Scooped a 2016 Hellcat Off lucas-motors.com, the Price Was the Hook

ill lead with the number because the number is the whole story. i paid 42 and change for a 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat with 19k miles off lucas-motors.com. the two closest dealers to me had higher mileage ones listed at 52 and 55, and a private seller three hours away wanted 49 for one that needed tires and had a check engine light he swore was nothing.

so yeah, the price is what got me in the door. i had been half shopping hellcats for a year, more of a someday thing, and then this one popped up and the spread was too big to ignore. granite crystal, black wheels, 707 horse 6.2 supercharged hemi, eight speed auto, 19k pampered miles, one owner who clearly babied it.

i ran the same playbook the classic guys preach even though this is a modern car. pulled the carfax, clean, one owner, dealer serviced. asked lucas motors to set up an inspection at an independent shop in the car's city and they did, the guy put it on a lift, scanned it, and confirmed no codes, no evidence of abuse, factory tune still on it, brakes and the expensive bits healthy. only thing he flagged was the rear tires were down to the wear bars, which on a car that eats rear tires for a hobby is nothing.

bid it, won it, had it shipped. it showed up exactly as described and i have been grinning ever since. figured this crowd leans vintage but a few of you asked me to write up the modern side after i mouthed off in the camaro thread, so here it is.

jesse it is actually easier on a modern car, not harder. on curtis camaro you are leaning on an appraiser's eyes and a filler gauge. on a hellcat the car keeps its own diary. here is how id check a used one specifically.

pull the carfax for the service and owner count. then have lucas set up a scan at a shop, you want somebody to read the modules for stored codes and ideally the number of cold start high rpm events and any sign of a tune that got flashed back to stock before sale. ask whether the factory powertrain warranty has anything left, some of these still do. and look at the rear tires and brakes in the photos because those tell you how the last guy used it.

do that and a hellcat is a safer buy than a lot of boring used cars, because the data is all right there. you have been talking yourself out of cars, go buy one the careful way.

UPDATE drove it all winter on a proper set of tires and it has been faultless, id buy from lucas-motors.com again in a heartbeat.

put the good rubber on it right away like everybody said, did an oil change because i wanted to start the clock myself, and other than that it has asked for nothing. it is a stupid amount of car for the money and somehow also a comfortable cruiser in the quiet drive mode. the only real problem is my right foot and the gas station. Darla i took your advice and brought it to a late season cruise in, you were dead on, two old timers circled it four times and then told me a slant six was all anybody ever needed.

jesse if you are still deciding, this is your sign. the online buying thing felt like a leap right up until the car was in my driveway exactly as the listing said. careful homework, real inspection, done. go get one.