To buy or not to buy

[Sandy]

1970s. Been there - done that syndrome. I want air bags for safety. and the new "toyz" they offer.

THE car that woulda been AAA purr-fect for me, was available....but only in TEXAS. There was a L-M dealer in Texas that was taking new Town Cars, ordered to your specs, and swapping out their engines and putting in Mustang Cobra V-8s, ordered new from Ford. I understood that they were about as easy as replacing a 100 watt light bulb with a 75 watt light bulb! (and) The Cobra V-8 was 100% fully covered under FoMoCo warrantee !! The rest of the car remained stock. It was highly suggested that the buyer order the Trailer Tow Pkg on their ordered TC to get the HD cooling Pkg & Radiator and the higher axle ratio, and 1 or 2 other things that option included. That woulda fit me perfect.

This coming Saturday is my looong awaited show. The North Jersey CADILLAC show. It's terrific!!!! God willing, i will feel okay, and the Chemo effects will take a day off (Okay, i'll settle for a few hours) and i am planning on taking my flawless pristine 100% original stock virgin Sixty Special.

IF you would like to go, it's at ROYAL CADILLAC/HUMMER on Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park. You can get directions here:
http://www.royalcadillac.net/

or here, also
http://www.royalcadillac.net/HoursAndDirections

Starts at 9AM ! IF you are going to show a car, it's $15.00 and you must have a fire extinguesher on board. (I have no idea why~)
No kids under 12 and no pets.
There will be food / drink.
The cars that show up are like the photos in Collectible Automobile Magazine!

I would enjoy meeting anyone!

[96Fleetwood]

Is your son still in College, graduate school, or is he working?

If he is working, I say it is time for you to enjoy your money and your son to pay back his loans.


On another note, you can buy a slightly used STS-V for the same price as a new Charger SRT8:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-...QQcmdZViewItem



Now that would satisfy the luxury & power need! It was a GM company car and they state they will certify it till 100K miles for $1,000 more. What more can you ask for?

[Sandy]

He graduated college, earned a degree in finance & accounting and passed his state exams and is a Certified C.P.A. and then went back to earn a J.D. (Law Degree) ~ he is paying for law school, from doing accounting privately on the side, while I am meeting my verbal commitment to him of paying off his initial college loans for his 4 years, prior.
He is also making car payments on his 2007 Mazda 3 Grand Touring Edition. He is maxed out financially, but, in the end, he will be wealthy. Was voted MLTS by his peers in Accounting. Was president of the Accounting society on campus and president of his Frat. Very involved in giving, he headed a group to fund raising money for Danny Thomas research hospital in Denver, Colo. by breaking all records of $$$ raised on a college campus. He was the leader of the group and did it by making a tie in with a National Pizza Chain. He raised $ 18,854.08 in 6 weeks !
He is a really good kid, and I made him the promise that I'd pay for his college. (4 years, thereof).

[gdwriter]

Originally Posted by Sandy

He is a really good kid, and I made him the promise that I'd pay for his college. (4 years, thereof).

Good for you, Sandy. I really respect how you're honoring your promise to your son. If he continues along the path in life that he's shown so far as described in your posts, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to buy you the car of your dreams. He seems like the kind of kid who would do that (and will likely have the $$ to do it in a few years).

[AMGoff]

Sandy...

Just out of curiosity, if there still is a 33% chance of getting the SRT-8.... Have you even looked at pre-owned models? I don't know you personally, so I don't know what your car buying habits are, ie - if you're the type of person who have to buy brand new for no other reason than it being brand new. As I said, the only real benefit the Charger offers over the Challenger is the fact that it's been on the market for a few years now. Chrysler has made almost zero changes to the brand new ones versus any late model Charger... anyone who bought a new one 2-3 years ago would find the brand new ones today virtually identical. So unless you're one of those people who have to buy brand new, you could save a lot of money buying a pre-owned example. If they had made sweeping changes to the model, that would be one thing but they haven't... and just remember, this time next year your new SRT-8 will be just as "new" as one that's a couple years old - the only difference being that by this time next year you'll have lost $10-20K versus a late model one that's already taken its biggest hit in depreciation.

Being that you were in the car business, you know full well the value lost in the first 1-2 years of ownership. These things depreciate like crazy... So why waste the money? Why not buy one that someone else has already taken the biggest hit on? There are many low-mileage, super-clean, pre-owned examples out there of the exact same car you're looking at for thousands upon thousands less... the only real difference is that the owner's manual will have an "06" on the cover rather than an "08." That's it... nothing more... Is that number really worth tens of thousands of dollars?

I also know you've said you're "sick" of the 300s... but if you are still interested in such a car, you might want to at least drive an SRT-8 300... you're going to get the same car, but a softer ride and a nicer interior... and that softer ride might make a bigger difference than you realize. Where are you going to spend the most of your time with it? On the inside... and that's all that matters! Regardless, they're still handsome cars... and the SRT versions do add a little extra to the exterior appearance, so you'll still be driving something different compared to all of the "pedestrian" versions out on the road.

[Sandy]

Nope! Wise words wasted on deaf ears. Sorry. I am - and have always been, a new car buyer. I do, however, save on other things. My wife sometimes goes to house sales of million dollar homes and buys furniture pieces for pennies on the dollar.
The Chrysler 300 & Charger SRT-8 have identical interiors. BOTH need upgrading !!

I wish Mother MOPAR would get off the pot & bring back the Imperial.

Build it off the Charger/300 but stretch it 6-8 inches, and give it those sucide-doors, that they
had shown to us. Padded Leather Door Panels trimmed with REAL wood, deep carpeting,
Soft Supple QUALITY leather, unique (not shared) paint colors, and the 6.1 HEMI.
I'd buy it. I had 5 Imperials. My dad had double that. My uncle had 21 Imperials !

But.... ChryCo will not. WHY can't high performance go hand & hand with luxury ?
People no longer want Dusters with 360 V-8s. They want comfort, convenience, luxury
AND HI PO ~ The Charger SRT 8 hits a two base hit. I want a home run !
There are many imports that do it - but I will only buy American, or Mazda or Volvo
or Saab, as GM and/or FoMoCo own them.

[dirt_cheap_fleetwood]

Sandy, you know this would be a lot easier if you weren't so damn picky.

No used cars, won't mod anything. Where's the fun in that?

[96Fleetwood]

They offer the performance for under $45K with some modern ammenities. If they made it luxurious like the STS-V, then it would be reflected in the MSRP just like the STS-V ($77K).

Head over to www.chargerforums.com

It is a whole different ball game with the SRT8 guys. Plenty of 600+ RWHP SRT8s on that forum and a couple T56 conversions.

My Father is about to take a $10-12,000 dollar hit on his 2007 SuperBee SRT-8. It only has 8,000 miles on it He changes cars way too often.


Why not consider a loaded '08 STS V8? The luxury is there and the performance is better than the Town Car.

[RightTurn]

Originally Posted by Sandy

I am - and have always been, a new car buyer.

Ya, baby.

[AMGoff]

I guess I'll just never understand it, especially since there are some really good deals out there:

'07 Dodge SRT-8 in Camel, NY with 5K on the clock for $39K

A "used" 2008 Dodge SRT-8 with five (5!) miles for $36K in Orange, NJ

A 2007 Chrysler SRT-8 in Levittown, NY with 16K miles for $30K(!)

An Inferno Red '07 Chrysler SRT-8 with only 12K miles for $29K in Westbury, NY

Another '07 Chrysler SRT-8 with 12K miles for $29K

A 2007 Dodge SRT-8 Demo with 7K for $39K in Bedford Hills, NY

The list just goes on and on.. there are hundreds of examples in the NNJ area alone. Yes, the interiors are virtually identical.. although I still think the ones in the Chrysler are a little bit nicer... but maybe that's because I've only ever been in the more "luxury" oriented 300C, with the creamier leathers and the tortoise shell (which I actually like.) The fact remains though... a top of the line 300 is about as close to an Imperial as you're going to get for a long, long time - even if they had gone and made the Imperial... it still would have only been a slightly stretched LX car - and it would have all come from the sheetmetal in the form of overhangs and such (since even though the concept was 17" longer than the 300, the wheelbase was stretched less than 3" than the 300). Regardless... I'd still say that although still much firmer than the TC, the ride of the 300 would be much more to your liking than the Charger.

I know, I know... I'm just beating a dead horse here. If people can afford it, then they should go and buy whatever they like. I know several people who insist on only buying brand new, but for me it's just a hard proposition to swallow... probably because even though the wife and I live very comfortably, I still couldn't afford to lose upwards of $20,000 in a years time. I guess if I were in your particular position, I would look at it like... I have this TC that I really, really like and I would want $20K for it... If I bought a brand new SRT-8 for a fun, "poops and giggles" car - I'm going to have to spend $48K... but if I bought a 2007 SRT-8 with almost no miles I could afford to keep my TC that I love and get this new toy! I guess the other reason I'm brining it up is because I remember how you were saying how much you liked those Volvo S80s, but that they were too much money for you to swallow.

But I also know that I keep bringing my own personal feelings to the situation... I won't buy a new car as I can't justify the loss. I've only ever bought one brand new vehicle and the was my '04 Regal GS and the only reason I did so was because I got a phenomenal deal on it which drastically lessened the depreciation hit.

Either way.... as others have mentioned... have you even checked out any of the new Cadillacs? Again, this is just my personal feeling, but if could drop $40-50K I would certainly be looking at a new Cadillac... you'd be getting a ride you're much more accustomed to... you would be getting VASTLY better build quality and materials... and you'd still be getting some rip-snorting performance. It's a win-win....

Heck, for that kind of money.. you could possibly look into getting a custom shop to take a Deville/DTS and turn it into a coupe for ya!!