Big Mistake...Magnum SRT-8 Test drive

[BobF's 6POINT1]

Not just a cruise around the block, get a feel for the handling test drive. But the 20 minute kind with lots of smoke coming out the back end.

Guy locally has a black one with 2500 miles on it so it was already broken in and if not, I gave it a little help. I show up and he throws me the keys and says "have fun, I'll see you in a while".

He's asking $43,000. It has everything but the kicker. What might be a good offer? It's completely stock and in pristine cond. Keep in mind that I'm saving tax and doc fees on the transaction.

[magnumdude]

See if he'll take 40

[gn300]

If you look on ebay etc. why aren't people keeping them?Bought for an investment? impulse ? addictive test drive or a wife that couldn't see the difference in price as a wise investment?

[BobF's 6POINT1]

This guy has money and likes cars.
wife has a 300 SRT and he's looking for a new Vette to go along with their F-150.

I really would like to find a nice distressed sale where the guy needs to sell "NOW".

[VIDEOBOB]

I am betting he is tired of filling it up at $3 a gallon.
The SRT is awesome, but the fuel economy is sh!t.
It does not have the MDS engine and I hear it averages about 8 MPG with rough driving.
I mean, no one is going to buy this thing and idle around like a grandma.
In my opinion you are better off to take an R/T and spice it up.
You can add the brakes and the seats, and the truth is if you put in a blower
you would have a much faster ride that is more impressive.
So rather than spend $10,000 on the "SRT" badge, put that money into the R/T
and make your own. Dude, for $40K you could get a nice used Viper RT10 if speed
is what you want, and gets about the same miliage!
It is just not a smart investment, it's a total waste of extra money that you
will never get back again not to mention your $50 per week gas bill. (minimum).
So unless you are just flowing with cash I was avoid it.

Besides, the actual numbers between the R/T and SRT are not that dramatic.
Again, you could install some nice red Brembo brakes and custom seats
for a lot less than buying a SRT8, add the blower and you will have a much better car.
When i have the money I definatly plan on doing all these things...along with air ride suspension and a few other things.

Think about it - don't buy the hype.

[qzking]

.
In my opinion you are better off to take an R/T and spice it up.
You can add the brakes and the seats, and the truth is if you put in a blower
you would have a much faster ride that is more impressive.
Besides, the actual numbers between the R/T and SRT are not that dramatic.
Again, you could install some nice red Brembo brakes and custom seats
for a lot less than buying a SRT8, add the blower and you will have a much better car.

video,
With all due respect I have to say I think you're way off here.

First of all, I drive my MSRT8 real hard and it gets 12 MPG regulalrly and 20 on the freeway. Let's compare a new RT and SRT8. Spend the 5K for the brakes and another 2 or 3 K on the seats and you have now made your $35K (MSRP loaded) into a SRT8 wannabee and you have probably spent more, or close to it, than the SRT8's MSRP. (Mine was $42,950.00 with every option but the kicker) Now if your really going to bring the RT up to the stock SRT8 you'll need to upgrade the suspension, transmission, drive train, wheels, exhaust, body moldings and you're $35K RT is now flying past the $50K mark. Oh I forgot. The blower! Let's talk $55K. Whoops! There goes the manufacturer's warrantee.

And your RT is still not "much faster than a SRT8". Maybe a little faster. I guarantee you that my SRT8 will still run with your RT on steroids and I have spent less than $2K on perfomance upgrades and I'm probably over 450HP. And the warrantee is still good.

And one more thing. The resale value of the limited edition SRT8 will always be better than the mass produced RT model. No matter how much money you throw at it.

Then again. I do have to run Ethyl in the SRT8 which is about $4.00 a tank more than Regular Unleaded. Take that X 52 tanks a year... Hell! That's over $200.00 right there.

I love the RTs and I think they are a great value for what you get for the money, but I reccommend that you go out and take a real close look at and test drive a SRT8 and then tell me you're still serious.

IMHO!
KK

[qzking]

Keep in mind that I'm saving tax and doc fees on the transaction.

bob,
That car was $42,950.00 new plus T&L. Let's call it $44/45K.

There are better deals than this on new ones out there if you're willing to work a little. I would shoot him a $36K offer and then put a cap of $38/39K. After that it's what you are willing to pay for the convenience.

I'll tell you this. After driving one for 3 months, I would have paid more than I did if I would have knwn it was going to be this much fun!

KK

[northeastern08]

if i even knew about the SRT8 when i originally bought my mag, i would have happily paid 45+ for it...but now that i have invested over $60k in the R.T mag, its tough to think about driving anything else for a while....but hey at least there might be a 392 Hemi crate motor out there soon that i could drop in there...instant fun and a lil more powerful than the SRT8 so i wouldnt feel like i missed out with the SRT8 anymore :grin:

-todd-

[ESAD]

QZking I couldn't agree more. All you said is realistic and factual.

I have owned an RT magnum for over a year and just traded in yesterday for a Charger SRT8 and WOW! No comparison no matter what you do.

[BobF's 6POINT1]

How Much to ship it...say from Florida?

[Weedo]

Not just a cruise around the block, get a feel for the handling test drive. But the 20 minute kind with lots of smoke coming out the back end.

Guy locally has a black one with 2500 miles on it so it was already broken in and if not, I gave it a little help. I show up and he throws me the keys and says "have fun, I'll see you in a while".

He's asking $43,000. It has everything but the kicker. What might be a good offer? It's completely stock and in pristine cond. Keep in mind that I'm saving tax and doc fees on the transaction.

Thanks for beatin' on the car Bob! I had to scrape the rubber off the car behind the rear tires!

I will sell the car for sticker: $42,150 (as you saw on the Window Sticker). Compared to buying this new, as you know, it will save you over $4,000 in tax and dealer fees, plus the obligatory markup from almost every dealer. Trying to find one on a Dealer lot around here is nearly impossible. I'm really not interested in any offers. The guy I mentioned that was coming over today offered $41k. He said he can't get one in Tucson, and the one dealer that will put him on the list wants $5,000 over and a month to three months to get it. Needless to say the car is still in my garage. :-D

I'll one up my offer at sticker... I'll give you the Magnaflows (and the 21rwhp/20rwtq dyno from AZ Dyno Chip), along with the stock exhaust.

I think you're going to have a hard time finding this car, in this condition, with the care I've given it. I changed the oil at the Dealer, with synthetic (as recommended) at around 1,200 miles. There's that odd chance you may find one in another part of the country, but you'll either need to ship it for $800-$1200 or drive it back and put the miles on it. Plus you can't meet them in person and get a feel for them or how they've treated the car.

If this isn't the car for you, no big deal. I'm not too worried about it selling. But I'd love to see you get it. I know you'll be someone that will truely enjoy it! And buying it tax free should allow you very good resale if the time comes for you to ever sell it.

P.S. - I'm averaging low 16's MPG over my last few tanks that I've checked. I drive mostly city with the occasional bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 101. Not bad consider it's rated at 14/20.

Talk to you soon!

[Bo]

VIDEOBOB,

Too bad you could not make the DFW M&G yesterday..... I would have let you take mine for a spin. There is NO comparison between the 2 vehicles! Seats, brakes, suspension and power..... a different animal altogether!
Mine averaged 19 on the way to DFW, and 19.6 on the way back to Houston. It liked 85-90 better than it did 70-75! In fact, I have driven mine over 4,000 miles already, and based on the mileage that my RT got (43,000 miles, averaged 18.9 over that time).... I would have spent 50.00 less (over 4000 miles, not per week!) to be driving the RT.... I will take that deal!

FWIW,

--Bo

I am betting he is tired of filling it up at $3 a gallon.
The SRT is awesome, but the fuel economy is sh!t.
It does not have the MDS engine and I hear it averages about 8 MPG with rough driving.
I mean, no one is going to buy this thing and idle around like a grandma.
In my opinion you are better off to take an R/T and spice it up.
You can add the brakes and the seats, and the truth is if you put in a blower
you would have a much faster ride that is more impressive.
So rather than spend $10,000 on the "SRT" badge, put that money into the R/T
and make your own. Dude, for $40K you could get a nice used Viper RT10 if speed
is what you want, and gets about the same miliage!
It is just not a smart investment, it's a total waste of extra money that you
will never get back again not to mention your $50 per week gas bill. (minimum).
So unless you are just flowing with cash I was avoid it.

Besides, the actual numbers between the R/T and SRT are not that dramatic.
Again, you could install some nice red Brembo brakes and custom seats
for a lot less than buying a SRT8, add the blower and you will have a much better car.
When i have the money I definatly plan on doing all these things...along with air ride suspension and a few other things.

Think about it - don't buy the hype.

[qzking]

QZking I couldn't agree more. All you said is realistic and factual.

I have owned an RT magnum for over a year and just traded in yesterday for a Charger SRT8 and WOW! No comparison no matter what you do.

E,
Way to go! I can't wait to drive one. We're going up to Laguna Seca on the 19th for the SRT Driving Experience and I am hoping they have added the Charger to the SRT line-up for us to drive there.

I wasn't dissing the RTs. I wanted one bad and came so close to buying one and only did not because a greedy dealer pissed me off and I decided to sit on the sidelines and see how the pricing panned out. Then I heard the MSRT8 rumor and waited even longer for that to prove not to be a rumor. It ended up being almost a full year before I finally got mine. It was brutal reading all of the RT owners posts during that wait, but I definately think it was worth it.

I think what videobob was saying is that you can pick up a used RT pretty cheap now and then that would give you quite a war chest to build something comparable, speed-wise to the SRT8. And he's probably right in that case.

I just went to Kelly Blue book and on a 2005 with 20K miles, loaded and in prime condition the "private owner" estimate is $27,745.00. http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.u...num&1;DO;G2&&& That gives videobob about $15K to build his car. Actually, I think I am still in the ballpark even comparing a used RT with the SRT8.
KK
PS:I'm really jealous of your hood too!

[vcunning]

How Much to ship it...say from Florida?

I'm sure for a couple of plane tickets, we could have an LXforums.com member drive the SRT8 across the country . . . kinda reminds me of Smokey and the Bandit!

Isn't Hammer is on the way to Arizona? Right?

[GasGunR]

I'm sure for a couple of plane tickets, we could have an LXforums.com member drive the SRT8 across the country . . . kinda reminds me of Smokey and the Bandit!

Isn't Hammer is on the way to Arizona? Right?

Smoky and the BANDIT??????? Hey we're talking Kowalski here! Vanishing Point! This is a MOPAR Forum!! !

With a more cheerful ending this time though!

Don