Drive Challenger on vacation, or no?

Wife and I live outside St. Louis, and are driving to St. George Iskand (Florida panhandle) pretty soon.

We would really like to drive our new 2020 Challenger Scat wide body, but I’m apprehensive as to potential of theft. It’s always garaged at home.

My main concern is parking at motels in Madison, and Dothan Alabama.

No reflection on those cities, just concerned with outside motel parking, and the theft rate on Scats and Hellcats. It is an automatic BTW.

If we take it, we have The Club anti theft steering wheel thingy, and a subscribed GPS system therein.

But I know nothing is foolproof.

The alternative is our 2010 Buick LaCrosse CSX, which is generally our “interstate traveler.”

Any thought and/or advise?

I'm not familiar with that area but I say take it! I know it's not a Challenger but....we took our '18 Mustang GT conv. on a road trip to Yellowstone last year. Couple thousand miles. Best road trip we've had in a LONG time. Loved every second of it. Didn't worry a bit. If ya bought the car to enjoy it, then get out and enjoy it! It's insured....right?

PS. My daughter lived in St. Louis for a few years.....I'd be more worried about taking that car out around that crap hole. She was rear ended by an uninsured dirtbag.

Nope, because by the sounds of it that Buick is way more your speed.

While teaching a Mo' Fart how to tie their shoes in the morning can be amusing at times, other times it just wastes bandwidth on here.

Go ahead.............post photos of your car and get it over with. Obviously, this is what this post is all about.

Who peed in your cheerios?

A couple of thoughts come to mind. Is the GPS service like Onstar where they shut off the vehicle if stolen? The other thing to keep in mind is weather. I know the last few weeks Alabama and Florida have gotten some pretty wicked weather. So, if something were to happen could this car be easily replaced/repaired with regards to the configuration?

Yes, he must’ve gotten out on the wrong side of bed or something,

I have NO idea where that even came from.

Let's get back to the debate on what car to drive today............I'm at the edge of my seat on this one.

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Good points.

Yes, been watching that weather. The whole southeast has been taking weather hits.

We don’t have to commit car choice until a day or so before. Will be gone about 1 1/2 weeks... seven days/nights being in St. George.

Guess we can check southeast weather for the vacation week immediately prior to departure..:

We are staying at a fairly secluded beach house, so I’m not too concerned with our destination.

No shutdown on the GPS device. It’s an aftermarket transmitter... notification and tracking to IPhone.

Alright, yeah, I know it wasn't a Scat Pack wide body, and just a regular old R/T, but my bride and I did a 2,000-mile round trip with my R/T without a hitch. It was a comfortable road car. Shown here keeping alive a family tradition of taking a photo of our new car at a landmark in my hometown—Snake Alley in Burlington, Iowa.

I'd jump at the chance at taking a Scat Pack on a road trip!

I would take the Challenger.

If you are really concerned about theft I would double up the theft protection.

The way people steal those cars is to break in, connect to the computer and create a new key. Sadly it seems to be easy to take out the side window on them even when rolled up.

Put kill switch in the car that will shut off the PCM, fuel pump or ignition. If they get in and clone the key it still won't run. A loud alarm if the door is opened and a flashing blue light on the dash helps too.

Thieves are lazy and will avoid cars that give them too many problems. If it won't start after the key is copied, if they can't access the computer to copy the key or anything looks like it isn't going to be easy then they are less likely to bother.

Around here they pull up to you at the gas pump and pull a gun to steal it when you go to get back in the car after pumping gas.

Only go to well lit busy gas stations if you have a choice.

Most importantly. Have fun.

My fear would be carjackings. As long as you don’t drive through cities with lots of stoplights or stop there for gas and food, you’ll probably be ok.
Today’s thugs seem to love Chargers, Challengers, Durango’s and Jeep SUVs, so it’s wise to stay well clear of urban areas driving those.

Pull the ignition fuse

if you bought it to drive...drive it. If you bought it as an investment... drive it anyway. Cant live in fear of what you cant controll. You could drive your Buick and come home a week and a half later and the challenger could be gone.. then what enjoyment did you get out of it....Drive it.

For trips - for me, anyway - if the route or weather could be an issue, I take my Pathfinder; might carry something home, nap on it, whatever.
For good weather, great driving roads, or - um, time constraints - my Mustang gets the nod.
Old car stuff not too far away, good weather, the show-quality Road Runner.
Old-car stuff wherever, hope to address that soon with a less-show-quality Road Runner.

Another option for the OP might be to rent a Challenger and at least get a sample of his "real car".

We only get one pass through this life, and enjoying the drive is worthwhile. You could even say critical.

My biggest concern would be the weather in Spring. The south has been hit hard but now it is becoming the Midwest’s turn at Hail Storms and stuff not to mention the heavy truck traffic and rock chips..

Make sure your insurance coverage is good, don't leave anything valuable in the car when you park it for the night, go have fun and don't worry. You probably won't lose the car, but if you do, the world won't end. If I can drive my one of 17 1967 Hemi GTX convertible on drag week and park at hotels for 10 days, you can do it with your 2020.

If you really want to alleviate worry and enjoy your trip, make a game plan of what you will do if you come out of your room in the morning and the car is gone. You prepared in advance with the VIN, license #, pictures, contact info all in your phone. If it happens, you will: call the cops, check the tracker, call the insurance company, get an uber ride to the rental car agency, enjoy the rest of the trip. Resign yourself to the possibility of this worst case scenario, accept it, and then you won't worry anymore and enjoy the car and the trip.

That's good stuff if your worried.
Me? I'm not going to let the "what might happen" ruin my life, I'm going to enjoy it. If that means to take one car instead of the other, I'm taking the fun car.

I have a 48 Plymouth Business coupe, in the last 9 years we have driven that car over 85,000 miles (last year broke the average because no place was open). If I let the concerns about modern safety, or theft, or damage, I would have lost out on 85,000 miles of enjoyment through 15 states. We are taking another road trip with the coupe in May. If something should happen to it, at least we have enjoyed owning and driving it.

The OP is talking about a car that is still being produced, I don't get it. Gene

Just an FYI: Those things are only good for getting money from your wallet into the company selling them. Many years back My brother had one on his fairly new 87 Monte Carlo. it was stolen and recovered about 100 miles away. The "CLUB" was intact in the back seat. They just sawed through the steering wheel with a hack saw or something similar, spread the wheel enough to slip the "CLUB" out and away they went

Couldnt have said it better myself

Wife and I are taking a 4.5 to 5 hour trip north this June. And we are taking our 1966 hemi Satellite.

I bought it to drive and by god we drive it.

Actually just pulled it out of the garage to go get ice cream here in a few

Wow! Do you have any friends?

He isn't just having a bad day, he is having a bad L I F E.
Why be rude to a guy that asks a legitimate question? I would understand if they were friends and GRizz was just busting balls but that isn't what I see here.

Snake Alley
What a blast from the past.
I grew up in Keokuk IA, it was a big deal to go to Burlington. If we did, we hit the Alley.
One night we drove up the wrong way......I think ,AC/DC just released Back in Black and thats all I remember...

It’s just a newer car. If it gets stolen, your insurance company will get you another one.

Drive it and enjoy it, be sure to give it a good beating whenever possible as well. That is what they are for.

Dothan is a safe place to go. A lot of military in the area. My friends' son went to helicopter training down there. Have fun with the car, take it for a ride.

Funny thing. when I was a kid back in the mid 70` I had purchased a new car. I took it to the track to see what times it would run. A older man came up to me and was being critical of me for racing a new car and said I should buy a older 50 or 60`s car to race and not destroy or damage a new car. I thought to myself "it`s just a new car" I can get another of the same if i wanted. Wish it still held true. LOL

And I see we both moved SOUTH! Have to admit, in all my years in B-town, I had never gone UP Snake Alley... LOL!

If you're worried about Madison or Dothan, why stop in those specific towns?

After living in St. Louis, I can’t see why you are worried about those other places. Far more likely to be stolen or have car jacking where you live.

If you do take it, make sure you have wheel locks. The wheels/tires seem on these cars seem to be a favorite of thieves

I’m not worried about those cities in and of themselves.

Just motels in general being hunting grounds for car thefts, especially out state plates. Makes prosecution less likely as they know victims are less likely to travel long distance to be a prosecuting victim.

The reason for choosing these two places as layovers is our preferred choice and rewards motel brand (and pet allowance).

There are some long stretches where this motel brand is not situated.

The St. Louis metro area is widely mis-perceived by many.

You are correct, St. Louis “proper” is a crap hole, and we NEVER go there.

But the metro area itself (including the near east Illinois counties) is surrounded by at least five major counties, and over a hundred self governing sovereign cities.

Some worse than St:Louis itself, some ultra rich areas, but by and large.. sprawling suburbs of mid to upper middle class.

Ferguson is a good example of being mis-perceived. Yes, it has depressed areas like where the M. Brown situation occurred.

But, drive just a few miles and you’re in middle class suburbia, or even upper class executive acreage homes... all within Ferguson city limits. Ferguson is about seven or so miles from St. Louis proper.

I myself live in the St. Peter’s / O Fallon / Lake St. Louis area. About 40 miles west of St. Louis proper, and consistently rated as one of the safest and economically vibrant areas. Tons of homes on multi-acreage.

We’re not even IN St. Louis County, but St. Charles County.

BUT! When most of the folk from one of these many, many cities meet people out state. We almost always say we’re from “St. Louis.”

Saves a lot of explanation!

That's what I was going to say...and I was born and raised in St. Louis city.

Makes me thankful for the Ignore User feature

I say drive it and enjoy it. I'm sure it's insured so drive the wheels off it. While not even an R/T, we take the wife's SXT on road trips, especially in the mountains.
The suggestion of wheel locks is a good one if you don't already have some. Atlanta had a lot of wheel theft during March Madness although Challengers and Chargers weren't the only ones hit.
While it may deter the casual car thief, the Club is just a minor annoyance to a pro. I can't see someone stealing a late-model car or truck as a casual thief and I'm sure they come prepared. There was a special on tv some years back where they had a dozen or so theft prevention devices on the car. The Club was one of them. He hacksawed through the wheel in about 10 seconds. Seems the guy found them all and had the car ready to leave in about 3 or 4 minutes.

And y'all are being too hard on ol' Griz. I thought he was the resident naysayer on Moparts.


Tim

Sold our 2012 Challenger SXT plus, prior to getting this 2020 Scat.

That SXT was an amazing car! Always garaged, pampered, only had 17k miles, and had amazing acceleration for a V6.

I sometimes question myself on the upgrade.

Well, not really.

Well, yes... kinda!

Tim

Pull out a fuse or fuel pump relay, that wont allow the car to start without it.

This is the most retarded thing I've read today. The car is totally replaceable.

You reply may be the most retarded thing in what's posted here, if it isn't it's right at the top of the list.

Some people have newer toys along with the older stuff and they want to protect them and keep them nice.

Yes it's a late model and easier to replace than an old car but some people become attached to their cars new or old.

It's amazing how some people just have to be rude when someone asks a simple question, obviously you aren't the only one.

Last think I knew there were no stupid questions, only stupid jackazz replies.

Ha! If it got stolen his insurance company would likely try to blame him and raise his rates.

if i was worried about my car being stolen i wouldnt feel safe stayying in that hotel

Sorry, wasn't trying to be "rude" just my observation of the situation. Can't take 'em with ya, might as well enjoy them. We only got a short time here. Enjoy it while you can!

Its a car,the point of having a car is that you can drive it.

We decided to take the Buick on our upcoming Florida trip.

However, we are driving to Yellowstone in the coming months.

It is our plan to drive the Scat on that trip, AFTER this software update is completed:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sl...pdate-to-prevent-car-theft-23665031/amp/

Yes. a lot of folks say “it’s just a car.”

But why not take the precautions possible, and hopefully avoid the heartbreak, aggravation, hassle of car being stolen hundreds of miles from home, etc., etc.

Our Scat is very largely a “garage commander.”

I get it, when I had my 392 I had a work thing in Detroit and I took a rental instead

Drive it. You will either have a fun trip or else it will get stolen.

Either way, you'll have a set of unforgettable memories.

Good move, the Jellystone trip will be fun in it. The parking on Florida usually sucks in most places and easy to get door dings there.

Id choose the Buick. Vacations are for relaxing not worrying about the car in the lot.

Interesting story on the 2010 Buick LaCrosse CSX.

It is mostly our “interstate traveler” so it’s in extremely good condition, all the bells and jingles, only 60k largely Highway miles.

Anyway, about a month ago I was driving it to my first COVID injection... a mass vaccination event. I got caught in what was truly the traffic jam from hell. Standstill bumper to bumper for many miles.

I decided to use the GPS navigation map to try and bypass the jam by using secondary roads around the main jam.

Well, it ultimately directed me to a “road” which I couldn’t believe was on the map. It was a washed out trench with deep ravines, boulders etc. By the time I was in it, I couldn’t decide which would cause more damage... backing up, or continue on the next 300 feet or so. I elected to push forward as backing up meant backing up a steep incline. It was training at the time, of course!

I made it through, but not before some $7k damage to the front grill, both sides along the bottom, a few other scrapes and dents, destroyed both splash shields. Dang it!

Finally getting it back from the auto body tomorrow, (after two weeks)just before our trip.

At 67 years old, this is my first ever “at fault” insurance event.

Supposedly they won’t raise my rates THIS time because of our insurance record.

That was NOT a good day!

I gotta give credit to the body shop though. Independently owned with many stellar reviews, and they kept me informed every step of the way.

Plus they’ll pickup half my $500 deductible.

That sucks, sounds like a comet hit that road before you did. Rough sounding trip.

We went back the next sunny day to take a pic, as part of the insurance claim.

Its really was worse than the picture shows. The light brown vegetation on each side of the road actually hides ground level horizontal telephone poles than ran parallel on each side. So there was no way to drive around the hazzards, ravine, and rock/boulder debris.

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