The 16 cars. They didn't make to many. Only like 6500 or so.
There were still many new '16s on dealer lots 18 months after the model year ended. Our local small town dealership ordered 2 Hellcat Challengers for inventory. They called me for over a year with discount offers on one of them. Too many vehicles built is no particular number of cars. It is just more cars built than can be sold. Which, according to supply and demand, negatively impacts the value of those vehicles. Most '15 buyers paid sticker or even over sticker for one of a limited number of Hellcats. An oversupply of '16s wiped that value out.
Because of that, the Challenger Hellcats suffered a depreciation rate of over $600 a month for years. Today, you can buy any number of nice, low mileage Challenger Hellcats for low $40ks. Black, stick shift cars are even cheaper. Much of that hit was because of FCA's poor decisions.
As of today, there are literally hundreds of used Hellcats for sale so there is no chance of prices stabilizing anytime soon. In fact, with what is happening in the world right now, that number will probably grow.
I personally have almost pulled the trigger on a Hellcat several times. But ever single time I am ready to buy one, a better deal comes along and I hold off. Right now, I have a white 20,000 mile '16 Challenger with a couple of mods being offered to me for $39k. I really like the car and it is not too far away. But now, with this virus thing, I feel that $39k may not be the best buy. I wonder if I can get a nice low mileage Hellcat for $35k this spring? Maybe less?
I'll just drive my HemiCuda until the right deal comes along. Those thousands of dollars are just as good in my pocket as anyone else's. Maybe even better.
As to Hellcat engines hitting the junk yards for swapping into other cars, that swap is not for the faint of heart. And it's expensive. We won't be seeing a ton of that happening.
I agree that many of the Hellcat buyers were not Mopar people. But FCA screwed up their ownership experience to the point that they will never, ever buy another FCA product. And their collective experiences play a role in my decision. At first, I wanted a unit with factory warranty left. But not now. Not with the many, many unhappy customers. Now, I just want a nice used one as cheap as possible, so I can handle any problems down the road out of pocket and with the ability to choose the service center that I want. Or do it myself like I always have.
Anyone who bought a modern Challengers(even hellcats) thinking they were going to hold/increase value was nuts.
It was never going to happen...
some lose value slower than the rest of them, but that's as good as it gets.
The Demon is probably the only exception...
Most people remember the losses people took overpaying for 1st year Vipers & Twin Turbo Stealth's... and then saw what happened with the "limited production" Rumble Bee,(production ended up near 10k) and the lawsuits that followed, and realized Chrysler is always going to make as many as they think they can sell. Many people thought the 1st yr Challengers would "gain" in value, and put them in bubbles in the garage... it never happened. Same with the 392 IE's I bought the Mopar'10 I have, because I thought it was the closest thing they were going to make to the original T/A that I wanted since I was 10. I never thought it was going to go up in value despite the fact they made only 500... although they have held value better than any other 2010 RT, they still lost. I bought it because I wanted a better handling Challenger... which it is. It will NEVER go up in value... greenies will outlaw gas long before that ever has a chance to happen.
By the time the scat packs & T/A's came out, people had learned their lesson and had no illusions about mopars retaining value. The 1st year of Hellcats sales bought out the insanity of over paying again, as some mopar faithful wanted to snag one, along with an influx of celebrities & vett owners... Some paid $20-25k over list...
they lost that $$ the day they "decided" to pay it... The celebrities paid it just to have one 1st... and they didn't care if the car's value went to $0... Most people didn't seem to realize that, and actually "thought" it meant HC's would hold there value. Many more believed lying dealers that said FCA was only going to make a limited run of a few thousand. FCA NEVER said that... Ralph Gilles at Carlisle in
2014 said right off the bat they were going to make as many as people would buy as parts & production ramped up.
(He was looking to buy a 69-70 Charger) If people believed the dealer BS about "limited production", that's on them... they were never numbered, so that should have been a sign right there.
It's calmed down lately as people are finally wise to the Dealer BS, and no one really cares much anymore... But for a while, back in 2015&16 the Hellcat owners were like the Vett owners of the mopar world,
(likely because many were)... They would be the ones crying about how someone bought a Hellcat from a dealer for "less than sticker"
(yes some did... in 2015) while they paid $20k over, or that people were putting Hellcat Hoods on NON-Hellcats
....
or worse "UP-BADGING" a lowly RT...
with Hellcat emblems.
There are likely close to
30,000 Hellcat Challengers out there now and
50,000+ Hellcats in general...
There should be Zero expectation that they are going to hold value over anything else.
Especially after the warranty runs out.
And if you buy used from someone that can't prove the oil was changed
every 6months, whether they drove it or not...
The engine warranty is already gone...
Enjoying that hemicuda, sounds like a good way to go while you wait.
