The Dodge Charger and Challenger as we know them are gone. Done. There’s no more being made. There’s a new Charger coming for ’25, but the LX/LY platformed Hemi monsters that we all know and love are gone. There are still thousands left for sale on lots across the country however, and more than few Hellcat’s Scat Packs and other special performance models left over as well. Many of these are 2023 model year vehicles. While you’d think that would mean you could score a deal, I’ve discovered many of these cars are still being marked up by dealers.
A quick search using car buying sites like Cargurus and AutoTrader shows there’s still about 4,000-5,000 V8 powered Dodge Chargers and Challengers left for sale in the country.While lowly R/T trims can be had for thousands off, some dealers are still going bananas with markups on trims like Hellcat Widebodys and Hellcat Redeyes.
San Leandro Dodge in Northern California is one of the worst offenders. It has a nice inventory of both Charger and Challenger Hellcat Redeye and Hellcat leftover. Its markups however are baffling. Take this ’23 Charger Hellcat Widebody Jailbreak. It has an MSRP of $97,551. San Leandro is tacking on a $50,000 markup for a total of $147,551. It gets worse.
Don’t even think about going for a Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. San Leandro has two, both with stroke-inducing prices. While they already have high $120,951-$121,346 MSRPs, the dealer is adding another $250,000 or so on top for $371,346 for one and $370,951 for the other.
Jerry Ulm Dodge in Tampa, Florida is another expecting a sucker to walk onto the lot. They want $159,950 for a ’23 Charger Hellcat, a markup of $66,132 over its original MSRP. Challenger Hellcats seem to have the biggest markups for some reason. Of the ones I found for sale, over 50 of them had prices above $200,000.
Crown Dodge in Ventura, California wants $258,741 for a ’23 Challenger SRT Hellcat Demon. Larry H. Miller Dodge in Avondale, Arizona has a $100,898 markup on its ’23 Challenger Hellcat Redeye for a total price of $247,824. Some dealers seem to be coming to their senses a bit, but only a bit. Criswell Dodge of Thurmont, Maryland had its ’23 Challenger Hellcat Redeye listed for $260,434. I guess the dealership thought it’d do customers a solid, so it came off the price $7,209; the car is now listed for $253,225. Or at least it was. Checking their site shows it has added another $6,931 to the price for a total of $260,156. Always great to see a dealer looking out for its customers.
If you’re in the market for one of these things, I wouldn’t hold out hope that these dealers will budge on pricing. This is one of those times where dealers will double down on “I know what I have,” dig their heels in and stick with these markups until there’s spiderwebs under the cars and on the tires. It’s best to just teach these places a lesson and not buy. If you’re in the market for a Hellcat, it’s probably best right now to find one used. At these prices, there’s way better and more capable cars for the money.
