5 Tips to Get a Hellcat Dodge Sooner Than Later

The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful American muscle car of all time and the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is the most power and fastest 4-door production sedan in the world. Those are some serious claims and with pricing for both cars starting under $66,000, it was clear well before either of the two 707hp Mopar performance cars went on sale that they would be hot sellers. Fortunately, the early rumors that Hellcat production would be limited were quickly refuted by the Chrysler Group top brass, and Dodge execs have stated over and over again that they will build as many as they can sell.

The problem is that the Hellcat Challenger and Charger have proven to be so popular that the company cant build the cars quickly enough to meet the demand. This has caused the Chrysler Group to suspend the ordering process of both Hellcat Hemi-powered Dodge cars as they work through the lengthy list of preorders that racked up in the first few months of the year – with rumored order numbers topping 9,000 units. The company will continue building cars to fill those preorders, so if you ordered a Hellcat car before the company stopped taking orders, you will be getting a Hellcat car sooner or later.

So the Hellcat Challenger and Charger are so popular that the company has stopped taking new orders and the word on the street is that every car reaching dealerships is already spoken for, leading people to believe that it is currently impossible to get a factory-built 707 horsepower Dodge car. However, with some careful shopping, deep pockets and the willingness to take a car with whatever options are present – you can get a Hellcat Challenger or Charger to enjoy this summer.

Be Prepared to Travel
With the demand for the Hellcat Challenger and Hellcat Charger being so high, there is a good chance that your local Dodge dealership won’t have one sitting on the lot, waiting for someone to come buy it at MSRP. Your local dealership might have one for sale if you live near a high volume Dodge dealership, but for many people, finding a Hellcat car for sale will require them to travel – sometimes out of state. However, with the shortage of cars right now coupled with a high level of demand, finding one that is not spoken for will almost certainly require you to do some driving.

In additions to traveling to other dealerships, a handful of Hellcat Challengers have popped up at collector’s auctions around the country, so for someone looking to battle for their new Mopar muscle car, the high profile auctions around the country can help as well.

Do Some Shopping Around
There are Hellcat Challengers and Chargers for sale around the country and the prices for these cars vary from car to car. I have seen markups for cars on sale now ranging from $3,000 - $15,000 over MSRP online, so even if your local dealership has a Hellcat car for sale, you might be able to get the same car cheaper at another dealership…even though it might take extra traveling. You might also stumble across someone looking to sell their privately owned Hellcat car, even though used car prices are very similar to the new prices at dealerships.

Be Prepared to Spend
Even if you shop around, the odds of finding a 2015 Hellcat Challenger or Charger for MSRP right now are zero. Any dealership that has one available for sale will absolutely apply a markup, so while both cars start under $66,000, the odds are very good that you will pay at least $5,000 over MSRP for a car sitting on a dealer lot. Also, if you go the auction route, the results of recent Hellcat auctions should have you expecting to pay upwards of $80,000. That markup sucks, but even at $70,000 - 80,000, both the Hellcat Challenger and Hellcat Charger are far less expensive than the cars with which they most closely compete.

Of course, if you are very wealthy and spending isn't an issue - this process will be a whole lot easier for you.

Don’t Be Picky
Since you cannot order a Hellcat Challenger or Hellcat Charger right now, your only option is to buy one that is at a dealership or in private hands. This means that you will not get to pick the exact options that you want so if you are going to try finding a Hellcat Dodge in dealer stock, it is best to go into the deal expecting to focus on the 707 horsepower Hemi and not the option sheet.

Consider a Charger
Finally, if you have your heart set on a 707 horsepower Hellcat Dodge, you might be better off hunting for a 2015 SRT Hellcat Charger. Even with the extra doors, the Hellcat Charger offers comparable performance (and a higher top speed), so opting for the bigger car doesn’t compromise performance. Best of all, since the early preorders were for the Challenger, there has been far less demand for the Charger. According to several of my dealer contacts, far fewer people have come in looking to order a Hellcat Charger, so with less demand comes more availability – even though the Charger is subject to the same engine production constraints as the Challenger.

-OR-
If you don’t want to travel around the country and spend big money for a Hellcat Challenger that doesn’t have the exact options that you want, the final option is to be patient. The Hellcat Challenger and Charger are demanding big prices because they are in such high demand while the supply is very low. At some point in the next year or so, the demand will go down as the pre-orders are all satisfied and when there is no shortage of the cars – they will become much easier to get. When that happens, you will likely be able to walk into your local Dodge dealership and order a Hellcat Challenger or Charger at MSRP, but you might be waiting a year before getting one of the 707hp Mopar muscle cars is that easy or that affordable.