Clears 80,000 Miles Under Our Watch - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Clears 80,000 Miles Under Our Watch - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

We've accumulated about 14,000 miles now on our used 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8, putting us right at 80,000 miles Here's what we've learned so far.

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kirkhilles1

I don't mean to be harsh, but what's the point in keeping it for 13,000 miles? Was that mysterious its-not-the-exhaust sound bothering you guys? Why not keep it at least till 100k? I feel like I really didn't learn much about what its like to own the vehicle.

tenschamp2

I agree with kirkhilles1 on this. I'm not sure how many Millennials would've bought this car and then resold it a year later. I'd guess most would've held onto it for ~3 years or just before it ticks over 100k miles. Granted, this hasn't been all that exciting of a long-term test as it's primarily focused on the exhaust, infotainment system, and poor fuel economy (two of the three being aftermarket additions). For most Millennials, this would be an only car. Does the bike fit? How does it do in light snow and/or chains? What's it like on a road trip (you mentioned one about a month ago, but nothing after that)? Lastly, if you want to change things up, how about setting a ~$5k budget and making additional mods to try to get it to perform better? Given the attention (or lack thereof) this car has gotten over the past year, I won't be particularly sad to see it go, but I feel like there's still stuff to be explored that hasn't yet.

mozzz77788

Want to third this sentiment. I'm a millennial, and I normally drive cars until the wheels fall off, and if I had something this fun, I would surely do that. These tests are super valuable in helping buyers to know what to look out for, and something around the 100k mark would be way helpful for used car buyers.

longtimelurker

mozzz77788 said:

Want to third this sentiment. I'm a millennial, and I normally drive cars until the wheels fall off, and if I had something this fun, I would surely do that. These tests are super valuable in helping buyers to know what to look out for, and something around the 100k mark would be way helpful for used car buyers.

Fourth. This LT (or should it be ST) vehicle stint establishes exactly nothing, one way or the other, about the car's fitness as a millennial DD.

Can you do periodic maintenance on it? Yeah - like any other car. Can you do minor repairs? Same. Are some owner mods of questionable value or poorly done? Yeah - the previous owner's stereo and exhaust and your Dynamat adventure. Can you way overpay to have the dealer do things anyone with a tight budget could easily do? Yeah.

I guess the takeaway is that it's pretty fast, you can get an OK deal on one, parts are fairly reasonable, there is an active enthusiast community, it sucks premium gas pretty fast and...? Not much else...

s197gt

i think some interesting topics have been covered, general maintenance and upgrades, but i'll grant there were some missed opportunities as well.

that tire selection was extremely odd and should have taken suggestions from the peanut gallery. i would have liked to have seen either an upgrade to Michelin PSS or as Ryster posted the BFGoodrich tires, or similar, at (allegedly) half the price for the value argument.

the fact that they never fixed the exhaust was a real missed opportunity.

did you ever put in new headlights? there was also the accusation of worn out dampers that didn't go anywhere.

some before and after photos/performance testing could have shown empirically the improvements, if any, and more cost/benefit analysis would have been extracted.

darthbimmer

I think some of you folks are missing the point. Sure, a real-world buyer on a modest budget (like, say, a millennial, though that's hardly the only demographic this fits) would do well to buy a low-mileage used car and drive it for 10 years until the wheels fall off. But it's not reasonable for a publication like Edmunds to hold onto a car for that long. That's not the mission of their long-term tests section. Instead, what we get here is the first year or two of experience after purchase. Beyond that, we have to extrapolate.

5vzfe

If you've ever owned a 8+ year old vehicle, you would already know pretty much everything this little test told you (random stuff might break, previous owner(s) do questionable things).
I suggest that Edmunds should try to sell this Charger to a private party. Go through the process of cleaning it, photographing it, and creating an ad for it, and document the entire process. Many people sell their cars themselves to avoid the hassle of the middle man and to try get the highest price for their vehicle, and seeing how you guys prep the car, what you guys put into your ad and what you should photograph might be useful.

longtimelurker

darthbimmer said:

I think some of you folks are missing the point. Sure, a real-world buyer on a modest budget (like, say, a millennial, though that's hardly the only demographic this fits) would do well to buy a low-mileage used car and drive it for 10 years until the wheels fall off. But it's not reasonable for a publication like Edmunds to hold onto a car for that long. That's not the mission of their long-term tests section. Instead, what we get here is the first year or two of experience after purchase. Beyond that, we have to extrapolate.

The reason this car was purchased by our fictional millenial was not just to get a set of wheels...they said if it was that, they would have gotten one with the V6. This was the millenial DREAM CAR. That's why they got the SRT8.

You don't get your dream car, new or used, and keep it for a year and put only 13,000 miles on it. There is no reason for an owner to get rid of it...it's been pretty much like they expected in everyday use - no surprises there - and it has not been a lemon or a garage queen, with deep, expensive mechanical problems that would cause someone to get rid of it after only one year. And all the additional time, trouble and travel that goes into buying a low-volume used car rather than just leasing a new car - ? I'm sorry - nobody is going to flip it after only one year if it's their dream car and they went through hell to find it.