It's been almost a year since I swapped the Lava Red '12 GT for the Challenger. This week I've seen several really clean '11-'12s with wonderful sounding exhaust (like the Roush on mine was). And a guy at work drives a beautiful black Stage 3 that I see every few days. Sigh.

I swap cars way too often, and usually have a twinge of regret the first week or two... but this last one comes back to haunt me pretty hard every couple months.

 

That's how I feel about not buying a slightly used 6k mile 2008 z06 when I bought my mustang. I still feel that way.......

 

so let me get this straight... you traded your mustang gt for a v6 challenger?

 

I could maybe see a trade for a truck or economy car but trade a GT for a challenger??

 

only way I could see myself trading a Mustang for a Chally is if it's a SRT-392, otherwise... nope.

 

So is the grass greener on the other side?

 

Why would you trade a wonderful Mustang for a Mo-pus?

 

Before I bought my 14 GT, I was seriously considering a Challenger RT and probably would own one if the color I wanted would have been available at the time. I think they look slightly better than the Mustang and do ride nicer. My GT does feel slightly more powerful than the RT's I drove.


The one thing that I did not like about the Challenger with the 5.7 Hemi and auto tranny was the MDS system that shut off half the cylinders to save gas. On the cars I drove, it was very noticeable to me when this system would switch back and forth between the two modes. To me it felt like the engine had a miss in it. This is what stopped me from buying the car I was looking at in the color I wanted on the day I went to buy. When I decided later to buy it anyway, they had already sold the car and there were no cars anywhere close in the PCP color I wanted.


I said screw it and went with my second choice which was the Mustang. I don't regret buying the Mustang but would still like to own a Challenger one day.


Wayne

 

I had a 13 Base and went to a 09 RT Charger. Went back to another mustang 3 months later. The hemi engines aren't too bad but the suspension is awful. I love the looks of the Challenger but would never buy another Mopar again. It was that **** Vossen website they have some sick looking Challengers and Chargers .

 

Challengers are beautiful cars, my favorite as far as looks go in the affordable muscle car family.

 

I didn't drive the Mustang hard very often... so I didn't 'need' that much power anymore. I like the look of the Challenger. Went with the V6 because I could get the loaded up model for the same money as a cloth manual R/T, and wasn't impressed with the 70hp difference between the two.

The Dodge rides nice, looks nice, gets better gas mileage, is easier to get in and out of. There's a lot to like about it, and some nits to pick as well... just like with any other car.

 

Liked the SRT8 challenger, just found the suspension was overwhelmed with the car's weight,as spring rates soften a bit as the spring settles in, that meant a more pronounced soft suspension over time.
When I was in the market for a new car, I looked at 3 different rides;
1.Dodge SRT8 Challenger.
2.GM Camaro SS.
3. Ford Mustang GT/CS.
My cousin's GF lent me the Camaro SS for a week while she was in England on business........HATED it and parked it back in their driveway with in 3 days.

I drove the SRT8 on 3 different occasions, felt it was ready to tip on it's side for lack or firmer rate springs/shocks, especially during cornering...the weight presence was always obvious to me, so no thanks.

Drove the Mustang GT, was blown away by the overall balance of the ride, felt light(er) and a hell of a lot more agile, seduced by it's looks and performance....mission accomplished, found the car of my dreams.
Other than the quirky vague shifter feel, it was been a terrific ride overall, loved it then, and still in love with it now!

 

I never drove the new SRT8 Challenger because I wasn't going to spend that kind of money but I did drive a 2009 SRT8 Challenger with the 6.1 Hemi and it felt pretty quick. I almost bought that one but the dealer that had it was trying to get an almost new price for it and would only come down to $32,000 for it. The car was almost five years old at that point and was only about 41-42,000 new.


The funny thing about that was I called about the price about a week prior to me coming in to look at it and they quoted a $35,000 price over the phone. When I came in to look at it, I didn't initially tell them I had called about it and they quoted me a $41,000 price for the car. I told them they were nuts to be asking full sticker price for an almost five year old car and that they had told me $35,000 just a week earlier. They were also trying to charge me over 25% interest on someone who had excellent credit. To say the least, when I left there, I was not a happy camper. They reinforced everything bad people hear about car dealers and salesmen.


Wayne

 

Time for a 2015

What were you looking for in the Challenger that is different than the Mustang? And what criteria rated higher such that you would change to that vehicle?

I really like the style of the Challenger, and I like what has been done to the 2015 model.

 

I traded my 12 gt base auto for a 2014 charger rt with blacktop package. I really do like the challengers and chargers but I chose a charger because i felt if I went for a challenger it would be like going for another muscle car and I wanted to try something different. Well I really liked the space, the sound system, and smoother ride, but after about 6 weeks I really started missing my mustang(its all I had ever driven up to that point). After catching myself continuously looking at mustangs online and lurking through the fourms, I called a dealership and asked if there was anyway to get me back into one. Just one week before 2 months they were able to get me back into one with only 1k hit. I couldnt be happier, although if I would have been able to afford a srt8 challenger maybe I would have stuck with a mopar for a while. Another thing I didnt like was the lack of aftermarket parts and being alot more expensive as well.

 

I'd been in a Mustang for I think 3-1/2 years ('10 v6 and the '12 GT). I usually start getting the itch to change after a couple years... so no real reason.

 

I buy the diecasts now when I get the itch