Posted on 03/02/2015 2:27:53 PM PST by rickmichaels
In a move that may be unprecedented in the history of the auto industry, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is warning U.S. customers about the possibility of “unscrupulous” dealer practices when ordering a 2015 Dodge Charger or Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
Demand is so high for these hot new 707-hp cars that some dealers are knowingly taking orders that never will be filled.
In a company blog, Gualbert Ranieri, FCA’s senior VP for communications, says “a handful of dealers” have accepted large numbers of orders for Hellcats “without regard to available supply and without advising their customers that orders may not be filled, if at all, for many months or longer. We believe such a practice may constitute a breach of the Dealer’s Sales and Service Agreement with FCA US LLC and a violation of other applicable laws.
“Accordingly, we wanted our customers to hear directly from us how we are allocating Hellcat vehicles and we hope that you will bear with us as we, in conjunction with our supply base, continue to balance the supply and overwhelming demand,” he wrote.
FCA says eligible dealers will be scheduled “a maximum of one SRT Hellcat per month (Challenger or Charger, not both).” A dealer becomes eligible by meeting strict FCA conditions including total Dodge sales in the previous 90 days.
”While most of our dealers understand the scheduling process and do their best to make sure that their customers have transparency into the ordering and fulfillment process, an isolated number of dealers have taken a far greater number of orders than they could reasonably expect to fulfill,” said Ranieri.
He advised wannabe Hellcat owners to ask the following questions:
1)Is the dealer an authorized Dodge dealer?
2)How many Hellcat orders does the authorized dealer have pending and where would I be on the list?
3)Based on the dealer’s prior 90-day Dodge sales and previous Hellcat scheduling, when can I expect to receive my Hellcat order?
4)Does the authorized dealer require a deposit for a Hellcat order?
5)Is the deposit refundable and at what point in time?
FCA Canada says it is not aware of any such dealer practices being committed here. Hellcats are manufactured at FCA Canada's Brampton, Ont. assembly plant.
Still dreaming about my Viper.
Not a cat guy.
Crooked auto dealerships?
Say it isn’t so!
98 of ‘em on eBay
Have at it!
U.S. Dealers taking orders for cars they know they won’t have. IMAGINE THAT, eh? Lots of unscrupulous sales managers out there. (NOT the dealers, they wouldn’t risk losing a franchise over something like this).
2-6 months down the road comes the bait-and-switch, to a lesser car, with the threat of not refunding the deposit money.
Many dealers do this with trucks, all the time.
Baraq and his buddy Steve “the rat” Rattner flushed all the Republican dealers in the bailout.
That car is now worth MORE, in pieces, than it was worth on the dealer floor.
Reminiscent of the late sixties, early seventies you buy at your own risk. I didn’t look deeper into this, but wondering if no warranty on these as was on those of that era.
Hellcat. Zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds.
but....
60 to Zero is just .39 seconds.
If a parted out Hellcat brings more than 20 grand above sticker (what that car sold for) the economy is way better than I thought.
You can buy the motor as a factory crate assy for 16 grand.
What else is so valuable?
My buddy (who raced Camaros in SCCA for a good many years) has a 427 Cobra with roughly 500 hp. He says that’s about the practical limit for street usage by “normal” drivers.
You can buy the motor as a factory crate assy for 16 grand
Or you could spend 50 and get a real motor:
http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/assets/images/pdfs/dynosheets2010/522-tt-crw.pdf
I was by there today checking out the 650 twin turbo on the dyno, should make 3500-4000 HP when he lights it up tonight. But he won’t let it go past 1500, Broke the Dyno too many times.
They’re underrated in power as well. A lot of dynos are seeing around 650hp at the wheels which is a lot better than the 15% typical drive train loss.
We had a 72 buick le sabre with a 454 wildcat engine in it.
Mom was a leadfoot.
Drum brakes, bias ply tires.
Tough woman!
Yeah, never had an accident in the car either. In fact the only accident she ever had was very minor, in a parking lot, and the jerk woman hit her!
Sweet!
I wonder if the cars on eBay actually exist?
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