wheels anyway, If I get an RT soon, I'll get 20" chrome wheels with 245 front and 275 rear, all I need to make it an SRT-8 are bigger brakes, which I can get later, and a supercharger, which will end up beating the SRT-8 for less money.
Hey! Chicano: you say the SRT-8 might be a too powerful daily driver? I don't think so, there are mercedes running around with 400+ HP and they are fine, you can see those rich bastards driving around slow and the power is not a problem for them, as a matter of fact, power is the least of their concerns, they drive around expensive, powerful cars, not because they want too, but because they can$$$$$
To me a car that is too powerful to be a daily driver is 600+HP, because, HAVING power doesn't mean you have to use it all the time, it's called the throttle (gas pedal), you don't have to smash it all the time when the light turns green.

[Fred]

the srt-8 only has an extra 25 ft lbs tq iirc (390 vs 415) that's not worth the extra ??$20k?? difference... I am sure a blower would add that without retuning the ecu and only pushing like 4 psi.

[Dangerdog]

420 hp magnum.....cant....stop.....drooling.......



wait.....................some....sort...of....nois e.....coming....from.....my....back.....pocket.... .






......wallet.....screaming.......cant....afford... ..40k......dammit.......

[AmbeR/T]

The SRT8's have been on the assembly line now for about a month

[joseph]

Auto SHOW in LA this week, gonna CHECK out the SRT-8, and hopefully they will have a sticker price on it.

[DrTJYoung]

anyone have any idea how much faster the srt-8 will be than an rt? 0 - 6- and 1/4?

[redinorange]

I went to the LA Auto SHOW today, and if I were you, I'd wait. The SRT is awesome!
:thumbs_u:

[shnitzelman2001]

the 0-60 they report in the low 5 second range, and the quarter mile in the low 13 second range. For the record, in an article on the chrysler srt-8, it went 0-60 in 4.9 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.2... so add about .4 tenths or so and you probably have the magnum's performance

[shnitzelman2001]

one more thing i want to point out... these performance numbers are coming FROM a 4200 lb car, not FROM a lancer evo. for 40K you get the performance of an evo (minus the evo's handling but still incredible handling for a car of it's size). Not only that but the magnum is worlds more luxurious than an evo or an sti and we can all agree that the drive is 10 times smoother than those rally cars. If you have the money, i'd say go for it. Some great arguments were brought up. If you want the better mileage, buy an rt and add performance parts. If the mileage doesn't matter to you... how are you going to turn down a 6.1L Pure American Hemi V-8 with 425 hp and 420 lb of torque??? The base for the chrysler srt-8 is just a smidgeon under 40K... so the magnum will probably be around 37K in my opinion. The only problem of course will be the dealerships. I think there are dealerships still charging extra on RTs! You can only imagine how they're going to be for these limited production machines...

[joseph]

What about fuel "economy", it probably will be 10 city, 15 hwy, right?

[joseph]

Auto SHOW in LA this week, gonna CHECK out the SRT-8, and hopefully they will have a sticker price on it.

I went there last week, they had a black RT with Lambo doors, it looked great, they also had an RT with the Borla w/5inch tips, which are huge, and are kind of a mismatch (maybe on a Durango)
The SRT-8 was Ok, but nothing more awesome than the RT already is by itself, the SRT-8 has a grill I don't like, the wheels are not that good looking, so I'll stick to getting a black RT soon, and when I can afford it, I'll get 20"s, grill, magnaflow, ram intake, carbon fiber dash kit, and maybe a supercharger in the future, and hopefully the HyperPac FROM Hypertech when it comes out for the Magnum, and more.
No pictures of the car show, sorry :(

[hemisales]

The srt-8 will for the 300-c be only a rwd vehicle, we have 1 coming in in a few weeks. The magnum srt-8 info hasn't been put onto my desk yet but i'm betting it will also be a rwd as well any help just e-mail. PEACE

[Rev.Hammer]

Hey Hemisales! When will the brochures start hitting the showrooms?

[hemisales]

I really have no idea, every dealer is different some my not even ORDER them or even care to. goto chrysler.com and that will get u info just as quick if not quiker, they have an ORDER brochure link for anything that is currentlt avalible. peace and safe driving all

[americanbulldog]

When can I ORDER a Magnum SRT8. All of the Hawaii dealerships are clueless. Also, would it be cheaper to buy FROM a maninland dealership and ship it to Hawaii. Hawaii dealerships add an additonal 5K markup because they can. Shipping to Hawaii is about 1500, so if a mainland dealership will sell it at MSRP, I could save a bundle that could be spent on a 3 inch exhaust system and dynatech headers.

[qzking]

bulldog,
I e-mailed about 50 dealers on the west coast, New Mexico and even in Detroit and I'm pretty sure from what I'm hearing back today that I'll be able to buy one for MSRP. I already have one dealer within 50 miles committed to MSRP but he says I won't get delivery until November. I have another dealer in N. Ca. that claims he will have one in late May or early June so I have asked the local go bac and check his delivery info and get back to me. I'll post on this board when I make a deal.
KK