Hi All
Considering buying a used late model challenger. I know nothing about them . The goal would be to have a fair weather cruiser and to be able to drive to the drag strip and race it as well. An SRT isn’t out of reach but a 5.7 would be fine. Any years to stay away from , any engine size better that another?
Options to look for ?
Is anyone racing a stick car with any consistency?
Is. There a stick car class?
Dodge Challengers are great cars. The 2015-current Challengers are the ones to get. Buy the newest one you can afford.
If you want to race - the 6.4 Hemi is the way to go. NOTE: The 6.4 Hemi requires 0W40 synthetic oil and 91+ octane fuel.
Stock 5.7 Hemi Challengers are fast, but they are slower than a 5.0 Mustang or LT1 powered Camaro. You will need to mod the 5.7 to be competitive with a Mustang and Camaro.
With regards to automatic vs manual transmission - it all depends on which transmission you can live with on a daily basis.
If you like shifting gears all the time - get a Challenger with a manual transmission. If not - get one with the automatic transmission.
Like SNK-EYZ said - the automatic is more consistent.
Good luck!
